Knights period
Water PROVISION IN BIRGU DURING THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN
“….. the Knights of St. John took possession of the Islands in October 1530, fixing their residence at the Borgo (now called Vittoriosa), a small town behind the Fort of S. Angelo.
The springs nearest to the Borgo where those of the Marsa, so that for its water supply the town depended mainly on tanks cut out under the houses and in the public streets. The Marsa springs were very important at the time, as they were used extensively by the ships in the harbour and by the galleys of the Order.”
Sir T. Zammit, The Water Supply of the Maltese Islands, 1931
“During the Siege, the people of the Borgo were in great distress due to the want of an adequate supply of water. The Grand Master caused the Commander Geofre de Loaysa and Jacopo Colorati, who were in charge of the water supply to make enquiries as to the possible increase of the water in the besieged city, and on the 21st of July 1565, a tank was discovered under the house of a certain Doctor Cadamosto and found to be connected with a spring of running water which, though was brackish, was fully utilized by the public during the Siege.”
Sir T. Zammit, The Water Supply of the Maltese Islands, 1931
The order sent out by Antoine de Vilhena to Romano Fortunato Carapecchia to document the cisterns and wells.
Courtesy: The National Library, Valletta
The rainwater harvesting capacity of cisterns was therefore of extreme importance for the harbour area, and in particular the three cities. It is definitely not surprising to find that in late 1722, Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena ordered the engineer Romano Fortunato Carapecchia to carry out a detailed inventory of all the cisterns and wells that existed at the time in Valletta, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. The results of this survey are found in Romano Carapecchia’s 1723 “Ristretto generale di tutte le Cisterne e Gebbie publiche e private con l’acque ritrovate nelle medesime, tanto in questa Citta’ Valletta, come nelle Citta’ di Vittoriosa, Senglea e Bormola.”
The order sent out by Antoine de Vilhena to Romano Fortunato Carapecchia to document the cisterns and wells.
Courtesy: The National Library, Valletta
The rainwater harvesting capacity of cisterns was therefore of extreme importance for the harbour area, and in particular the three cities. It is definitely not surprising to find that in late 1722, Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena ordered the engineer Romano Fortunato Carapecchia to carry out a detailed inventory of all the cisterns and wells that existed at the time in Valletta, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. The results of this survey are found in Romano Carapecchia’s 1723 “Ristretto generale di tutte le Cisterne e Gebbie publiche e private con l’acque ritrovate nelle medesime, tanto in questa Citta’ Valletta, come nelle Citta’ di Vittoriosa, Senglea e Bormola.”
CARAPECCHIA’S 1723 SURVEY OF CISTERNS IN VITTORIOSA
Carapecchia’s survey identified 21 public cisterns with a total capacity of 4,354 botte and a further 821 private cisterns with a total capacity of 46,926 botte. The private cisterns were classified according to 60 urban quarters which the survey identified within Vittoriosa. In addition the survey identified a further 40 cisterns located within the fortified areas of Castel St Angelo, the Giardini di Bichiand theCastel Ricasoli with a total additional capacity of 19,084 botte.
List of Public Cisterns included under Carapecchia’s 1723 survey:
| no. 1. | Cisterna all porta della Prigione de’ Schiavi | Botte 174 |
| no. 2. | Cisterna all Piazzetta | Botte 112 |
| no. 3, 4, 5. | Cisterne nel bastione, che viene sopra il Miratore | Botte 234 |
| no. 6. | Cisterna avanti il Monastero di Sta Scolastica | Botte 72 |
| no. 7. | Cisterna nella strade di do Monastero, vicino la Casa di Simone Pace | Botte 40 |
| no. 8, 9, 10, 11. | Cisterne che sono nella Piazza grande, e sotto L’Orologio di dta Piazza | Botte 2818 |
| no. 12. | Cisterna nella strada reale di Castiglia, vicino la Casa di Agostnio Burlo |
Botte 96 |
| no. 13. | Cisterna nella strada detta posta di Castiglia | Botte 440 |
| no. 14. | Cisterna dentro il bastione sopra la Castiglia | Botte 120 |
| no. 15. | Cisterna nella Strada dell’Annunciata, vicino la Casa della Vedova di Brincat | Botte 48 |
| no. 16. | Cisterna nella strada di Cavallino, vicino la Porta grande | Botte 18 |
| no. 17. | Cisterna avanti la Porta del Sr Ufficio | Botte 12 |
| no. 18. | Cisterna vicino la porta piccolo della Chiesa di Sn Lorenzo | Botte 110 |
| no. 19. | Cisterna sotto le scale di Sn Lorenzo | Botte 2 |
| no. 20. | Cisterna nella strada di Sn Lorenzo per andare alla Marina | Botte 32 |
| no. 21. | Cisterna piccola, vicino la porta piccola della Vittoriosa | Botte 26 |
Plan of Senglea, Vittoriosa, St. Angelo and Bormola from Carapecchia’s 1723 Report identifying the blocks and quarters within the respective urban areas.
Courtesy: The National Library, Valletta