New St. Elmo Breakwater Footbridge in Valletta Grand Harbour / Arenas & Asociados

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Text description provided by the architects. The unique Valletta Grand Harbour (today UNESCO World Heritage Site) has been used as a port since Roman Empire times thanks to its magnificent natural characteristics, with a number of inlets which provide adequate shelter to naval vessels. It served as a naval station for the Knights of Saint John from their settlement in the island to their expulsion after the Napoleonic invasion by the end of the 18th century. Almost immediately after then and until the 1970s, it served as a British naval station. The exceptional protection qualities of the natural harbour were increased during this period after the construction, between 1903 and 1909, of a breakwater consisting of two arms made of limestone and concrete bricks, which made the port suitable for all weather conditions. The Fort St. Elmo arm, the longer of the two, was constructed with a 70-meter gap in proximity to Valletta foreshore, in order to prevent water stagnation and to shorten routes for smaller crafts. Accessibility to the breakwater was guaranteed by a steel footbridge, erected in 1906, made up of two arched-truss beams supported by a pair of cylindrical steel columns filled with concrete. During WWII, in 1941, the footbridge was partly demolished due to an E-boat attack and subsequently removed altogether. The breakwater and its lighthouse remained isolated for more than 70 years, only accessible by boat, until the opening of a new footbridge in 2012.