During the forthcoming Fireworks Festival, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna will be holding three fund-raising evenings at the old Saluting Battery in Valletta to raise much needed money for its conservation work. For this purpose, it has teamed with Island Caterers to run an open-air grill, appropriately named the “Harbour Grill”.

Food and drinks will be offered throughout the evenings of 28 to 30 April. The exclusively raised position of the old Saluting Battery will certainly offer an excellent vantage point from where patrons may watch the fireworks spectacle, while also enjoying a delicious meal of grilled meat and fish.

As an added attraction, one of the battery’s historic guns will be fired at sunset by the FWA historic gun detachment, dressed as late 19th century Royal Malta Artillery gunners. Sunset guns were fired in the past to remind the public that the town gates would soon close and the drawbridges would be raised for the night. In times of curfew it would also have signalled the start of this, which would end with the firing of yet another gun at sunrise, when the gates and bridges would be reversed.

The old Saluting Battery is located right under the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta. On 1 May 2005, a joint project between Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna and The Malta Tourism Authority was launched at this site to restore the battery to its former glory. This project should see the restoration of the site to how it looked in the mid-to-late 19th century, complete with 11 original British 24-pounder cannons, reconstructed underground gunpowder magazines and a side-arm store.

Today, the noon-day gun is fired on a daily basis at midday, with guided tours of the site taking place at 10 and 11am and 12.15 and 1pm.

For further information and bookings contact FWA on: 2180-0992/2180-3091 or via email on info@wirt

artna.org , or by visiting the FWA website at www. wirtartna.org