science

Clemente Tabone

Clemente Tabone is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Clemente Tabone rather than just read about it. In short: Clemente Tabone (Maltese: Klement Tabone, c. 1575 – 11 March 1665) was a Maltese landowner and militia member who is known for his reported courage in the Raid on Żejtun, the last major Ottoman attack on Malta, in 1614. He built a tower and a chapel on some of his lands on the outskirts of Żejtun.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

Clemente Tabone (Maltese: Klement Tabone, c. 1575 – 11 March 1665) was a Maltese landowner and militia member who is known for his reported courage in the Raid on Żejtun, the last major Ottoman attack on Malta, in 1614. He built a tower and a chapel on some of his lands on the outskirts of Żejtun. The tower no longer exists, but St. Clement's Chapel remains intact and is still in use.

Biography Tabone was born in Casal Pasqualino (today part of Żejtun) around 1575 to Pietro Tabone and Dorothea née Cumbo. He was the only son of a rich family, and had six sisters. On 18 March 1589, he seems to have received a clerical tonsure which brought him under the Church's jurisdiction, protecting him from the powers of the Order of St. John who at the time ruled Malta. Tabone did not continue to study to become a priest. He acted as an attorney for his father during a property deal in 1596, and his father later gave him some pieces of land through two notarial deeds. He subsequently became a wealthy landowner, renting out some of his fields and buying others. His lands included a number of fields and buildings, including part of the archaeological site of Tas-Silġ and salt pans in Bengħisa. Tabone built the Ingraw Tower on one of his lands in 1603, and decades later, he used part of the land acquired in 1596 to construct St. Clement's Chapel. Tabone married three times. He first married Helena Testaferrata on 11 January 1597 in Birgu, but she died the following year on 2 August 1598. His second marriage, on 3 February 1602, was to Margherita Pace, the daughter of a nobleman from Siġġiewi. He eventually began an extramarital affair with Aloisetta Veron, and married her on 14 January 1657. They had four children, two of whom – Dorothea and Angelo (or Archangelo) – were born out of wedlock and later legitimized. Their fourth child, Archangela, was born after Clemente's death. Tabone and his family had moved to Birgu by 1609, but he seems to have also returned to Żejtun at some points in his later life. He made wills in 1646, 1659 and finally in 1661. He died in Birgu on 11 March 1665, and was buried in the Parish Church of St. Lawrence. His son Angelo died a day after him. Tabone had an Ethiopian servant named Gregorio in 1646. In his later life, he had at least two black slaves, Gugliemo and Madalena, who were eventually set free.

Raid of 1614

Clemente Tabone is mostly known for his role in the 1614 Raid on Żejtun, in which a fleet of Ottoman galleys landed some 6,000 men in St. Thomas Bay in Marsaskala and pillaged the village of Żejtun which had been abandoned by its inhabitants after they heard about the attack. Tabone's exact role is unclear; some sources state that he was a member of the dejma militia, while others state that he was attacked by Ottomans on the outskirts of Żejtun. He might have lost his sword during this fight. 18th-century sources state that Tabone showed a lot of courage during the 1614 raid, but no direct contemporary sources which state Tabone's exact role are known. Tabone might have been part of the dejma that responded to the cannon fire from St. Lucian Tower after the Ottomans' failed attempt to land at Marsaxlokk, or he might have been part of the cavalry force that drove the invaders out of Żejtun.

Buildings

House in Żejtun

Tabone was given a house in Żejtun by his father in 1596. It is described in contemporary documents as consisting of rooms built around a courtyard, also containing a cistern, a small adjoining field and half of a tower (the other half of this tower seems to have belonged to the heirs of Tabone's uncle). The house at 40, St. Clement's Street has traditionally been considered to be Tabone's house. It contains a courtyard, cistern and a nearby field, matching the description, and the date "1624" is reportedly inscribed inside the building. However, no sources which explicitly state that the building belonged to Tabone are known, and his ownership of the building is therefore uncertain. The design of the house is similar to the auberges of the Knights in Birgu. It has a main door in the middle with an imposing window decorated with a local Melitan moulding. The building has other entrances and windows at ground floor but are simple. The upper floor is mostly not built. It is known as Casa Verdi.

Ingraw Tower

The Ingraw Tower (Maltese: Torri Ingraw) was built by Tabone in 1603 in Ħal Tmin or in the area of Misraħ Strejnu. It bore the following inscription, but it has been lost:

Clementis clementia non-par dicto gigantum – Taboniae stirpis Gloriæ honoræ domus (meaning Clemente's clemency is said not to match that of giants – not even the glory of the Tabone's pedigree or the honour of the family) The tower was built for defensive purposes since the area was prone to attacks by the Barbary pirates. A number of other towers were built in the area, including Tal-Mozz Tower in the immediate vicinity and Mamo Tower some distance away. The Ingraw Tower had been dismantled by 1927, and its stonework was used to build a nearby rural structure. A stone bearing the date "1603" and another bearing the coat of arms of the Tabone family can still be seen in the room's façade.

St. Clement's Chapel

Tabone had first made plans to construct a chapel in the 1620s, but when he described the wish to be buried in this chapel in his 1646 will, it is mentioned that the building was still to be constructed. Located in Ħal Tmin, the chapel is believed to have been built in 1658, since that date is inscribed on its façade beneath Tabone's coat of arms. It was described as complete in 1661. An inscription above the main doorway of the chapel reads:

Clementivs Taboni ecclesia[m] qua[m] ideo vovit, edificare fecit (meaning Clemente Tabone promised a church as a vow, and because of this he built it) It is often stated that the chapel was built to commemorate deliverance from the 1614 attack, but a definite link between the raid and the chapel has not yet been established. The church has a simple façade and a small parvis. Pope Clement I is the subject of the chapel's titular painting, which was painted in 1662 and is attributed to Stefano Erardi. The painting contains a depiction of an elderly Tabone. A small painting depicting the Pietà, attributed to Francesco Zahra, is also found in the chapel. The chapel remains intact and it is still in use.

References

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Clemente Tabone

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Clemente Tabone claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Clemente Tabone before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Clemente Tabone ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Clemente Tabone

In research: Clemente Tabone appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Clemente Tabone in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Clemente Tabone is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1570s births, 1665 deaths, 17th-century Maltese businesspeople, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Clemente Tabone outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Clemente Tabone in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Clemente Tabone means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Clemente Tabone in simple terms?

Why does Clemente Tabone matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Clemente Tabone?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Clemente Tabone.