Cavalier Tower

Cavalier Tower
Torri tal-Kavalier
Qrendi, Malta

Cavalier Tower
Coordinates 35°50′10.7″N 14°27′28.6″E / 35.836306°N 14.457944°E / 35.836306; 14.457944
Type Tower
Site information
Owner Private
Open to
the public		 No
Condition Intact
Site history
Built 1605
Built by Unknown, possibly Order of Saint John
Materials Limestone

Cavalier Tower (Maltese: Torri tal-Kavalier),[1] also known as Qrendi Tower (Maltese: Torri tal-Qrendi) or Captain's Tower (Maltese: Torri tal-Kaptan), is a tower in the town of Qrendi, Malta. It was built in the late medieval or early Hospitaller period, and it is one of the oldest surviving towers in Malta.

History

No records exist on the date of construction of Cavalier Tower. It was possibly built in the late medieval period, when Malta was still part of the Kingdom of Sicily. If this is correct, it would be the only surviving medieval tower in Malta, apart from the ruins of a circular tower in Xlendi. Other historians believe that the tower was built in the 16th or 17th centuries by the Order of Saint John.[2] It is situated near a 16th century property, built in 1585.[3]

Cavalier Tower was named as such since it housed a Captain (Maltese: Kaptan Kavallier) of the Order.[4]

The tower has an octagonal plan,[5] and it is the only one in Malta with such a design. It is three stories high, and it has cordons between each floor.[6] A number of box machicolations supported on corbels are located at the crest of its parapet. The tower's main entrance is located in an adjacent medieval residence, which was originally a mill room or a chapel.

The tower is surrounded by a cluster of contemporary buildings and courtyards, which have been called "one of the most interesting examples of architectural development" in Malta.[6]

The tower was included on the Antiquities List of 1925.[7]

Present day

Today, Cavalier Tower is in good condition. It is privately owned and is not open to the public.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Cassar Pullicino, Joseph (October–December 1949). "The Order of St. John in Maltese folk-memory" (PDF). Scientia. 15 (4): 159. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016.
  2. ↑ Spiteri, Stephen C. (May 2008). "A Medieval tower at Qrendi?" (PDF). Arx - Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification (6): 58–59. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Highly converted palazzo in Qredndi's UCA". Engel & Völkels. 2006–2016. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Qrendi Cavalier Tower". Qrendi Scouts. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Abela, Giovanni Francesco (1647). Della Descrizione di Malta Isola nel Mare Siciliano con le sue Antichità, ed Altre Notizie (in Italian). Paolo Bonacota. p. 207.
  6. 1 2 "One World - Protecting the most significant buildings, monuments and features of the Maltese islands (22) - Torri tal-Kaptan, Qrendi". Times of Malta. 18 July 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Protection of Antiquities Regulations 21st November, 1932 Government Notice 402 of 1932, as Amended by Government Notices 127 of 1935 and 338 of 1939.". Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Qrendi Tower - Torre Cavalieri" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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