Għallis Tower (), originally known as ''Torre delle Saline'', is a small

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

in Salina, limits of

Naxxar Naxxar () is a town and local council in the Northern Region of Malta. The population in March 2014 was 14,891. The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The annual village feast is celebrated on 8 September. It formerly hoste ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. It was completed in 1658 as the second of the

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers () 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), mainland Malta to act as watchto ...

. Today, the tower is in fair condition.

History

Għallis Tower was built in 1658 on the eastern shore of Għallis Point (), commanding the entrance to Salina Bay along with

Qawra Tower Qawra Tower (), also known as Qawra Point Tower () or Fra Ben Tower (), is a small watchtower in Qawra, limits of St. Paul's Bay, Malta. It was completed in 1638 as the fourth of the Lascaris towers. An artillery battery was built around the t ...

, one of the

Lascaris towers The Lascaris Towers () are a series of mostly small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Order of Saint John between 1637 and 1652. The first seven towers were built around the coast of mainland Malta in 1637 and 1638. Between 1647 and 165 ...

. 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 ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

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 panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

s 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