Capo Mele Lighthouse () is an active lighthouse in northwestern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It is located on
Capo Mele, on the border of the comunes of
Andora
Andora () or Marina di Andora is a town on the Italian Riviera in the region of Liguria, included in the province of Savona.
Geography and climate
Andora is situated in the western part of the Italian Riviera between Capo Mele in the east and ...
(to the west) and
Laigueglia (to the northeast) in the
Province of Savona
The province of Savona (; Ligurian language, Ligurian: ''provinsa de Sann-a'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Savona, which has a population of 61,219 inhabitants. The province has a ...
in
Liguria
Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...
.
History
The lighthouse was constructed by the Civil Engineers and completed in 1856. Its architecture was not changed from the original for almost half a century, and was repainted from yellow to red. A petroleum lamp was installed in 1909, later with
acetylene
Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is u ...
until 1936. Like many other lighthouses in Italy, this lighthouse was severely damaged during World War II, and the extensive damage was repaired between 1947 and 1948. In 1949 it was electrified.
Description
The lighthouse is a circular 25 metres high masonry tower and the
diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...
of the lantern is 3.82 metres. It is reached by a staircase of 74 steps. Adjacent to the tower is a three-story brick building.
The lighthouse is still staffed
and is managed by the Command Area Lighthouses Navy based in
La Spezia
La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy.
La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...
(which incidentally takes care of all the lighthouses in the Tyrrhenian). The
Marina Militare
The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the '' Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active pe ...
is responsible for managing all the lights on an approximate 8000 kilometers of Italian coastline since 1910, using both military and civilian technicians.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Italy
The following is a list of active lighthouses in Italy, sorted by region.
Abruzzo
This is a list of lighthouses in Abruzzo.
Apulia
This is a list of lighthouses in Apulia.
Calabria
This is a list of lighthouses in Calabria.
Campania
Thi ...
References
*
External links
Servizio Fari Marina Militare
Lighthouses in Italy
Buildings and structures in the Province of Savona
Lighthouses completed in 1856
1856 establishments in Italy
{{Italy-lighthouse-stub