Fortifications of Mdina

The fortifications of Mdina are a series of defensive walls which surround the former capital city of Mdina, Malta. The city has been fortified since antiquity, but the majority of the present fortifications were built by the Order of Saint John between the 16th and 18th centuries. The city walls have survived completely intact, and are among the best preserved fortifications in Malta. Mdina has been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998.

Antiquity to Middle Ages
In around 700 BC, the Phoenicians founded the fortified city of Maleth on one of the highest points of the island of Malta, far away from the sea. Eventually the city was taken over by the Roman Empire and it was renamed Melite. The Punic-Roman city was much larger than present-day Mdina, and its walls also surrounded part of modern Rabat.

In the early Middle Ages, probably when Malta was part of the Byzantine Empire, a retrenchment was built within the city, reducing it to its present size. The Byzantines also possibly built a fort at the southeast corner of the city, near the main entrance.

In around 870, the Maltese Islands were occupied by the Arabs. The city was renamed to Medina, which led to its present name Mdina. The digging of Mdina's ditch possibly began under Arab rule.

Malta became part of the County of Sicily in 1091, and was then dominated by a succession of feudal lords. Various alterations to Mdina's city walls were made over the following centuries. By then, the Byzantine fort had been converted into a castle, known as castellu di la chitati. By the 15th century, Mdina's land front consisted of a series of double walls, flanked by four towers, including the Turri Mastra (also known as Turri dila bandiera) near the main entrance and the Turri di la Camera at the southeast corner of the land front.

In 1429, Hafsid Saracens attempted to take the city but were repelled by its defenders.

Most of the castellu di la chitati was demolished by royal licence in 1453, due to its ruinous state and excessive cost for its upkeep. A barbican was built near the city's main entrance sometime after 1448, but it was demolished in 1551.

By 1522, modern artillery had been introduced to Mdina, and the city walls began to be upgraded.

Most of Mdina's medieval fortifications were later dismantled and rebuilt by the Hospitallers, especially during the 18th century. Despite this, some foundations of the ancient Punic-Roman ramparts, as well as various medieval remains, were recently discovered during excavations.

Hospitaller rule
When the Order of Saint John arrived in Malta on 26 October 1530, Grandmaster Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam promised to uphold the rights of the Maltese people, and was given the keys of Mdina. The Order went on to settle in Birgu, and Mdina lost its status as capital city. The medieval fortifications of Mdina were upgraded during the reign of Juan de Homedes y Coscon, and the city withstood a brief Ottoman attack in 1551. At the end of the Great Siege of Malta of 1565, the defenders of Mdina scared away the Ottoman army that was retreating from their failed siege of the Order's base in the Grand Harbour by firing their cannons, despite having very little ammunition.

Mdina's fortifications were again upgraded in the 17th century, when the large De Redin Bastion was built. The main gate, the area around Greeks Gate, and other parts of the fortifications were modernized or rebuilt by the architect Charles François de Mondion in the early 18th century, while Despuig Bastion was built during the reign of Ramon Despuig between 1739 and 1746.

Plans were made to strengthen the city with more fortifications, but these were never implemented as the Order focused on the fortifications at the harbour area.

Mdina's fortifications were considered to form part of the Victoria Lines during the late 19th century.

Present day


The first plans to restore the fortifications of Mdina were made in 2006, as part of a project that would also involve restoration of the fortifications of Valletta, Birgu and the Cittadella. Restoration eventually began in 2008. In some cases, where the bastions had started to slip down the clay slopes, steel rods were inserted in the walls to reinforce them. It is planned that the restoration will be complete by July 2015.

Layout
The present configuration of Mdina's fortifications consists of an irregular perimeter of medieval or Hospitaller curtain walls, which are stiffened by the following five bastions, all of which were built during the Hospitaller period:
 * D'Homedes Bastion, also known as St. Paul Bastion – a small bastion on the east end of the land front facing Rabat. It was built in the 1540s during the reign of Juan de Homedes y Coscon.
 * St. Peter Bastion, also known as Greeks Gate Bastion – a small bastion on the west end of the land front facing Rabat. It was built in the 1550s.
 * St. Mary Bastion, also known as Ta' Bachar Bastion – a small irregular bulwark grafted on the medieval enciente of Mdina. It predates the siege of 1565.
 * De Redin Bastion – a large pentagonal bastion on the centre of the land front facing Rabat. It was built during the reign of Martin de Redin.
 * Despuig Bastion – a large assymetrical bulwark grafted on the medieval enciente beneath the cathedral. It was built between 1739 and 1746 during the reign of Ramon Despuig.

There are two city gates, both on the land front facing Rabat:
 * Main Gate – a Baroque gate built in 1724 to a design by Charles François de Mondion. The walled up medieval gate which it replaced can still be seen to the right of the Main Gate.
 * Greeks Gate – a medieval gateway, covered by a Baroque portal designed by de Mondion. A secondary gateway (the Outer Greeks Gate) leads to the ditch in front of Greeks Gate.

The Torre dello Standardo, located just within the city walls near the Main Gate, also forms part of the city's fortifications since it was used as a signalling tower to communicate with the coastal watchtowers. It was built in the 18th century on the site of the medieval Turri Mastra, which also had the same function. Its architect was also de Mondion: it is similar to the coastal De Redin towers but of finer construction.

Gallery
Bastions