page_title: Fortifications of Mdina
section_title: Hospitaller walls
hierarchical_section_title: Fortifications of Mdina / Hospitaller walls
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the fortifications of Mdina, Malta as they were in 1565.
context_page_description: The fortifications of Mdina are a series of defensive walls which surround the former capital city of Mdina, Malta. The city was founded as Maleth by the Phoenicians in around the 8th century BC, and it later became part of the Roman Empire under the name Melite. The ancient city was surrounded by walls, but very few remains of these have survived.
  The city walls were rebuilt a number of times, including by the Byzantine Empire in around the 8th century AD, the Arabs in around the 11th century, and the Kingdom of Sicily in the medieval period until the 15th century. Most of the extant fortifications were built by the Order of Saint John between the 16th and 18th centuries.
  The city has withstood a number of sieges, and it was defeated twice – first by the Aghlabids in 870 and then by Maltese rebels in 1798. Today, the city walls are still intact except for some outworks, and they are among the best preserved fortifications in Malta. Mdina has been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998.
context_section_description: When the Order of Saint John took over in Malta in 1530, the nobles ceremoniously handed over the keys of the city to Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam. The Order settled in Birgu and Mdina lost its status as capital city, but L'Isle-Adam built a palace on the remaining part of the Castellu di la Chitati, which became the meeting place of the civil administrative council known as the Università.
  The first major upgrade of Mdina's fortifications occurred in the 1540s, during the magistracy of Juan de Homedes y Coscon. Two new bastions were built at the extremities of the land front, possibly to designs of the military engineer Antonio Ferramolino. Parts of the eastern walls were also rebuilt en crémaillère, the only instance this style is found in Malta. The 15th-century barbican in front of the main gate was demolished in 1551 since it obstructed the line of fire of the newly built bastions. That year, the city withstood a brief Ottoman attack.
  Mdina was not attacked directly during the Great Siege of Malta, but it nonetheless played a crucial role in the siege. Ottoman general Mustafa Pasha wanted to take over the poorly defended city first, but was overruled by Piali Pasha who wanted to attack Fort Saint Elmo. The fort was taken over after a month of heavy fighting, but the Ottomans had lost crucial time in doing so. On 7 August 1565, the Order's cavalry in Mdina attacked the unprotected Ottoman field hospital, which led in the invaders abandoning a major assault on the main fortifications in Birgu and Senglea. The Ottomans tried to take over the city in September so as to winter there, but abandoned their plans when Mdina fired its cannon, leading them to believe that the city had ammunition to spare.
  After the siege, Maltese military engineer Girolamo Cassar drew up plans to reduce Mdina's size by half and turning it into a fortress, but these were never implemented due to protests by the city's nobles. The city's main gate was reconstructed in the early 17th century, but the next major alterations were not made until the 1650s, when the large De Redin Bastion was built at the centre of the land front. Despite these modifications, by 1658 there were also proposals to abandon or demolish the entire fortress due to its state of disrepair, although these plans were opposed by the locals. In the late 17th century, some of Mdina's medieval double walls began to be encased in sloping ramparts.
  A major restoration of Mdina's fortifications was undertaken in the 1720s by the French military engineer Charles François de Mondion, during the magistracy of António Manoel de Vilhena. L'Isle-Adam's palace, including the remaining parts of the Castellu di la Chitati, were demolished to make way for Palazzo Vilhena, while the main gate was walled up and a new city gate was built in the Baroque style. A Baroque portal was also added to the Greeks Gate. The remaining medieval towers in the land front were demolished and the Torre dello Standardo was built on the site of the Turri Mastra, while the entire western walls of the city were demolished to make way for a single casemated curtain wall known as Magazine Curtain. D'Homedes Bastion was modified with the addition of a bastionette, while traverse-like batteries were built at the extremities of the land front. The city was further protected with the construction of outworks, including a covertway, two places-of-arms and a glacis.
  Mondion also made further plans to strengthen Mdina's fortifications, but they were not implemented since the Order focused on building its fortifications in the harbour area. The only major addition to the Mdina fortifications after Mondion's reconstruction was Despuig Bastion, which was built during the reign of Ramon Despuig between 1739 and 1746.
  On 10 June 1798, Mdina was captured by French forces without much resistance during the French invasion of Malta. A French garrison remained in the city, but a Maltese uprising broke out on 2 September of that year. The following day, rebels entered the city through a sally port in Despuig Bastion a
caption: Map of Mdina's fortifications as they were during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565
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