Malta (South Eastern Region) – Birgu – Fort St. Angelo (Ottoman Cannonball)

The Great Siege of Malta took place in 1565 and it was the defences of Fort St. Angelo which helped the Knights of St. John to hold off against the attack of the Ottoman Empire. After the siege the Knights constructed their new capital city, Valletta, which is just over the water from this fort.

In one of the exhibition rooms is this granite cannonball, from that attack on the fort by the forces of the Ottoman Empire. A rather fascinating piece of history, as if the Ottomans had been victorious than the course of history for Christians across Europe could have been very different.