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Gourgion Tower

Gourgion Tower
It-Torri ta' Gourgion
It-Torri Gorġun
General information
Status Demolished
Type Fortified house
Location Xewkija, Gozo, Malta
Coordinates 36°1′47.8″N 14°15′46.6″E / 36.029944°N 14.262944°E / 36.029944; 14.262944
Named for Giovanni Gourgion
Completed 1690
Demolished 16–20 June 1943
Technical details
Material Limestone

Gourgion Tower (Maltese: It-Torri ta' Gourgion or It-Torri Gorġun, Italian: Torre Gourgion) was a fortified house in the outskirts of Xewkija, Gozo, Malta. The tower was built by Giovanni Gourgion in 1690, and it became a symbol of the village of Xewkija. Despite being listed on the Antiquities List in 1925, it was demolished by American forces in 1943 to make way for an airfield for the Allied invasion of Sicily.

Gourgion Tower was built by and named after Giovanni Gourgion, a Gozitan nobleman who had made a fortune in corsairing against Ottoman shipping, and who was the personal secretary of Grand Masters Gregorio Carafa and Adrien de Wignacourt. The tower was completed in 1690, and served as the centrepiece of Gourgion's estates in Gozo. According to tradition, Grand Master Wignacourt himself attended the opening ceremony of the tower, but this is unlikely since it is not recorded in any archives.

In 1798, during the French occupation of Malta, some of the coats of arms at Gourgion Tower were defaced by French forces. Some alterations were made to the structure over the years, including the addition of a room on the first floor.

The tower was listed on the Antiquities List of 1925.

The tower was demolished between 16 and 20 June 1943 to make way for Runway No. 1 of the Xewkija Airfield. The demolition work was carried out by Americans from the Company E of the 21st Engineer Aviation Regiment, as well as 300 Gozitan labourers. The airfield was inaugurated on 23 June, and was used during the Allied invasion of Sicily which started on 9 July. It became redundant on 14 July, when American aircraft moved to the Ponte Olivo Airfield in Sicily. The last planes left on 19 July, and the airfield was cleared back to agricultural land in June 1944.


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