Knight’s Wash House in Fontana, Malta

When the Knights of St. John controlled the islands of Malta from 1530 to 1798, they oversaw many municipal construction projects. One type of structure built throughout the archipelago was facilities for people to wash their laundry, which was an arduous task in the pre-industrial era. The most notable remaining Maltese laundry facility from this time period is the Knight’s Wash House located on the island of Gozo in the municipality of Fontana. 

This area is so well-known for its natural springs that the city’s name is derived from the Italian word for fountain, and the Knight’s Wash House was designed to be fed by one of these springs. The first washhouse was built on the site in 1373; the current structure was constructed in 1685.

From the outside, the washhouse looks like a blocky structure with a deep arched alcove and a niche featuring the Virgin Mary and Jesus standing at the top of the arch. Two sets of basins for washing clothes stand along the sides of the alcove under the arches, and the basins on the left are fed by spring water coming from an outlet emerging from the wall. A row of benches, which can be used for organizing clothes before and after washing them, runs through the center of the space. Three coats of arms adorn the rear wall. The arms in the center represent the Grand Master Gregorio Caraffa, who led the Knights of St. John at the time of the structure’s construction; the arms on the left represent the Azzopardi family, who constructed the wash house; and the arms on the right represent the regional government.

Over the centuries, multiple governments have made the effort to preserve this washhouse as a historic site.  However, it is still used occasionally by the local people as a laundry facility, in which case, it could be considered part of Malta’s living history.