As a fortified city, Birgu served
both a military and social function. The city, which originated as a medieval fisherman’s
village huddled in the shadow of a Castrum Maris, retained its largely original
medieval layout of narrow winding streets and alleys. After the coming of the
Knights in 1530, and the enclosure of the settlement within a bastioned
enceinte, a substantial part of the intramural area was reserved exclusively
for the Knights and their main buildings – a conventual church, hospital, and auberges
– creating the so-called Collachio. Most of these narrow streets and
other spaces within the project boundary had lost their original paving under layers
of tarmac and concrete. The ERDF 039 project has sought to rehabilitate the
paving as an essential component of the historic urban fabric in order to communicate
a more sympathetic ‘spirit of place’.