St Paul’s Bay’s Wignacourt, Malta’s oldest standing tower, is to benefit from European Regional Development Funds in a new restoration project.
The project to restore the exterior and roof will be carried out by the Malta Tourism Authority, together with Din l-Art Ħelwa, the heritage NGO that has looked after it since 1970. Culture Minister Mario de Marco said the project for the restoration of the tower followed the completion of the adjacent promenade and was an investment that strengthened the tourism, culture and environment sectors. Built by Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt to bolster defences on the northern coast, the tower’s foundation stone was laid in February 1610 and dedicated to the Apostle Paul.
DLĦ executive director Simone Mizzi said the tower was symbolic not only because it was the oldest coastal defence tower still standing, but it represented the commitment and work done by the organisation during the last 46 years in the protection of built heritage.