Ta' Kenuna Tower | |
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Torri ta' Kenuna | |
View of Ta' Kenuna Tower | |
General information | |
Status | Intact |
Type | Semaphore tower |
Location | Nadur, Gozo, Malta |
Coordinates | 36°2′7.9″N14°17′2.1″E / 36.035528°N 14.283917°E |
Completed | 1848 |
Renovated | 2005 |
Technical details | |
Material | Limestone |
Floor count | 3 |
Ta' Kenuna Tower (Maltese : Torri ta' Kenuna) is a semaphore tower on the cliffs near Nadur on the island of Gozo, Malta. It was built by the British in 1848, as one of three semaphore towers in Malta. The tower was restored in 2005, and it now houses as a beacon to warn ships of their proximity to land, as well as a number of communication antennas.
Maltese is the national language of Malta and a co-official language of the country alongside English, while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic, the otherwise extinct variety of Arabic that developed in Sicily and was later introduced to Malta, between the end of the ninth century and the end of the twelfth century AD.
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
The semaphore telegraph system was invented in 1792, and the British military authorities began to consider installing such a system in Malta in the early 1840s. Initially, it was planned that semaphore stations be established on the bell towers and domes of the island's churches, but the religious authorities rejected the proposal. Due to this, in 1848 new semaphore towers were constructed at Nadur on Gozo, and Għargħur and Għaxaq on the main island of Malta. Further stations were established at the Governor's Palace in Valletta, Selmun Palace near Mellieħa, and the Giordan Lighthouse near Għasri, Gozo. Each station was manned by the Royal Engineers. [1]
The Għargħur Semaphore Tower is a semaphore tower in the town of Għargħur, Malta. It was built by the British in 1848, as one of three semaphore towers in Malta. The tower was restored in 2009, and it is now in good condition.
The Għaxaq Semaphore Tower, known locally as it-Turretta, is a semaphore tower in the town of Għaxaq, Malta. It was built by the British in 1848, as one of three semaphore towers in Malta. The tower is now leased to the Għaxaq Local Council, which has plans to restore it.
The Grandmaster's Palace, officially known as The Palace, is a palace in Valletta, Malta. It was built between the 16th and 18th centuries as the palace of the Grand Master of the Order of St. John, who ruled Malta, and was also known as the Magisterial Palace. It eventually became the Governor's Palace, and it currently houses the Office of the President of Malta. Parts of the building, namely the Palace State Rooms and the Palace Armoury, are open to the public as a museum run by Heritage Malta.
Ta' Kenuna Tower was built on a hill 130 metres (430 ft) above sea level, so as to be able to pass on signals to ships and other posts via a telegraphy link between the two main Maltese islands, and to communicate with the towers at Għargħur and Għaxaq. The semaphore system became obsolete with the introduction of the electrical telegraph, and Ta' Kenuna Tower closed in 1883. [1]
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of textual or symbolic messages without the physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pigeon post is not.
An electrical telegraph is a telegraph that uses electrical signals, usually conveyed via dedicated telecommunication circuit or radio.
In 2005, the Nadur Local Council with the help of Maltacom (now GO) sponsored restoration works of the tower. A beacon to warn ships of their proximity to land, as well as a number of communication antennas were installed on the roof. [2] The modern additions are mounted on the surface of the tower, and care was taken to preserve the historic fabric of the original structure. [3]
GO p.l.c. is a Maltese integrated telecommunications company. It is a quadruple play provider that offers local and long distance telephone services, wireless services, digital terrestrial television, and DSL Internet access. GO is based in Marsa, Malta.
Today, one can ask permission from the tower's watchman to go on top of the covered roof of the tower for a panoramic view of Gozo, Comino and Malta. The surrounding gardens contain a number of endemic plants. [4]
Comino, formerly called Ephaestia is a small island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring 3.5 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi) in area. Named after the cumin seed that once flourished in the Maltese islands, the island is the least densely populated area in the Republic of Malta. It has a permanent population of only three residents, following the death of the fourth resident in 2017. Administratively, it is part of the municipality of Għajnsielem, in southeastern Gozo. One priest and one policeman commute from the nearby island of Gozo. The island is a bird sanctuary and nature reserve.
Ta' Kenuna Tower is identical to the towers at Għaxaq and Għargħur, consisting of three floors, each containing a single room. The floors are linked together and with the roof by a spiral staircase. The signalling equipment, consisting of a wooden pole with three movable arms, was located on the tower's roof. [1]
Since June 30, 1993, Malta has been subdivided into 68 localities, governed by local councils, Maltese: kunsilli lokali, meaning municipalities or borough. These form the most basic form of local government and there are no intermediate levels between it and the national level. The levels of the 6 districts and of the 3 regions serve statistical purposes.
