Sciuta Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Xuta), also known as Sciutu Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Xutu) or Wied iż-Żurrieq Tower ( mt, Torri ta' Wied iż-Żurrieq), is a small watchtower in Qrendi, Malta. It was completed in 1638 as the fifth 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 was restored by Din l-Art Ħelwa.

History

Sciutu Tower (aka locally as Torri ta’ Xutu and Torri Sciuto) was built in 1637–1638 in Wied iż-Żurrieq, located within the Qrendi boundaries, on the site of a medieval watch post. It served as the prototype for the De Redin towers, which were built between 1658 and . After the British took over Malta in 1800, Sciutu Tower remained in use and was manned by the Royal Malta Fencible Regiment and later the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery. It was abandoned in 1873 but was manned by the Coast Police once again during World War II. The tower subsequently used as a police station until 2002. An original cannon dating back to the Order's rule can still be found on the tower's roof.

Present day

In March 2013, Din l-Art Ħelwa was entrusted by the Government with the conservation of this tower for a period of 10 years. In September 2014, the tower and the surrounding area was cleaned of waste and debris by Din l-Art Ħelwa volunteers as well as the Qrendi Scouts. The tower underwent restoration conservation until 2016, and was inaugurated and opened to the public in 2019.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
Lascaris towers Defunct police stations in Malta Towers completed in 1638 Qrendi National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1638 establishments in Malta {{Malta-struct-stub

History

Present day

Further reading

References

External links