THREE CITIES

In 1530 the Knights of St. John first settled in the Three Cities, on a narrow peninsula of land overlooking the creeks of the harbour in an area known as Vittoriosa During World War II, the neighboring cites of Cospicua and Senglea witnessed severe bomb attacks which destroyed much of the cities.  Today, the cities are getting a new lease of life, a Yacht Marina, Casinos, Hotels and many other leisure facilites are being built to embellish this historic area. Vittoriosa, together with the fortified cities of Senglea and Cospicua, are a step back in time, an era which is particularly linked to the birth of the Knights of Malta.

Cospicua was inhabited since Neolithic times and the last to be fortified. Its lines of majestic bastions, built by the Knights of Malta, are a sight to behold for sheer size and magnitude. In 1722, Grand Master Marc'Antonio Zondadari declared it a city and in view of its strong bastions named it Città Cospicua.

Birgu (Vittoriosa) is ideally situated for safe anchorage, and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities. Prior to the establishment of Valletta as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Birgu due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, the Angevines, the Aragonese and the Knights of St. John all contributed to the development of Birgu. But none more so than the Knights. When the Knights arrived in 1530, they made Birgu the capital city of Malta, since the former capital, Mdina, was inland and did not suit their naval requirements. Almost as soon as they took up residence, the Knights undertook a series of works designed to improve the fortification at Fort St Angelo and of the whole area of the three cities.

The island was in fact joined by a landbridge to Cospicua during the time of the Knights of St. John and as a result, it became peninsular in shape. During the time of the Knights of St. John, Senglea was also used as a hunting area, and was in fact known as L'Isola di San Giuliano, but later it was developed and made inhabitable by the Grand Master, Claude de la Sengle who built fortifications following a Turkish invasion in 1551. The locality eventually became known as Senglea but retained its old name Isla.