Mitħna tax-Xarolla. Visit to the Xarolla Windmill Żurrieq

Today's adventure will take us to a tour around one of the tourist attractions in Żurrieq.

The Xarolla Windmill at Żurrieq, Malta is one of the windmills constructed by the Order of St. John in the villages and towns of Malta. It was built in the 18th-century and is presently one of the most preserved windmills in Malta. The windmill is an agri-tourism attraction and is found in a complex of agricultural buildings such as a farmhouse, a chapel, catacombs[1][2] and others. The windmill is also used as an art studio.

In 1674 Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner built five windmills around Malta, one of which was tax-Xarolla. Tax-Xarolla Windmill was built by Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena in 1724. Sometimes after 1998, this was restored to its original working order. It is now the only functioning windmill on the islands of Malta.[1] This is a valuable witness of local culture and heritage; it still has parts of the original mechanisms and can still grain the wheat. In the year 2000, this building was passed over to be administered by the Żurrieq Local Council and is intended to serve also as a cultural centre.

Special thanks to the Żurrieq Local Council and Albert Cachia for his information.

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[AngeloCaruana]

Any more information on these locations, leave it here.
We really appreciate your support ❗♥️
Thank you in advance.

[butti]

Wonderful piece of art Hope we will preserve this great work to show to our kids

[peterroberts]

Very very interesting my list of places to visit when I can get to Malta just grows but this windmill goes to the top. Not just a windmill but a home which I found fascinating. Many thanks Angelo you have raised the bar for future vlogs but I look forward to them and of course thanks to Albert.

[katiacurmi]

Proset tassew u grazzi. Mithna sabiha minn barra u wisq isbah minn gewwa.

[dorispsaila]

Proset, Vera interessanti, sabieha. u kbiera, lanqas tobsor li hemm dak il kobor.Jien miz Zurrieq u qatt ma dhalt fija.Grazzi Hafna.

[PierreFarrugia]

Big well done, very interesting vlog, pity I lost this one .

[mariaspiteri]

Very informative thanks for sharing 🇲🇹

[larrymic]

Very Interesting video. Loved it. Is this open to the public?

[carmelpule]

Congratulations on the production of this video, Malta needs to keep its old traditions and heritage alive. It is such a great pity that in this windy week (13-20th, March, 2020) this historic windmill suffered so much damage. I believe that it was not turned to face the high winds where the wire bracing (ventijiet) would have transferred the load on the tips/middle section of four rotor blades to the central front end of the forward protruding shaft, as shown at 11:12. At 13:23, the gigantic horizontal thrust bearing is shown where the chain links anchorage/brake location are placed. It looks that the horizontal thrust bearing used to make the top cap of the windmill go around 360 degrees, to find the right wind, it is not in such a good condition. "l-structura kollha ta' fuq kienet ( note kienet) iddur shiha"(13:29) Does that thrust roller bearing work?

*With the type of stone stairs as shown in the video, be it straight or spiral as shown at12:04, the step is not working as a cantilever either, but the end inserted in the wall is TORQUED and the outer end of each step rests on the torqued edge/ tip of the step below it. Many people conclude that sort of steps operates on the cantilever principle but it does not. I do not believe that that large radius spiraled staircase shown would be referred to as a GARIGOR, as a "garigor" is a tighter set of steps circulating around an almost vertical pole, where the " effective central pole" would render each step to act as a bridge or a lintel as "blata fuq bieb jew tieqa" acting as a stone supported at the two ends.
*The bottle-screws and the dog-clamps on those steel wire bracings showed at the top of 11:31 did not exist 300 years ago. but the manila/hemp ropes " tal-qannep" used in the old days would render the unit to involve high maintenance. At Vittoriosa/Kalkara, up to 30 years ago, we had a fisherman who still made manilla/hemp ropes that do not like UV light.
*Those "spiritieri", I remember those very well, as during WW2 and after we had, the Primus pressurized oil paraffin stove, and Valor capillary wick type with, one, or two, or three, or four convection chimneys, and that is going back 85 years ago.
*The Kennur was really a portable small stone rocket stove where air entering horizontally would meet the fuel used, wood or otherwise, and then it would go up vertically with the convection currents generated. The kenur did not have any air-intake control on it and really it was meant to be " portable". The ashes were pulled from the front aperture. If overheated the stone would break.
* Fuklar was a stone wood stove or a permanent type and it had a multi-purpose, even acting as an oven or a top range cooker where pots and pans and frying pans could be placed. The ashes normally fell in an iron tray below the permanent stove.
* At 14: 20 the word " Pariol" was used to describe a wind vane. " Idur sknot id - direzzjoni tar- rih". I believe the word " Parjol" is part of a Maltese boat on which the occupiers of the boat walk on. A Maltese traditional wooden boat is made with frames placed along the inner keel ( Majjieri w stamnari imsammra fuq il- prim isseparti bil- murati) which would be difficult to walk on, so flat sheets of wood called "parjol" are laid on the frames to make it easier for the occupiers to work and traverse along the length and width of the boat, (Frejgatina, Luzzu, Kajjik, Firilla, etc.) The Maltese word for a wind vane in a windmill would be, " Pinnur" probably having an origin from the construction of a rotating blade, "Plakka, jew Pjanca, jew Pala iddur ", hence over the years it was adulterated to, " Pinnur". Note that "Pinner" in the English language is also a sheet (plate) that is rolled over 360 degrees, used to make homemade cigarettes.

[pierregrech]

Prosit u grazzi ghax vera jkun nteressanti. Suggeriment li nixtieq nghamel hu jekk hux possibli li l-lenti ma jkunx fish eye. Dan biex wiehed jkun jista jara il perspettivea reali ta l-ambjent. Bil fish eye lens il-hitan ma jidrux reali u min ikun qieghed jara il video, ma jkunx jista jirrelata il qisien.

[paulsammut]

Prosit tal-progett dettaljat li jesponi tant tajjeb wirt storiku f'pajjizna.

[paulsammut]

Ta' min wiehed jghid illi, kieku ma kienx Manuel Sammut il-Captain dan il-wirt ma kienx jigi restawrat kif suppost. Kien bil-pariri tieghu lill-Garaxx tal-Gvern li x-xoghol sar kif suppost. U ta' min wiehed isemmi wkoll il-valur tas-servizz li ta ibnu Gorg li min jaf kemm ghen student biex jaghmlu l-progett tas-System of Knowledge dwar il-Mithna.