Sheer Bastion

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Location: Triq Il-Habs Antik, Isla.

The Sheer Bastion or as it is also known il-Maċina is a wedge-shaped bastion in Dockyard Creek that forms part of the fortifications of Senglea. The Sheer Bastion was built in 1554 by the knights of St John and it was used to hoist and lower masts onto ships. The name ‘Maċina’ derives from the Italian word ‘macchina’ which refers to a large crane structure which was used for hoisting and lowering mast and other cargo. On 27th February 1927 the Maċina was dismantled. This was also announced by the Dockyard siren which used to signal the working daily life. Later on, the Maċina served for political purposes as it functioned as the headquarters of the Malta Labour Party until mid- 1990s. When the Party moved to another headquarters, the sheer bastion was neglected until 2009 when the Senglea local council organised a maritime festival in the site. Miniscule sheers were built on top of the bastion to commemorate the original appearance of the Maċina. The Sheer Bastion now forms part of the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a magnificent historic place used as a wedding venue and a luxurious boutique hotel which offers visitors panoramic views of the Maltese harbour.

Ix-Sheer Bastion jew kif inhu magħruf ukoll il-Maċina huwa bastjun f’forma ta’ feles fid-Dockyard Creek li jifforma parti mill-fortifikazzjonijiet tal-Isla. Ix-Sheer Bastion inbena fl-1554 mill-kavallieri ta’ San Ġwann u kien jintuża biex jerfa’ u jniżżel l-arbli fuq il-vapuri. L-isem ‘Maċina’ ġej mill-kelma Taljana ‘macchina’ li tirreferi għal struttura kbira ta’ krejn li kienet tintuża biex ittella’ u tniżżel l-arblu u merkanzija oħra. Fis-27 ta’ Frar 1927 il-Maċina ġiet żarmata. Dan tħabbar ukoll mis-sirena tat-Tarzna li kienet tindika l-ħajja tax-xogħol ta' kuljum. Aktar tard, il-Maċina serviet għal skopijiet politiċi billi kienet tintuża bħala l-kwartieri ġenerali tal-Partit Laburista sa nofs id-disgħinijiet. Meta l-Partit mexa għal kwartieri ġenerali oħra, is-swar enormi ġie ttraskurat sakemm fl-2009 il-kunsill lokali tal-Isla organizza festival marittimu fis-sit. Sheers żgħar ġew mibnija fuq il-bastjun biex ifakkru d-dehra oriġinali tal-Maċina. Ix-Sheer Bastion illum il-ġurnata jifforma parti mil-lista tentattiva tas-Sit tal-Patrimonju Dinji tal-UNESCO u huwa post storiku li jintuża bħala sit fejn isiru t-tiġijiet kif ukoll boutique hotel lussuża li toffri lil viżitaturi veduti panoramiċi tal-port Malti.