Restoration works on the Wardija Tower in Żurrieq were recently completed by the Restoration Directorate. The project is a series of restoration interventions carried out by the directorate in various localities around Malta as part of the Local Councils Restoration Scheme.
Also known as ‘Torre del Guardia del Giorno’, this was the last of the De Redin Towers built in 1659. 13 towers were built by Grand Master De Redin between 1658 and 1659. The De Redin watch/signalling towers built in Malta are practically identical, varying slightly in size and minor details, except the Wardija Tower, the smallest of the lot.
During an on-site visit, Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici said, “Such projects demonstrate the government’s commitment to historical heritage. Investing in this type of historical heritage is an investment in our history. These restorations will attract more people to Malta to visit our country for historical and cultural heritage purposes.”
Minister Bonnici thanked the staff of the Restoration Directorate for their hard work towards our built heritage and stated that the government will continue to preserve and take care of historical places such as the Wardija Tower.
Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Alison Zerafa Civelli stated that the restoration works on the Wardija Tower reflect the dedication and commitment of the workers of the Restoration Directorate towards implementing the Local Councils’ Restoration Scheme. She also highlighted the importance of restoration works on other historic buildings like the Wardija Tower to safeguard the Maltese historical heritage for generations to come, while adding value to our localities.
Restoration Directorate Director Nobert Gatt said that, “Two restoration projects selected under the 2020/2021 Scheme have also started in the past weeks – the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Chapel in Lija and St Publius’s Statue in Floriana. Furthermore, final preparations are in hand for three other projects to also start in the coming weeks. These are the Lion’s Statue in Valletta, the St. Paul’s Parish Church Parvis wall in Rabat, and the Water Tower in Ħamrun.”
The interventions carried out were primarily focused on restoring the facades and on the structural consolidation of the roofing structure and masonry walls. Along the façades, extensive cracks and the deterioration of stonework were visible. The stone replacement was kept to a minimum where necessary. In all other cases of deteriorated stonework, plastic repair techniques were used. Any cement based pointing and recent repairs were removed, and new pointing was carried out, matching the original pointing, which was retained and consolidated.
Many stone roofing slabs were fractured, and the supporting arched structure heavily deteriorated due to severe water infiltrations. Due to the advanced state of deterioration, the broken stone slabs were replaced with new material. The roof was restored to prevent further water infiltration by re-levelling the existing screed to obtain proper gradients and then repairing the existing flagstones.
All the apertures were found to be unserviceable, and therefore these were replaced with new timber apertures.
