Balbani Battery
| Balbani Battery | |
|---|---|
Batterija ta' Balbani | |
| Birżebbuġa, Malta | |
| Type | Artillery battery |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1715–1716 |
| Built by | Order of Saint John |
| Materials | Limestone |
| Fate | Demolished |
Balbani Battery (Template:Lang-mt), also known as Bengħisa Battery (Template:Lang-mt) or Saint Catherine's Battery (Template:Lang-mt),[1] was an artillery battery in Birżebbuġa, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1715–1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the Maltese Islands.[2]
Balbani Battery was part of a chain of fortifications that defended Marsaxlokk Bay, which also included six other batteries, the large Saint Lucian Tower, two smaller De Redin towers, four redoubts and three entrenchments.[3] The nearest fortifications to Balbani Battery were Bengħisa Tower to the south and Fresnoy Redoubt to the west. Construction of the battery cost 1855 scudi.[4] It had a pentagonal platform with a blockhouse at the rear, which was also defended by a redan.
The battery was demolished, and its site is now occupied by part of the Malta Freeport.[5]
References
- ^ Farrugia Randon, Stanley (2015). Heritage Saved – Din l-Art Ħelwa – 1965–2015. Luqa: Miller Distributors Ltd. p. 119. ISBN 9789995752132.
- ^ de Boisgelin, Louis (1805). Ancient and Modern Malta: Containing a Full and Accurate Account of the Present State of the Islands of Malta and Goza, the History of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, Also a Narrative of the Events which Attended the Capture of These Islands by the French, and Their Conquest by the English: and an Appendix, Containing Authentic State Papers and Other Documents - Volume II. London: Richard Phillips. p. 189.
- ^ "Vendôme Tower" (PDF). Mare Nostrum. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ Spiteri, Stephen C. (18 October 2010). "St. Thomas Tower and Battery". MilitaryArchitecture.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "About Birzebbuga". birzebbuga.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
