Marsalforn Tower

Marsalforn Tower
Torri ta' Marsalforn
Xagħra, Gozo, Malta
View of the partially ruined tower in c. 1910
Coordinates	36°4′10.8″N 14°15′58.8″E / 36.069667°N 14.266333°E / 36.069667; 14.266333
Type	Tour-Reduit
Site information
Condition	Some foundations reportedly visible
Site history
Built	c. 1720–1722
Built by	Order of Saint John
Materials	Limestone
Fate	Demolished, 1915

Marsalforn Tower (Maltese: Torri ta' Marsalforn) refers to two towers that stood near Marsalforn, in the limits of Xagħra, Gozo, Malta. The first one was built in 1616, as the fourth of six Wignacourt towers, and collapsed in around 1715. The second was a Tour-reduit, which was built in 1720 and demolished in 1915.

Both towers formed part of a chain of fortifications built to defend Marsalforn and nearby bays from Ottoman or Barbary attacks. Although the area was fortified by several towers, batteries, redoubts and entrenchments, the only surviving vestige of these is Qolla l-Bajda Battery between Qbajjar and Xwejni Bays.

The first tower, which was also known as Xagħra Tower (Maltese: Torri tax-Xagħra), was the fourth of the Wignacourt towers. Construction started in around 1614 or 1615, and the tower was completed in 1616. The tower commanded Marsalforn Bay to the west, and Ramla Bay to the east, effectively guarding the northern approach to Gozo. It was clearly visible from the northern walls of the Cittadella, so it could communicate directly with the garrison there.

Its design was attributed to the military engineer Giovanni Rinaldini. This tower was probably not financed by Wignacourt like the other towers, but by the Order itself, and the cost of building it is not known. The tower's design is completely different from the other Wignacourt towers, since it did not have any turrets. It had a square base, and roughly the same size as the Wignacourt Tower in St. Paul's Bay.

The tower was built on the edge of a cliff, which was prone to erosion. In 1681, it was briefly abandoned after part of the cliff face collapsed. The Order still kept a garrison in the tower, but further damage was sustained in the 1693 Sicily earthquake, when cracks on the cliff face extended to beneath the tower. The Order sent an engineer to inspect the damage, but he believed that the tower would remain standing for at least another century. Despite this, new cracks developed by 1701, and plans were made to abandon the tower and build a new one to replace it.