Fort Ricasoli

 fortification, movie / film / TV location

Ricasoli Fortification (Kalkara).

For many years the peninsula that covers the entrance to the Grand Harbour, vital for it's protection, lay unguarded except for a tower constructed in 1629 intended to keep people in rather than out. Its purpose was to prevent galley slaves from escaping. Fort Ricasoli, begun in 1670, was the last fort built by the Knights for the protection of the Grand Harbour. It was constructed to secure the promontory known as Gallows Point, a site that commanded the entrance of the Harbour. Fort Ricasoli was designed by Antonio Maurizio Valperga and named after the knight Fra Giovanni Francesco Ricasoli who financed a large part of the project.

Built in 1670 by the architect Valperga, Fort Ricasoli was much criticised. Some said it was too small and cramped, once engineer saying that it was really no more than a crownwork, a fortification normally added to strengthen a major work. A few additions have been made to the fort until 1715, but from that time on, much of the work was renovation and repairs, mostly prompted by a Turkish threat in 1722.

However, once finished, the vital importance of Fort Ricasoli was realised and the British armed it strongly. The fort had to fulfil two major tasks. Its guns had to cover the approaches and the entrance to the Grand Harbour, and it had also to be capable of withstanding a direct assault upon its land front.

Over the years, like with all the fortifications in Malta, various modifications and upgrades to its defence equipment and methods were constructed. Weaponry was also updated.

By 1906 Fort Ricasoli had four 6-inch BL guns, although it was recommended in that year that one be removed, and replaced by four 12-pr. QF guns. All these we primarily intended to prevent an enemy running in ships to smash the harbour boom or block the entrance at its narrowest point. To fight the guns at night a searchlight was installed in May 1889, with others at Fort St Elmo and fort Tigne, and, by 1906 additional fighting lights had been added.

The inner buildings were all destroyed in WWII and the open space inside was used in 1999 as a backlot for the construction of the sets representing ancient Rome in the film GLADIATOR.

In the spring of 2003, there were shooting of the film "Troy"(2004).