Fort Tigné

Fort Tigné
Il-Forti Tigné
Tigné Point, Sliema, Malta
View of Fort Tigné
Map of Fort Tigné
Coordinates	35°54′23.3″N 14°30′47.6″E / 35.906472°N 14.513222°E / 35.906472; 14.513222
Type	Polygonal fort
Site information
Owner	Government of Malta
Controlled by	MIDI plc
Open to the public	No
Condition	Intact
Site history
Built	1793–1795 1860s–20th century (major modifications)
Built by	Order of Saint John British Empire (major modifications)
In use	1795–1979
Materials	Limestone
Battles/wars	Capture of Malta (1798) Siege of Malta (1798–1800)
Garrison information
Past commanders	Joseph Maria von Rechberg (1798)

Fort Tigné (Maltese: Il-Forti Tigné or Il-Fortizza ta' Tigné) is a polygonal fort in Tigné Point, Sliema, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John between 1793 and 1795 to protect the entrance to Marsamxett Harbour, and it is one of the oldest polygonal forts in the world. The fort was extensively altered by the British in the 19th century, and it remained in use by the military until 1979.

Fort Tigné was restored in the early 21st century, and it is now in good condition. It has been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998, as part of the Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta.

A watch post existed on Punta di Santa Maria (now known as Tigné Point after the fort) in 1417. The post was probably a small unfortified structure, which was manned by three persons. The peninsula played a significant role during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, when the invading Ottomans built a battery on it in order to bombard Fort Saint Elmo. After the siege, the peninsula became known as Dragut Point after the Ottoman corsair Dragut.

The first proposal to build a fortification on Dragut Point was made by the Italian military engineer Antonio Maurizio Valperga in 1670. He proposed a fortified city known as Borgo della Città Piccola, with a design similar to Fort Ricasoli. The proposal never materialized, probably due to a lack of funds.

In 1715, Philippe de Vendôme made a second proposal, this time to build a casemated redoubt. A year later, René Jacob de Tigné proposed the construction of a large artillery battery, similar to other coastal batteries that were being built around Malta's coastline at the time.