The Punta Penna lighthouse rises on a promontory on via Madonna della Penna, next to the port of Vasto. It is 70 metres high: the second-tallest lighthouse in Italy after the Lanterna in Genoa, and one of the tallest traditional lighthouses in the world. The spot was chosen for its strategic value, because according to the engineers it was a true natural harbour, the most important between Ancona and Bari.
What to see
The lighthouse is a masonry tower built to a design by Olindo Tarcione. At its base is a two-storey building with housing for the families of the two keepers, since the lighthouse is still manned, and some offices. A spiral staircase of 307 steps leads to the top.
The tower seen today is a reconstruction: in 1944 the retreating German army destroyed the original lighthouse, which was rebuilt to the same design and inaugurated again on 2 May 1948.
Visiting
The lighthouse is a working installation, and access to the interior should be checked with the Navy or the town council; from outside it is seen from the Punta Penna promontory.
Our editors' tip
On the second Sunday of May, in the small church next to the lighthouse, the Madonna della Penna is celebrated with a long procession of fishing boats. Legend has it that the statue, stolen by Turkish pirates, was found again in the very place it had been taken from, while the pirates' ship sank.
