St. John Counterguard is a massive
pentagonal artillery platform that was one of four counterguards designed by the
Italian military engineer Giovanni de Medici in 1640, in order to provide added
protection to Valletta’s land front. This counterguard was built in the form of
a large detached bastion. Structurally, it is a solid massif with few internal covered
spaces, the main elements of which are vaulted communication passages and a
19th-century gunpowder magazine. It is also linked to a sally-port in the face
of St. John Bastion directly by means of an arched bridge while a ramp, cut
through the gorge of the counterscarp
around 1735, leads down into the main ditch. The interior of St. John counterguard is used for sports facilities.