The Floriana fortifications are
indicated as being within an Area of High Landscape Value, they are also
located in the Urban Conservation Area of Floriana. The Floriana lines were
conceived in order to provide further protection to the Valletta land front
fortifications. They were designed by the Italian engineer Pietro Paolo
Floriani during the Magistracy of Grand Master Antoine de Paule (1622-36). The
main line of defence consists of one large bastion and two demi-bastions. A
fausse-brye is projected beyond the two large revelins and is itself protected
by four lunettes. The hornworks and crownworks did not feature on Floriani’s
original design but were added by the Italian military engineer Antonio Maurizio
Valperga later on the century. The only major addition to Floriani’s original
plan was the construction of the ‘Gladiana’, the crowned-hornworks. The
outerwork, when it was eventually completed, was criticised for being too small
a structure to hold the men that were necessary for its defence. Valperga also
designed the retrenchment that was built within the San Salvatore demi-bastion
as a solution to its bad design. Afterwards the Order secured the services of
De Tigne and Mondion, who pointed out that Floriana’s weakest point lay in the
flanks. The engineers proposed the construction of rentrenchments within these
fortifications. The British period witnessed no major alterations to the
fortified enceinte other than the partial demolition of Notre Dame Gate, the
enlargement of Porta dei Canoni and the addition of various magazines and
traverses. The Floriana land front retains the best preserved example of an
extensive system of outer works, with advanced ditch, lunettes, scarp musketry
gallery covertway and countermined galcis that has survived to date.
Significant losses to the covertway and glacis were inflicted around the 1970’s
to accommodate large storage tanks overlooking Marsa. The Porte des Bombe
lunette also disappeared beneath the main road in the course of the early 20th
century.
The deterioration processes
experienced by the Floriana fortifications are the result of a number of
factors, such as, exposure and orientation, salt contamination (sea spray,
rising damp, nitrates and incompatible materials) biological attack, material
properties of the stone, neglect, lack of maintenance, human intervention,
structural defects, installation of superfluous accretions and pollution caused
by the burning of fossil fuels. The various causes of deterioration have given
rise to loss of pointing, deterioration of mortars and masonry, old repairs,
later and contemporary additions, mechanical damage and loss of structural
integrity, soiling, graffiti and biological infestation. Given the importance
of the building, a complete documentation has been carried out. Scaled drawings
of these fortifications have been drawn up from rectified photography and
levels established. The intervention on the Floriana fortifications is focusing
on the restoration of the faces, superior slopes and platform terraces. The
works include the restoration of deteriorated masonry fabric, removal of cement
–based renders and pointing, stabilisation of detached masonry facings,
cleaning, and reinstatement and reconstruction of missing or deteriorated
sections of the limestone fabric.