The Castrum Maris (Castle by the Sea), as Fort St Angelo was known in the Middle Ages, is once again in the vanguard of Malta’s checkered history as it welcomes the representatives of over 2.3 billion people from all parts of the world for the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The prestige of the gathering will be massively enhanced by royal patronage with the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, for whom the visit will surely be a trip down memory lane, accompanied by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

The meeting’s theme, ‘CHOGM – Adding Global Value’, gives a global dimension to our shared values in a historic location situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, also known as the Sea of Destiny, whose waters touch three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa.

Standing magnificently in the middle of one of the best deep water harbours in the Medi­terranean, the Castrum Maris was for centuries the strongest fortification in the Maltese archipelago. Its impregnable bastions provided protection to Punic, Roman, Byzantine and medieval galleys that berthed in the sheltered waters of Porto delle Galere (Galley Creek).

The origins of Fort St Angelo are shrouded in the mists of history; however, Quintinus, secretary of Malta’s first Grand Master Philippe de L’Isle Adam (1530- 1534), refers to the Temple of Juno at the tip of the peninsula. The fort may have been founded by the Byzantines in the early ninth century to protect the island from the Saracen marauders.

Fort St Angelo was definitely an Arab stronghold when at the turn of the first millennium the Muslim powers dominated the central Mediterranean basin. By 1204 the territorial picture in the western Mediterranean had changed dramatically as Spain had been almost totally re-conquered it, with Aragon and Castille emerging as maritime powers rivalling the might of the French Anjevin fleet.

The historic naval battle of 1283, when the Aragonese and Anjevin fleets locked horns in the Grand Harbour fairway opposite Fort St Angelo, is recorded as one of the most famous naval battles of the time, with Aragonese admiral Roger de Lauria emerging victorious.

In the Middle Ages the safe inlets flanking Fort St Angelo, namely Porto Delle Galere (Dockyard Creek) and Porto degli Ebrei (Kalkara Creek) offered protection to sailors and merchants from Venice, Pisa, Genoa and Catalunya who contributed substantially to the economy and to the ethnic mix of the suburb of St Angelo, Birgu (il borgo del castello, today Vittoriosa). At that time the history of our island was intimately linked with the fluctuating fortunes of the Castrum Maris whose keeper, known as the castellan, enjoyed great prestige and pre-eminence, rivaling the powers of the Hakem, head of the Università, the municipal council ensconced in the inland city of Mdina.

As you wander along its beguiling ramparts, layers of different cultures unfold, stretching from the pre-Roman period to the Arab domination, from the rich medieval past down to the prestigious knights’ sovereign governance and the glorious British period

Over the years the cosmopolitan appearance, customs and traditions of the European families residing in the castle and Birgu contrasted sharply with the environment of the rest of the island, which was, with the exception of Mdina, more North African than European.

In the perception of many people Fort St Angelo is just the massive impregnable citadel that defiantly withstood the might of the Ottoman Empire in the Great Seige of 1565 and the savage attacks of World War II. But Fort St Angelo is much more.

Marian art, so pervasive in Malta, is first securely recorded in a document dated 1271 relating to a church of Santa Maria in the castrum interius of the Castrum Maris. The Archivio di Stato in Naples holds a public deed drawn up on June 1, 1274, during Malta’s short Anjevin period in which a full inventory of the contents of the fort is given.

The liturgical items listed in the church also indicate that the process of the Latin liturgy was already firmly established in the castle, at a time when Greek Christianity was more prevalent in the island. In fact, the hundreds of wayside chapels as well as parish churches of that period were dedicated to Byzantine saints, with Birgu being the exception by opting for an early Christian martyr from Aragon, St Lawrence.

Art historians suggest that St Anne’s church at the top level of the castle was one of the key buildings in the evolution of ecclesiastical architecture in Malta. The church, the burial place of L’Isle Adam, and the imposing castellan’s house nearby, are two important landmarks in the proliferation of Gothic quadripartite vaulting which was later introduced at the ancient Ta’ Giesu church in Rabat. Secular architecture of the period is also represented in the castellan’s house by an exquisite medieval two-light window in the Chiarmonte style, signaling the close Sicilian connection.

