About Upper Barrakka Gardens
The gardens are located on the upper tier of Saints Peter and Paul Bastion, which was built in the 1560s. The bastion's lower tier contains the Saluting Battery. The garden's terraced arches were built in 1661 by the Italian knight Fra Flaminio Balbiani. They were originally roofed, but the ceiling was removed following the Rising of the Priests in 1775.
The gardens were originally used to offer recreation to the knights of the Italian langue of the Order of Saint John, but were opened to the public following the end of the two-year French occupation of Malta in 1800.
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Saluting Battery
The Saluting Battery is an artillery battery in Valletta, Malta. It was constructed in the 16th century by the Order of Saint John, on or near the site of an Ottoman battery from the Great Siege of Malta. The battery forms the lower tier of St. Peter & Paul Bastion of the Valletta Land Front, located below the Upper Barrakka Gardens and overlooking Fort St. Angelo and the rest of the Grand Harbour.
The Saluting Battery was mainly used for firing ceremonial gun salutes and signals marking the opening and closure of the city gates, but it also saw military use during the blockade of 1798–1800 and World War II. The battery remained an active military installation until its guns were removed by the British in 1954. It was restored and opened to the public in the early 21st century, and it is now equipped with eight working replicas of SBBL 32-pounders which fire gun signals daily, Mon - Sat, at 1200 and 1600.
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