Madliena Tower is a fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 on the island of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 built by the Knights of Malta

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

. A watchtower, it stands on high ground above the shore west of Ras L-Irqieqa on the north shore of Malta.

It is one of a chain of de Redin towers

De Redin towers

The De Redin Towers are a series of thirteen small fortified watch towers that Grand Master Martin de Redin of the Knights of Malta built on the island of Malta between the year 1658 and 1659...

 towers that permitted communication between Gozo

Gozo

Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...

 and the Knights headquarters in Valletta

Valletta

Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...

. To the west the tower has sight of St Mark's Tower

St Mark's tower

St. Mark's Tower or Qalet Marku is a fortification on the island of Malta built by the Knights of Malta. It is a small watchtower that stands on Qrejten Point on the north shore of Malta. St. Mark's Tower has sight of Għallis Tower to the west, and Madliena tower to the east...

 (also known as Qalet Marku), and to the east St George's Tower.

After the British gained control of Malta, this tower continued to serve as a military installation. At one time a rifled muzzle loading (RML) gun was mounted on the roof.

The tower still stands and appears to be in a very worrying neglected condition. Its historical value is usurped by makeshift modifications and adjacent illegal structures.

As seen in the view from the south there are very visible makeshift alterations to the structure. The original door at the second level has been filled in and is no longer visible, the Grand Master's commemorative plaque is missing too and has been replaced by a slab of limestone. A steel door in the new access defaces the historical value of the tower. There is also obvious damages to the south side of the structure.

Situated nearby, are what appear to be remains of a World War 2 military installation.