Santa Cecilia Tower

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Santa Cecilia Tower (2016)

The Santa Cecilia Tower ( Maltese Torri ta 'Santa Ċeċilja ) is a defensive tower in Għajnsielem on the island of Gozo, which belongs to Malta . It was built by a knight of the Order of Malta to protect the local population from attacks by corsairs . The building is a Grade 1 listed building and is listed in the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands under the number 1443.

The well-preserved tower is privately owned and is not open to the public.

history

Bernardo Macedonia, commander of the Order's artillery, had the tower built in 1613. The name is derived from the nearby Santa Cecilia Chapel , which, after being deedicated in 1644, served as an outbuilding of the tower and the property belonging to it.

After the construction of the Wignacourt Towers , the Lascaris Towers and the De Redin Towers , it became possible to send a message from South Gozo to the north of the island from this tower within a few minutes. From the roof of this tower, both the Ramla Bay and the Mġarr ix-Xini Tower are clearly visible. From Mġarr , the message could then be forwarded to St Mary's Tower on Comino and from there to the island of Malta .

The tower has been privately owned since its construction. In 1997, a year after it was listed, the Maltese government attempted to expropriate the building and its chapel, but the notice was never enforced because of disputes over compensation. So it still serves as a private residence.

description

The comparatively small tower has a rectangular floor plan and straight walls with a few small windows. The largely simple structure shows not only stone storm posts as decorative elements, but also roof decorations and simple gargoyles .

Web links

Commons : Santa Cecilia Tower  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Torri ta 'Santa Ċeċilja / Sta. Cecilia Tower. (PDF; 1.1 MB) In: National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. Sovrintendenza tal-Patrimonju Kulturale, June 28, 2013, accessed on April 12, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ a b Joseph Bezzina: Il-kappella ta 'Santa Ċeċilja ~ Għajnsielem, Għawdex ~. 2012, archived from the original on August 8, 2016 ; accessed on April 12, 2020 (Maltese).

Coordinates: 36 ° 1 ′ 44.8 ″  N , 14 ° 16 ′ 26.2 ″  E