Bubaqra Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Bubaqra), formerly named as Saliba Tower, is a

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. United States In the United States, historically a fortified house was often calle ...

Bubaqra Bubaqra is a hamlet with its own administrative division in Żurrieq, Malta. It is a small rural village between Nigret and Ħal Far. It has a population of 2,000 people. At the centre of the zone is St Mary's Chapel. Overview The area was men ...

, limits of

Żurrieq Żurrieq ( mt, Iż-Żurrieq ) is a town in the Southern Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and it has a population of 11,823 inhabitants as of March 2014. The first documentation about it being a parish dates back to ...

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 ...

. It was built as a country retreat in the late 16th century. The tower and its gardens have been restored, and now serve as a family retreat. It is officially named as Bubaqra Palace (Maltese: ''Palazz Bubaqra'') and it is a grade 2 national monument.

History

Bubaqra Tower was built in around 1579 by Don Matteolo Pisani, a Conventual Chaplain of the

Order of St. John 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 military order. It was headqu ...

. Fr. Luret Zammit confirms that it was built by Fr. Mattew (Matteolo) Pisani. Zammit says that it was eventually named ''Torre del Greco'' for a Greek family, the Roncali family, who lived there. Although the structure was

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, it was privately owned and was not meant for defensive purposes. Despite this, at some point it was probably used in Malta's defence system, as was done in other cases such as

Gauci Gauci is a surname in use mainly in the Republic of Malta belonging to one of the most ancient and noble families on the island. It originates from the word ''Għawdxi'' (; meaning ''Gozitan''), in reference to a man from Gozo. According to the ...

and

Mamo Tower Mamo Tower ( mt, Torri Mamo), also known as San Tommaso Tower ( mt, Torri Ta' Mamu), is a fortified residence in Marsaskala, Malta. It was built by the Mamo family in 1657 on rising ground above St Thomas Bay on the east shore of Malta. History ...

s. The structure was modified in the 18th century, during the rule of Grand Master

Marc'Antonio Zondadari Fra' Marc'Antonio Zondadari (1658 − 16 June 1722), from Siena, was the 65th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1720, after the death of Fra Ramon Perellos y Roccaful, till his own death in 1722. From 1702 onwards Zondadari ...

and around 1760, when four turrets were also added giving it a fortified residence appearance from the distance. It was reportedly used as an illicit meeting place between members of the Order, who were bound by vows of

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...

, and young females. During this period, it was common for the knights, priests and bishops to have mistresses, illegitimate children, or both; notably, the parish priest of the village of

himself was known to organise meetings against payment between young mistresses and their knightly suitors in the whereabouts of the tower. The tower was requisitioned by the British military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

between 1939 and 1945, but was returned to its owners after the war. Thereafter, Bubaqra Tower and its gardens were restored, and the place was turned into a family retreat. The tower is listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mon ...

. The building is officially known as ''Palazzo Bubaqra'' by the

Malta Environment and Planning Authority The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA, mt, L-Awtorità ta' Malta dwar l-Ambjent u l-Ippjanar) was the national agency responsible for the environment and planning in Malta. It was established to regulate the environment and planning ...

(MEPA) and is scheduled as a grade 2 property.

Architecture

Bubaqra Tower is situated in an agricultural estate, in

where it is surrounded by

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

gardens. It is square in shape, and has four distinctive corner turrets. Its architecture probably influenced the design of the

Gourgion Tower Gourgion Tower ( mt, It-Torri ta' Gourgion or ''It-Torri Gorġun'', it, Torre Gourgion) was a fortified house in the outskirts of Xewkija, Gozo, Malta. The tower was built by Giovanni Gourgion in 1690, and it became a symbol of the village of X ...

, which was built in the late 17th century on

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...

. Above the main entrance of the building is an inscription that calls upon God to give relief from the enemy at the recitation of the sign of the cross.

References

{{Historic Watch Towers of Malta Fortified towers in Malta Fortified houses in Malta Żurrieq Houses completed in 1579 Limestone buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Palaces in Malta 16th-century fortifications

History

Architecture

Further reading

References