{{Infobox building | name = Zamittello Palace | native_name = Kastell Zamittellu | native_name_lang = mt | image = Malta - Mgarr - Triq il-Kbira - Castello Zamittello 05 ies.jpg | image_caption = View of the Zamittello Palace | coordinates = {{coord|35|55|15.3|N|14|21|34.4|E|display=inline}} | alternate_names = Castello Zamittello<br>Zamittello Tower | status = Intact | building_type = Villa | architectural_style = Victorian architecture | location = Mġarr, Malta | completion_date = 19th century | owner = Count Manduca Piscopo Macedonia | material = Limestone | architect = Sir Guiseppe Nicola Zamitt }}
The '''Zamittello Palace''', also known as '''Castello Zamittello''' ({{langx|mt|Kastel Zamittellu}}) or '''Zamittello Tower''',{{efn|Sometimes also spelt ''Zamitello'' or ''Zamittello''}} is a 19th-century Victorian countryside folly on the outskirts of Mġarr in Malta. It was built by Sir Giuseppe Nicola Zamitt. It is open to public for events like weddings and celebrations.
This edifice must not be confused with the Palazzo Zammitello, designed by architect Edward Said and located in the city of Valletta.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grima |first=Noel |date=4 February 2016 |title=Palazzo Zammitello in Valletta to be turned into boutique hotel |url=https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-02-04/local-news/Palazzo-Zammitello-in-Valletta-to-be-turned-into-boutique-hotel-6736152839 |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=www.independent.com.mt}}</ref>
==History== The building was built by the Sir Giuseppe Nicola Zamitt in the early nineteenth century as a countryside folly {{r|gaul|page=186}} in the limits of Mġarr in Malta,<ref name=mepa/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Neil|last2=Bain|first2=Carolyn Joy|title=Malta & Gozo|date=2010|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=9781741045086|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781741045086/page/106 106]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781741045086|url-access=registration}}</ref> although commercial sources claim that it dates back to 1675.<ref>{{cite web|title=Castello Zamittello|url=http://www.catermax.com/venue/castello-zamitello/|website=Catermax|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927110652/http://www.catermax.com/venue/castello-zamitello/|archive-date=27 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Castello Zamittello|journal=Maltese Newsletter|date=June 2015|issue=84|page=16|url=http://ozmalta.com/wp-content/uploads/NEWS84.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216214836/http://ozmalta.com/wp-content/uploads/NEWS84.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=16 February 2016}}</ref>
The last resident, Count Francis Sant Cassia was a cousin of the owner Count Francis Manduca and was murdered just outside the premises on 27 October 1988. The case has not been solved,{{r|indep}}<ref name="guide"/> though a government employee was arraigned for the shooting in 2006<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 April 2006 |title=Man Arraigned for 1988 Baron Sant Cassia murder |url=https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2006-04-09/local-news/Man-Arraigned-for-1988-Baron-Sant-Cassia-murder-89738 |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=www.independent.com.mt}}</ref> but was still waiting for his trial by 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tihn |first=Daniel |date=2023-03-03 |title=Daughter of murdered baron says 35-year wait for trial is 'shameful' |url=https://timesofmalta.com/article/daughter-murdered-baron-says-35year-wait-trial-shameful.1017219 |access-date=2026-05-16 |website=Times of Malta |language=en-gb}}</ref>
==Architecture== thumb|left|Castello Zammitello and the surrounding countryside The building is a 19th-century ornate architectural folly, built in imitation of the Tower of London.{{r|trump|page=166}}<ref name="guide">{{cite book|title=Malta – Guide Verdi Europa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMRhDlyU0p4C&pg=PA107|date=2007 |publisher=Touring Editore|language=it|page=107|isbn=9788836533176 }}</ref> Although it resembles a fortification, according to military architecture expert Stephen C. Spiteri, it is "entirely useless from a defensive point of view".<ref name=arx>{{cite journal|last1=Spiteri|first1=Stephen C.|author-link=Stephen C. Spiteri|title=On the Study of Military Architecture|journal=ARX Occasional Papers|publisher=MilitaryArchitecture.com|date=2015|issue=5|page=37|url=http://issuu.com/arkitettura/docs/arx_occ_papers__5_low_res_ii?e=1720231/33001820|access-date=26 January 2016|archive-date=2 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202235836/http://issuu.com/arkitettura/docs/arx_occ_papers__5_low_res_ii?e=1720231/33001820|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The names given to the building are a misnomer as it is closely comparable to a country house villa,<ref name="morana"/> and its outline is a square-shaped residence designed with typical Victorian architecture.<ref name="batterytower"/> It prominently features one roof-level turret and four guerites.<ref name="batterytower">{{cite book|last=Spiteri|first=Stephen C.|author-link=Stephen C. Spiteri|date=2017|title=The Fortifications of Malta|publisher=BDL Publishings (Book Distributors Limited)|page=124|isbn=978-99957-67-38-9}}</ref><ref name="morana"/> The latter have a unique design and were never desirable nor used in Maltese military context.<ref name="batterytower"/> Above the turret sits a Christian cross, in the form of a crucifix.<ref name="morana">{{cite book|last=Morana|first=Martin|date=2012|title=Ara x'int tgħid: glossarju enċiklopediku ta' termini storiċi, toponimi, qwiel u idjomi, tradizzjonijiet Maltin, kurżitajiet oħra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxWEmwEACAAJ|publisher=Martin Morana|language=mt|page=245|isbn=9789995703608|oclc=830362895}}</ref>
==Further reading== *{{cite book|last=Cutajar|first=Tony C.|date=2014|title=The Mgarr Bride|publisher=Lulu|isbn=9781326032524}}. *{{cite book|last1=Mizzi|first1=Pawlu|title=It-Tfajla tal-Kastell Zamitellu|date=2001|publisher=Klabb Kotba Maltin|location=Malta|isbn=9990975647|language=mt}}
==References== <references>
<ref name=gaul>Simon Gaul (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Fevix8jSqg0C&pg=PA186 ''Malta, Gozo & Comino'']. London: Cadogan Guides. {{ISBN|9781860113659}}.</ref>
<ref name=indep>[s.n.] (9 January 2007). [http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2007-01-09/news/traces-of-gunshot-residue-found-on-manbut-he-insists-he-did-not-fire-a-weapon-167384/ Traces Of gunshot residue found on man but he insists he did not fire a weapon]. ''The Malta Independent''. Accessed September 2015.</ref>
<ref name=mepa>[s.n.] (2004). [http://www.mepa.org.mt/file.aspx?f=4180 Landscape Assessment of the Maltese Islands] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003040850/http://www.mepa.org.mt/file.aspx?f=4180 |date=October 3, 2015 }}. Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Accessed September 2015.</ref>
<ref name=trump>D. Chambry, David H. Trump (1978). [https://books.google.com/books?id=3kIKAQAAIAAJ ''Malta'']. Geneva: Nagel. {{ISBN|9782826307112}}.</ref>
</references> '''Notes''' {{notelist}} {{commons category inline|Castello Zamittello}}
Category:Palaces in Malta Category:Victorian architecture in Malta Category:Mġarr