Footbridges in Malta

Abstract

The Maltese archipelago, with the main inhabited islands of Malta and Gozo, is strategically located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. Malta's position and role as a military stronghold can be traced back to prehistoric times. However, it was in more recent centuries that this value became considerably enhanced. When, in 1530, the Order of St John took up the responsibility of protecting and administering the islands on behalf of the Kingdom of Spain, to which Malta belonged, the archipelago became at one and the same time a fortress and a monastery. Between 1530 and 1798 Malta was gradually transformed into an island fortress, and practically all of the largest island of Malta and parts of the second island of Gozo were fortified. The main enemies at this time were the Ottoman Turks and the Barbary corsairs. The former were feared for their declared mission to oust the Hospitallers and take over the archipelago as Sultan Suleiman had already done in Rhodes in 1522.