From Our St. Elmo to Fort St. Elmo.
Original neighborhood name (and favorite cafe) shares name with centuries-old fortress on the Mediterranean island of Malta.
I have always been intrigued by the history of our neighborhood of St. Elmo, which dates back to 1894. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a far older fort sharing the same name. Fort St. Elmo is located in Valletta, the capital of the island nation of Malta. Its massive masonry walls are as awe inspiring as its history.
The Knights vs. the Sultan
Malta was home to the Knights Hospitaller from 1530 to 1798. The Knights had fought the Ottoman Empire for centuries and were a constant threat to the Ottoman fleet. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent attempted to conquer Malta in 1551 to eliminate this interference. This failed attempt prompted the Knights to construct a new fort on the Sciberras Peninsula, across the Grand Harbor from the three ancient cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua. The new fort was named after St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors.
Suleiman launched another invasion in 1565, beginning with Fort St. Elmo. For four months, an Ottoman army of nearly 40,000 men besieged the fort and its 1,500 defenders. The Great Siege of Malta ended with the slaughter of
Fort St. Elmo’s defenders, but Ottoman losses were so severe that the invasion was abandoned.
Rebuilding and Expansion
After the siege, the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, Jean de Valette, decided to build a new capital on the high ground outside Fort St. Elmo, where the Ottomans had camped. Thus, the city of Valletta was born. Over the centuries, Fort St. Elmo was rebuilt and expanded. Malta passed from the Knights to the French under Napoleon Bonaparte, then to the British. The fort suffered visible damage during World War II, but its giant stone walls still stand today.
In 1980, the fort was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It served as a Turkish jail in the 1978 film Midnight Express and plays a key role in the novel Sword and the Scimitar by Simon Scarrow. Defending the fort against the Ottomans is also the first-level task in the video game Age of Empires III. Today, it is home of the Maltese National War Museum.
The fort, adjacent city, and surrounding area still retain massive defensive walls. While other forts from this era survive, I have never seen such a large collection of largely intact medieval fortifications in one place. It was a truly awe-inspiring visit.