War HQ tunnels to open tomorrow

The underground War HQ tunnels in Valletta will be open for viewing tomorrow. Tours to the battery will be organised by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna to the tunnels and the saluting at 10 and 11am and 1 p.m. The former War HQ tunnels will be open from 2p.m. to 5 p.m. A salute will be fired by all the saluting guns at Noon. The origins of the Saluting Battery go back to the founding of Valletta in 1566. The battery continued to be used till 1954. Gun salutes were fired to greet visiting dignitaries and ships but also to announce important naval or military victories, the birth of royal princes in Europe and to mark important state occasions or public or religious festivals in Malta. A gun was also fired to signal time at sunrise, mid-day and sunset and also to announce the departure of a ship from the harbour. In 2004, the Saluting Battery was restored by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna with assistance from the Malta Tourism Authority and the Bank of Valletta and later through European Regional Development Funds. Today it attracts some 700,000 viewers annually and is considered as one of the most popular cultural attractions in Malta. The underground War HQ tunnels under the Upper Barrakka...