Knights Fortifications around Harbours of Malta

I agree with the comments of others here, this nomination makes little sense, the city of Valletta is already a UNESCO site, it's a tiny city, the smallest capital in Europe, and the fortifications are an integral part of the city.
It looks like an attempt to draw more tourists in to be honest.
Don't misunderstand me, the fortifications are impressive and made from that beautiful honey coloured stone that makes Malta so unique but it would be a travesty to get a separate listing when many places in need of inclusion are left out.
Many cities do have multiple listings, London and Paris are just a couple of examples, the difference here is that the whole city of Valletta is a UNESCO site so it already encompasses all elements.

There is no doubt that his should have been part of the Valletta inscription from the start. While the inscribed town is very nice, it is certainly not as spectacular as the former, older seat of the Order of St. John in Rhodos. While there are many must-visits in Valletta, such as the Archeological and the Art Museum, the Grandmasters House, Fort St. Elmo and several churches full of remarkable art, there is no single building in Valletta with real OUV. It is mainly the stunning townscape with the two bays, the fortifications and the many church towers and large domes that make this an unforgettable place. The question, that is not clearly answered in the nomination, is which parts of the metropolis around the two bays should be included into an extended core zone that makes more sense then the current Valletta inscription. Today the large area around the two bays consists of many separate towns but for the visitor it is just one large continuous metropolis. Unfortunately Malta has very little building regulations and a lot of the buildings, especially on the western bay are of deplorable aesthetic quality and if it were situated in central Europe Valletta would have lost its WHS for a long time because of the ruined vistas. 

But in the Eastern bay you have the two peninsulas of Birgu and Senglea that are both older then Valletta: Birgu has a wonderful, meandering medieaval townscape that contrasts strongly with the younger city of …

Valletta offers natural harbors on both sides of the peninsula on which it is located. Each harbor is protected by massive fortifications and forts along its shores. The fortifications were continuously improved by the local rulers (first the Knights of Malta, then the British) and repelled many attackers over the centuries.

Most noticeably, they repelled the Ottomans during the Great Siege of Malta. The event marked the end of Ottoman naval supremacy in the Mediterranean.

OUV

I fully concur with Ralf's assessment. This would be a obvious and well warranted extension to the Valletta WHS. Honestly, without researching the proper boundaries of the Valletta WHS, it feels like the surrounding forts are already part of it anyhow. A separate inscription meanwhile would be redundant. So yes for an extension. And no for a separate site.

Getting There

Fort St Elmo is located on the tip of the Valletta peninsula. It houses the National War Museum and should be included in any visit of Valletta.

From the Lower Barraka Gardens you get great views of Fort St Angelo (picture). To visit, you are best served to take the regular (every 30min or so) Three City Ferry.

To the North you find Fort Tigne and Dragut Point. From this spot the corsair Dragut bombarded Fort St Elmo during the Ottoman siege. In later 19th century the British built batteries here. The Silema ferry takes you here. At the time of writing construction work …

This is a confusing nomination. It concentrates on the fortifications around the grand harbour of Valletta, yet the old city of Valletta is already a WHS on its own, and its military aspects are prominently mentioned in the description. The nomination text mumbles something about other harbour fortifications, but doesn't bother to mention what exactly they mean. Do they want to include all the watchtowers scattered around Malta ? Or the Victoria lines coastal forts, which are part of another tentative site ? The core of this tentative site still seems to be the harbour forts of Valletta, meaning Fort St.Elmo at the tip of Valetta, Fort St Angelo on the opposite side of the harbour, and the various bastions next to them (although the nomination text does not even mention them by name !).

On the positive side, it's very easy to tick this site of when visiting Valletta. In fact, it is almost impossible to not visit some part of the fortifications when there, and the great views above the grand harbour is a must-see anyways. Fort St Elmo was extensively modified during the second world war and nowadays houses an interesting museum about the military past of Valletta, although the fort itself looks a bit neglected. I have only seen St Angelo and the various bastions from the outside.

All in all, this tentative site is a clear case for an extension of the already existing Valletta WHS, instead of making it a site on …