Saint Agatha’s Tower is found in the northern town of Mellieha, perched atop a hill, boasting stunning views of the Med on both sides. It is more commonly known as the Red Tower by locals, and has also been giving other names such as Mellieha Tower for its location, and Fort Saint Agatha.
Time hop
Saint Agatha’s tower is a large bastioned watchtower, forming part of the incredibly intelligent coastline fortifications, known as the Lascaris towers, and it was built between 1647 and 1649. Having a clear view over Comino and Gozo, the Red Tower was in the perfect position to watch out for any invading attacks.
It was the Knight’s primary stronghold in the west of the island and was manned by a garrison of 30 men, complete with ammunition and supplies that could get them through a siege of 40 days. Pretty impressive, right?
The tower functioned as a place of retreat during the French blockade, protecting the Mellieha location. Later during the British period, it was manned during both World Wars, continuing to serve as a military tower and, later, as a radar station by the Armed Forces of Malta.
This tower’s design is notably completely different from others of its kind, having similarities to the Wignacourt towers built earlier; it was also the last large bastioned tower to be built in Malta.
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The turrets were replaced, the walls and roof were rebuilt, and eroded stone was also replaced. The interior walls were scraped and painted, the original and gorgeous flooring was uncovered, and the interior staircase to the upper most floor was also restored. The unevenness was covered with glass apertures through which one can view the original slabs, also protecting them in the process.
You can visit the gorgeous tower during the follow times:
Winter opening hours: 16th September to 14th June, Monday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm
Summer opening hours: 15th June to 15th September, Monday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm
Have you ever visited this gorgeous site?