Call for rehabilitation of the Post of Castille

The Post of Castille, forming part of a network of fortifications known as the Cottonera Lines, should be rehabilitated and opened up to visitors, Vittoriosa mayor John Boxall said yesterday.

Part of the post is rented out to a private individual who uses it to raise exotic animals. This part has been filled in with soil and trees have been planted which are greatly harming the fortications, Mr Boxall added.

"The Post of Castille is one of the most beautiful parts of Vittoriosa and it ought to be restored and people allowed in to appreciate this military work of art," the mayor argued.

The council had already made several attempts to get the upper part of the post open to visitors but its efforts had come to nothing.

The Post of Castille was the most vulnerable part of the rampart during the Great Siege of 1565, according to Balbi, the compiler of the diary of the siege.

Another part of these historic fortifications is planted with trees, obliterating a good part of the fascinating military architecture.

The Post of Castille comprises about 15 per cent of the land mass of Vittoriosa.

Earlier this month a master plan to restore Vittoriosa to its former glory and, hopefully, raise it to a Unesco World Heritage Site was unveiled.

Commissioned by the Cottonera Rehabilitation Project and entitled From Words To Action, the plan is meant to revamp the quaint maritime city of Vittoriosa, popularly known as Birgu.

The plan outlines the importance of the city's fortifications. Giora Solar, one of the experts who put the plan together, said there was no doubt that Vittoriosa's fortifications were world heritage material.

According to Ray Bondin, who leads the CPR, Vittoriosa had, considering its size, the biggest fortification system in the world and the only one still entirely intact. The Vittoriosa Master Plan strongly recommends the re-siting of incompatible sites, including "the zoo" and garden at the historic Post of Castille.

The renowned military engineers Bartolomeo Genga and Baldassere Lanci had in 1562 recommended to the Order of the Knights of St John that the area should be heavily fortified.

When contacted, Lino Bugeja, a historian who specialises in Vittoriosa, said the weakness of this side of the bastions became more evident when the Turks managed to breach it in one of the attacks. Grand Master La Valette, who was in an advanced age, had rushed there to take part in the skirmish.

In the 1565 siege, the Turks launched a two-pronged attack on Fort St Michael and the Post of Castille, managing to breach the bastions of the post but were repelled by the defenders.

"Because breach in Italian is called brescia, the name is still in current use by the people who refer to the area as il-prexxa. Similarly when asked where they live certain people say they live in 'it-triq tal-Lhud' because the street where they live is close to where the Jewish ghetto used to be," Mr Bugeja explained.

Handed down from one generation to the next, these names are worth remembering, seeing how they have survived the ravages of time and the proliferation of progressive thinking.

With the fall of Crete in the 17th century, the Council of the Order of the Knights of St John decided to go for a much more formidable line of fortifications for Vittoriosa and the inner harbour.

This task was allotted to the famous military engineer Maurizio Valperga who embarked on a massive project that includes a continuous line of fortifications stretching from the Post of Castille up to San Salvatore hill and on to Notre Dame Gate in Zabbar, known as Bieb is-Sultan, "sultan" referring to Grand Master Nicoló Cotoner, then round Cospicua and down to Ghajn Dwieli.

"With its then state of the art architectural features including hornworks, cavaliers, curtains and ornate gates, the Cottonera Lines are a gem of military architecture and should be a magnet for culture tourists," Mr Bugeja said.

The history of Vittoriosa is intrinsically linked to the history of Malta. For example when Malta passed through lean times during the Great Siege, when food and hope were at a low ebb, Grand Master Jean Parisot de La Valette together with the Maltese used to go and pray in the church of St Lawrence.

When the French took over the governance of the island from the Knights of St John, as an insult to the people on the very day of the feast of St Lawrence they proceeded to Vittoriosa and after the 11 a.m. Mass they set up a Liberty pole in the town square, Mr Bugeja recounted.

"The Vittoriosa Historical and Cultural Society as well as the Vittoriosa local council have repeatedly made representations to the highest authority for the rehabilitation of the Post of Castille and to make it accessible to the public.

"The authorities should adopt the motto of the master plan that trumpets the legend 'From Words to Action'.

"While the area of the 'zoo' mentioned in the master plan seems to be well kept, the place should be accessible to visitors at least at certain times.

"Moreover, the buildings on the seafront side facing Kalkara and built by the British authorities and now seemingly serving no particular purpose should be removed in order to reveal the beauty of the four-tiered fortifications," Mr Bugeja argued.