St Agatha’s Tower

St Agatha’s Tower[3] is located at the crest of the northernmost ridge of the island of Malta.  It commands an uninterrupted view of the Bay of Mellieha to the East, and the Straits of Comino[4] and Gozo to the North. It was built in 1648 as part of a system of coastal watchtowers which the Order of St John set up around the shores of Malta, Gozo, and Comino during the course of the 17^th century[5]. Its strategic position ensured that signals could be sent all the way from Valletta, the Order’s stronghold, to Gozo.  It was painted red so it could be easily identified from as far as Naxxar and Mdina, the walled old city, and the island’s main inland town.  Because of its colour, it was referred to as ‘la Torre rossa’ by the Knights of St John and is popularly known today as it-Torri l-Ahmar (‘the Red Tower’). 

The tower is square in plan, measuring approximately 19 m along each flank, with four corner turrets.  A scarped base rises to some 4.50 m to the ground floor, which is accessed by a free-standing flight of 33 steps.  Originally, a wooden drawbridge lead to the tower’s entrance.  The interior is divided into two large parallel vaults, the thickness of which was designed to withstand the weight and recoil thrust of the cannon which constituted its ordinance.

The barrel-vaulted roofing technique appeared in Malta in the late sixteenth century.  Before the arrival of the Knights in 1530, large areas were spanned by thin stone roofing slabs supported by transverse arches.  This technique was developed in Syria, and introduced to Malta by the Aghlabids and the Fatimids from North Africa, who were accomplished builders.  Although no significant building remains from this period (AD 870–1091), the building techniques, and building terms of Arab origin, such as hnejja, xriek, torba, deffun, feles, and ghareb, survived, and are still in use today.

An alcove at the corner of the inner vault is believed to have housed an altar dedicated to St Agatha.  A stone spiral staircase[6] in one of the turrets lead to a gallery built within the thickness of the walls, which are 4 m in depth, and also to the roof.  This was unfortunately vandalised, and subsequently replaced by a wooden one, when the tower was restored by Malta’s national trust (Din l-Art Helwa) in 2001[7].

The importance of this tower in the landscape of Malta’s fortifications is attested by the fact that on 25 June 1722, during an incident known as the ‘General Alarm’, the congregation of war gave instructions that only this fort, together with another, that of St Lucien in the South, were to be held and denied to the enemy.  They were to be garrisoned with 30 and 40 men respectively, under the command of a sergeant.  These towers were supplied with enough food and ammunition, to withstand a 40-day siege.  Water was stored in a cistern beneath the tower, into which rainwater was channelled from the large flat roof[8].

After the departure of the Order, and the passing of the Islands under British rule[9], the tower continued to form an important part of Malta’s coastal defences.  It retained its military function even under the Armed Forces of Malta, being deployed as a radar station, and manned by a single sentry.  It is now open to visitors as a historic site.

[4] Another large tower on the small island of Comino, St Mary’s Tower, was built in 1620 and formed part of this coastal defence system.  The original fell into ruin in the early 18^th century and was replaced by a second tower in 1720.

[5] The Order of St John had developed this system in Rhodes, building watchtowers around the island, and also on Kos, Chalki, Tilos, Nisyros, Kalmnos, Leros and Symi, deploying carrier pigeons by day and fire signals by night to relay alarms.

[6] Circular stone spiral staircases, although quite rare abroad, are a common feature in traditional Maltese architecture. Built entirely from stone blocks, each step is interlocked and supports itself without the need for any central column or newel.  These staircases or garigor as they are locally called, were often secondary staircases, found even in rather modest houses up to the turn of the 20th century, to access cellars, kitchens, bathrooms and the roof.

[7] Din l-Art Helwa, Malta’s National Trust, was established in 1965 as a not-for-profit organization.  This non-governmental organization has restored and manages numerous historic sites and monuments, ten of which are towers and fortifications from the period of the Knights.

[8] Cisterns, water-proofed with a surface rendering of pozzolana,were a necessity in Malta’s dry climate, not only in forts.  Most houses had a well dug in the solid rock, and their large flat roofs acted as a catchment for rainwater which was drained through terracotta pipes to it, a system still in use today.  The cistern at St Agatha’s Tower can contain up to 42 cubic metres of water, and is accessed from a removable stone slab in the floor.

[9] The Order of St John was driven from Malta by Napoleon in 1798, in an almost bloodless conquest.  The French, in turn, capitulated in 1800 and the islands became a British protectorate.  In 1815, Malta became a Crown Colony, and remained so until Independence in 1964. All foreign military presence was expelled in 1979.