First phase of Comino tower restoration completed

Heritage NGO Din l-Art Helwa has completed work on the restoration of the external walls and surrounding ditch of the 400 year old tower of Sta Maria in Comino.

Restoration began in July 2001 with the Malta Maritime Authority funding Lm26,000 to cover the first phase of the restoration project which restored the tower externally to its original state.

Transport Minister Censu Galea and MMA chairman Marc Bonello were yesterday shown round by the executive president of DLH, Martin Scicluna, and Philip Zammit Briffa, secretary general for DLH.

Eric Parnis, vice-president, led the two-year restoration project and custodian Ing. Stephen Buttigieg, designed a new floodlighting system for the tower.

The work was carried out by contractor Baron Group.

"Much credit must be given to the personal commitment of two individual volunteer members of DLH, engineers Hans Nie and Alan Jones, both residing in Malta, whose meticulous planning and daily overseeing of the project have brought it to its successful end," DLH said.

This has been the most ambitious project undertaken so far by DLH and presented enormous logistical problems as all materials and work schedules had to be meticulously planned and brought in from Malta and Gozo.

A convoy of 13 trucks were shipped from Gozo in July 2001 and transported 300 tons of materials and equipment. Work stopped when harsher weather set in last November and was resumed earlier this year.

The first phase covered complete restoration of the external walls, which showed marked deterioration, and of the square base on which the tower is built. The podium had been subject to vandalism over the years. Several of its angled stone slabs, carefully engineered to create a sloped defensive wall had gone missing, leaving an uneven broken surface prone to water penetration. Weeds and caper plants had penetrated the stone work.

The second phase of the restoration is planned for the internal parts of the tower when its final use as a place for cultural visits and information will be designated. DLH is hoping that the government will transfer the property under a deed of guardianship shortly.

It is envisaged that the tower will form part of a Heritage Trail including also it-Torri l-Ahmar at Mellieha and the Santa Marija Battery on Comino, which DLH is also restoring. Other uses of the tower as a living heritage monument are also envisaged.

The tower has also been re-illuminated by 13 lighting points with less power but placed closer to the building.

"Thousands of commuters and visitors between Malta and Gozo will have noticed that the nocturnal picture of Comino has changed. The veil of darkness covering the Comino tower has finally been lifted, revealing a peaceful scene that commands awe and visual silence. The lighting scheme chosen differs totally from the normal approach of placing a small number of powerful floodlights at a relatively large distance," DLH said.

The scheme was also chosen to limit the pollution of the night sky by artificial lighting. It is hoped that dark sky enthusiasts will appreciate the emphasis given to heritage sites by enhancing their nocturnal presence and that lighting schemes also increase the protection afforded to them against potential vandalism.

The tower was built in 1618 during the reign of Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt who personally financed the 18,628 scudi (the equivalent of £1,553) needed for its construction, in order to consolidate the defences of the straits between Malta and Gozo.

It was probably designed by Vittorino Cassar, son of Girolamo Cassar who succeeded Laparelli in the building of Valletta. The Comino Tower's awesome height, built on a small hill 230ft above sea level, made it a unique vantage point controlling defences between Fort Chambray, Garzes Tower in Mgarr which sadly was demolished, the Red Tower in Mellieha and the White Tower at Armier.

In fact, the tower was an important strategic link in the line of communication between the two sister islands. Within a matter of a few minutes, leaders in Gozo's Cittadella could report to their counterparts in Mdina. Its bulk was a remarkable feat of military engineering with walls that are 18ft thick and a podium that is embedded firmly in the natural bedrock.

After the Order of the Knights left Malta, the British Services formally occupied the Tower in 1829 after which it continued to be used to control smuggling and quarantine regulations. Vandalism and neglect set in when the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery finally withdrew from the Tower in 1870. In recent years, the Tower was manned as a look out post by the Armed Forces of Malta.