Saint Thomas Tower (), also known as Fort Saint Thomas (), is a large bastioned

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 ...

Marsaskala Marsaskala, sometimes written as Marsascala is a seaside town in the Southern Region, Malta, Southern Region of Malta. Originally a fishing village, it has grown into a tourist destination and a permanent hometown for an ever-growing population. ...

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 1614, the third of six

Wignacourt towers The Wignacourt towers () are a series of large coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1610 and 1620. A total of six towers of this type were constructed, four of which survive. Background, con ...

. 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 added to the tower in the early 18th century. Saint Thomas Tower holds the record as the largest watchtower in Malta.

History

Saint Thomas Tower was built above the shore on the seaward face of the headland of ''il-Ħamrija'' in

. It is a substantial fortification intended to prevent the landing of troops in the sheltered anchorages of Marsaskala Creek and

St Thomas' Bay St Thomas' Bay () is a bay in southeastern Malta, located in the limits of the seaside town of Marsascala. About The bay takes its name from an ancient medieval chapel dedicated to St Thomas the Apostle. The exact location of the chapel cannot ...

. Construction of the tower was approved in July 1614, at the time of the

Raid on Żejtun The Raid on Żejtun, also known as The Last Attack (), was the last major attack made by the Ottoman Empire against Hospitaller Malta, Hospitaller-ruled Malta. The attack took place in July 1614, when raiders pillaged the town of Żejtun and the ...

, in which an Ottoman fleet managed to land at St Thomas' Bay. The tower was named after a chapel dedicated to St Thomas, which stood close to where the tower now lies. It cost 13,450

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula from 1551 until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from t ...

, 6

tarì Tarì (from Arabic language, Arabic طري ''ṭarī'', lit. "fresh" or "newly minted money")Cardini, p. 26 was the Christians, Christian designation of a type of gold coin of Islamic origin minted in Sicily, Malta and Southern Italy from about ...

and 4 grani to build, making it the second most expensive Wignacourt tower, after

Saint Mary's Tower Saint Mary's Tower (), also known as the Comino Tower (), is a large bastioned watchtower on the island of Comino in Malta. It was built in 1618, the fifth of six Wignacourt towers. The tower was used by the Armed Forces of Malta until 2002, an ...

. The tower's architect is unknown. The claims that it was designed by Vittorio Cassar are disputed, since Cassar was probably dead when work on the tower began.

The tower has very thick walls and has four pentagonal bastioned turrets projecting outwards on each corner. Its entrance was through a vaulted doorway with a wooden drawbridge. The drawbridge is still partially intact and it is the only original one to have survived in Malta. The tower is surrounded by a rock-hewn ditch. After the

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers () are a series of small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1658 and 1659. Thirteen towers were built around the coast of Malta (island), mainland Malta to act as watchto ...

were built, St Thomas had Żonqor and

Xrobb l-Għaġin Tower Xrobb l-Għaġin Tower (), originally known as ''Torre di Siuarep'', is a ruined watchtower in Xrobb l-Għaġin, limits of Marsaxlokk, Malta. It was built in 1659 as the eighth of the De Redin towers. An entrenchment with two redan Redan ...

s in its line of sight. Currently, these are now either in ruins or completely demolished. In 1715, St Thomas Tower was reinforced by the addition of a battery on the seaward face. Construction of the battery cost a total of 382 scudi, 8 tarì, 11 grani and 1 piccolo, which was less than the cost of construction of other batteries around the coast. During the French blockade of 1798–1800, the tower was stormed and captured by Maltese insurgents. The tower was used by the British until the 19th century. They did not make any major alterations to the tower (like they did in Saint Lucian Tower), other than some minor changes to the structure. At some point, the tower was also used as a prison.

Present day

Today, the town of Marsaskala has expanded, surrounding the tower with modern buildings. In 1982, the four-star

Corinthia Corinthia (; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Ge ...

Jerma Palace Hotel The Jerma Palace Hotel is a former four-star hotel in Marsaskala, Malta. It was opened as a Libyan investment in 1982, and was managed by Corinthia Hotels International. It was the largest hotel in southern Malta until it closed down in 2007. T ...

was built between the tower and the coast, effectively ruining the tower's relation with the sea. The hotel closed in 2007, and is now in a dilapidated state. Meanwhile, the tower itself now forms the centerpiece of a plaza around its shoreward face. For some time, it was used as a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

and

pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. A pizzeria may offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then takes the prepared food with them in a pizza box. A pizzeria may deliver food to ...

. In 2008, it was handed over to Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, a heritage foundation. A couple of weeks after it was handed over, the tower was cleaned of debris, and some modern structures which had been added when it was a restaurant were removed. Further restoration work was undertaken by the Restoration Unit. Plans were made to open the tower as a museum about piracy in the Mediterranean, but it has not opened yet. The battery's gun platform was also restored, and its

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

and

embrasures An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions ( merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

were rebuilt to a design based on modern interpretative lines. Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna continued works on the tower and museum, with plans to open the heritage site in 2025. In 2014, the Marsaskala Local Council organized exhibitions, re-enactments and other events in the tower to commemorate its 400th anniversary.

In popular culture

*The tower is featured in the fiction book ''Il-Misteru tat-Torri San Tumas'' (The Mystery of Saint Thomas Tower) by Charles Zarb published in 2004.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{Batteries in Malta Wignacourt towers Artillery battery fortifications in Malta Defunct prisons in Malta Defunct restaurants in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1614 Military installations established in 1715 National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1614 establishments in Malta 1715 establishments in Malta Buildings and structures in Marsaskala

History

Present day

In popular culture

Further reading

References

External links