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The Fougasse

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Fougasse near Madliena Tower One of the most interesting means of coastal defence created by the knights around the potential landing spots of the Maltese Islands was the fougasse, a rock-hewn mortar which was designed to fire a large number of different sized stones onto approaching enemy ships. Although it is not a Maltese invention, the local version was a unique adaptation of the fougasse, both in its method of construction as well as its unorthodox application as a means of coastal defence . In the first decades of the 1700s, when the Order was strongly influenced by French engineers, a coastal defence scheme started to be implemented which included, the fougasse. In 1715 the council ordered 60 stone mortars to be cut at vulnerable points around the coasts of the island. no action appears to have been taken until 1741, under the direction of Marandon, that these weapons started being formed. Marandon fired his first experimental foggazza a selci on 28 September 1740. Dr. Stephen S...
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Floriana Heritage Trail

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Borgo Vilhena as Floriana was originally known is many times considered a suburb of Valletta. Possibly owing to this it is significantly under appreciated and many times seen as little more than a thoroughfare through which one travels to get to one's ultimate destination. Nevertheless, Floriana is a gem in its own right as hopefully this trail will show.  Floriana's name came from that of Pietro Paola Floriani, an Italian military engineer who was commissioned to design the Floriana Lines after in 1632, Grand Master Antoine de Paule received credible information that the Ottomans were preparing themselves for another attack on Malta. Floriani's design resulted in a massive system of multi tiered fortifications which are still largely visible, if not completely accessible. Although there were many objections to his project, mainly based on the expense and huge garrison required to defend it, Floriani defended the project by confirming that it could shelter the entire popula...
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The Malta Railway - track and features

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 The Malta Railway The Malta Railway was the name of the company which ran the train line locally between 1883 and 1931 with a halt between 1890 and 1892. There were a number of stations along the single track between Valletta and Mdina, however the company went bankrupt in 1931 due to competition with the buses which were cheaper and a more convenient means of travel. First railway trip on 28 February 1883 There are a few sites and Facebook pages with information available such as  Alan Edwards'  page  Malta Railway 1883 - 1931  or The Malta Railway Foundation Facebook page amongst others where the information can be obtained from. Above road crossing in Attard Hamrun station Road crossing Princess Melita The contemporary map below gives a good idea of the extent of the rail and tram network at the time, however it is a bit difficult to comprehend in relation to the sprawl of development in the past 90+ years.  The Google map ...
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