The amazing Strombolicchio lighthouse, on a volcanic islet in the Tyrrhenian Sea
ESThere are lighthouses that are in places that seem impossible. Here we saw the Thridrangar lighthouse, in Iceland, which is the most extreme case.
You don't have to sail that far north to find a maritime light that rivals that Icelandic lighthouse in spectacularity. To the northeast of the island of Sicily, in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, there is an Italian lighthouse located on a surprising-looking islet: Strombolicchio, in the Italian archipelago of the Aeolian Islands.
This islet, whose name in Italian means "Little Stromboli", is located one and a half kilometers northeast of the island of Stromboli, which contains an active volcano. Like that island, the islet of Strombolicchio is of volcanic origin. It emerged about 200,000 years ago and is surrounded by almost vertical walls.
Strombolicchio is older than Stromboli and is a tower of solidified magma from an ancient volcano, whose slopes suffered the effects of erosion until they disappeared under the sea. Today this islet is home to an endangered plant: the rock pomegranate (Bassia saxicola), which only grows here and in Campania.
Originally the islet of Strombolicchio was higher than it is now. Its height was about 70 meters above sea level a century ago, when it was decided to install a maritime lighthouse there. The work on the lighthouse began in 1920 and the lighthouse was activated in 1925. The top of the islet was leveled to be able to build the lighthouse, with which Strombolicchio had a maximum height of 57 meters. You can access the top of the island from a pier only suitable for small boats. The climb is via a steep and narrow staircase with more than 200 steps.
The Strombolicchio lighthouse depends on the Italian Navy. It is a cylindrical tower of white masonry, with a height of 8 meters. At its base there is a small house for the guardian. The upper part of the lighthouse has a circular balcony that surrounds the lantern. Next to the lighthouse there is a viewpoint that can be used as a heliport (for several years now it has had a large letter H painted on the ground).
In the past this lighthouse had a propane gas lantern, but today it has an LED light powered by solar energy and which emits three white flashes every 15 seconds and has a range of 11 nautical miles (20 kilometers). . Nowadays no lighthouse keeper lives there: the lighthouse is automated.
If you want to see more details of this small islet, five years ago Dexdrone published this video of Strombolicchio recorded from a drone:
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Main photo: Kuhnmi.
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