Faro Palascìa
Punta Palascia, or Capo d'Otranto, is the easternmost point of Italy. Here, where the Adriatic meets the Ionian and merge, a white lighthouse stands on the coast overlooking the sea, surrounded on one side by the scents of the Mediterranean scrub and on the other by the silvery shimmer of the rolling waves.
Its history
Before the current Punta Palascia lighthouse, there was a 19th-century hut, built on the ruins of the old Palascia Tower, an ancient watchtower dating back to the 16th century, already mentioned on ancient maps. Over time, the hut was abandoned and then demolished in 1863 to build the lighthouse, managed by the Italian Navy and operating until the 1970s.
The Punta Palascia lighthouse is one of five lighthouses in the Mediterranean Sea protected by the European Union. Built in 1867 and approximately 40 meters high, it is a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike.
The lighthouse stands on a rocky cliff overlooking the sea and consists of a 32-meter-high cylindrical white stone tower, complete with a balcony and lantern, rising from a two-story white building. The interior of the lighthouse can also be visited. Visitors can climb a spiral staircase of approximately 150 steps to reach its lantern, located 60 meters above sea level.
The lantern was created in 1884 in Paris by watchmaker Augustine-Henry Lepaute, a protégé of Gustave Eiffel. The light, which does not have a rotating system, is visible up to 18 nautical miles and flashes at regular intervals of approximately four seconds. Inside the lantern are two bulbs, one elongated and slender and the other, more massive, used in emergencies.
In the shadow of the tall tower is a small house, where the families who ran the lighthouse from generation to generation lived until it was abandoned. Restoration work on the building and meticulous historical research have restored the lighthouse to its original beauty and usability. Of considerable importance are the original documents, drawn up by the then Royal Corps of Civil Engineers and dating back to the second half of the 19th century.
Today, the lighthouse is an important example of industrial archaeology, having been one of the Adriatic coast's key lighthouses for all passing vessels for over a century.
How to get to the Punta Palascia Lighthouse
The Punta Palascia lighthouse can be reached from the coastal road leading from Otranto to Santa Maria di Leuca. A few kilometers south of Otranto, near a military barracks, you'll need to continue on foot along a path carved into the rock, a popular destination for walkers and hikers. The route winds between cliffs and sheep tracks, revealing breathtaking views, enveloped in the scents of the Mediterranean scrub.
