Costruire la demolizione: le fondazioni abitative del Borgo Vilhena a Malta nel Settecento

This paper aims to retrace the historical events related to some housing foundations built on the island of Malta in the Eighteenth Century. These were residential structures within a fortified space and were, therefore, subject to strict military constraints, which, in the event of a siege, could even mean that a house had to be demolished. We should bear in mind that the Maltese archipelago was a ‘frontier’ place, ruled since 1530 by the Order of the Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. For this reason, the small outpost had been repeatedly at the centre of the Ottomans’ attention. Throughout the Seventeenth Century and even in the Eighteenth Century, fortified systems were built on the island, which would be capable of repelling any enemy attack. The architectures placed to defend the main cities were of vital importance.