Film money to be used to restore Fort Ricasoli

A fund for the restoration and maintenance of Fort Ricasoli was launched yesterday by the Malta Film Commission and the heritage group Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna.

Money raised during an open day held by the commission at the fort in October was passed on to the fund administered by the FWA.

An information board at the entrance to the fort was unveiled yesterday during the presentation of the money by the parliamentary secretary in the Economic Services Ministry, George Hyzler, to FWA executive director Mario Farrugia, in the presence of film commissioner Oliver Mallia.

The aim of the fund, Mr Farrugia said, was to generally improve the fort and its surroundings and make it more accessible to the public.

Fort Ricasoli was built during the reign of grandmaster Nicholas Cotoner as part of a master plan created by the engineer Antonio Valperga, which included the massive Cottonera Lines and an increase in the fortifications at Floriana.

The fort was named after bailiff Francesco Ricasoli, who paid for its construction. Work started in 1670.

It is the largest fort in Malta and one of the few which resisted the French invasion. Yet its proximity to the sea, heavy pounding during the Second World War as well as misuse and neglect in recent decades, have reduced it to a poor state of repair.

The fort has since 1999 became a very popular film location serving as a backdrop for the film Gladiator, and the television series Julius Caesar, Helen of Troy and The Gladiator Hero.

Construction on the new film set for the Warner Bros epic Troy are currently under way. Shooting on this picture is expected to start in spring.

Dr Hyzler said the commission and the Government Property Division offered Fort Ricasoli to foreign film companies at nominal rates in order to attract more film business to Malta.

However, whenever a film set was constructed, both organisations together with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority took the necessary precautions to safeguard the architecture of the fort and usually asked film companies to donate money for its restoration.