Fort St Angelo Fort St Angelo is a large fortification in Birgu , Malta , right at the centre of Grand Harbour . History . Medieval Times . The date of its original construction is unknown . However , there are claims of prehistoric or classical buildings near the site , due to some large ashlar blocks and an Egyptian pink granite column at the top part of the fort . There is also the mentioning in Roman texts of a temple dedicated to Juno / Astarte , probably in the vicinity of the fort . There is also the popular attribute to its foundation to the Arabs , 870 AD , but nothing is concrete although al - Himyarī mentions that the Arabs dismantled a ' ( fortress ) , but there is no actual reference if this ' fortress ' was in Vittoriosa . Its probable start as a fortification is the high / late medieval period . In fact , in 1220 Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II started to appoint his own Castellani for Malta who needed a place to live and secure the interests of the crown . The remains of a tower that may date back to the 12th century can be traced a mong the more recent works . The first mention of ' ( ) is to be found in documents from the 1240s when Paulinus of Malta was the lord of the island and later when Giliberto Abate made a census of the islands . Another reference to the castle is that from the short Angevin rule ( 1266 – 83 ) where documents list it again as " " and list a garrison of 150 men together with several weapons . It seems also that by 1274 , the castle already had two chapels which are still there today . From the same year exists also a detailed inventory of weapons and supplies in the castle . From 1283 the Maltese islands were under Aragonese rule ( although the castle withstood for some time in Angevin rule while the rest of Malta was already in Aragonese hands ) and the fortification was mainly used by Castellani ( like the de Nava family ) who were there to safeguard the interests of the Aragonese crown . In fact the Castellans did not have any jurisdiction outside the ditch of the fort . Knights ' Period . When the Knights of Malta arrived in Malta in 1530 , they chose to settle in Birgu , and Fort St Angelo became the seat of the Grand Master , which included the refurbishing of the Castellan ' s House and St . Anne ' s Chapel . The Knights made this their primary fortification and substantially reinforced and remodelled it , including the cutting of the dry ditch to make it a moat and the D ' Homedes Bastion built by 1536 . By 1547 , a large cavalier designed by Ferramolino was built behind the D ' Homedes bastion and also the construction of the De Guirial battery right at the tip of the fort by sea level to protect the entrance to Dockyard Creek . These works transformed the fort into a gunpowder fortification . Fort St Angelo withstood the Turks during the Great Siege of Malta , during which it succeeded in tearing apart a sea attack by the Turks on Senglea on 15 August 1565 . In the aftermath of that siege , the Knights built the fortified city of Valletta on Mount Sciberras on the other side of the Grand Harbour , and the administrative centre for the knights moved there . It was not until the 1690s that the fort again underwent major repairs . Today ' s layout of the fort is attributed to these works which were designed by Carlos de Grunenburgh , who also paid for the construction of four gun batteries on the side of the fort facing the entrance to Grand Harbour . As a result , one can still see his coat of arms above the main gate of the fort . By the arrival of the French in 1798 , therefore , the fort became a very powerful fortification including some 80 guns , 48 of which pointed towards the entrance of the port . During the short two - year period of French occupation , the Fort served as headquarters of the French Army . The British Period . With the coming of the British to Malta the fort retained its importance as a military installation , first in use by the Army . In fact , in 1800 , two battalions of the 35th Regiment were resident in the fort . However , at the start of the 20th century , the fort was taken over by the Navy and it was listed as a ship , originally in 1912 as HMS " Egremont " , when it became a base for the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean , but in 1933 renamed as HMS " St Angelo " . The British did not make many modifications to the fort , although they built a casemated battery for three nine - inch RML guns in the 19th century and also a cinema and a water distillation plant in the early 20th century . During World War II , the fort again stood for siege with an armament of 3 Bofors guns ( manned by the Royal Marines and later by the Royal Malta Artillery ) . In total , the fort suffered 69 direct hits between 1940 and 1943 . When the Royal Navy left Malta in 1979 the Fort was handed to the Maltese government and since then parts of the Fort have fallen into a state of disrepair , mostly after a project to transform it into a hotel during the 1980s . Present and future . Use of the upper part of the fort , including the Grand Master ' s House and the Chapel of St Anne has been granted to the Order of Malta . Other parts are leased to the Cottonera Waterfront Group , a private consortium . On 5 March 2012 , the government of Malta announced that the European Regional Development Fund is to allocate €13 . 4 million for the restoration of the fort . The restoration is being managed by Heritage Malta . Access to the site . Presently the fort is closed to the public due to upcoming restoration works . On 5 March 2012 , it was confirmed that the European Regional Development Fund allocated €13 . 4 million for the restoration , conservation and re - use of the site , which will see the Fort opened as a major visitor attraction in Malta highlighting its history and roles through the ages as well as to cater for educational programs , cultural events and live historical experiences .