IRF Stage @ Piazza D’Armi
It’s the very first time the International Radio Festival takes place in Valetta, the beautiful capital of Malta and European Capital of Culture for 2018. All the more happier we are to be able to host our festival at two of the city’s most exciting and steeped in history locations: the Fort Saint Elmo
and the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
The Fort Saint Elmo is probably the first tourist attraction you’ll see if you approach Valetta by sea. The Bastion fort stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour. By 1417, the local militia had already established a permanent watch post and in 1488, the Aragonese built a watchtower on Saint Elmo Point dedicated to Erasmus of Formia, better known as Saint Elmo. During the Great Siege of Malta in 1565 Fort St. Elmo was the scene of some of the most intense fighting, and it withstood massive bombardment from Turkish cannon for 28 days. None of the defending knights survived, and only nine of the Maltese defenders survived by swimming across to Fort St. Angelo on the other side of the Grand Harbour. Surrounded by history and a spectacular view the Fort Saint Elmo will be a fitting place of event for this year’s IRF.
This wonderful location is provided by Heritage Malta – the National Agency for Malta’s Cultural Heritage. The mission of Heritage Malta is to ensure that those elements of cultural heritage entrusted to it are protected and made accessible to the public. The agency also operates a conservation division for the training of conservators and conservation scientists.
