Xlendi is an urban village in Malta situated in the south west of the island of Gozo. It is surrounded by the villages of Munxar, Fontana and Kerċem. The village is administered by Munxar, but has its own coat of arms and motto. From March 2010, Xlendi has had its own 5-person "mini council" responsible for the main activities of the area. Etymology The name Xlendi is of Byzantine origin as it is named after a galley of the period, that was wrecked along the coast, that was called Shilandi. Evidence of this was retrieved near the entry of the bay, at the bottom of the sea, in the 1960s. Since then the site has become a popular diving site. Historical places Punic Tombs Also, tombs dating from Punic-Byzantine times were found in Xlendi, some at St. Simon Point (under St. Simon Street) and some others in Xlendi Valley. Romans used to port in Xlendi as it has features that can protect from the wind for its cliffs around the bay. In the middle of the bay there is a reef which caused many shipwrecks. These sunken ships left a large number of Roman amphorae on the seabed in the mouth of the bay. Xlendi Tower The Xlendi Tower guarding the mouth of the bay was built by the Grandmaster Juan de Lascaris-Castellar on 29 June 1650. This was built so pirates or Turks could not launch attacks from this bay. This tower is still standing. It has, until recently, been abandoned with substantial damage caused to the outer walls of the tower. Responsibility for the tower was passed to the Local Council and Din l-Art Ħelwa in 2010. As of August 2020, restoration works were commenced on its outer structure. The Tower was quite important for the British Army in Malta as it was the only tower in the southwest of the island. It was entitled Tower B (secondly in place) to show its importance. Chapels It is strange that Xlendi in the middle 17th century had a total of 4 chapels. These were: St Simon Chapel (St Simon Point) which also had a cemetery and when profaned, the bishop ordered that a stone cross should be carved in the rocks; St Domenica which was an underground chapel located roughly on the cliffs over the valley of Xlendi on the side of Munxar and was difficult to reach, so