Delimara Tower (), originally known as ''Torre della Limara'', was a small

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

on the Delimara Peninsula, in the limits of

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishing and history. As of March 2014, the village had a populati ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. It was built in 1659 as the tenth De Redin tower, and an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

was later built nearby in 1793. 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

machicolation In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...

s. 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. Each De Redin tower had two neighbouring towers in its line of sight, so that signals could be sent from one tower to another, in order to maintain a communication link. 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. Both the tower and battery were demolished by the British to clear the line of fire of the nearby Fort Delimara.

References

De Redin towers Artillery battery fortifications in Malta Towers completed in 1659 Buildings and structures completed in 1793 Demolished buildings and structures in Malta Marsaxlokk Former towers 1659 establishments in Malta {{Malta-geo-stub