With the church of St. Anthony of Padua now almost completely restored, MIDI is now focussing its attention on the main gate of Fort Manoel. This area consists of the imposing hardstone staircase rising from the shore and flanking either side of the couvre porte bulwark. Above is a platform which commands superb views of Valletta and which was originally separated from the gateway proper by a small dry ditch. Access was only possible over a timber draw bridge that was opened and shut by means of a counterweight system originally devised by Vauban. The ditch was filled in with debris In Victorian times and the bridge done away with. After painstaking efforts, the ditch has now been cleaned revealing the masonry structures that supported the Vauban bridge. Remnants of the latter have also been discovered and will be preserved accordingly.

The gate itself, which the Knights called the Porta Maggiore, has been fully restored. Interventions included the removal of metres of wiring, scores of rusting metal inserts and the consolidation of powdering stonework. All the ornate masonry was also cleaned, a process which revealed the reddish hardstone that Mondion introduced alternating it with globigerina limestone. In the frieze above the rusticated Corinthian columns were the almost completely eroded intertwined initials of Grand Master Vilhena ‘M.A.V.’ which together with a pair of wreathed Maltese crosses were meticulously sculpted again using a method called plastic repair. Certain damage such as the defacing and mutilation of two statues depicting Vilhena’s coat-of-arms presumably during the French occupation, as well as World War Two shrapnel pock marks were left untouched as evidence of significant events in Fort Manoel’s past.

Once inside the shady interior of the gate house, one can now appreciate much of the original design of the main entrance of Fort Manoel. Prior to restoration works these spaces was stifled with numerous unimportant post-war structures and accretions. These were carefully demolished to reinstate the grand courtyard as well as the casemated vaults that originally served as guardhouses. Musketry loop holes piercing the curtain wall from these chambers onto the couvre porte were reinstated to their original design. Much of the original flagstone flooring has also been exposed and will be preserved. From the cortile two sunken staircases lead up into the parade ground which is now fully refurbished.

A curious discovery was that of a rock-cut passage at the foot of the back wall of the courtyard which is connected to the immense reservoirs underlying the piazza d’armi. It is thought that this tunnel served to convey water into a fountain that once stood in the cortile as well as a passage through which caretakers could access and maintain the subterranean water tanks. Investigations are still underway so as to fully understand this interesting 18th century hydraulic system.

Since 2000 MIDI has invested millions of euros in restoring Forts Manoel and Tigne’. Operations are being directed by aoM Partnership and carried out by Vaults Co. Ltd. MIDI is committed to ensure the full restoration of Fort Manoel which has suffered decades of neglect, vandalism and pillage.

All restoration works in the project are carried out under the supervision of heritage monitors Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna. More information on works in progress is available on www.midimalta.com