Blat Mogħża Tower
Here are the details and history of Ta’ Capra Tower, also known as Blat Mogħża Tower, in the Fomm ir-Riħ area, Malta:
📌 Identity & Names
The tower is known by several names: Blat Mogħża Tower, Ta’ Capra Tower, and in Maltese sometimes Torri ta’ Blat Mogħża.
It was one of the Lascaris Towers, a series of watchtowers built under Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris in the 17th century.
🏗 Construction & Role
Date of construction: c. 1637, under Lascaris.
Design: Likely followed the common small square-plan tower model used for other Lascaris Towers (similar to Lippija Tower and Għajn Tuffieħa Tower). Two levels (ground and upper lookout) plus roof for signalling.
Purpose:
To guard the coastline at Fomm ir-Riħ, watching for pirate or Ottoman incursions.
Part of the signal chain: it had lines of sight to other towers (for example Lippija Tower and Nadur Tower) so that warnings could be passed along the coast.
🏜 Location & Geography
Location: On a cliff edge overlooking Fomm ir-Riħ Bay, in the limits of Mġarr, Malta.
Site sits on a cliff face which has gradually been subject to erosion. The tower was built almost right at the cliff’s edge.
⌛ Decay & Fate
By 1730, the tower was reported in ruin. Engineer Charles François de Mondion (working for the Order of St. John) observed that the cliff below was subsiding and parts of the foundation or rock supporting the tower were giving way.
It was never rebuilt after that. Over time, natural erosion and cliff collapse have removed any remaining structure.
🔍 Remains & Legacy
Today, there is no standing structure of Ta’ Capra / Blat Mogħża Tower. Only the memory of its location remains, and references in historic maps and documents. The site has been partly lost to the sea/cliff collapse.
It is a recognized part of Malta’s heritage of coastal watchtowers, especially among those built by Lascaris.