Three talks on varying aspects of Malta’s military history are being held during the Notre Dame Gate Book Fair being organised by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna between today and Sunday at Bieb is-Sultan, Vittoriosa.

Tomorrow at 6.30pm George Cini will speak about Strait Street’s contribution to the war effort; why was it business as usual in its bars and music halls; and what became of the foreign artistes who performed in the music halls along this famous street in Valletta.

On Saturday at 10.30am Stephen Spiteri will give a talk entitled ‘Baroque monumentality and the defence ofthe Grand Harbour: Grand Master Cotoner’s fortifications’.

The Grand Master, anxious to place the Order’s defences in a state of readiness to withstand a perceived renewed Ottoman threat, embarked on what would prove to be one of the largest programmes of fortification ever to materialise in the Maltese Islands under the rule of the Knights of St John.

The architect behind the design of this ambitious defensive scheme wasthe Italian military engineer Antonio Maurizio Valperga.

Ian Ellis will illustrate his talk with images from his great-grandfather’s collection.

His masterplan envisaged an extensive apron of fortifications designed to protect Valletta and its two harbours from direct bombardment.

The  lecture looks at Valperga’s defensive scheme, its limitations and the development of its various fortified elements throughout the course of the late 17th and 18th centuries.

On Sunday at 10.30am, Ian Ellis, whose great-grandfather Richard Ellis was one of Malta’s leading photographic pioneers, will deliver a talk entitled ‘Military and civilian life in late 19th century Malta and beyond – a photographic record’. The talk will use early images from the Richard Ellis Photographic Archive to illustrate aspects of military life in Malta in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The archive, dating back to 1870 and featuring some 36,000 mostly glass plate negatives, is in the process of being digitised and catalogued.

Admission to the talks is free but booking is advisable to secure a seat by calling 2180 0992 or e-mailing gabriel@wirtartna.org.

The Notre Dame Gate Book Fair is being held at Notre Dame Gate, St Edward’s Street, Vittoriosa. The fair’s opening times are 2 to 8pm today and on Friday, and 9am to 8pm on Saturday and Sunday. The gate is the headquarters of Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, which promotes the preservation and conservation of British military and naval heritage on the island.

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Grand Master Nicholas Cotoner engaged Italian military engineer Antonio Maurizio Valperga to design an extensive apron of fortifications to protect Valletta and its two harbours.