Trieste Lantern

The Lanterna Lighthouse of Trieste is located at the top of the Molo Fratelli Bandiera (formerly Molo Teresiano), at the western edge of the city, marking the entrance to the old port. The construction of the lighthouse, which became operational in 1833, was commissioned by the city's governor Carlo Zinzendorf, based on a design by Matteo Pertsch. The optical group is supported by a stone column with a cylindrical base that rises from a crenellated Torre Massimiliana with two tiers of gun emplacements. In addition to its lighthouse function, the construction was also intended to serve as a defense for the port. The foundations of the lighthouse rest on what was once the Scoglio dello Zucco. With the construction of the Vittoria lighthouse on the Gretta hill in 1927, the Lanterna lost its original significance. It was therefore deactivated as a lighthouse in 1969, and today it only functions as a harbor light. The lighthouse is currently also home to the Trieste section of the Lega Navale Italiana (Italian Naval League).