page_title: Fortifications of Valletta
section_title: Land front
hierarchical_section_title: Fortifications of Valletta / Layout / Land front
caption_attribution_description: English: St. Michael's Counterguard, Valletta, Malta. The flags on the counterguard are for the filming of the Assassin's Creed movie.
context_page_description: The fortifications of Valletta are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the capital city of Valletta, Malta. The first fortification to be built was Fort Saint Elmo in 1552, but the fortifications of the city proper began to be built in 1566 when it was founded by Grand Master Jean de Valette. Modifications were made throughout the following centuries, with the last major addition being Fort Lascaris which was completed in 1856. Most of the fortifications remain largely intact today.
  The city of Valletta, along with Nicosia in Cyprus, was considered to be a practical example of an ideal city of the Renaissance, and this was due to its fortifications as well as the urban life within the city. The fortifications were well known throughout Europe by the 17th century, and might have influenced the designs of part of the Fortress of Luxembourg. In an 1878 book, Valletta was described as "one of the best fortified [cities] in the world." Valletta's fortifications are the most important of the fortifications of Malta, and today they form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
context_section_description: The Valletta Land Front is the large bastioned enceinte enclosing the landward approach to the city. It consists of the following:
  St. Michael's Bastion, also known as Spencer's Bastion – a demi-bastion on the western extremity of the land front. Two windmills were built on it in 1674, but they were demolished in the 19th century. The bastion now forms part of Hastings Gardens.
  St. John's Curtain – the curtain wall linking St. Michael's and St. John's Bastions. It now forms part of Hastings Gardens.
  St. John's Bastion – a large obtuse-angled bastion with a reconstructed echaugette at its salient angle. It now forms part of Hastings Gardens.
  St. John's Cavalier – a pentagonal cavalier overlooking St. John's Bastion. It is now the embassy of the SMOM to Malta.
  Porta Reale Curtain, also known as St. James Curtain – the curtain wall linking St. John's and St. James Bastions. The city's main gate is located within the curtain wall. The gate was rebuilt five times, with the present one being constructed between 2011 and 2014 to a design by Renzo Piano.
  St. James Bastion – a large obtuse-angled bastion with an echaugette at its salient angle. Its thick parapets with embrasures have been dismantled. The bastion is occupied by the Central Bank of Malta and a car park.
  St. James Cavalier – a pentagonal cavalier overlooking St. James Bastion. It is now a cultural centre.
  Castile Curtain – the curtain wall linking St. James and St. Peter & Paul Bastions. Its parapet has been largely dismantled to make way for the road leading from Floriana to Valletta.
  St. Peter and St. Paul Bastion – a two-tiered corner bastion on the eastern extremity of the land front. The upper part is now the Upper Barrakka Gardens, while the lower part contains the Saluting Battery. The 19th-century Fort Lascaris is located below the bastion.
  The entire land front is surrounded by a deep ditch. Remains of a flanking battery within the ditch were unearthed in 2012.
  The bastions are further protected by the following outworks:
  St. Michael's Counterguard – a three-tiered counterguard built in 1640 near St. Michael's Bastion. Its lower tier contains an echaugette at its salient angle, and a small chapel dedicated to St. Roche. The chapel was destroyed in World War II, but was rebuilt in 2014.
  St. John's Counterguard – a pentagonal counterguard built in 1640 near St. John's Bastion. Its salient angle contains an echaugette, and it also contains a gunpowder magazine. It is currently used as a football ground.
  St. Madeleine's Lunette – a lunette that protected Porta Reale Curtain and the entrance to the city. It was dismantled in the 19th century, and its site is now occupied by the Triton Fountain.
  St. James Counterguard – a pentagonal counterguard built in 1640 near St. James Bastion. Its salient angle contains an echaugette, and it also contains a gunpowder magazine. Its central platform houses the Central Bank of Malta annex.
  St. Peter and St. Paul Counterguard – a two-tiered counterguard built in 1640 near St. Peter and St. Paul Bastion. Its salient angle contains an echaugette, and it also contains a gunpowder magazine and a concrete observation platform.
  The outworks were surrounded by an advanced ditch, but only a part of it remains since most of it was filled in with rubble.
caption: St. Michael's Counterguard and a place-of-arms on Valletta's covertway, as viewed from St. John's Curtain
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