Cottonera Lines

Cottonera Lines
Is-Swar tal-Kottonera
Cospicua and Birgu, Malta
The Cottonera Lines as seen from Għajn Dwieli
Map of the Cottonera Lines and the Santa Margherita Lines. The Cottonera Lines are the outer line of fortifications.
Coordinates	35°52′37.4″N 14°31′36.2″E / 35.877056°N 14.526722°E / 35.877056; 14.526722
Type	Line of fortifications
Site information
Owner	Government of Malta Various private owners
Condition	Mostly intact
Site history
Built	1670–1760s
Built by	Order of Saint John
In use	17th–20th centuries
Materials	Limestone
Battles/wars	Siege of Malta (1798–1800)

The Cottonera Lines (Maltese: Is-Swar tal-Kottonera), also known as the Valperga Lines (Maltese: Is-Swar ta' Valperga), are a line of fortifications in Cospicua and Birgu, Malta. They were built in the 17th and 18th centuries to form the outer defences of the Three Cities of Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua. They surrounded an earlier line of fortifications, known as the Santa Margherita Lines.

In 1638, construction of Santa Margherita Lines began around the land fronts of Birgu and Senglea. Works stopped soon after due to a lack of funds, and the lines remained unfinished.

In 1669, fears of an Ottoman attack rose after the fall of Candia, and a new line of fortifications was proposed to encircle both the Birgu and Senglea land fronts, as well as the unfinished Santa Margherita Lines. The new line was named the Cottonera Lines after the reigning Grand Master, Nicolas Cotoner. It was designed by the Italian engineer Antonio Maurizio Valperga, who also modified the Floriana Lines and some other fortifications of the Grand Harbour. The Cottonera Lines were meant to accommodate up to 40,000 people and their animals within their circumference.

Construction of the Cottonera Lines began in August 1670. The lines were called the "most ambitious work of fortification ever undertaken by the Knights of St John in Malta", and in fact work was suspended due to a lack of funds in 1680. By this time, the bastioned enceinte was mostly complete and parts of the ditch had been excavated, but other crucial parts such as cavaliers, ravelins, the glacis and the covertway had not yet been built.