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Nadur Tower
Nadur Tower ( mt, Torri tan-Nadur) is a small watchtower in Binġemma Gap, limits of Rabat, Malta. It was completed in 1637 as the third of the Lascaris towers. Today, the tower is in good condition. History Nadur Tower was built in 1637 at Binġemma Gap, close to where the British later built the Victoria Lines The Victoria Lines, originally known as the North West Front, are a line of fortifications that spans 12 kilometres along the width of Malta, dividing the north of the island from the more heavily populated south. Location The Victoria Lines ru .... Unlike the other Lascaris towers, it is located inland, far away from the coast. This is because it was built to serve as a 'relay' station between the newly constructed Lippija and Għajn Tuffieħa Towers and the walled city of Mdina. The tower has views of the western part of the island of Malta. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lascaris Towers
The Laskaris or Lascaris ( el, Λάσκαρις, later Λάσκαρης) family was a Byzantine Greek noble family whose members formed the ruling dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea from 1204 to 1261 and remained among the senior nobility up to the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire, whereupon many emigrated to Italy and then to Smyrna (much later). According to George Pachymeres, they were also called Tzamantouros (Tζαμάντουρος). The feminine form of the name is Laskarina (Λασκαρίνα). Etymology The origin of the name is unclear. In 1928, the Greek scholar Phaedon Koukoules proposed an origin from δάσκαρης, a Cappadocian variant for "teacher", but the δ>λ shift in Cappadocian is attested only in the late 19th century, so that its application to the mid-11th century or earlier is dubious. A year later, G. Stamnopoulos proposed an alternative etymology from the name Λάσκας or Λάσκος and the -άρις ending borrowed from the Latin ''-arius'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabat, Malta
Rabat ( mt, Ir-Rabat, ) is a town in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,497 as of March 2014. It adjoins the ancient capital city of Mdina, and a north-western area formed part of the Roman city of Melite until its medieval retrenchment. The Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to the Republic of Malta is seated in this village. The Local Council of Rabat is also the administrator of Baħrija. Parts of the films ''Munich'' and ''Black Eagle'' were shot in Rabat. In December 1999, Mtarfa was split from Rabat to form a separate Local Council by Act XXI, an amendment to the Local Council Act of 1993 (Act XV). Etymology Rabat is a Semitic word which can mean "fortified town" or "suburb". Catacombs Rabat is home to the famous Catacombs of St. Paul and of St. Agatha. These catacombs were used in Roman times to bury the dead as, according to Roman culture, it was unhygienic to bury the dead in the city. Mdina and parts of Rabat were built on top of the ancien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies south of Sicily (Italy), east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese and English, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversational in the Italian language. Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and British, amongst others. With a population of about 516,000 over an area of , Malta is the world's tenth-smallest country in area and fourth most densely populated sovereign cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watchtower
A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may observe the surrounding area. In some cases, non-military towers, such as religious towers, may also be used as watchtowers. History Military watchtowers The Romans built numerous towers as part of a system of communications, one example being the towers along Hadrian's Wall in Britain. Romans built many lighthouses, such as the Tower of Hercules in northern Spain, which survives to this day as a working building, and the equally famous lighthouse at Dover Castle, which survives to about half its original height as a ruin. In medieval Europe, many castles and manor houses, or similar fortified buildings, were equipped with watchtowers. In some of the manor houses of wester ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Of Malta
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. In many countries, the government has a kind of constitution, a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. While all types of organizations have governance, the term ''government'' is often used more specifically to refer to the approximately 200 independent national governments and subsidiary organizations. The major types of political systems in the modern era are democracies, monarchies, and authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. Historically prevalent forms of government include monarchy, aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, theocracy, and tyranny. These forms are not always mutually exclusive, and mixed govern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was headquartered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem until 1291, on the island of Hospitaller Rhodes, Rhodes from 1310 until 1522, in Hospitaller Malta, Malta from 1530 until 1798 and at Saint Petersburg from 1799 until 1801. Today several organizations continue the Hospitaller tradition, specifically the mutually recognized orders of St. John, which are the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Order of Saint John (chartered 1888), Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John, the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Chivalric Order of Saint John, the Order of Saint John in the Netherlands, and the Order of Saint John in Sweden. The Hospitallers arose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. Limestone often contains fossils which provide scientists with information on ancient environments and on the evolution of life. About 20% to 25% of sedimentary rock is carbonate rock, and most of this is limestone. The remaining carbonate rock is mostly dolomite, a closely related rock, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, . ''Magnesian limestone'' is an obsolete and poorly-defined term used variously for dolomite, for limes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watchtower
