On one of our walks around Valletta a road had been blocked off due to filming taking place near one of the buildings. I wasn’t able to find out what was being filmed but during my search I saw that Fort Ricasolo was being used as a film set for Gladiator II. Part of the fort is leased to the Malta Film Commision and is used as a location in many films. We had noticed the Gladiator II film set from the other side of the harbour but had not realised what it was at the time.

Fort Ricasolo is currently closed to the public due to its dilapidated state. Some of the fortifications have been eroded and fallen into the sea but approval has now been given for the proposed restoration plans.

Today, Fort Ricasoli remains largely intact, although it is in a dilapidated state.^[40] The headland that it is built upon is prone to coastal erosion, and some of the walls between No. 3 and No. 4 bastions have already collapsed into the sea.^[41] In 2004, the Restoration Unit of the Ministry of Resources and Infrastructure removed, restored and re-attached part of the fort’s walls,^[42] but nothing has been done to restore the entire fort.^[43]