The ancient lighthouse at Cervia

The origins of the Cervia lighthouse

The first known lighthouse was built in Alexandria, Egypt (on the island of Pharos) in the 3rd century BC to guide sailors at night. This towering tower where the fire burned perpetually It was clearly visible from a great distance.

Between a stroll along the seafront and a visit to the Old Town or to the Mu.Sa. (Salt Museum), The Cervia lighthouse is a must-see.

Since ancient times, salt production in Cervia has made the town an important port on the Adriatic, where ships carrying this invaluable commodity arrived from all over the Roman Empire.

In 1691, when the Torre S. Michele was built, the sea was about a hundred metres away, but the process of land reclamation, which had been ongoing for centuries, continued to expand the land, pushing the shoreline back by an average of about 3 metres a year and making it necessary to extend the harbour breakwaters. Records from 1708 indicate that, high up in the north-hand corner of the Torre S. Michele, a long iron bar was embedded in the wall to support the lantern which was displayed at night to signal the landing point to sailors.

For this reason, in 1756, a sturdy two-storey building was constructed some 300 metres from the Tower. In the centre, on the roof, stood a tall turret topped by a lantern. For a whole century, this served as the lighthouse for the port of Cervia, referred to in official documents as the "Casino di Sanità".

The lighthouse that can be seen today was built in 1875, It is 16 metres tall, has a light range of 14 miles and was designed by the head of the municipal Technical Office, Engineer Ferdinando Forlivesi.

Its appearance has remained more or less unchanged, but it has in fact been altered twice: once it was raised to compensate for the tall buildings that had been erected around it, and a second time when the damage sustained during the Second World War was repaired.

Initially, it had a steady white light, which later became intermittent to distinguish it from the ever-increasing glare of street lighting; eventually, it was "decommissioned" and replaced by two electronic lights at the head of the piers.

If you’re lucky, you can visit the inside of the lighthouse on one of the rare occasions when it’s open. Alternatively, I’d recommend sitting in the harbour area, breathing in the fresh sea air and enjoying the tranquillity of the sea, imagining the voyages of the ancient seafarers who ventured into unknown lands.

Where: Via Nazario Sauro, Cervia Admission: not open to the public Source