Pinto Battery

For the battery in Mistra Bay, see Mistra Battery.
Pinto Battery
Batterija ta' Pinto
Birżebbuġa, Malta

Pinto Battery's blockhouse
Coordinates 35°49′36″N 14°31′58.5″E / 35.82667°N 14.532917°E / 35.82667; 14.532917
Type Artillery battery
Site information
Owner Government of Malta
Controlled by Private tenants
Open to
the public		 No
Condition Blockhouse intact but heavily altered, gun platform largely destroyed
Site history
Built 1715–1716
Built by Order of Saint John
Materials Limestone

Pinto Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' Pinto), also known as Għżira Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' Għżira) or Kechakara Battery,[1] is a former artillery battery in Birżebbuġa, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John between 1715 and 1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands. The battery has been heavily altered over time, and the blockhouse now houses a bar and a garage, while the gun platform and parapet have been largely destroyed, with only the general outline still visible.

History

View of the battery from the southwest, with the remains of the gun platform to the right and the blockhouse to the left
View of the battery from the northeast, with the remains of the gun platform to the left and the blockhouse to the right

Pinto Battery was built in 1715-1716 as part of the first building programme of coastal batteries in Malta. It was part of a chain of fortifications that defended Marsaxlokk Bay, which also included six other batteries, the large Saint Lucian Tower, two smaller De Redin towers, four redoubts and three entrenchments.[2] Construction of the battery cost 1109 scudi.[3]

The battery originally consisted of a semi-circular gun platform, with a parapet containing eight embrasures. Its gorge had a large rectangular blockhouse protected by a redan. The battery's entrance was located within the redan.[4]

Present day

Remains of Pinto Battery's gun platform, with the blockhouse in the background
The Pinto blockhouse

The battery has undergone major alterations over time, being largely destroyed in the process. The redan has been destroyed, while the blockhouse is a bar and a garage. The general outline of the semi-circular gun platform can still be seen, although the parapet with embrasures no longer exists.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Farrugia Randon, Stanley (2015). Heritage Saved – Din l-Art Ħelwa – 1965–2015. Luqa: Miller Distributors Ltd. p. 119. ISBN 9789995752132.
  2. ↑ "Vendôme Tower" (PDF). Mare Nostrum. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Spiteri, Stephen C. (18 October 2010). "St. Thomas Tower and Battery". MilitaryArchitecture.com. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Għzira Battery" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
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