Two antique guns are to be installed at St. Agatha’s Tower (The Red Tower) near Marfa.

Din l-Art Helwa, which has restored and administers the historic property, will be mounting two canons from the period of the Knights of St John on the roof of the Tower next Friday.

The canons were loaned by Heritage Malta and have been restored by Din l-Art Helwa under the supervision of Heritage Malta curator Emanuel Magro Conti. New gun carriages have been built for them.

The Red Tower was completed in 1648 under the Grand Mastership of Jean Paul Lascaris Castellar. It had five cannons of different calibre mounted on its roof during the Knights’ period.

The tower was meant to protect Ghadira Bay and the Southern part of the Comino Channel from incursions by the Ottoman Turks and the Barbary Corsairs.

During World War II it served as company headquarters for E Company, of the 1st. Battalion, Kings Own Malta Regiment and was spared damage from enemy attack though a number of bombs were dropped in its vicinity.

Up to some 14 years ago it was used as a watch tower and radar station by the Armed Forces of Malta. It was subsequently granted to Din l-Art Helwa under a guardianship agreement and was extensively restored thanks to the sponsorship of the Demajo Group of Companies, Toly Products Co Ltd and Playmobil.