In front of the notorious oubliette, the damp underground cell carved out of the soft rocks, reserved for hardened criminals and made famous by its unique graffiti, stands the ancient rock-cut church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Two medieval paintings of great his­torical and artistic importance once adorned this church – an Italo-Byzantine icon of The Virgin Suckling the Child first recorded in the Dominican convent of Vittoriosa in 1538, and another icon dated 1462 of Madonna del Soccorso, later venerated in the parish of St Lawrence. Both paintings were unfortunately lost in the cruel German blitz of 1941.

Throughout history, Fort St Angelo has seen monarchs, kings and viceroys, feudal lords like the notorious Gonsalvo Monroy, famous painters like Michelangelo da Caravaggio, medieval troubadours like Pietre Vidal, renowned military engineers like Bartolomeo Genga, poets, scholars, the valiant Grand Master Jean de Valette and other celebrities and famous admirals that sailed the Mediterranean Sea. Next weekend the fort will once again reaffirm its role in world history as it welcomes many heads of State.

Fort St Angelo, known as the brightest jewel in Malta’s rich military heritage, is saturated with history; and as you wander along its beguiling ramparts, layers of different cultures unfold, stretching from the pre-Roman period to the Arab domination, from the rich medieval past down to the prestigious knights’ sovereign governance and the glorious British period when Fort St Angelo was the headquarters of the British Mediterranean fleet at a time when “Britannia ruled the waves”.

In recent years the white ensign that proudly fluttered at the top of this citadel has now been replaced by the flag of Religion, the emblem of the Knights of St John, who in St Angelo saw their finest hour in 1565.

Fort St Angelo is more than a mighty fortress standing proudly in the centre of the harbour, it encapsulates the history of our island home. Its magnificent restoration and breathtaking views will surely enhance the proceedings of the CHOGM’s deliberations

Certain locations of the fort are special and sacred due to their close association with historical episodes. From the superb vantage point at the top level of the castle one can walk to the old historical balcony overlooking the fairway from where de Valette witnessed in horror the macabre sight of headless knights and Maltese heroes lashed to crude wooden crosses floating on the calm blue water, after the fall of Fort St Elmo on June 23, 1565.

If these battlements could speak, which historical event would they relate? Would they tell us about de Valette’s savage reaction when innocent Turkish slaves were beheaded and their heads used as cannon balls in response to the enemy’s savage carnage?

Would they reveal the dark secrets of the infamous oubliette, where hardened criminals languished in a dark wet hole for years?

Would they tell us how the great Caravaggio managed to escape from the dark dungeons and slip stealthily to nearby Sicily?

Or would they once again reverberate to the medieval troubadour Vidal’s chant, who in the 13th century visited Fort St Angelo to sing the praises of the overlord from Genoa, Enrico Pescatore, and the beauty of the Grand Harbour?

If these historic battlements could speak, would they tell us about the Order’s galleys that sailed out of the Grand Harbour in 1571 for the Battle of Lepanto to deal a massive blow to the Ottoman fleet?

Would they remind us of the ill-fated Allied naval force that sailed to Gallipoli a century ago when Malta earned the title of ‘Nurse of the Mediterranean’?

Rummaging around in recent memory I can still visualise the savage dive-bombing attack on HMS Illustrious on January 16, 1941, which caused the death of 33 civilians in Fort St Angelo’s suburb.

I was there on the Vittoriosa bastions behind the fort shouting wildly and cheering as the iconic tanker Ohio, a symbol of courage and defiance, was limping bravely into Grand Harbour on that fateful day of August 15, 1942.

I was also there 37 years later when HMS London sailed out of Grand Harbour for the last time amid tears and cheers that brought to an end Malta’s long military connection with the United Kingdom. However, the British legacy in Malta survives not only in having the English language as one of our official languages but also in its strong affiliation and affection with the Commonwealth.

To us Maltese, Fort St Angelo is more than a mighty fortress standing proudly in the centre of the harbour, it is a state of mind that encapsulates the history of our island home. Its magnificent restoration and breathtaking views will surely enhance the proceedings of the CHOGM’s deliberations, making this historic fortress a centre of excellence to fully discover the potential of the Commonwealth, in an atmosphere of hospitality that has characterised our nation from time immemorial.

Lino Bugeja is Commonwealth scholar 1960-61.