FORT CHAMBRAY

This ambitious project, long cherished by Gozitans, bears the name of the only person who was willing to finance it in the ^18th century. After the invasion of 1551 and the Great Siege of 1565, which led to the construction of Valletta, the inhabitants of Gozo felt the need to have a port fortress on their territory capable of defending them, like the new capital of the neighboring island. The Knights were not averse to this project, which also concerned their security. However, the project was abandoned. Re-examined a century later without success, it was finally adopted in the middle of the ^18th century, at a time when the coffers were empty and the glory of the Knights in full decline. It was a military man, Admiral Jacques de Chambray, who provided the funds for this major undertaking, completed in 1761. The admiral was given the title of governor of Gozo, but the fort had little opportunity to shine, resisting Napoleonic troops for some time before becoming English. It was later converted into an asylum. Long empty and unused, its situation changed in the late 1980s with the start of a project to transform the fort into a tourist complex. The transformation of the fort into a luxury hotel took several years. The resort has been open again since 2013. New residential buildings have been constructed in keeping with the fort's architecture. Regrettably, this somewhat diminishes the fort's massive, defensive appearance.