Għallis Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Għallis), originally known as ''Torre delle Saline'', 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 Salina, limits of

Naxxar Naxxar ( mt, In-Naxxar) is a small city in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 14,891 people as of March 2014. The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The annual village feast is celebrated on 8 September. Naxx ...

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 second 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 Order of Saint John between 1658 and 1659. Thirteen towers were built around the coast of mainland Malta, eight of which still surv ...

. Today, the tower is in fair condition.

History

Għallis Tower was built in 1658 on the eastern shore of Għallis Point ( mt, Ras l-Għallis), commanding the entrance to Salina Bay along with Qawra Tower, one 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 built on or near the site of a medieval watch post. It follows the standard design of the

, having a square plan with two floors and a turret on the roof. The external wall is made of upper coralline limestone which is weather resistant whilst the inner wall is made of the softer globigerina limestone. It originally had a garrison consisting of a bombardier and three gunners, who manned a three-pounder iron cannon. During the British period, Għallis Tower was modified by opening a doorway at ground level and the insertion of roof slabs. On 9 March 1955, the corpse of Toninu Aquilina, a 35-year-old employee of the Malta Millers Association, was found inside the tower's well. Aquilina had gone missing 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 ...

on 24 February whilst carrying a large sum of cash and cheques from his workplace to a bank, and the 31-year-old cashier George Terreni was later convicted of his murder.

Present day

Malta - Naxxar - Tul il-Kosta - Ghallis Tower 03 ies

By the 1990s, Għallis Tower was in a state of disrepair, with parts of its exterior being covered with plaster and cement, and many weeds growing around it. The interior was also damaged due to soot from the many fires lit inside the tower.

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 ...

restored the tower between 1995 and 1996, and much of the stonework had to be replaced. Today, it is still under the control of Din l-Art Ħelwa and is in good condition. It is open to the public by appointment. In 2015, an LED lighting system was installed at Għallis Tower. Since the tower is off Malta's electricity grid, the energy was provided by solar panels installed on the tower's roof.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
De Redin towers Towers completed in 1658 Naxxar National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1658 establishments in Malta {{Malta-geo-stub