Fort Saint Rocco

Fort Saint Rocco
Forti San Rokku
Kalkara, Malta
The fort as seen overhead from a drone, in 2026
Site information
TypePolygonal fort
Open to the public
No
ConditionIntact
Location
Coordinates35°53′32.97″N 14°32′16.07″E / 35.8924917°N 14.5377972°E / 35.8924917; 14.5377972
Area21,200 m2 (228,000 sq ft)
Site history
Built1872–1873 (first fort)
1900 (second fort)
Built byBritish Empire
In use1873–1950s
MaterialsLimestone and concrete
Battles/warsWorld War II

Fort Saint Rocco (Maltese: Forti Santu Rokku), also known as Fort Saint Roca on some maps, is a polygonal fort in Kalkara, Malta. It is located east of Rinella Battery and seaward of the village of Santu Rokku, and forms part of the complex of shore batteries built by the British to defend the coast east of the mouth of Grand Harbour between the 1870s and 1900s.

History

Military use

The construction of Fort Saint Rocco started in 1872 or 1873 by the British, as part of a programme of improvements to Malta's fortifications recommended in Colonel Jervois' Report of 1866.

The fort was built on the site of San Rocco Battery, an artillery battery built by Maltese insurgents during the blockade of 1798–1800.

Fort Saint Rocco was the first polygonal fort built by the British in Malta, and the second one built in Malta overall (the first was Fort Tigné built by the Order of Saint John). The first fort, built between 1872 and 1873, was very small given the importance of the site. It was initially armed with three RML 11 inch 25 ton guns, but these were soon replaced with RML 12.5 inch 38 ton guns.

Model of the Fort Saint Rocco as originally built in 1872–73 (prior to the rebuilding of 1900), displayed at the Fortifications Interpretation Centre

In 1888, the fort was inspected and was described as cramped, and some alterations were proposed. Eventually, the keep and most of the battery were demolished, and a much larger fort was built in its place in 1900. The new fort was armed with BL 9.2 inch guns.

On 17 May 1942, the fort fired at attacking Italian E-boats and destroyed one of them. The fort remained a functional military establishment until the 1950s.[citation needed]

Present day

The fort is located close to SmartCity Malta, a technology park. Care was taken not to damage the fort during the construction of the centre. The public is forbidden from entering the fort.[citation needed] Pierre Farrugia, an explorer of historic Maltese sites, said of the fort in 2022: "[It] sadly fell victim to vandal acts and was left to rot away too."

The fort as seen from outside, in 2026

In May 2015, several NGOs suggested that the campus of the proposed American University of Malta should be split up between Fort Saint Rocco and the nearby Fort Ricasoli and Fort San Salvatore. This proposal was not implemented, and the campus was built between Dock No. 1 in Bormla and Żonqor Point in Marsaskala.

In March 2024, the Planning Authority put forward a complex of sixty-nine villas, situated below the fort and nearby SmartCity, for approval. A plan to build fifty-one villas there had been approved fifteen years earlier. Taking up 24,000 square metres of land and spanning five to ten metres in height, a MaltaToday article judged the villas would "dominate coastal views when seen from Fort Ricasoli, Fort Rinella and Fort St Rocco". A promenade was also to be built by the coastline in front of the villas. Further, a space of 10,000 square metres around the fort was to remain landscaped. But since the amount of space consumed for the villas had increased since the 2009 approval, the Planning Board overturned the recommendation around May 2024.



References

  1. ↑ "The American University of Malta - Preliminary Alternative Sites Evaluation Report" (PDF). Office of the Prime Minister. August 2015. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Formosa, Christian. "Colonel Jervois Report of 1866". Malta Military. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Spiteri, Stephen C. (May 2008). "Maltese 'siege' batteries of the blockade 1798–1800". Arx – Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification (6). Fortress Explorer Society: 34–35.
  4. ↑ Spiteri, Stephen C. (May 2008). "Fort St Rocco – The first British flankless fort in Malta". Arx – Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification (6). Fortress Explorer Society: 55–57.
  5. ↑ "17 May 1942: Stealth E-Boat Attack Repulsed". Malta: War Diary. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2014.[permanent dead link]
  6. ↑ "Green measures in place for SmartCity site clearance". Times of Malta. 15 October 2007. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Vella, Luke (2 September 2022). "Urban explorer puts hidden Malta on the map". MaltaToday. Archived from the original on 4 October 2026. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Alternative Sites proposal for a new University Campus. National Independent Forum for Sustainability. 25 May 2015. p. 12. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Update 3 – 'American' University to occupy Dock 1 buildings and reduced Zonqor site". Times of Malta. 20 August 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Debono, James (7 March 2024). "Smart City to get 69 villas near Fort St Rocco". MaltaToday. Archived from the original on 4 October 2026. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Debono, James (23 May 2024). "PA set on refusing 69 new villas at Smart City". MaltaToday. Archived from the original on 4 October 2026. Retrieved 4 October 2026.