A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may observe the surrounding area. In some cases, non-military towers, such as religious towers, may also be used as watchtowers. History Military watchtowers The Romans built numerous towers as part of a system of communications, one example being the towers along Hadrian's Wall in Britain. Romans built many lighthouses, such as the Tower of Hercules in northern Spain, which survives to this day as a working building, and the equally famous lighthouse at Dover Castle, which survives to about half its original height as a ruin. In medieval Europe, many castles and manor houses, or similar fortified buildings, were equipped with watchtowers. In some of the manor houses of wester ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Lines
The Victoria Lines, originally known as the North West Front, are a line of fortifications that spans 12 kilometres along the width of Malta, dividing the north of the island from the more heavily populated south. Location The Victoria Lines run along a natural geographical barrier known as the Great Fault, from Madliena in the east, through the limits of the town of Mosta in the centre of the island, to Binġemma and the limits of Rabat, on the west coast. The complex network of linear fortifications known collectively as the Victoria Lines, that cut across the width of the island north of the old capital of Mdina, was a unique monument of military architecture. Background When built by the British military in the late 19th century, the line was designed to present a physical barrier to invading forces landing in the north of Malta, intent on attacking the harbour installations, so vital for the maintenance of the British fleet, their source of power in the Mediterranean. Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lippija Tower
Lippija Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Lippija), also known as Ġnejna Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Ġnejna), is a small watchtower in Ġnejna Bay, limits of Mġarr, Malta. It was completed in 1637 as the first of the Lascaris towers. Today, the tower is in good condition. History Lippija Tower was built in 1637 on the edge of Wardija Ridge overlooking Ġnejna Bay on the northwest coast of Malta. The tower has Għajn Tuffieħa and Nadur Towers in its line of sight. The construction of the tower was personally financed by Giovanni Paolo Lascaris. The tower was built on the site of a medieval watch post. It was designed by the Italian architect Vincenzo Maculani Vincenzo Maculani (11 September 1578 – 16 February 1667) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal, inquisitor and military architect. He was known as a severe man, harsh and without compassion, who preferred the black ''cappa'' of his order to the .... It is almost identical to Għajn Tuffieħa Tower, having a square plan and two floor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Għajn Tuffieħa Tower
Għajn Tuffieħa Tower ( mt, Torri t'Għajn Tuffieħa) is a small watchtower in Għajn Tuffieħa, limits of Mġarr, Malta. It was completed in 1637 as the second of the Lascaris towers. The tower is mostly intact although it is threatened by coastal erosion and it was damaged during a storm in 2023. History Għajn Tuffieħa Tower was built in 1637 on the cliffs overlooking Għajn Tuffieħa Bay close to Mellieħa and Mġarr on the northwest coast of Malta. The tower has Lippija and Nadur Towers in its line of sight. The tower was designed by the Italian architect Vincenzo Maculani. It is almost identical to Lippija Tower, having a square plan and two floors topped by a flat roof with a parapet. Each floor has a single room, and access to the upper floor was originally by a wooden ladder. Għajn Tuffieħa Tower was built on the site of a medieval watchpost. It was originally armed with a ½-pounder gun, and its garrison consisted of a captain and three men, who were paid by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mdina
Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melite (ancient city), Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Northern Region, Malta, Northern Region of Malta which served as the island's capital from antiquity to the medieval period. The city is still confined within its walls, and has a population of just under 300, but it is contiguous with the town of Rabat, Malta, Rabat, which takes its name from the Medina quarter, Arabic word for suburb, and has a population of over 11,000 (as of March 2014). The city was founded as Maleth in around the 8th century BC by Phoenician settlers, and was later renamed Melite (ancient city), Melite by the Ancient Rome, Romans. Ancient Melite was larger than present-day Mdina, and it was reduced to its present size during the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine or Arab occupation of Malta. During ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
