the construction of Fort Manoel and the restoration of Mdina's walls, a number of improvements were made to the fortifications of Malta throughout Vilhena's magistracy. Saint Anthony's Battery was built on Gozo, the fortifications of Birgu were strengthened, and work continued on the unfinished Cottonera Lines. In 1736, the Santa Margherita Lines were finally completed nearly a century after construction had begun. In 1724, the Grand Master founded a suburb called Borgo Vilhena in order to meet the demand for housing within the capital Valletta. The suburb was built in the area between the newly completed Floriana Lines and the Valletta Land Front. The town is now known as Floriana, and it retains symbols from Vilhena's coat of arms in its emblem. In 1730, Vilhena built a summer residence named Palazzo Manoel (now known as Casa Leoni) in Santa Venera. He also built a hunting lodge in Naxxar in 1733, which was later converted into Palazzo Parisio. Vilhena also embellished the 16th-century Verdala Palace in Buskett. Vilhena also ordered the construction of the Teatro Pubblico in Valletta in 1731. The theatre opened a year later, and it was renamed Manoel Theatre in the 19th century. It is still in operation today. Another public building constructed during Vilhena's magistracy is the Banca Giuratale of Gozo, which was built in 1733. Vilhena's magistracy was marked by the only attempt to end the perpetual war between the Order and the Ottoman Empire and establish a peace treaty. Negotiations were made through the French ambassador, but nothing materialized. Vilhena maintained the Order's neutrality following the outbreak of the War of the Polish Succession in 1733. Death Vilhena died on 10 (or 12) December 1736 at the age of 73, and was succeeded as Grand Master by Ramon Despuig. He was buried at the Chapel of the Langue of Castile, Leon and Portugal within the Conventual Church of St. John (now known as St. John's Co-Cathedral). His funerary monument was designed by the Florentine sculptor Massimiliano Soldani Benzi. Fort Manoel is supposedly haunted by a ghost known as the Black Knight, who resembles de Vilhena. Heraldry Vilhena's coat of arms consists of a lion and a winged arm holding a sword representing the , quartered with a white cross on a red background representing the Order of St. John. The blazon is per fess Argent a lion Gules the head Or and Gules a winged