Malta – South Eastern Region – Valletta – Firing of the Cannon

Every day at 12:00 a cannon is fired at the Saluting Battery in Valletta.

There’s a few minutes of explanation of how and why the cannons are fired which is all interesting. The guy doing the firing was enthusiastic and efficient in what he was doing, I imagine it’s all down to a very fine art now.

The initial reason for the firing, other than when Ottoman forces were sailing into the harbour and needed to be shot at, was at parades. In addition, from the 1820s the gun started to be fired at mid-day so that ships could synchronise their chronographs. It’s obviously a tourist thing now, but it’s a good tradition to keep up.

From the video I made of the firing, which I must admit didn’t entirely capture all of the firing that I would have liked…. But at least I got some of the after smoke (if that’s the proper term….). They load two cannons and only fire one, I assume the second is a back-up in case of any little incidents with the first one. Although I can imagine that any little incidents with the first firing might be sufficient to cause the cancellation of the second firing…