Captain's Tower

This article is about the tower in Naxxar. For the one in Qrendi, see Cavalier Tower.
Captain's Tower
Torri tal-Kaptan
Naxxar, Malta

View of the Captain's Tower
Coordinates 35°55′14.5″N 14°26′32.8″E / 35.920694°N 14.442444°E / 35.920694; 14.442444
Type Tower
Site information
Owner Private
Open to
the public		 No
Condition Intact
Site history
Built c. 1550s
Built by Order of Saint John
Materials Limestone

Captain's Tower (Maltese: Torri tal-Kaptan) is a tower in Naxxar, Malta. It was built sometime after 1548 by the Order of Saint John. Today, the tower is in good condition.

History

The Captain's Tower was built by the Order of Saint John to house the Captain of the Naxxar militia. It was built during the magistracy of Jean Parisot de Valette, after the Order unsuccessfully tried to requisition the nearby Gauci Tower in 1548. The Captain's Tower is one of the earliest Hospitaller fortifications in Malta.[1]

The tower's design is similar to the Gauci Tower as well as earlier Hospitaller towers in Rhodes.[2] The tower consists of a square plan with three floors. It contains a number of box machicolations, and a columbaria which housed carrier pigeons to relay messages to Mdina or Valletta.

The Captain's Tower lost most of its defensive value by the late 17th century, due to the construction of new fortifications such as the Wignacourt, Lascaris and De Redin towers.[2]

Present day

View of the Captain's Tower and a nearby cross on a stone column

Today, the Captain's Tower is in good condition. It is privately owned and is not open to the public.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Naxxar's Torre Gauci". Times of Malta. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 Spiteri, Stephen C. "Naxxar and its fortifications". MilitaryArchitecture.com. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Captain's Tower" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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