The historic St Thomas Tower in Marsascala is undergoing a €3.2 million restoration and will  be converted into a museum of piracy, the Tourism Ministry announced on Monday.

The project is being carried out by the Tourism Authority, with co-financing by the European Union.   

The site was visited on Monday by Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo and Chris Bonett, parliamentary secretary for EU funds.

Bartolo said the tower project fitted into the ministry's efforts to add attractions to Malta's tourism product. 

The tower is administered by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (FWA). 

Torri San Tumas, guarding Marsascala and St Thomas Bay,  was built in 1614 on the orders of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt after Turkish raiders landed at St Thomas Bay and attacked Zejtun.

It is the largest watchtower in Malta, with bastioned turrets on its four corners and walls that are 5.25 metres thick. It is surrounded by a dry moat and entrance was through a vaulted doorway with a wooden drawbridge that partly survives.  

The tower used to face the sea until the Jerma Hotel was built right in front of it. 

Coastal areas of Malta and Gozo were occasionally attacked by pirates in medieval times as was shipping heading for the islands but the Maltese in turn contributed corsairs for raids authorised by the Order of St John which intercepted Ottoman shipping, providing much-needed revenue to the order's coffers as well as slaves for its ships.