Qawra Tower is a fortification on the island of Malta built by the Knights of Malta in 1637. It is a small fortification, primarily a watchtower. It is also known locally as Fra Ben Tower. To the west it commands the entrance to St. Paul's Bay, to the east Salina Bay along with Għallis Tower. It was built during the reign of Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris and stands near the tip of Ras il-Qawra (Qawra Point). It is one of five Lascaris towers that he ordered be built. In 1715 the Knights further strengthened the point by adding a gun battery seaward of the tower.
The battery is now a restaurant and swimming pool, however it is slightly dilapidated, having been plastered with cement at some time, which is now flaking away, and with water tanks and rough additional brickwork added to its roof.
In 1659, the construction of Ghallis Tower linked Qawra Tower into the chain of de Redin towers that allowed communication from Gozo to Valletta.
Famous quotes containing the word tower:
“Shall I still be love’s house on the widdershin earth,
Woe to the windy masons at my shelter?
Love’s house, they answer, and the tower death
Lie all unknowing of the grave sin-eater.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)