Saluting battery to be put back at Upper Barrakka

A saluting battery will be reinstalled at the Upper Barrakka Gardens next year, providing an added attraction for both locals and tourists.

The Malta Tourism Authority yesterday launched the reconstruction project, which will have the assistance of Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna.

Every Saturday at noon, as well as on other special occasions, three original cannons of the Blomefield cast-iron type will be fired in a re-enactment involving a three-man gun crew.

Up to 50 years ago the lower part of the Upper Barrakka served as a saluting battery. Cannon shots were fired to salute the entry of certain ships or to commemorate an important event.

But the history of the battery remains obscure. It is not clear whether it existed at the time of the Order of St John. The earliest mention in official documents appeared in a British ordnance report of 1803, the MTA said.

The location's use as a saluting battery continued until the Second World War. However, due to the extensive damage caused to the Upper Barrakka Gardens during the war, saluting duties were transferred to the Abercrombie curtain at Fort St Elmo.