Fort Delimara Fort Delimara is a fortification in Marsaxlokk , Malta . History . The fort was built between 1876 and 1888 by the British . The main gate carries a date of 1881 , but this is the date of completion of the gatehouse , not the commissioning of the fort . Fort Delimara was a one of a ring of forts and batteries that protected Marsaxlokk harbour , along with Fort Tas - Silg at the shoreward end of Delimara point , Fort St Lucian on " Kbira point " in the middle of Marsaxlokk bay , Fort Benghisa on " Benghisa Point " , and the Pinto and Ferreti batteries on the shores of Marsaxlokk Bay . In 1956 the fort was stripped of the majority of its artillery . Soon after , the fort was abandoned for a considerable period , and in 1975 it was leased by the Malta Government to a local farmer , who used it to raise pigs for fifteen years . After protracted negotiations , ownership of Fort Delimara was transferred to Heritage Malta on August 11 , 2005 . Despite the pigs and a considerable amount of modern debris , the fort remains in decent condition , and still retains four of its original complement of fourteen Victorian 12 . 5 - inch 38 ton rifled muzzle - loading guns . Heritage Malta intends to restore the site to its former condition , and open it to the public as a museum and tourist site . Details of the fort . Fort Delimara is mostly underground , with the fort ' s main armament mounted in casemates set in the cliffs on the shoreward face of Delimara Point . At the surface it is a polygonal fort , rectangular in outline , with rock cut ditches on three sides , and the gently curving vertical cliff forming the convex fourth side . Ventilation apertures and access passageways are spread out across the face of the cliff , and even out onto the seaward face of Point Delimara . Gatehouse . The ditches are edged with revetting , with the upper scarp faced in earth and rubble . A stone parapet with rifle loops runs along the top of the north scarp . A square building above the gate may be a later addition from the early twentieth century , when the fort was used as a military base long after its surface fortifications were obsolete . A World War II vintage pillbox has been erected inside the Victorian fortification , and shows above the fort ' s profile when viewed from the sea . The gatehouse faces toward the landward end of Delimara Point , reached by a tarmac road that runs outside the north ditch . The gatehouse is close to the seaward end of the north ditch . Counterscarp battery . A counterscarp battery at the north end of the east ditch commands the north ditch and the gatehouse . Presumably there is a counterscarp battery at the south end of the east ditch covering the south ditch , since there are no caponniers visible in the ditch . East and south ditches . The glacis in front of the gatehouse has probably been reduced at some time to make road access easier , and the rolling bridge that would originally have crossed the ditch has been replaced by a permanent bridge . The road to Delimara Lighthouse along the east ditch of the fort disrupts the glacis on this face as well . The glacis is more intact along the south ditch , giving a better impression of how the fort would have looked when originally built . Seaward face and gun emplacements . The seaward face of the fort is dominated by the massive stone and concrete casemates that originally sheltered the fort ' s 12 . 5 inch rifled muzzle loading guns . The casemates are grouped in pairs close to the cliff top , capped by an earth and rubble slope , and follow the natural curve of the cliff face , giving them a combined field of fire that covers the majority of Marsaxlokk harbour . Present condition . Externally the fort is in fair condition . Like all the polygonal forts in Malta , the limestone faces of the scarp and counterscarp have eroded substantially since they were originally cut , in places to a depth of as much as a metre . In some cases this erosion has reached the point that the revetting collapses into the ditch . Where the road to Delimara Lighthouse runs along the east ditch of the fort , directly above the counterscarp face of the ditch a section of perhaps ten metres the counterscarp has collapsed into the ditch , and threatens the stability of the road . The resulting rubble fall can be seen in the image of the east ditch . The ditch is also considerably overgrown , and polluted with general rubbish , unfortunately true of all the Victorian forts in Malta . There is currently no public access to the interior of the fort . See also . http : / / delimara - preservation - society . malta - site . com