Madliena Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Madliena), originally known as ''Torre della Paulina'', 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 ...

Madliena Madliena ( mt, Il-Madliena), formerly spelt Madalena, is an area in Swieqi, Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, ...

, limits of Pembroke,

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 1658 as the fourth of the

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers ( mt, Torrijiet ta' De Redin) are a series of small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1658 and 1659. Thirteen towers were built around the coast of Malta (island), mainl ...

. The British built an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

next to the tower in 1908–1909, and the tower and battery remained in use until

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 ...

. Today, the battery no longer exists but the tower is in good condition.

History

Madliena Tower was built in 1658 on the north shore of Malta, on high ground above the shore west of Ras l-Irqiqa in

, Pembroke. It was built on or near the site of a medieval watch post. To the west the tower has sight of

Saint Mark's Tower Saint Mark's Tower ( mt, Torri ta' San Mark), originally known as ''Torre del Cortin'' and also known as Qalet Marku Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Qalet Marku), is a small watchtower in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, limits of Naxxar, Malta. It was completed in 1 ...

, and to the east is

Saint George's Tower Saint George's Tower ( mt, Torri ta' San Ġorġ; it, Torre San Giorgio) is a small watchtower in St. Julian's, Malta. It was built in 1638 and is one of the Lascaris towers. Today, it is located in the grounds of a hotel. History Saint Geor ...

. The tower originally followed the standard design of the

, having a square plan with two floors and a turret on the roof. Sometime after 1741, a fougasse was dug in the rocks close to the tower. An entrenchment was also built in the vicinity of the tower in the 18th century, but very little remains of this have survived. Malta - Pembroke - Triq Martin Luther King - Fougasse 02 ies

Malta - Pembroke - Triq Martin Luther King - Fougasse 02 ies

After the British gained control of Malta, Madliena Tower continued to serve as a military installation. A cookhouse was built adjacent to the tower's southwest corner, but this was already in ruins by 1908 and no remains survive. When 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 ...

began to be built, the tower was in a strategic location, since it plugged the gap between

Fort Madalena Fort Madalena, also known as Fort Madliena ( mt, Il-Fortizza tal-Madliena), is a polygonal fort in Madliena, limits of Swieqi, Malta. It was built between 1878 and 1880 by the British as part of the Victoria Lines. The fort now falls under the ...

and

Fort Pembroke Fort Pembroke ( mt, Il-Fortizza ta' Pembroke) is a polygonal fort in Pembroke, Malta. It was built between 1875 and 1878 by the British to defend part of the Victoria Lines. The fort now houses the Verdala International School. History Fort Pem ...

. In fact, it was modified to fulfill a coastal defence role as a

Martello tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...

. Sometime around the late 1860s or early 1870s, its parapet was rebuilt, and a circular emplacement was installed on the roof in order to mount a 64-pounder rifled muzzle loading (RML) gun. Despite this, the tower does not feature on 19th century armament lists, so the gun was probably never installed. In 1908, a Night Practice Battery housing two QF 12-pounder guns was built close to Madliena Tower. The battery was completed in March 1909, and it cost £99, 17 shillings and 2 pence to build. The battery's Direction Range Finder was mounted on the tower's roof. Two store rooms were also built to house the battery's armaments. It was still in use by 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 ...

until the 1920s. A Defence Electric Light was mounted at the tower in 1935. The tower saw use again in

, when a concrete emplacement was built to house a beach gun.

Present day

Today, the original tower and World War II emplacement are intact, but very little remains of the Night Practice Battery have survived. Over time there were some makeshift modifications and structures built adjacent to the tower. The original door at the second level was filled in and was no longer visible, while the commemorative plaque was replaced by a slab of limestone. A steel door was added at the base of the tower. The tower was handed to the NGO Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna in 2009. Since then, it has been restored with funds from the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...

. Throughout the course of restoration, the original doorway was reopened, and structural damage was repaired.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands

YouTube video showing Madliena Tower as it looked in the 19th century

YouTube video showing Madliena Tower as it looked in World War II
{{Batteries in Malta De Redin towers Martello towers Towers completed in 1658 Batteries in Malta World War II sites in Malta Pembroke, Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1658 establishments in Malta