Climbing this blood-red Knights' watchtower above Mellieħa puts you on a gun platform with old cannon and a clear view over the channel to Comino and Gozo.
Tower, Mellieħa. Meridian Dispatch.
Almost every day. Din l-Art Ħelwa, the heritage trust that runs it, relies on volunteer cover, so a day can be missed; its Facebook page carries the up-to-date times.
Din l-Art Ħelwa, a Maltese heritage trust, holds the tower in guardianship from the government of Malta. It restored the building and opens it to the public.
Yes. Schools and other groups can book a visit through the office of Din l-Art Ħelwa, which also takes bookings for private functions at the tower. Write to info@dinlarthelwa.org to arrange one.
Painted a deep red, St Agatha's Tower stands on the crest of the Marfa Ridge at the north-west end of Malta. It is the grandest of the Knights' coastal towers, and one you can climb.
The tower looks straight down on Mellieħa Bay, a natural harbour and a potential enemy landing site. From the roof you can pick out Santa Marija Tower on Comino, the White Tower at Armier and Lippija Tower above Ġnejna Bay, the neighbouring posts in the same line of lookouts.
Walk round the outside first. It is a bastioned watchtower with a small turret at each corner of the roof. Its thick walls and barrel-vaulted ceiling were built to take artillery fire.
Inside, find the shallow alcove in the far wall of the inner room. It held a chapel and altar to Saint Agatha, and it gives the tower its name.
A short, steep walk uphill leads from the bus stop on the main road to the tower. Drivers follow the signs off Triq il-Marfa, the road toward Ċirkewwa, to parking near the site.
The stair to the door once ended at a drawbridge. Inside, a small hallway leads to the main rooms under barrel vaults, where panels and displays cover the tower's history, its restoration and how Malta's coast was defended.
A wooden spiral staircase, added in the restoration, then takes you up to the roof. Period cannon sit there on gun carriages above the whole sweep of Mellieħa Bay. There are toilets on site.
The roof parapet stands only about 60 cm high, below the four corner turrets.
The trust kept the interior deliberately bare. Most of what there is to see is the building itself and the outlook from the top, so save your time for the roof.
Mellieħa's ridge gives you a quiet night above the bay: the sand is about 3 km downhill, and the Parish Church terrace looks back over it in the evening.
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