Wignacourt Tower (1610) — Malta's oldest surviving watchtower and the prototype for the entire defence system. Now a museum about the history of towers. The only Wignacourt tower open inside.
The Wignacourt Tower in St. Paul's Bay is the oldest surviving watchtower in Malta. Built in 1610 on the orders of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt, it was the first of six towers designed to guard the coast against Barbary corsairs. It stands on a small headland jutting into St. Paul's Bay — traditionally the very spot where the Apostle Paul came ashore after his shipwreck in 60 AD.
The Wignacourt towers were the prototype for the entire later watchtower system. Large, multi-storey structures with residential quarters for the garrison and an artillery platform on the roof. The design proved so successful that subsequent Grand Masters (Lascaris, De Redin) built further series of towers, creating a network covering the entire coastline of the archipelago.
Today the tower houses a small museum dedicated to the history of watchtowers in Malta. The exhibition shows how the signal system worked, what garrison life was like, and how the towers fitted into the island's defence. It is the only Wignacourt tower in Malta that can be visited inside.
Practical tip: Entry EUR 3. Small but interesting exhibition. The tower stands right by the sea in St. Paul's Bay — combine with a walk along the bay promenade.
Entry: 3 EUR. Small exhibition about the history of watchtowers.
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St. Paul's Bay — traditionally where the Apostle was shipwrecked in 60 AD. Today a bustling resort with a kilometre-long promenade and views of the island with the saint's statue.
A restaurant at the end of the pier in St. Paul's Bay — tables over the water, lobster the size of a helmet. Squire Piotr fought with tongs and won.
Buġibba Temple is unusual because a prehistoric site survived inside a dense tourist stretch of the coast.