The fortifications of Valletta, Mdina, Birgu and the Gozo Citadel constitute an important part of the tourism product that the Maltese islands have to offer. These historic ramparts from an integral part of the Maltese landscape and are also important architectural and cultural monuments in their own right. Most of our tourism product is sold around the unique iconographic and visual power that these monuments provide. These fortifications are, and have been for a very long while, a core feature of the Maltese tourism product that is widely used to publicise the island's assets on all tourists brochures. Yet, despite their inherent historical and architectural significance, and importance to tourism, the larger parts of these historic ramparts are to be found in a very poor state of preservation, owing largely to the inability, to date, to address the line scale and magnitude of the task of restoring such massive works and more importantly, the inequality of the limited resources that have been available so far as to maintain and repair these extensive works. Owing to their present consumed and decayed state, therefore, these prime and highly visible fortifications are both visually unattractive and as such do little to promote Malta's brand image and claim as a cultural destination. It is to be stressed that in various places the poor state of the fortifications serves as a cause for ridicule and concern owing to the high degree of erosion, vegetation, structurally instability, misuse and treat to public safety, when instead, those historical ramparts should be a source of national pride and identity. The effort that s necessary to redress this state of affairs can only materialise with the assistance provided by ERDF support. The project for the restoration of the fortifications of Valletta, Birgu (with parts of the intra-mural spaces), sections of the fortifications of Mdina and the Gozo Citadel is designed to bring these important cultural and touristic sites back to an acceptable standard of presentation, whereby they will once again require their due attractiveness, dignity, architectural legibility and visual power, important aspects that have suffered considerably over the past decades. The investment provided by this project will upgrade the quality of the fortifications as prime tourism sites. The proposed restoration works, once completed in their totality, will also serve to recuperate various areas currently unutilised and make them available for culture activities or their purposes, thereby adding to their overall rehabilitation and greater integration into the tourism product that the Maltese islands have to offer. The project will help revalorise the image of the fortifications and allow Malta to retain its competitive edge in the cultural tourism sector. The project's impact on tourism, and on the overall economy in general, therefore, will be largely at the macro level, since the restored fortifications will enable a better image of the tourism product that the country already has on offer.