commune, e due branchi di scala per salire al piano superiore in cui ha un vestibolo, sals, camera, e gambinetto verso il cortile.’ ‘Al lato della sudetta, vi è la casa del luogotenente del forte simile alla sud.a. L’altro corpo di casa, cioè i più vicino al bastione di Nrā Sig[nor]a contiene la casa del Sig.re Governatore consistente in due stanze terrane, cortile, cucina, luogo commune, e due branchi di scala per salire al pian superiore in cui un vestibolo, sala, e tre camere successive, con altra sala maggiore per custodia delle Armi del Presidio. A lato di questa, vi è quella del Sotto Cappellano consistente in un stanza, terrana, cortile, cucina, luogo commune, e due branchi di scala per salire al piano superiore, in cui ha un vestibolo, saletta e due gabinetti.’ The arcaded barracks were fitted with separate quarters for officers, chaplains, and soldiers. The block adjoining the church was designed to house the officer’s quarters and those of the chaplain of the fort. Built on two storeys, the ground floor was barrel-vaulted (col volte a lamia [three-centred arch]) while the roof of the upper floor was coved with slabs resting on rib arches (archi e balate). To the right of the church, and separated by a passage 7 canes (14 m) wide, stood a similar block designed to house the governor of the fort, two officers, and an armoury. The governor’s quarters, unlike those of the officers, were roofed ‘à gavità’, a type of groin vault with a flat central part. The faces of these two blocks overlooking the parade ground were given arcaded loggie, ‘una bassa, e l’altra di sopra’, the uppermost of which were roofed over with slabs carried on chestnut beams (‘con travi di castagna, e balate’). The latrines (gabinetti) and kitchens were placed in low buildings on the rear side of the barracks.62
NLM Plan M18, showing the state of the fortress around January 1727, with largely complete ramparts and unbuilt barracks and church (see main text). (Image source: Courtesy of the National Library of Malta)