Balbani Battery
Balbani Battery | |
---|---|
Batterija ta' Balbani | |
Birżebbuġa, Malta | |
Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Type | Artillery battery |
Site history | |
Built | 1715–1716 |
Built by | Order of Saint John |
Materials | Limestone |
Fate | Demolished |
Balbani Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' Balbani), also known as Bengħisa Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' Bengħisa) or Saint Catherine's Battery (Maltese: Batterija ta' Santa Katarina),[1] was an artillery battery in Birżebbuġa, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1715–1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the Maltese Islands.[2]
Balbani Battery 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.[3] The nearest fortifications to Balbani Battery were Bengħisa Tower to the south and Fresnoy Redoubt to the west. Construction of the battery cost 1855 scudi.[4] It had a pentagonal platform with a blockhouse at the rear, which was also defended by a redan.
The battery was demolished, and its site is now occupied by part of the Malta Freeport.[5]
References
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