Delimara Tower

Delimara Tower & Battery
Torri u Batterija ta' Delimara
Part of the De Redin towers
Marsaxlokk, Malta
Coordinates 35°49′13.5″N 14°33′39.5″E / 35.820417°N 14.560972°E / 35.820417; 14.560972
Type Coastal watchtower
Artillery battery
Site history
Built 1659 (tower)
1793 (battery)
Built by Order of Saint John
Materials Limestone
Fate Demolished

Delimara Tower (Maltese: Torri ta' Delimara), originally known as Torre della Limara,[1] was a small watchtower in Delimara, limits of Marsaxlokk, Malta. It was built in 1659 as the tenth of the De Redin towers, 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.

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. (Maltese) Ġrajjet Malta - It-Tielet Ktieb (4 ed.). Sliema: Department of Education. 2006. p. 81.
  2. "Vendôme Tower" (PDF). Mare Nostrum. 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. (Maltese) Zammit, Vincent (1992). Il-Gran Mastri - Ġabra ta' Tagħrif dwar l-Istorja ta' Malta fi Żmienhom - L-Ewwel Volum 1530-1680. Valletta: Valletta Publishing & Promotion Co. Ltd. p. 236.
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