Lighthouse of Genoa

The Lighthouse of Genoa (Italian: Lanterna di Genova; Ligurian: Lanterna de Zêna), often known as simply La Lanterna (Ligurian: a Lanterna), is the main light serving the Port of Genoa, the capital of Liguria, Italy. 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. Rebuilt in its current shape in 1543 replacing the former lighthouse, it is the world's fourth oldest lighthouse, following the Tower of Hercules in A Coruña, Spain, Hook Head Lighthouse in Ireland, and Kõpu Lighthouse, on the island of Hiiumaa, Estonia. Built of masonry, at 76 m (249 ft), 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. Between 1543 and the construction of the lighthouse on Île Vierge, France in 1902, it was also the tallest lighthouse in the world. It is now the world's fifth tallest lighthouse, the second tallest lighthouse built in traditional masonry after Île Vierge, and the tallest lighthouse of Italy and the whole Mediterranean Sea. When measured as a whole with the natural rock on which it stands, as it is commonly perceived and represented, its total height is 112 m (367 ft), which makes it the second tallest lighthouse in the world, the tallest in Europe, and the tallest in the world when only traditional lighthouses are considered.