Captain's Tower
{{Short description|Tower in Naxxar, Malta}}
{{about|the tower in Naxxar|the one in Qrendi|Cavalier Tower}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Captain's Tower
| native_name = Torri tal-Kaptan
| image = Captain_Tower,_Naxxar,_Malta.png
| caption = View of the Captain's Tower
| type = Tower
| ownership = Private
| open_to_public = No
| built = {{circa}} 1550s
| used =
| builder = Order of Saint John
| materials = Limestone
| height =
| condition = Intact
| battles =
| events =
}}
Captain's Tower ({{langx|mt|Torri tal-Kaptan}}) is a tower in Naxxar, Malta. It was built sometime after 1548 by the Order of Saint John. Today, the tower is in good condition.
History
The Captain's Tower was built by the Order of Saint John to house the captain of the Naxxar militia. It was built during the tenure of Jean Parisot de Valette, after the Order of St. John unsuccessfully tried to requisition the nearby Gauci Tower in 1548 to serve as the captain's residence. The Captain's Tower is one of the earliest Hospitaller fortifications in Malta.{{cite news|title=Naxxar's Torre Gauci|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120228/environment/Naxxar-s-Torre-Gauci.408870|accessdate=25 July 2015|work=Times of Malta|date=28 February 2012}}
The tower's design is similar to that of the Gauci Tower as well as earlier Hospitaller towers in Rhodes.{{cite web|last1=Spiteri|first1=Stephen C.|title=Naxxar and its fortifications|url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Fortifications/naxxar-and-its-fortifications.html|website=MilitaryArchitecture.com|accessdate=25 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116055119/http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Fortifications/naxxar-and-its-fortifications.html|archive-date=2016-01-16|url-status=dead}} The tower consists of a square plan with three floors. It contains a number of box machicolations, and a columbaria which housed carrier pigeons to relay messages to Mdina or Valletta.
The tower and the house built with it were used as a temporary hospital during the plague epidemic of 1675-6.{{cite book |last1=Micallef |first1=Joseph |title=Il-Pesta tal-1676 – 11,300 Mewta |date=2015 |publisher=BDL Publishing |isbn=978-99957-46-55-1 |language=Maltese|page=57}}
The Captain's Tower lost most of its defensive value by the late 17th century, due to the construction of new fortifications such as the Wignacourt towers, Lascaris towers and De Redin towers.
Present day
Today, the Captain's Tower is in good condition. It is privately owned and is not open to the public.{{cite web|title=Captain's Tower |url=http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/Knights%20Fortifications/1431.pdf |website=National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands |accessdate=25 July 2015 |date=28 June 2013 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404004523/http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/Knights%20Fortifications/1431.pdf |archivedate=4 April 2016 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Captain's Tower}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160404004523/http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/Knights%20Fortifications/1431.pdf National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands]
{{Historic Watch Towers of Malta}}
Category:Fortified towers in Malta
Category:Hospitaller fortifications in Malta
Category:Towers completed in the 16th century
Category:Defunct hospitals in Malta
Category:Limestone buildings in Malta
Category:National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
Category:16th-century fortifications
{{Malta-geo-stub}}