Chapel of St Nicholas, Fort Ricasoli

The Order of St John began to construct Fort Ricasoli in 1670. It was standard practice to include chapels in Hospitaller fortifications, and the military engineer Mederico Blondel [fr] was appointed to draw up plans for the chapel. Blondel initially proposed a church set within the fortification walls, but it was later decided to build it in a more central location near the fort's main gate. On 29 September 1693, Pope Innocent XII declared that the fort's chapel would be a parish church under the Order's jurisdiction.^[1]

Work on the chapel commenced sometime after 31 March 1696. Construction and maintenance was funded by the Fondazione Cotoner which had been established by Grand Master Nicolás Cotoner. The chapel was consecrated on 15 May 1698 and it was dedicated to Saint Nicholas, Cotoner's namesake.^[1] The consecration ceremony coincided with the completion of the fortress,^[2] and it was attended by the new Grand Master Ramón Perellós and various other dignitaries.^[1] The chapel was granted the status of a parish church on 19 May 1698,^[1] and it was subsequently used by the fort's garrison.^[3]

In 1700, a dispute between the Bishop of Malta and the Grand Master arose over their jurisdiction on the chapel. The chapel remained in use after Malta came under British rule in the 19th century, when it served the needs of Maltese soldiers within the fort. On 10 December 1897, the chapel fell under the jurisdiction of the newly-established parish of St Joseph of Kalkara.^[1]

Fort Ricasoli was decommissioned by the British military in 1964.^[4] The chapel was subsequently abandoned or used as storage space, and it fell into a state of disrepair.^[1] In 2011 it was reported that a tomb in its crypt had been desecrated.^[5] Plans to restore the chapel along with the rest of the fort were approved in 2019.^[6]

The chapel is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.^[3]