Landmark Name: Qalet Marku Tower
Type: Restoration Project
Association: Round Table Malta
Table: Round Table Malta 1
Location: Naxxar, Malta (Google Maps🔗)
Round Table Malta 1 sponsored the restoration of Qalet Marku Tower, and works which took place between 1995 and 1998.
Din l‑Art Ħelwa carried out the work to restore the tower, also known as St Mark’s Tower or Torri tal-Qrejten. This was probably the third of the thirteen towers built by De Redin. It was built between March 1658 and July of the following year, together with the other 12 towers, and the stonework cost around 408 scudi to erect. In 1714, an inspection was carried out, which revealed its poor condition.Yet another inspection was carried out in 1743, which showed that the tower was not operational. In 1792, however, the Congregation of war (a body set up by the Knights to advise on defence matters) ordered that the tower be armed with a 3‑pounder iron gun.
Under British rule, the tower was also used for defence purposes, but some modifications to the structure were made. A doorway was opened at ground-floor level, and a series of roofing slabs were inserted to support the wall in the passage created within the wall. A small room was also built in front of the tower to serve as a guardroom, but all that remains of this room are its foundations. On the first floor, there is also an inlet to a well dug underground.
The external stonework needed little replacement of stone masonry. A main door in iron was fitted to protect the place from vandals. In October 1998, doors and window apertures were fitted. Qalet Marku Towers remain prominent landmarks on the coast road from Salini to Baħar-iċ-Ċagħaq.
📷 Photo shows an ‘eruption’ of seagulls on Etna at dawn this morning with one of the De Redin towers, Torre del Cortin, in the foreground. Built in 1658, it is also known as St Mark’s or Qalet Marku Tower. — Daniel Cilia 2023
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