Floriana's Houses: The Building Space and Urban Military Strategies in the 18th Century

As early as the second half of the seventeenth century, it was clear that the fortified space of Floriana would be able to provide significant conditions of defence and security. For these reasons, on 7 February 1672, the Venerable Council managed to almost define a project that envisaged the construction of case tra l’antica fronte di q[ue]sta Città Vall[ett]a, e la moderna com[m]unem[en]te detta Floriana. Et essendovi diversità di pareri circa il determinare il sito, q[ua]ntità, et altezza di d[ett]e fabriche fu rimesso ad un’ altro Consiglio. On this occasion, however, the proposal of Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner (1663–1680) and of the Council was obstructed and refused by the Commissioners of the Congregation of War and Fortifications, who argued that the building of any residential structures would be a threat to the military-defence function of the area.