page_title: Marsaskala
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Marsaskala / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Casa Monita, Marsaskala, Malta
context_page_description: Marsaskala, sometimes spelt Marsascala, is a sea-side town in the South Eastern Region of Malta that has grown around the small harbour at the head of Marsaskala Bay, a long narrow inlet also known as Marsaskala Creek. The bay is sheltered to the north by Ras iż-Żonqor, the south-east corner of Malta, and to the south by the headland of Ras il-Gżira. The parish church is dedicated to Santa Anna and the feast is celebrated at the end of July in Marsaskala.
  It was originally a fishing village only but has gradually evolved into a tourist destination and a permanent hometown for an ever-growing population. The town has a winter population of 12,134 people, but swells to around 20,000 in summer.
context_section_description: Human inhabited the area since pre-history, as evidenced by a number archaeological remains. Some of the ancient remains are the cart-ruts, which are parallel channels formed in the rock.
  Early Christian catacombs, as well as Roman era remains, were discovered in Marsaskala, the latter suggesting that Marsaskala was also a Roman port. Remains of Roman Baths were found in a field at il-Gżira, a rock peninsula behind the Jerma Palace Hotel.
  In 1614, 60 Turkish ships carrying 6000 soldiers landed at Marsaskala and launched an attack on the south of Malta. Although the battle was a decisive Christian victory, it brought back fear and terrifying memories of the 1565 Great Siege of Malta. Marsaskala's vulnerability to sea borne attacks was reduced by the building of Saint Thomas Tower later in that same year. The tower was financed by Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt and it is one of a series of Wignacourt towers. St Thomas Tower continued to be used for military purposes until the 19th century and it has been recently restored.
  In 1659, Żonqor Tower, one of 13 De Redin towers was built in the area. This tower was demolished in 1915 by British military engineers. No traces of it can be seen anymore and a pillbox now stands in its place. Marsaskala has various other towers, but these were built privately by wealthy residents as fortified houses. These include Mamo Tower, Tal-Buttar Tower and Tal-Gardiel Tower.
  In 1715, Briconet Redoubt was built by the Order and it is now well preserved and is used as a police station. A second redoubt was built close to Marsaskala but it was destroyed in 1915.
  In 1882, the British built Żonqor Battery but it was not used a lot since it was unsuitable for proper defence.
  In 2003, U.S. amateur pseudo-archaeologist Bob Cornuke caused a controversy with sweeping statements written in his book The Lost Shipwreck of St. Paul, where he claimed that the Apostle Paul had been shipwrecked in St Thomas' Bay, in Marsaskala. His claim was never confirmed and discredited by those related in the field, though St. Thomas' Bay (and simultaneously several bays in the Mediterranean) matches the limited description found in the 27th chapter of the book of Acts: a sandy beach, rocky shoreline, deep water (about 90-foot depth) relatively close to shore, and the discovery of four identical Roman Era ship anchors found in the bay during the 1960s, now in the Malta Maritime Museum.
  As a monument over the more recent Maltese history are the remains of the previous four-star Corinthia Jerma Palace Hotel at the very tip of mainland Ras il-Gżira. The hotel was owned by Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company for 25 years and was closed in March 2007.
caption: Casa Monita in Marsaskala, located close to the parish church and Briconet Redoubt[5][6][7][8][9][10]
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