Fort Rinella will soon have the only operational retractable bridge of its kind in the world as part of a project launched by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna which manages this 19th-century fortification.
Financed by the Eden Leisure Group, the €60,000 job will involve the construction of a replica of the fort’s original bridge using some of the original parts which will be restored.
Named after Charles T. Guthrie, the British engineer who had designed it in 1869, the bridge was one-of-a-kind as when not in use it would slide into the fortification.
Its advantage over traditional drawbridges was that when closed it would not obstruct the fort’s gate, allowing better defence of this potential weak spot in case of attack.
Addressing a news conference, Mario Farrugia from Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna noted that parts of the mechanical structure had been found scattered in various parts of the fort - built between 1878 and 1886 - when they had taken over the site in 1991.
“Our objective is not to have an exact replica of the original bridge, but make it fully operational for visitors to have a complete experience. This will be the only such operational structure in the world,” he said.
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