According to local legends, a woman is said to have had a dream in which St. John advised her to tell the Grand Master to fortify the area around Marsaxlokk since an Ottoman attack was imminent.

[4] Saint Lucian Tower first saw action in July 1614, when it fired its guns on an Ottoman fleet attempting to disembark at Marsaxlokk Bay.

The Ottomans left and landed in St. Thomas Bay, and pillaged some towns and farmland before being forced to retreat by the militia.

A small chapel was located within its walls, and it had a titular painting depicting the Martyrdom of St Lucian.

For this purpose, Saint Lucian Entrenchment was built stretching from near Ferretti Battery to Vendôme Redoubt, effectively cutting off the tower's peninsula from the rest of the island.

[7] When Malta fell under British rule permanently, they substantially extended the fort and the original tower now forms the core of a Victorian era fortress.

On the seaward side the tower has been extended to form a low battery, with three large casemates facing out across Marsaxlokk Bay towards Fort Delimara.

The fort was decommissioned in 1885, but was used as a Royal Air Force bomb depot between World War II and the 1960s.

[10] After the fort was handed to the government, it was administered by the University of Malta, initially by the Architecture Department and later as a Marine Biology Station.

[8] The fort is in generally good condition, although some damage was inflicted on parts of it since its conversion into an aquaculture centre.

[8] The fort and tower are open to the public for individuals or small groups of 2 to 5 people every Saturday morning.