Saint Agatha's Tower (), also known as the Red Tower (), Mellieħa Tower () or Fort Saint Agatha (), is a large bastioned

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 ...

Mellieħa 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, natural environment, and Popeye Village nearby. Etymology The n ...

, Malta. It was built between 1647 and 1649, as the sixth 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's design is completely different from the rest of the Lascaris towers, but it is similar to the earlier

Wignacourt towers The Wignacourt towers () are a series of large coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1610 and 1620. A total of six towers of this type were constructed, four of which survive. Background, con ...

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

Bay, with clear views over to

Comino Comino () is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta (island), 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 a ...

and

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

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

. 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 Aħrax Tower (), originally known as ''Torre di Lacras'', and also known as Armier Tower (), Ta' Ħoslien Tower () or the White Tower (), is a small watchtower overlooking Armier Bay in the limits of Mellieħa, Malta. It was built in 1658 as th ...

and Wied Musa Battery, 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 language, French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped Salients, re-entrants and pockets, salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other ...

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

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

, similar to the one at Żabbar during the

French blockade French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), a ...

. 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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

Armed Forces of Malta The Armed Forces of 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 regiments, with minimal air and naval forces. Since Malta is the ...

Present day

By the close of the 20th century, St. Agatha's Tower was in poor repair, with one turret completely missing and another 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 Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...

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