Fort Saint Elmo

Fort Saint Elmo is a star fort on the seaward tip of the Sciberras Peninsula in Valletta, Malta, commanding the entrances to both Marsamxett Harbour and the Grand Harbour. The Order of Saint John built it between 1552 and the 1570s on the site of an earlier watchtower raised in 1488 and dedicated to Erasmus of Formia, known as Saint Elmo. Its original star shaped plan comprised two demi-bastions, two flanks and two faces around a parade ground, barracks and a large cavalier, all built of limestone, and the later Carafa Enceinte, begun in 1687, added further bastions and curtain walls around the earlier work. The fort is best remembered for its stand in the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, when its garrison held out under Ottoman bombardment for 28 days before it fell. Restored after being placed on the World Monuments Fund's endangered list in 2008, with major work completed in 2015, it is now managed by Heritage Malta and the Police Academy, houses the National War Museum, and hosts military reenactments for visitors.