page_title: Floriana Lines
section_title: Recent history
hierarchical_section_title: Floriana Lines / History / Recent history
caption_attribution_description: Malta with gondolas on water. 1896. Name of Expedition: Africa Expedition Participants: D.G. Elliot and Carl Akeley Expedition Date: 1896 Purpose or Aims: Zoology Mammals Location: Europe, Malta Original material: Hand-colored glass lantern slide Digital Identifier: CSZ5984_LS Learn more about The Field Museum's Library Photo Archives.
context_page_description: The Floriana Lines are a line of fortifications in Floriana, Malta, which surround the fortifications of Valletta and form the capital city's outer defences. Construction of the lines began in 1636 and they were named after the military engineer who designed them, Pietro Paolo Floriani. The Floriana Lines were modified throughout the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, and they saw use during the French blockade of 1798–1800. Today, the fortifications are still largely intact but rather dilapidated and in need of restoration.
  The Floriana Lines are considered to be among the most complicated and elaborate of the Hospitaller fortifications of Malta. Since 1998, they have been on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as part of the Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta.
context_section_description: The fortifications were included on the Antiquities List of 1925, and they are now also listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
  In the 1970s, parts of the covertway and glacis were destroyed to make way for large storage tanks. Today, the lines are still more or less intact, but some parts are in a rather dilapidated state and in need of restoration.
caption: Section of the fortifications which was demolished and is now occupied by the Grand Hotel Excelsior
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