for a reduction of his rent which was 550 scudi per annum. He had this lease from the government for the last 32 years. During that time people were constructing their 'centimolo' into their own property and thus they were milling their own corn, and were not making use of his mill. He brought other arguments too. The request was at the end refused. Maltese windmills Malta has the biggest density of windmills in the world, which is 1 windmill every 9sq km. This surpasses the Netherlands, which has 1 windmill every 39sq km. In the Maltese Islands, 69 windmills are known to have been built, but only about 36 still exist today. 54 windmills were built in Malta and 15 in Gozo. Only 3 windmills have sails to date. Most windmills in Malta were built by the Knights of St. John after they came from Rhodes. In 1674, the Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner ordered the building of the first five mills, with other building orders followed after. The construction period for these windmills was between 1663 till 1773. The windmill builders were assisted by the experts brought up from Mallorca, Spain. Some windmills were also used for the production of gunpowder. In 1838, the government ended the monopoly of windmills, thus everybody was allowed to build windmills. The windmills were later superseded by steam mills. References External links - Xewkija Windmill Facebook Page Xewkija Gozo Windmills in Malta Tower mills National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands