It was built by the Order of St. John between 1725 and 1726, on the site of an earlier tower, and its purpose was to communicate signals between Mdina and the rest of Malta.

Today, the tower is in good condition, and it serves as a tourist information centre and for occasional cultural events.

[3][4] The tower, like many other medieval buildings in Mdina, had suffered significant damage during the 1693 Sicily earthquake.

[6] Torre dello Standardo started to be built in 1725 to designs of the French military engineer Charles François de Mondion, as part of a project to rebuild the entrance to Mdina in the Baroque style during the magistracy of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena.

[16] The Torre dello Standardo's design is similar to the coastal watchtowers such as the De Redin towers that the Order built in Malta during the 17th century.