10 Facts About Vittorio Cassar

Vittorio Cassar, born Gio Vittorio Cassar, was a Maltese architect and military engineer.

Vittorio Cassar became the Order's resident engineer in the early 17th century, and he directed the upgrading of the Cittadella of Gozo between 1600 and 1603.

Vittorio Cassar is claimed to have designed some of the Wignacourt towers and several churches, but there is no evidence of these attributions.

Vittorio Cassar was probably the firstborn son of Girolamo Cassar and his wife Mattea, and he was his father's favourite and principal heir.

Vittorio Cassar is said to have been born in around 1550, but this date is mainly based on speculation.

However, Vittorio Cassar is believed to have died in 1609, before work on the first Wignacourt tower had begun.

Vittorio Cassar was short tempered and was often involved in quarrels and criminal offences.

Vittorio Cassar was imprisoned for six months in Fort St Angelo after harassing another knight and beating his servant.

Between the 1590s and 1606, the Inquisition accused and sentenced Vittorio Cassar for practicing fortune-telling, and he was said to be able to relieve people and read their future.

Vittorio Cassar is said to have had a relationship with Gioanna La Siracusana, a magician and prostitute.