Il-Loġġa ta' Pinto

The Pinto Loggia is a small baroque structure built in 1772 at the behest of Grand Master Manoel Pinto de Fonseca of the Knights of St. John, located in Qormi, Malta. It served as a sheltered landing tribune — at the time, the Grand Harbour's waterfront extended all the way to this spot, allowing the Grand Master to step ashore under cover during bad weather. This makes the loggia an unusual geographic marker of how dramatically the harbour shoreline has since receded. The surrounding area was redeveloped in 1981, with modern housing and the new parish church of San Bastjan built nearby. Today an informative tablet on site explains its history, and the structure remains a quiet but genuine local landmark.