What do you believe are the main features of the fort’s restoration?
Like most of our historical defence fabric, Fort Tigne has been left to rot for far too long. It is, therefore, a great relief to see the private sector, namely Midi plc, embark on the restoration of this most important fort, admittedly as compensation for being granted some of the best public real estate locations for development. Yet, given the fact that resources of any kind are tight in this country, partnerships of this nature between the government and serious investors are to be encouraged, because with proper guidance these can serve to save and regenerate elements of our national heritage which otherwise would be left to deteriorate beyond redemption.
Fort Tigne is undoubtedly one of the most interesting historic forts on the island. It is not only the last major work carried out by the Order of St John, it is also one of the very first attempts to break away from the pointed bastion trace system of fortification building which was started by the Italians and perfected by the French throughout the 16th-18th century period. In fact, the plan on which this fort was built is completely dissimilar to anything that had been built in Malta or Gozo throughout the Hospitaller period. It is shaped like a diamond, with a circular turret at one end facing Valletta. It is surrounded by a dry ditch which was, in turn, defended at its meeting points by counter-scarp galleries that could be reached from inside the fort itself. The diamond-shaped casemate redoubt served as an elevated gun platform for the armament of the fort. A defensible barrack block was positioned at the centre of this structure to serve as a last-ditch stand. The fort was surrounded by a built-up glacis on the landward side which was extensively mined throughout. These mines would have been triggered off in case of a strong enemy presence on the glacis. The seaward side was steeply carved in order to prevent the enemy from scaling up the rock face.
Given its strategic location, this fort was maintained in constant military occupation until the 1970s, although its last armament was removed at the turn of the 20th century. By then, new coastal batteries had been built only a short distance away from it and the major one, Tigne Battery, was retained in service till 1956 when the British government opted to replace heavy calibre artillery with rocketry.
In fact, when discussing Fort Tigne one should not ignore the dearth of other military engineering examples present on the Tigne promontory. This location has always been of great strategic defence value and hence the heavy presence of such structures there. All of them have tremendous heritage value and they are to be retained and preserved. No serious preservation or rehabilitation of Fort Tigne can be effected without affording the same degree of attention to the nearby defensive sites. These also include the world’s first dirigible torpedo installation known as the Brennan torpedo.
Do you think the damage done to the fort over the years has seriously restricted its restoration? How do you plan to monitor the restoration project?
Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna was engaged by Midi plc to monitor the heritage aspect of the project and has been doing so since the beginning of the development in 2001. Our role is that of seeing that no undue damage is done to any of the buildings or features of heritage value found within the limits of the projects at Tigne Point and Manoel Island. This is done by being continuously present on site and also by maintaining ongoing consultation with the developer, the project managers and the consultant architects and engineers. FWA issues regular reports on the progress achieved to Mepa and all the stake-holders involved. By being constantly vigilant, FWA has been able throughout its involvement in this project to save important heritage elements within the scope of the project which would otherwise have been ignored. A good case in point is Garden Battery built by the British in the late 19th century between Fort Tigne and Cambridge Battery. During the planning stage, the presence of this battery had been over-sited and was allocated for re-development. Through active lobbying with the partners involved, this battery was saved for the nation. The developer had to redesign a good part of the project, which involved much loss of time and more expense. Nevertheless, this shows clearly the active role of FWA as heritage monitor in this project and surely the reasonable nature of the developer in acceding to the request.
What are the recommendations you have made to the developers on the fort’s restoration?
Our position on Fort Tigne is to completely preserve the monument and make it available to the public. This may differ from what the developer may have had in mind.
This fort is precious enough to deserve the best of conservation practices, and no stone should be left unturned to restore it to its former glory. Needless to say, this will cause the developer to expend huge funds, but we deem it both necessary and worth every cent.
Will FWA be involved in the fort’s operation after the project is completed?
Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna is a national non-governmental organisation active in the field of heritage preservation and management. At present we either manage or co-manage some 24 sites all over the islands. Certainly, we are interested in participating in the management of this fort once work is complete. However, it is still very early.to comment on this.