Għajn Tuffieħa Tower ( mt, Torri t'Għajn Tuffieħa) is a small

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

Għajn Tuffieħa Għajn Tuffieħa is a bay and sandy, red beach which is located in Mġarr, Malta. The bay is south of Golden Bay. It is quieter than Golden Bay and often visited by Maltese natives themselves as well as tourist visitors. To reach this beach, one ...

, limits of

Mġarr Mġarr ( mt, L-Imġarr), formerly known as ''Mgiarro'', is a village in the Northern Region of Malta. Mġarr is a typical rural village situated in an isolated region, west of Mosta. It is surrounded with rich farmland and vineyards. Many of it ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was completed in 1637 as the second of the

Lascaris towers The Laskaris or Lascaris ( el, Λάσκαρις, later Λάσκαρης) family was a Byzantine Greek noble family whose members formed the ruling dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea from 1204 to 1261 and remained among the senior nobility up to the d ...

. The tower is mostly intact although it is threatened by coastal erosion and it was damaged during a storm in 2023.

History

Għajn Tuffieħa Tower was built in 1637 on the cliffs overlooking Għajn Tuffieħa Bay close to

Mellieħa Mellieħa ( mt, il-Mellieħa ) is a large village in the Northern Region of Malta. It has a population of 10,087 as of March 2014. Mellieħa is also a tourist resort, popular for its sandy beaches and natural environment. Etymology The name ''M ...

and

on the northwest coast of Malta. The tower has Lippija and

Nadur Tower Nadur Tower ( mt, Torri tan-Nadur) is a small watchtower in Binġemma Gap, limits of Rabat, Malta. It was completed in 1637 as the third of the Lascaris towers. Today, the tower is in good condition. History Nadur Tower was built in 1637 at Bi ...

s in its line of sight. The tower was designed by the Italian architect

Vincenzo Maculani Vincenzo Maculani (11 September 1578 – 16 February 1667) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal, inquisitor and military architect. He was known as a severe man, harsh and without compassion, who preferred the black ''cappa'' of his order to the ...

. It is almost identical to Lippija Tower, having a square plan and two floors topped by a flat roof with a parapet. Each floor has a single room, and access to the upper floor was originally by a wooden ladder. Għajn Tuffieħa Tower was built on the site of a medieval watchpost. It was originally armed with a ½-pounder gun, and its garrison consisted of a captain and three men, who were paid by the Università, the government officials in charge of Malta at the time.

Present day

Malta - Mgarr - Triq Ghajn Tuffieha - Ghajn Tuffieha Tower 08 ies

The tower was in poor condition until it was restored in 2000 with the support of the Director of Public Projects and

Din l-Art Ħelwa () is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by Maltese Judge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment. Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous ...

. In 2012, vandals sprayed graffiti on two sides of the tower; this has since been removed. The tower continued to be renovated by the Gaia Foundation, and it opened to the public in 2013 as part of a peace grove containing over 20 species of indigenous plants. The Gaia Foundation is reportedly no longer active, and as of 2023 there is no entity responsible for the tower's upkeep. The tower is threatened by

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

, and cracks can be seen on the cliffs upon which the tower is built. The terrain may be dangerous for risky walkers, as some people have lost their life on the rocks in the immediate vicinity of the tower. During the night of 9–10 February 2023, the tower was damaged during Cyclone Helios. Some of its masonry collapsed amidst gale-force winds and heavy rain, leaving a hole within the tower's upper section.

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghajn Tuffieha Tower 1637 establishments in Malta Lascaris towers Mġarr National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Towers completed in 1637