Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are renting a "fortress" once used to protect residents from pirate attacks.

The couple and their six children - Maddox nine, Pax, seven, Zahara, six, Shiloh, five, and two-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne - are temporarily living in Malta while the actor shoots his new zombie movie 'World War Z'.

According to MaltaToday.com, the family are staying at "unassuming, 18th century, square-shaped fortress" the Guarena Palace - which is located in Qrendi, a small village in the South West of the European country.

The Guarena Palace is named after a member of the Order of the Knights of St John, Bailiff Fra Pietro Francesco Rovero De Guarena.

He acquired the land in 1750 and he built the fortified structure to act as a means of defence from Arab invaders and pirates who frequently attacked Malta.

Shooting on 'World War Z' - which is based on the book by Max Brooks and is also being produced by Brad - is due to start in July.

In the movie, the 47-year-old Hollywood heartthrob plays a UN agent who travels the world interviewing survivors of a global zombie attack which occurred 10 years earlier.

In the film, the scenes shot in Malta will be depicted as having occurred in Israel.