Today, May 9, Floriana is celebrating its 300th birthday. On this day, in 1724, Portuguese Grand Master Manoel De Vilhena ruled in a decree that the area which today is known as Floriana is to become residential and he gave official permission for buildings to be built.

This may seem nothing extraordinary, in an era where buildings are sprouting everywhere. However, at the time, when the priorities were defence and the safety of society in general, construction took on a secondary role. It was hence a very difficult decision to be taken by a bold policymaker.

As everyone knows, Valletta was built as a consequence of the Great Siege of 1565. Despite the fact the knights defeated the Turks, this was certainly not an easy feat. The islands were not prepared for such a massive assault and had no adequate fortifications. But the siege was won against all odds. The knights, therefore, decided to build Valletta: a war machine with strong bastions and fortresses.

This defence issue became an obsession. Despite the strong defences of Valletta, the knights were always concerned that the bastions might be penetrated, especially those linking the Valletta peninsula to the mainland. The enemy could thereby penetrate the city on foot.

Portes de Bombes as it was originally - a single gate at the edge of the landward fortifications.

The order, therefore, engaged military engineer Pietro Paolo Floriani from Macerata, in Italy to produce some designs for the strengthening of the land-looking curtain of bastions of Valletta. Floriani came to Malta in 1634 and designed what we today call the Floriana Lines: the curtain of bastion walls flanking Porte des Bombes from Marsamxett to Grand Harbour.

His idea was a simple one: to build another series of bastions outside the existing Valletta walls, resulting in an empty area between the two lines. In military terms, this is called a glacis. Should the Floriana fortifications be breached, there would be a second line of defence. Additionally, should the enemy manage to penetrate the Floriana Lines, the knights would be able to round the enemy up in the glacis, firing at them from the surrounding bastions. The enemy would stand no chance of penetrating the Valletta walls.

Floriani’s monument in Robert Samut Square.

This idea was innovative but was not easily accepted. Floriani received a lot of criticism and he left Malta in 1638 since it was decided back then that his plans will not see the light of day.

In the area we now know as Floriana, outside the Valletta walls, the Capuchin Convent, the Mall gardens, the Wignacourt water tower and Sarria church already existed.

However, while grand masters changed, the obsession with strengthening the fortifications remained.

Between 1680 and 1690, Grand Master Gregorio Carafa engaged Vincenzo Firenzuola to build the Floriana Lines on the idea and main designs of Floriani, who, in the meantime, had died in 1638.

Grand Master Ramon Perellós built Porte des Bombes but did not live to see it completed in 1721; it was inaugurated by De Vilhena. This is why on the archways today we see the coat of arms of Perellós and not De Vilhena. On his part, De Vilhena continued to further strengthen the fortifications built by his predecessors.

At first, people were sceptical and preferred living in Valletta rather than in the new city

Meanwhile, the population in Valletta was thriving. The Maltese started moving into the capital city, which was safer and convenient. But Valletta soon became overpopulated, and lack of hygiene and the risk of plague became a problem. Something had to be done to build more residential units.

De Vilhena had an idea: building up the glacis. This would, however, have ruined the scope for which it was created: defence. Buildings would have reduced visibility from the Valletta bastions and, should the enemy have attacked, they would have been able to hide more easily among the buildings.

After many discussions, a solution was found: the area of Floriana was to be built, however, under certain conditions. Houses had to be a maximum of one storey high and could be disassembled easily should there be the need for it during a siege; streets had to be grid-shaped so that the enemy couldn’t hide; and, most importantly, the glacis had to remain, but on a smaller scale. No buildings were, in fact, allowed in the last stretch of land leading into Valletta. Buildings could extend up to the St Publius church; this is why there are open spaces such as the granaries to this day. Other buildings in that area were added later.

The glacis in front of Valletta was protected despite the building of Floriana.

This decision was arrived at precisely 300 years ago today: on May 9, 1724. De Vilhena signed the decree granting such permission and gave the city his name: Borgo Vilhena. Later, the name Floriana was adopted in honour of the original mastermind, Floriani.

At first, people were sceptical and preferred living in Valletta rather than in the new city. But De Vilhena gave an incentive. Upon death, the knights were obliged to leave a portion of their wealth to the order. For property acquired in the new city of Floriana,

De Vilhena dispensed the knights of this obligation and they could hence pass on their full property to their heirs. This attracted many knights, including Sarria, de l’Argote, Pinto, Franconi and Maison, among others.

A painting of Grand Master Manoel De Vilhena.

In a society where priorities seem to have become solely focused on progress, history can give us an important lesson. Progress cannot stifle our safety. We cannot afford to be ‘sieged’ in the name of progress. Incentivising the market is the key to encourage people to act in a sensible manner, which would, otherwise, act inordinately guided by their greed.

Despite our digital and technological capabilities, our ancestors can teach us a lot. By being visionaries, thinking about well-being and planning adequately, they managed to achieve a lot with much less.

De Vilhena was known to be the forefather of our welfare state. In fact, apart from building Floriana, he also built the Ospizio, an old people’s home, and the Conservatorio, a home for unmarried girls, aiding them to get a dowry to be able to get married.

Floriana is grateful to De Vilhena and proud to bear his name and that of Floriani.

Unfortunately, for many people, Floriana only means football. The city is much older than the football club and has a much richer and varied history. One has to simply stop, observe and listen. Each stone has a story to tell.