Dwejra Tower ( mt, Torri tad-Dwejra) is a small

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 ...

in Dwejra Bay, San Lawrenz, which is on the island of

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 ...

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 completed in 1652, and is part of the

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 d ...

. Today, it is in good condition and is open to the public. It is one of four surviving coastal watchtowers in Gozo, with the others being

Xlendi Tower Xlendi Tower ( mt, Torri tax-Xlendi) is a small watchtower near Xlendi Bay, within the limits of Munxar on the island of Gozo in Malta. The tower is one of the Lascaris towers and dates to 1650; it is currently undergoing restoration. It is the o ...

Mġarr ix-Xini Tower Mġarr ix-Xini Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Mġarr ix-Xini) is the largest of the coastal watchtowers that the Knights of Malta erected on the island of Gozo. It watches over the entrance to the bay of Mġarr ix-Xini, limits of Għajnsielem, which lie ...

and

Isopu Tower Sopu Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Sopu), also known as Isopu Tower, San Blas Tower or ''Torre Nuova'', is a small watchtower situated on the cliff between San Blas and Daħlet Qorrot in Nadur, Gozo, Malta. Isopu Tower was the last watchtower to be bu ...

History

The Dwejra Tower was built in 1652 during the magistracy of Grand Master

Giovanni Paolo Lascaris Giovanni Paolo Lascaris di Ventimiglia e Castellar ( Maltese: ''Laskri'') (28 June 156014 August 1657) was an Italian nobleman and Grand Master of the Knights of Malta. Early life Lascaris was born on 28 June 1560, the second son of Giannetto ...

, and was funded by the University of Gozo. It is one of the

, and the intention behind its construction was for it to act as a watchtower and guard the surrounding areas from

corsair A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially: * Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber pirates and privateers operating from North Africa * French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown Corsair may also refer to: Arts and ...

landings. This tower, just like the other towers, could communicate to nearby defence fortifications through fire and smoke, at night and day respectively. The expenses for running the tower were covered by producing salt from the salt pans near it. It was equipped with three 6-pounder guns in the eighteenth century. In 1744, Grand Master

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Sephardi Jews, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian language, Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all List of countries and territories where Portuguese is an officia ...

made going to the

Fungus Rock Fungus Rock, sometimes known as ''Mushroom Rock'', and among the Maltese as Il-Ġebla tal-Ġeneral ( en, The General's Rock), is a small islet in the form of a massive lump of limestone at the entrance to an almost circular black lagoon in Dw ...

illegal because a fungus which grew there was believed to have medicinal powers, and Dwejra Tower was used as a lookout to prevent anyone climbing on the islet. The tower was manned by the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery between 1839 and 1873. It was then abandoned until 1914, during the time of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when the

King's Own Malta Regiment The King's Own Malta Regiment was a territorial infantry regiment on the British Army colonial list prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1801 as the "Regiment of Maltese Militia", existing only until the following year. It was reformed ...

and the

Royal Malta Artillery The Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) was a regular artillery unit of the British Army prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1889, having been called the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery from 1861 until 1889. Initially on the British Esta ...

were dispatched and it was manned by No. 3 Company with two (later four) 12-pounder guns. It was again used in

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 ...

as an observation post, and on the 27th March 1943, Captain Frank Debono and Carmelo Zahra, who were stationed there, rescued an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

pilot who had crash-landed his Mark Vb Spitfire on the cliffs overlooking the bay. The tower was leased to Gerald de Trafford in 1956. It was passed on loan to

Din l-Art Ħelwa () is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by Maltese Judge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment. Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous ...

in a state of complete dilapidation.

Present day

The tower was restored by

between 1997 and 1999. It is now in good condition and is open to the public at no charge.

In popular culture

*Dwejra Tower was used in the filming of the 1963 fil
''Treasure in Malta''
and the 1985 film ''

Among Wolves ''Among Wolves'' (or ''Les Loups entre eux'') is a French drama, crime film directed by José Giovanni. Plot A group of terrorists kidnap a US general of NATO. The viewer follows the recruitment of a commando of mercenaries (by the Secret Servi ...

''.

References

From RAF Operations Record Book RAF 1435 Squadron (National Archives, UK Ref AIR 27/2342)

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
Lascaris towers Towers completed in 1652 San Lawrenz National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1652 establishments in Malta {{Malta-geo-stub