Location Alghero
Sardinia
Italy Construction masonry tower Height 24 m Year first constructed 1864 | Automated yes Focal height 186 metres (610 ft) Opened 1864 | |
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Tower shape cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern rising from one corner of the keeper’s house Markings / pattern white tower and keeper’s house Similar Faro di Capo Ferro, Faro di Capo Testa, Stadio Mariotti, Capo Sandalo Lighthouse, Neptune's Grotto | ||
Capo Caccia Lighthouse (Italian: Faro di Capo Caccia) is an active 19th century lighthouse situated at the extremity of Capo Caccia, 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) from Tramariglio a frazione of Alghero on the western coast of Sardinia.
History
The lighthouse was built in 1864 on the top of the namesake promontory overlooking the sea, just above Neptune's Grotto connected by s staircase of 656 steps named Escala de Cabirol (Staircase of roe). The light station is a three-story white building protected by a Faraday cage to defend from the lightning strikes; above the keeper's house stands the tower 24 metres (79 ft) high, which was rebuilt in 1950s, bringing the focal height to 186 metres (610 ft) making it the highest lighthouse in Italy. The lantern was supplied by various fuels, including acetylene up to 1880, and then by petroleum gas, until in 1961 the plant was electrified. The rotating optic which was built in Paris by Barbier, Benard, et Turenne in 1951, is equipped with a Fresnel lens, with four deflectors at 90° to each other with a focal distance of 375 millimetres. The lighthouse is active, fully automated, even if manned by the two keepers who also have the task of maintaining the other lighthouses along the western Sardinia coast. It is operated by Marina Militare identified by the code number 1418 E.F.