Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna is holding a three-day historical re-enactment festival at Fort Rinella in Kalkara this weekend to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of this historic fort to the public.
The event will consist from a number of historical re-enactments involving horseback troops assisted by the infantry and the artillery. Together they will recreate different aspects of late 19th century battlefield skills and warfare.
This will include infantry fighting formations, cavalry charges and skill at arms, period sports competitions and a simulation of a battle charge. On each occasion the show will end with a display of horseback stunts and horse trick-riding by one of Britain's top horse stunt teams.
Three UK-based historical re-enactment teams will be taking part in the festival. These include the celebrated 17th Lancers of the 'Charge of the Light Brigade' fame; the 1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment - the 'Die Hards' and Mark Atkinson's Action Horses veterans of several action movies and experts in period horse re-enactment and interpretation.
The main re-enactment displays will start at 2 pm and will last till about 4 pm on each occasion. The festival will end on Sunday with the firing of the Armstrong 100-ton gun at 4 pm.
The Fort Rinella festival is being sponsored by the Parliamentary Secretariat for Consumers, Fair Competition Local Councils and Public Dialogue , Air Malta, the Malta Tourism Authority and Island Hotels
Fort Rinella was built by the Royal Engineers between 1878 and 1886 as part of a set of four near identical coastal batteries in the Mediterranean. Two were built on either side of the Grand Harbour in Malta and another two on either side of the naval anchorage in Gibraltar.
All batteries were built to house a singular Armstrong 100-ton gun which went down in history as being the world's largest muzzle-loading gun ever to be built. It was also the first one to be powered by mechanical means which enabled it to fire a one-ton shell using a quarter of a ton of gun powder up to a distance of 8 miles. In doing so it could penetrate up to 21 inches of wrought iron armour which was considered as unprecedented in its day.
The 100-ton gun was original built by Sir William George Armstrong of Newcastle in 1872 for the nascent Italian navy who had ordered eight examples to arm a new breed of ironclad battleship which was the be the most powerful and technically advanced in the world. On hearing about this development, Great Britain rushed in obtaining the same type of armament to secure the then strategic navigational route to India through the Mediterranean. This was done by upgrading the coastal armament of Malta and Gibraltar to include the monstrous 100-ton gun.
Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna has been responsible for the restoration of this historic fort since the late 1980s but it was only in 1991 that it was formally entrusted to it by government for restoration and management. Much work and effort has gone into its restoration through the dedication of generations of volunteers. It is now open from Tuesday to Sunday and has become a very popular attraction in the South-east of the island. Since its first opening an estimated 200,000 visitors have visited this site.
The fort is currently undergoing a major re-fit involving the restoration of its nine barrack rooms which are being converted into a walk-through exhibition dedicated to the subject of army life in 19th century Malta. A new museum display about the history of the fort is also in the offing along with the restoration of the entire living quarters area and one of the underground loading chambers and the shell and cartridge stores.
Throughout the days of the festival, Fort Rinella will remain open to the public between 10am and 5pm with guided tours and film shows about the history of the place taking place roughly every hour except during the time of the main display. The entrance fees are €5 per adult and €2 per child up to 16 years of age.
Further details can be obtained from FWA's website www.wirtartna.org.