Delimara Tower

This article is about a tower in Delimara built by Grandmaster De Redin, now demolished. For another tower built by the Dorell family also referred to as Delimara Tower, see Saint Paul's Tower and Chapel (Malta).
Delimara Tower & Battery
Torri u Batterija ta' Delimara
Part of the De Redin towers
Marsaxlokk, Malta
Coordinates35°49′13.5″N 14°33′39.5″E / 35.820417°N 14.560972°E / 35.820417; 14.560972
TypeCoastal watchtower
Artillery battery
Site history
Built1659 (tower)
1793 (battery)
Built byOrder of Saint John
MaterialsLimestone
FateDemolished

Delimara Tower (Maltese: Torri ta' Delimara), originally known as Torre della Limara,[1] was a small watchtower on the Delimara Peninsula, in the limits of Marsaxlokk, Malta. It was built in 1659 as the tenth De Redin tower, and an artillery battery was later built nearby in 1793.[2] Both the tower and the battery have been demolished.

History

Delimara Tower was built in 1659 at the tip of Delimara Point. It followed the standard design of the De Redin towers, having a square plan with two floors and a turret on the roof. A feature unique to Delimara Tower was that it had machicolations. It also had a buttress at the base, implying that it had some structural weaknesses. A similar buttress still exists at Triq il-Wiesgħa Tower.

Each De Redin tower had two neighbouring towers in its line of sight, so that signals could be sent from one tower to another, in order to maintain a communication link. Delimara Tower had Xrobb l-Għaġin Tower in its line of sight to the northeast, and Bengħisa Tower to the southwest. A mortar battery was built near the tower in 1793.[3]

Both the tower and battery were demolished by the British to clear the line of fire of the nearby Fort Delimara.[4]

References

  1. ^ Ġrajjet Malta - It-Tielet Ktieb (in Maltese) (4 ed.). Sliema: Department of Education. 2006. p. 81.
  2. ^ "Vendôme Tower" (PDF). Mare Nostrum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Delimara Gas and Power Combined Cycle Gas Turbine and Liquefied Natural Gas receiving, storage and re-gasification facilities - Environmental Impact Assessment - Appendix Two Volume One" (PDF). MEPA. ERSLI Consultants Ltd on behalf of Enemalta Corporation. 20 December 2013. pp. 23–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2015.
  4. ^ Zammit, Vincent (1992). Il-Gran Mastri - Ġabra ta' Tagħrif dwar l-Istorja ta' Malta fi Żmienhom - L-Ewwel Volum 1530-1680 (in Maltese). Valletta: Valletta Publishing & Promotion Co. Ltd. p. 236.


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