St Thomas Tower
Encyclopedia
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
on the island of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. It stands above the shore on the seaward face of the headland of Il-Hamriga. The tower was built by the Knights of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
in 1614 during the reign of Grand Master
Grand Master (order)
Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...
Fra Alof de Wignacourt
Alof de Wignacourt
Fra' Alof de Wignacourt was the 54th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1601 to 1622. He was of the langue of France. His reign was notable for the construction of a number of coastal fortifications , and of the aqueduct that brought water from the plateau above Rabat to Valletta...
, and is one of the set of Wignacourt towers
Wignacourt towers
The Wignacourt towers are a series of fortifications on the island of Malta built by the Knights of Malta.The initial towers of this type were built under the auspices of Grand Master Fra Aloph de Wignacourt...
.
It is a substantial fortification intended to prevent the landing of troops in the sheltered anchorages of Marsascala Creek and St Thomas Bay. It was subsequently reinforced during the later tenure of the Knights of Malta by the addition of a battery on the seaward face.
It has recently been substantially repaired. The battery has also been repaired, though in a somewhat strange style. Modern masonry has replaced the eroded stones of the battery, but only the still existent masonry has been replaced, turning the logical and very pragmatic layout of the battery's fortifications into a strange and arbitrary piece of abstract modern art. Thankfully the tower itself has been faithfully restored and is now in fine condition.
The village of Marsaskala
Marsaskala
Marsaskala is a sea-side village in Malta that has grown up around the small harbour at the head of Marsaskala Bay, a long narrow inlet also known as Marsaskala Creek...
has expanded in recent years, entirely surrounding the tower with modern buildings. The tower now forms the centerpiece of an attractive plaza around the shoreward face of the tower. Unfortunately a large and modern hotel built on the headland seaward of the tower and battery is far less sympathetic to the tower environs, substantially screening the tower to seaward.