|
The Santa Margherita Lines (( マルタ語:Is-Swar ta' Santa Margerita)), also known as the Firenzuola Lines (( マルタ語:Is-Swar ta' Firenzuola)), are a line of fortifications in Cospicua, Malta. They were built in the 17th and 18th centuries to protect the land front defences of the cities of Birgu and Senglea. A second line of fortifications, known as the Cottonera Lines, was later built around the Santa Margherita Lines, while the city of Cospicua was founded in the 18th century within the Santa Margherita and Cottonera Lines. The Santa Margherita Lines have been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998, as part of the ''Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/982/ )〕 ==History== The foundation stone of the Santa Margherita Lines was laid on 30 December 1638 by Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris. The lines were designed by Vicenzo Maculano da Firenzuola, and were meant to protect the land fronts of Birgu and Senglea, and also to prevent a flanking attack on the capital Valletta. The lines were built on Santa Margherita Hill, possibly on the ruins of an ancient Greek temple or an earlier castle.〔 The hill is featured in the account of the Great Siege of 1565 by arquebusier Francesco Balbi di Corregio, who mentioned that a belvedere existed on it. When the three central bastions were completed in 1645, construction work stopped due to a lack of funds. The lines remained unfinished for many years, and they became known as ''Fort Santa Margarita'' or ''Fort Margarita''. In the 1670s, the Cottonera Lines were built around the still unfinished Santa Margherita Lines, but construction of the new fortifications was suspended in 1680 with the death of Grand Master Cotoner.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://birgu.gov.mt/node/2 )〕 Construction of both the Santa Margherita and the Cottonera Lines resumed in 1715. At the time of completion in 1736, the Santa Margherita Lines consisted of five bastions, two demi-bastions, six curtain walls, three gateways, at least two sally ports, a ditch, a covertway with lunette, and a glacis. The British modified the lines in 1850s with the construction of Fort Verdala and St. Clement's Retrenchment. The latter connected the Santa Margherita Lines with the Cottonera Lines. In the late 19th century, the western part of the lines was demolished to make way for an extension of the Malta Dockyard. The rest of the lines still exist today, but they are in a dilapidated state. Modern roads breach some of the bastions and curtain walls. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Santa Margherita Lines」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|