We are so focused on preserving historical buildings that we often don’t realise how many already disappeared for one reason or another. Orsi tower is one such example. It used to stand guard at the mouth of Valletta’s harbour, and is one such lost building.
The need for a tower
The tower stood guard on the tip of Gallows Point which is the Rinella peninsula in front of Valletta. It is visible in a handful of seventeenth century drawings of the harbour.
As a lookout post, the tower was not meant to keep track of the open sea. It was crucial to keep an eye on the smaller boats in the harbour, especially because of slaves trying to escape1.
This was a genuine concern, and when slaves tried to assassinate the Grand Master, even more so.
This was no small problem. In 1602 Grand Master Wignacourt decreed that a well-armed frigate should be kept in the harbour at all times1. Until Rinella had some sort of coastal fortification, Wignacourt was taking no chances1.
And yet nothing happened.
In 1604, the Knights repeated the need for some fortification in Rinella1. Fortifying Valletta and the Three Cities was still the main priority so any money they had went there, or on maintaining their fleet.
Alessandro Orsi – the Benefactor
Knight Fra Alessandro Orsi stepped up.
He was an Italian Knight from Bologna and had been in the Order of the Knights of St John since 15851.
On 29 January 1629 he put forward his proposal to the Order’s Council which approved it1. On 12 February, Notary Pietro Vella drew up a deed for the construction work1. Orsi hired Giuseppe Barbara from Siggiewi for the job, paying him 840 scudi in return for a tower by the end of August1.
He paid for the tower himself1 2. Notarised documents in the Maltese Archives show that he paid for the construction of a torre e revellino (Tower and a ravelin)1. Some other documents refer to the structure as a casamatta (Casemate)1 and it is unclear why there are two different descriptions.
I mentioned this was more of a lookout post than a defensive structure. Nevertheless it also contained arms and was well-prepared for its own defense in case of need1. On 03 September 1785, the artillery inventory shows the tower had four 6-pound iron guns with their own ammunition1.
The tower would have been an imposing reminder of the Order’s vigilance despite its compact size. Squatting at the mouth of the harbour it would have been visible by anyone anywhere in the Grand Harbour. The Maltese called it Torri tal-Ors (The Bear’s Tower) which is a play on words on Orsi’s name1 3. They also referred to it as Torre San Petronio; San Petronio is the patron saint of Bologna, suggesting Orsi may have named it after his patron saint1 2.
Orsi tower’s architecture
Orsi tower was a small tower but we know a lot about it because of the 1629 deed which contains plenty of diagrams and details. The Knights built other similar small lookout later, making Orsi tower a trend-setter of sorts1.
Architect Bartolomeo Genga designed the tower3. It’s hard to say whether he did this for Orsi, or if Orsi bought the design off him.
The technical details of the tower are1:
By Xwejnusgozo – Own work
- A rectangular base measuring 10 x 8 metres.
- Height: 14 metres, covering two storeys.
- A terraced platform with a parapet.
- A cylindrical staircase with a dome on top.
- A semi-circular battery with a diameter of 10 metres.
- The main entrance was on the only land-facing facade.
- A secondary door allowed for easy access to the battery from the main building.
There is no mention of a sea-filled moat which was hewn from the rock around the tower, therefore someone added this later1.
What happened to it
On 8 February 1821, a violent storm raged across the harbour1. Heavy seas crashed around the building which faced open water on three sides.
The storm was so violent that the building collapsed under the pressure of the relentless waves1. The British had taken over the island by this time and there was no longer need for a tower here1. This may explain why it wasn’t rebuilt.
There is no record of whether locals plundered the ruins for building materials, or whether the entire structure washed out to sea.
The only part of this tower still in place is the moat, hewn from the solid rock, which surrounds the ghost of Orsi Tower to this day.
- Orsi tower: A forgotten harbour landmark; Stephen C. Spiteri; Parallel Existences; 2018; Malta; ISBN 9 789 995 750 565[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Della Descrittione Di Malta; Giovanni Francesco Abela; 1647[↩][↩]
- Dawra kulturali mal-port il-kbir (4); Joseph Serracino; L-Orrizont; 2018-01-06[↩][↩]