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The
Three Cities
 As
the catchment area of our school population hails from the neghbouring cities that make the Three
Cities or as they are popularly known the Cottonera, it is fitting
to say something very succinctly on each city.
The
Three Cities were all renamed after the Great Siege of 1565. They
comprise Vittoriosa (Birgu), Senglea (L-Isla) and Cospicua (Bormla).
Fortifications
Throughout
the 17C, in the face of a series of threatened and attempted invasions
their defences were strengthened. Francesco Firenzuola who was
summoned to review the defence works in 1638, warned that an enemy
investing the hill of St. Margherita, just E. of Vittoriosa, would
command the entrance to Grand Harbour and be able to blockade the three
cities. To incorporate both the hill and Cospicua, the Margherita
Lines, designed by Firenzuola, were begun forthwith and three of the
planned six bastions shortly finished. The remainder was not
completed until 1716-36. Fear of an impending invasion
compelled G.M Nicholas Cottoner to invite the military engineer Valperga
to complete the works with a more comprehensive scheme. The
Cottonera Lines, consisting of a semicircular ring of eight bastions
and two semi-bastions, with circumference of almost 5 km and
capable of sheltering 40,000 people with their livestock, were
constructed in 1670-80. Owing to lack of funds the ravelins which
should have guarded each curtain were never built.
Vittoriosa
 Very
little remains of the pre-knights period. The knights made il
borgo del Castello their residence in1530 and as in Rhodes built for each nationality an auberge
or headquarter in an area reserved for themselves called collachio but this
monastic seclusion was eventually abandoned. The city was dubbed
Vittoriosa after the raising of the Great Siege but the Knights moved to
Valletta during the grandmastership of Pietro del Monte (1568-1572)
Places
of interest include St.Lawrence Church, the Maritime
Museum, the
Inquisitor's Palace, Auberge de France and Auberge d'Angleterre,and Fort
St. Agelo
Senglea
 This
town suffered badly in the war and has few monument of note. I t
was fortified by Claude de la Sengle in 1554. Fort St.Michael
scene of fierce fighting during the siege was dismantled in 1922 and its
stones were used to build the Primary school of Senglea. On Isola
Point a small public garden on the ramparts affords the finest view of
the Grand Harbour and Valetta. At the end is a celebrated vedette
decorated with sculptured reliefs of an eye and an ear. The
basilica of Our Lady has a statute of Christ the Redeemer venerated by
Maltese from all over the islands for graces received as proved by
countless votive offerings.
Cospicua
 Though
heavily bombarded during the second world war where most of its palatial
houses were lost, its still retains some of the 17C town planning
characteristics. The parish church originally built in1584 and
enlarged in 1637 is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.
It is a gem of architectures and really houses many works of art.
Many great artists hailed from this town among them , Abram Gatt. Some
interesting places are the No 1 and No 2 docks built in 1848, the Verdala
barracks built during Crimean war and the two lines of fortifications:
Firenzuola and Cottonera.
 Kalkara
is a fairly modern village. Most of it was used by the British
services. Bighi hospital was in 1883 for the Admiralty, Fort
Rinella and Fort Ricasoli were used by the British forces to protect the Grand Harbour and
a 100-ton canon is still extant. Many valour soldiers made Kalkara
their resting place and this obstructed the development of this pictures
town.
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