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Wignacourt Tower
Wignacourt Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Wignacourt), also known as Saint Paul's Bay Tower ( mt, Torri ta' San Pawl il-Baħar), is a bastioned watchtower in St. Paul's Bay, Malta. It was the first of six Wignacourt towers to be built, and the first stone was laid on 10 February 1610. It replaced the role of Ta' Tabibu farmhouse which was previously known as Dejma Tower. An artillery battery was added a century later in 1715. Today the tower is a museum of fortifications around the Maltese Islands. Wignacourt Tower was the second tower to be built in the Maltese islands, after Garzes Tower on Gozo. It was also the first tower to be built on the main island. As Garzes Tower was demolished in 1848, Wignacourt Tower is now the oldest surviving watchtower in Malta. History By the end of the 16th century, Malta's harbour area was extensively fortified. However, the rest of the islands was virtually undefended, and the coastline was open to attacks by Ottomans or Barbary corsairs. This b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wignacourt Towers
The Wignacourt towers ( mt, Torrijiet ta' Wignacourt) are a series of large coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Order of Saint John between 1610 and 1620. A total of six towers of this type were constructed, four of which survive. Background, construction and history In 1418, the Maltese people made a petition to build a tower guarding the Gozo Channel, but nothing materialised. In the early 15th century, the local ''Mahras'' maintained several watch posts around the islands' coastline, and some of the posts possibly had a coastal watchtower. Despite this, there was a shortage of men and coastal defence was not very effective, with the islands remaining open to attacks by Moors or Barbary corsairs. The Maltese islands fell under the control of the Order of Saint John in 1530. The Order initially established its base in Birgu, and later moved to Valletta. Both cities are located in the Grand Harbour, the main natural harbour in Malta. By end of the 16th century, the harbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Garzez
Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (other) * Martin County (other) * Martin Township (other) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Australia * Martin, Western Australia * Martin Place, Sydney Caribbean * Martin, Saint-Jean-du-Sud, Haiti, a village in the Sud Department of Haiti Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village in Slavonia, Croatia * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Martin (Val Poschiavo), Switzerland England * Martin, Hampshire * Martin, Kent * Martin, East Lindsey, Lincolnshire, hamlet and former parish in East Lindsey district * Martin, North Kesteven, village and parish in Lincolnshire in North Kesteven district * Martin Hussingtree, Worcestershire * Martin Mere, a lake in Lancashire ** WWT Martin Mere, a wetland nature reserve that includes the lake and surrounding areas * Martin Mill, Kent North America Canada * Rural Municipality of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortifications Of Malta
The fortifications of Malta consist of a number of walled cities, citadels, forts, Watchtower, towers, Artillery battery, batteries, redoubts, Entrenchment (fortification), entrenchments and Pillbox (military), pillboxes. The fortifications were built over thousands of years, from around 1450 BC to the mid-20th century, and they are a result of the Malta, Maltese islands' strategic position and natural harbours, which have made them very desirable for various powers. The earliest known fortifications in Malta are defensive walls built around Bronze Age settlements. The Phoenicians, Roman Empire, Romans and Byzantine Empire, Byzantines built a number of defensive walls around important settlements, but very little remains of these survive today. By the late medieval period, the main fortifications on Malta were the capital Mdina, the Cittadella (Gozo), Cittadella on Gozo, the Fort St. Angelo, Castrum Maris and a few coastal towers or lookout posts. The fortifications of Malta w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heathfield, East Sussex
Heathfield is a market town in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The town had a population of 7,732 in 2011. With neighbouring Waldron, it forms the civil parish of the Heathfield and Waldron, which had a population of 11,913 in 2011. Location Heathfield lies near the junction of two main roads: the A267 between Royal Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne; and the A265 from Hawkhurst. It is almost equidistant from Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne: approximately 16 mi (26 km). History Historically, Heathfield lay on an ancient trackway (The Ridgeway), connecting the South Downs with the Weald. Its market charter was granted in February 1316 during the reign of Edward II. The Wealden iron brought prosperity to the town during the 16th and the 17th centuries. The coming of the railway (the Cuckoo Line) in 1880 gave it another new lease of life. The latter was not a financial success/ and the branch line between Eridge and Polegate closed in 1968. The trackbed is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional services, which vary by country. These include providing and accepting government forms (such as passport applications), and processing government services and fees (such as road tax, postal savings, or bank fees). The chief administrator of a post office is called a postmaster. Before the advent of postal codes and the post office, postal systems would route items to a specific post office for receipt or delivery. During the 19th century in the United States, this often led to smaller communities being renamed after their post offices, particularly after the Post Office Department began to require that post office names not be duplicated within a state. Name The term "post-office" has been in use since the 1650s, shortly after the legali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown Colony Of Malta
The Crown Colony of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies (commonly known as the Crown Colony of Malta or simply Malta) was the British colony in the Maltese islands, today the modern Republic of Malta. It was established when the Malta Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in 1813, and this was confirmed by the Treaty of Paris in 1814. Establishment and early years (1813–1824) From 1530 to 1798, Malta had been ruled by the Order of Saint John. The Order was ousted during the War of the Second Coalition and Malta was occupied by Napoleon. The Maltese rebelled after a couple of months of French rule and asked Britain for help. Eventually, the French capitulated in 1800 and Malta voluntarily became a British protectorate. Britain was then supposed to evacuate the island according to the terms of the Treaty of Amiens of 1802, but failed to keep this obligation – one of several mutual cases of non-adherence to the treaty, which eventually led to its c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mistra Battery