A semaphore telegraph is a system of conveying information by means of visual signals, using towers with pivoting shutters, also known as blades or paddles. Information is encoded by the position of the mechanical elements; it is read when the shutter is in a fixed position. The most widely used system was invented in 1792 in France by Claude Chappe, and was popular in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. Lines of relay towers with a semaphore rig at the top were built within line-of-sight of each other, at separations of 5 to 20 miles. Operators at each tower would watch the neighboring tower through a spyglass, and when the semaphore arms began to move spelling out a message, they would pass the message on to the next tower. This system was much faster than post riders for conveying a message over long distances, and also had cheaper long-term operating costs, once constructed. Semaphore lines were a precursor of the electrical telegraph, which would replace them half a century later, and would also be cheaper, faster, and more private. The line-of-sight distance between relay stations was limited by geography and weather, and prevented the optical telegraph from crossing wide expanses of water, unless a convenient island could be used for a relay station. Modern derivatives of the semaphore system include flag semaphore and the heliograph.
A Holy Week procession is a public ritual march of clergy and penitents which takes place during Holy Week in countries which have a Roman Catholic culture. Various images of the saints, especially the Virgin Mary, and most importantly the image of the crucified Christ are carried aloft by foot as a penance; acts of mortification are carried out; traditional hymns and chants are sung. In many penitential orders, the faces of the penitents are covered by elaborate hoods, such as the capirote, as a way of hiding one's identity in order to not ostentatiously draw attention to oneself while performing penance. Crosses, and biers holding Catholic holy images surrounded with flowers and offerings of candles, are carried usually from one parish church to another led by the clergy, monastic orders, or heads of the penitential orders.
Nadur is a village in Gozo, Malta. It had a population of 4509 as of March 2014.
Xewkija is a village on Gozo Island, Malta. The population of Xewkija is 3,300 as of March 2014, which is the fourth largest in Gozo, after Victoria (6,901), Xagħra (4,886) and Nadur (4,509).
Malta is subdivided in districts of localities in order to administer the country in regions rather than locality. The districts have no administrative significance as the local councils provide the first-tier divisions of the country.
This page list topics related to Malta.
The Lascaris Towers are a series of mostly small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Order of Saint John between 1637 and 1652. The first seven towers were built around the coast of mainland Malta between 1637 and 1638. Between 1647 and 1652, a large tower was also built on mainland Malta, and two smaller ones were built on Gozo.
Post codes in Malta are seven-character strings that form part of a postal address in Malta. Post codes were first introduced in 1991 by the mail operator MaltaPost. Like those in the United Kingdom and Canada, they are alphanumeric.
In Malta most the main roads are in the outskirts of the localities to connect one urban area with another urban area. The most important roads are those that connect the south of the island with the northern part, like Tal-Barrani Road, Aldo Moro Street in Marsa and Birkirkara Bypass.
Gozo Region is one of five regions of Malta. The region includes the islands of Gozo, Comino and several little islets such as Cominotto. The region does not border with any other regions, but it is close to the Northern Region.
Sopu Tower, also known as Isopu Tower, San Blas Tower or Torre Nuova, is a small watchtower situated on the cliff between San Blas and Daħlet Qorrot in Nadur, Gozo, Malta.
The Giordan, Ġordan or Ta' Ġurdan Lighthouse is an active lighthouse on the Maltese island of Gozo. It is located on a hill above the village of Għasri on the northern coast of the island.
Selmun Palace, also known as Selmun Tower, is a villa on the Selmun Peninsula in Mellieħa, Malta. It was built in the 18th century by the Monte della Redenzione degli Schiavi, funded by the Monte di Pietà. The palace was located on the grounds of a hotel until it closed in 2011.
Ramla Right Battery, also known as Gironda Battery or Nadur Battery, was an artillery battery in Ramla Bay, limits of Nadur on the island of Gozo, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1715–1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the Maltese Islands. The battery now lies in ruins.
The Ġonna tal-Kmand, formerly known as Ġonna tal-Kutnent and sometimes known as Ball Gardens, are a group of gardens in various localities in Malta, which were built in the early years of the 19th century when the island was a British protectorate. The gardens were commissioned by Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball between 1802 and 1805, and were given to the Luogotenenti in charge of the towns or villages.
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