| Santa Margherita Lines | |
|---|---|
Is-Swar ta' Santa Margerita | |
| Cospicua, Malta | |
 The Santa Margherita Lines in their original form in c.1725 | |
 Map of the Santa Margherita Lines and the Cottonera Lines. The Santa Margherita Lines are the inner line of fortifications. | |
| Coordinates | 35°52′44.4″N 14°31′23.8″E / 35.879000°N 14.523278°E |
| Type | Line of fortifications |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Government of Malta |
| Condition | Partially intact |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1638–1645, 1715–1736 |
| Built by | Order of Saint John |
| Materials | Limestone |
| Battles/wars | Siege of Malta (1798–1800) |
The Santa Margherita Lines (Maltese: Is-Swar ta' Santa Margerita), also known as the Firenzuola Lines (Maltese: 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.[1]
The lines, also known as Santa Margherita Enceinte, were built to the designs of the Dominican Cardinal Fra Vincenzo Maculano da Firenzuola.[2][3][4]
- ^ "Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta". UNESCO Tentative List. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ Baroque Routes. p. 16.
- ^ Spiteri, C. Stephen (2001). Fortresses of the Knights. Malta. Books Distributors Limited. p. 290-294. ISBN 9990972060.
- ^ De Lucca, Denis (2015). Tomaso Maria Napoli: A Dominican friar's contribution to Military Architecture in the Baroque Age. International Institute for Baroque Studies: UOM. p. 254. ISBN 978-999-57-0-837-5.