Lighthouse of Genoa
Lighthouse of Genoa (2007)
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 Liguria
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| Location |
Genoa Italy
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| Coordinates | 44°24′16.44″N 8°54′17.00″E / 44.4045667°N 8.9047222°E |
| Year first constructed | 1128 (some sources say 1161) |
| Year first lit | 1543 (current tower) |
| Automated | 1936 |
| Foundation | Natural Emplaced |
| Construction | Stone |
| Tower shape | Two square prisms |
| Markings / pattern | Unpainted, save for the city arms on the lower stage; lantern painted with red-and-white checkerboard pattern |
| Height | 249 feet (76 m) |
| Focal height | 384 feet (117 m) |
| Original lens | Wood fire, later first order Fresnel lens |
| Light source | electric power distribution |
| Range | main: 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) reserve: 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi) |
| Characteristic | two white flashes, separated by 5 s, every 20 s. |
| Admiralty number | E1206 |
| NGA number | 7568 |
| ARLHS number | ITA-177 |
| Italy number | 1569 E.F |
| Managing agent | Marina Militare |
The Lighthouse of Genoa (Italian: faro di Genova, but simply called Lanterna), is the main lighthouse for the city's port. Besides being an important aid to night navigation in the vicinity, the tower serves as a symbol and a landmark for the City of Genoa. At 249 feet (76 m) it is the world's fifth tallest lighthouse and the second tallest "traditional" one, built of masonry. Since 1543 and until the construction of the lighthouse on Île Vierge in 1902, it was the tallest lighthouse in the world. Considered as a whole with the natural rock on which it stands, as it is commonly perceived and represented, its height is 383 feet (117 m).
It is constructed in two square portions, each one capped by a terrace; the whole structure is crowned by a lantern from which the light is shone. Rebuilt in its current shape in 1543 replacing the former lighthouse, it is the world's third oldest lighthouse, following the Tower of Hercules in A Coruña, Spain, and Kõpu Lighthouse, on the island of Hiiumaa, Estonia.
It is built on the hill of San Benigno at some little distance from the Sampierdarena neighborhood. The cape on which the Lanterna stands was at one time a peninsula before the nearby coastline was filled in and reshaped. To the west, it marked the entrance to the original port of Genoa, today the Porto Antico. Over time, the hill on the cape assumed the name "Capo di Faro", or "Lighthouse Cape"; it is also sometimes referred to as the cape of San Benigno, after the convent that once stood there. Today, the hill is gone save for a small rise upon which the lighthouse stands; the rest of it was removed to provide infill for other areas of the city.
The first tower at this location, a structure formed of three crenellated towers, was built, most sources say, around 1128, although at least one states that it was built in 1161. At the time it sat close to the main coastal road, called the Via di Francia, which more recent documents describe as passing between it and the sea. When it was constructed the tower was fairly far from the city; it was only in the seventeenth century that it became part of the so-called "Cerchia Seicentesca", part of the seicento, the walls of Genoa. It has remained a part of the system until today.
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Wikipedia