Upper Barrakka Gardens & Saluting Battery
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The park was originally created as a retreat for the Italian Knights of the Order of St John in 1661. They were opened as a public park in the early-19th century.
Saluting Battery
Just below the gardens is the saluting battery of cannons which have protected the city for nearly 500 years.
This not only was a defensive gun battery also used to fire a salute to visiting naval vessels. The battery fires every day at noon and 4pm. At the beginning of the 19th century, they started to fire a signal at midday, a practice that continues to this day. If you arrive an hour before you could take a tour of the batteries and see the cannons being fired. If you want to see the firing there is a small commentary starting 15 minutes before.
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Visiting Upper Barrakka Gardens & Saluting Battery
Open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00. Closed on: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Santa Marija (15 August), Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.