Mistra Battery ( mt, Batterija tal-Mistra), formerly also known as Despirasse Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Despirasse), is an artillery battery in Mistra Bay, Mellieħa, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in the 18th century as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Islands. The battery is considered as the best preserved of the Order's batteries in Malta, since it retains all of its original features. Many other batteries have been destroyed or otherwise modified, and very few have survived in their original state. History The first plans to construct a battery at Mistra Bay were made in 1714, where the knight Mongontier donated 133 scudi for its construction. The battery does not appear in the 1715-1716 list of coastal fortifications, but possibly a gun platform was built some years later. However, the battery as it is today was built over forty years later in 1761 due to the insistence by the military engineer Bourlamaque, during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buġibba Battery
Buġibba Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Buġibba), also known as Elbene Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Bileben), was an artillery battery in Buġibba, limits of St. Paul's Bay, Malta. It was built in the 18th century, by the Order of St. John, as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese islands. The battery no longer exists, but its rock-hewn ditch and some foundations can still be noticed. History Buġibba Battery was built in the 18th century during one of the building programmes of coastal batteries in Malta. Sources conflict as to whether it was built in 1715–16, or sometime between 1747 and 1784. It was one of a series of fortifications defending St. Paul's Bay, with the nearest ones to it being Wignacourt Tower to the southwest and Qawra Tower to the northeast. The battery's exact layout is not known, but it had a semi-circular gun platform with a parapet, and a blockhouse at the rear. It was surrounded by a ditch which was filled with sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qawra Tower
Qawra Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Qawra), also known as Qawra Point Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Ras il-Qawra) or Fra Ben Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Fra Ben), is a small watchtower in Qawra, limits of St. Paul's Bay, Malta. It was completed in 1638 as the fourth of the Lascaris towers. An artillery battery was built around the tower in 1715. Today, the tower and battery are a restaurant. History Qawra Tower was built in 1638 near the tip of Qawra Point, commanding the entrance to St. Paul's Bay to the west and Salina Bay to the east. It was built on or near the site of a medieval watch post. Since 1659, it has Għallis Tower in its line of sight. This linked Qawra Tower with the De Redin towers that allowed communication from Gozo to Valletta. The tower's design is similar to the other Lascaris towers, with two floors each having a single room. Access to the upper floor was originally by a wooden ladder or ''scala di corda''. In 1715, a semi-circular gun battery was built around the seaward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Agatha's Tower
Saint Agatha's Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Sant'Agata), also known as the Red Tower ( mt, Torri l-Aħmar), Mellieħa Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Mellieħa) or Fort Saint Agatha ( mt, Forti Sant'Agata), is a large bastioned watchtower in Mellieħa, Malta. It was built between 1647 and 1649, as the sixth of the Lascaris towers. The tower's design is completely different from the rest of the Lascaris towers, but it is similar to the earlier Wignacourt towers. St. Agatha's Tower was the last large bastioned tower to be built in Malta. History and architecture Saint Agatha's Tower (original language as Torre Sant’ Agata, also named Torre Rossa and Torre Caura) was built between November 1647 and April 1649 to a design by the architect Antonio Garsin. The structure consists of a square tower with four corner towers. Cannon ports in the turrets gave interlocking fields of fire commanding the base of the walls and the gateway, with other large cannon ports in the faces of the main tower. The outer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vittorio Cassar
Vittorio Cassar ( mt, Vitor Cassar, 1550 – 1609), born Gio Vittorio Cassar, was a Maltese architect and military engineer. The son of the renowned architect Girolamo Cassar, he was admitted as a knight within the Order of St. John in 1587. He became the Order's resident engineer in the early 17th century, and he directed the upgrading of the Cittadella of Gozo between 1600 and 1603. Many details about his life are uncertain, including the dates of his birth and death. He is claimed to have designed some of the Wignacourt towers and several churches, but there is no evidence of these attributions. Biography Vittorio Cassar was probably the firstborn son of Girolamo Cassar and his wife Mattea, and he was his father's favourite and principal heir. He is said to have been born in around 1550, but this date is mainly based on speculation. The Cassar family, probably originating from Sicily, had been established in Malta since at least the year 1440. Cassar was admitted as a k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Msida
Msida ( mt, L-Imsida, it, Misida) is a harbour town in the Central Region of Malta with a population of 7, 623 (2021). Location The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta. The neighbouring towns of Msida are Ta' Xbiex, Gżira, San Ġwann, Birkirkara, Santa Venera, Ħamrun and Pietà. Msida is an important town for all travellers as many of the country's bus routes pass through it. Etymology The name Msida is said to originate from an Arabic word meaning "a fisherman's dwelling". However it could also be derived from the word 'Omm Sidna' meaning 'The Mother of Our Lord' since there could have been a small chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Church & Traditions The patron saint of Msida is Saint Joseph while the protector is The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For a week and a half every July, the town celebrates the feast of St. Joseph. The feast of Msida is also famous for its pole climbing c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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