Fort St Angelo succumbing to modern-day ravages

Although a gate has been installed at the entrance to fort St Angelo, in Vittoriosa, barring entry to visitors on foot and stopping cars from being driven into the fort during the weekend, fireworks were let off from there, probably scaring the wits out of the knight resident at the upper part of St Angelo.

That is unless the resident knight is aware of these high decibel antics and flees the island at this time of the year.

The upper part of St Angelo was passed on to the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta who spent over Lm1 million to revamp their section of the historic building.

The fireworks were let off in so-called homage to the child Madonna, popularly known as Il-Bambina, whose feast was celebrated at Senglea at the weekend.

Entrance to the historic fort has been restricted for the past several weeks by the Cottonera Rehabilitation Project.

CRP executive officer Ray Bondin explained when contacted it was high time that the fort was closed in order to curtail the rabid vandalism that takes place there. There are individuals who are occupying parts of the building without legal title, he claimed.

The CRP has filed an application at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to remove a number of trees that are seriously damaging the stone structure and for the removal of a number of structures and a plan to floodlight the fort, Dr Bondin added.

"We are definitely against the letting off of fireworks from St Angelo. But since the organisers of the feast of St Dominic in Vittoriosa were allowed to let off fireworks from Fort St Angelo, the organisers of Il-Bambina feast had obtained a permit to let off fireworks before this security measure was in place.

"But this will be the last time that fireworks will be let off from St Angelo," Dr Bondin stressed.

When it was pointed out to Dr Bondin that a number of tourists had come by bus all the way from Ghadira to visit St Angelo but were stopped at the gate, he said the CRP had written to the Malta Tourism Authority to lay on a mini-bus service from Vittoriosa with specific visiting times for St Angelo. However, the CRP was still waiting for a reply.

"No one ever told us that the fort was closed to visitors and there is no signage along the way to inform visitors not to bother," an irate British couple said.

Lorenzo Zahra, historian, said it was a great shame that the fort had been allowed to fall into such a pitiful state with vandals literally taking the place apart.

He noted that when the British forces passed on the fortifications to the Maltese government they made it a point to pass them on "in good and working condition".

Pointing with a heavy heart to the terrible state that the distillation plant laid by the British forces at St Angelo in the mid-19th century had been reduced, Mr Zahra felt that although much lip service is paid to the tourism industry, much of the country's historical and cultural heritage was being allowed to fall into ruin.

"Where else in the world would you find such a historical jewel left to decay into such an abysmal state," Mr Zahra asked.

The British forces had extended the underground network under St Angelo, started by the knights of St John, and even this part has not been spared by vandals, he said.

Lino Bugeja, historian and editor of an interactive CD Rom on Vittoriosa, pointed out that during the weekend he had a spat with the gate keeper at St Angelo because while many people went to the fort on foot to attend Mass on the occasion of September 8, unauthorised cars were being allowed in with impunity.

On Monday, the fort was open to the public.

Mr Bugeja noted that it was a good thing that entry to the fort would be controlled but tourists expected to visit. Guided tours should be part of the package for visitors to St Angelo.