St Thomas tower entrusted to FWA

It gives me great satisfaction to see FWA taking over responsability for the Tower, its restoration and development as a tourist attraction.
When I was still a resident of Marsaskala I approached Mario and floated the idea. With other members of FWA , Mario met the Local Council, visited the Tower and a draft agreement was also agreed upon by the two parties. Things stopped when George Pullicino had other plans for the devolution of the Tower. It was the intention of FWA of not only turning the Tower into a museum but of also holding historical enactments in the precints of the Tower. How exciting ! Carry on Mario/FWA

@Sandro Muscat.

I quote "More than 7 years ago it was wise for th PN govt to hand over Bieb is-sultan to FWA. The place was restored to its former glory."

Mr Muscat, for the sake of clarity and public information, please be informed that it was Labour Minister Evarist Bartolo who gave the green light for Bieb is-Sultan to begin the process of handing this property to FWA. Squatters or government entities were cleared out and Malta Drydocks employees gave us a helping hand in clearing the impressive amount of rubbish.

As Public Relations Officer at the time, I was - together with Mario Farrugia - directly involved in the discussions. When the Labour Government was brought down in 1998, the management agreement proceeded with the normal process and after further fine tuning, was handed over by Dr. Tonio Borg.

This is good news for my village. Rest assured that FWA shall bring the lustre back to this tower. Hopefully the government begins the restoration of the Rihama 18century vendome battery at St. Thomas Bay and makes it available to Maltese youth - like the Boy Scouts - as part of an ongoing programme of historic site rehabiltation. SteveBorg

@ Mr. Edward Borg

I never mentioned playing fields, amusement park around the tower. There is no space for them in this area! Surely, the playing fields we have in M'Skala are more than enough. What i did mention but is an embellishment project which will incorporate a better planned out "green area" than there is at present .... which will give the dignity back to this tower, and improve on the present neglect with wild shrubs sprouting allover the area. The "green area" will enhance the tower and give space where people can sit around the tower, admire the historical building from different angles, while enjoying the peaceful "green" area.

Defenitely, the tower requires a professional lighting system, which will make it a defenite landmark in M'Skala.

Good news! Well done Dr Jason Azzopardi an excellent decision which the public at large will surely appreciate. We need more decisions like the one taken by this new Parliamentary Secretary

Next step fort St. Angelo. I'm sure Mr Farrugia would live up to his reputation and give back the fort the dignity it deserves. but this is only wishful thinking on my part.

@ Mr.Vella
There are many heritage sites which are free of charge both to locals and to the tourists visiting the site. There is also World heritage sites in Sweden, Englang , Italy and Egypt which are free of charge to locals. I suggest you read about Arvid Pardo a Maltese diplomat and his dream.

Excellent news. Hope we read more similar news very often and in the near future.

Thanks to FWA and to all those who work hard to save our priceless heritage.

Would the government now increase FWA budget???? surely managing and restoring these places costs a lot of money for FWA.

@R. Cassar

Good suggestion but......

NONE of Malta's fortifications ever had any moats but just ditches for a number of reasons.

1) The ditches served not only as part of the defensive system crating an obstical but also as a quarry where the stone was taken to build the fort itself.

2) Moats would have to be filled with precious water which would be a waste, concidering Malta's limited sourses.

3) Even if filled with sea water that would be of little use as corsair activities happend during the summer months when the sea was calm and the sun is hot and the water would quickly dry.

I would like to congratulate Dr. Jason Azzopardi for this initiative. In the last few months that he has taken the responsibility of public lands, Dr. Azzopardi is showing great appreciation of the historic monuments around the Maltese islands. Well done & keep it up Dr. Azzopardi, for having the foresight of entrusting FWA with the restoration of St Thomas Tower.

Well done Dr Jason Azzopardi. Hope to see more of these initiatives in the very near future.

Wonderful News. I wish that MEPA would be run by these kind of people who really believe in restoring the beauty of our heritage and the environment. Well done.

Please Mario whatever you do don't take the advice of some who want to turn the surrounding area into a park or garden. This is a tower for heaven's sake not part of disneyland. why must we always think of playing fields, parks and entertainment areas? next thing you know someone will write in to suggest that the tower be used to hold bingo sessions in!!! I won't be surprised.

@ A Saliba
Have you ever been abroad. I know of no historic site open free of charge, both for tourists and locals alike. Instead of being so stingy, I suggest you become a member of FWA, DLH or Heritage Malta thus helping these institutions to preserve such sites. Better still i suggest you become a volunteer of one of these organisations and give a hand in the running of these sites instead of moaning.

Excellent. I hope once the restoration is finished they will also fill the dry moat with water to make the experience even more realistic.

Finally, I live near it and I have always wondered why we let such a beautiful tower fall to bits. It is such a pity, but at last it will be restored. We do find the way.... eventually! I cant wait to be one of the first visitors. Hopefully it will be ready in this lifetime !

Prosit FWA. At least someone some one here can really preserve our heritage. I wish i could say the same to DLH ,but after their support to the St John's cathedral proposals, I just cant.

Good news,let's hope when it's finished it will be open to the local public for no charge as this everyone's property as part of our national heritage.

This is good news on Monday. Finally the place can be restored and used by every body. Hope they can do like a little park around it. At least it will be cleaned and families can enjoy it as well.

Congratulations Mario Farrugia. Now we are assured that the tower is in good hands. It's about time that this magnificent tower is enjoyed by the public at large

More than 7 years ago it was wise for th PN govt to hand over Bieb is-sultan to FWA. The place was restored to its former glory. It's good to note that Jason Azzopardi is following Tonio Borg's footsteps in entrusting historical places to such a Foundation . Keep it up
s muscat

Excellent. Finally a closed tower is up again for restoration and rejuvenation process. The tower creates an excellent space for some touristic business in the area, which has been deprived since the closure of Jerma Palace Hotel. Also, the surrounding area between the street and dry moat can be easily turned into a fantastic green area for families to enjoy nature and relaxation in modern environment. It will surely complement the beautiful tranquil area around the Jerma zone. Let's all make it a success ... incl. roping in the Local Council and M'Skala Business Community.

Good. if it gets restored like the rinella battery did, then this is great news!