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 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 ...

Mellieħa Mellieħa ( mt, il-Mellieħa ) is a large village in the Northern Region of Malta. It has a population of 10,087 as of March 2014. Mellieħa is also a tourist resort, popular for its sandy beaches and natural environment. Etymology The name ''M ...

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 between 1647 and 1649, as the sixth 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 ...

. The tower's design is completely different from the rest of the Lascaris towers, but it is similar to the earlier

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. Backgr ...

. 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 walls are approximately four metres thick at the base and the interior of the tower is enclosed by a barrel vaulted roof. The corner turrets are surmounted by very characteristic fish tail crenelations. A chapel was located within the tower. The tower is situated in a commanding position on the crest of

Marfa Ridge The Marfa Ridge is a geographical ridge in Northwest Malta. The ridge is mostly known for hiking trips. On the eastern tip of the ridge, Maltese farmland is very common. The entirety of the ridge is made out of ''Globigerina'' limestone and is ...

at the north west end of Malta, overlooking the natural harbour and potential enemy landing site of

Bay, with clear views over to

Comino Comino ( mt, Kemmuna) is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring in area. Named after the cumin seed, the island has a permanent population of only two residents and ...

and Gozo, and also eastward to the line of watchtowers along the north shore of Malta that linked it with the Knights headquarters in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

. It was the Knights' primary stronghold in the west of Malta, and was manned by a garrison of 30 men, with ammunition and supplies to withstand a siege of 40 days. The ammunition of other fortifications in the north of Malta, such as Aħrax Tower and

Wied Musa Battery Wied Musa Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Wied Musa), also known as Swatar Battery ( mt, Batterija tas-Swatar), is a former artillery battery in Marfa, limits of Mellieħa, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1714–1716 as one of a ser ...

, was also stored in the tower. Like many of the Knights' early defensive structures, St. Agatha's Tower was strengthened during the early 18th century. A low profile rubble wall entrenchment was built around the flanks of the tower in the form of a

redan Redan (a French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other material. The redan developed from the lunette, o ...

trace. Due to this, the tower also functioned as a

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

, similar to the one at Żabbar during the

French blockade French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

. It continued to have a military function throughout the British period, and was manned during both World Wars. From the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

period it continued its military function being used as a radar station by the

Armed Forces of Malta The Armed Forces of Malta ( mt, Forzi Armati ta' Malta) is the name given to the combined armed services of Malta. The AFM is a brigade sized organisation consisting of a headquarters and three separate battalions, with minimal air and naval ...

Present day

By the close of the 20th century St. Agatha's Tower was in poor repair, with one turret completely missing and another turret severely damaged. The tower was gradually restored by

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 ...

, starting in 1999 and completed in 2001, assisted by substantial industrial sponsorship. As part of the restoration work, the damaged turrets were replaced, the walls and roof were rebuilt, eroded stone facing was replaced, interior walls were scraped and painted, the original floor was uncovered, and the interior staircase to the roof was rebuilt. Due to the extreme unevenness of the floor, this was recently covered by a wooden surface with glass apertures through which one can view the original slabs. The tower is still in the care of Din l-Art Ħelwa and is open to the public. In 2015, the tower was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese IslandsSaint Agatha's Tower, Malta
{{Historic Watch Towers of Malta Lascaris towers Buildings and structures completed in 1649 Mellieħa National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1649 establishments in Malta