In 1884 a second tower, taller than the first, was raised on the island of Tino, and incandescent lenses powered by two steam engines were fitted at the top: the beam turned out so strong that in 1912 the apparatus was swapped for one burning petroleum vapour. The San Venerio lighthouse, which belongs to the comune of Porto Venere, had been willed by King Charles Albert: work began in 1839 and since 1840 the light has guided sailors along this stretch of the Ligurian Sea, in the sector bounded to the north-west by the Lanterna of Genoa and to the south by the Livorno light. The first fuel was vegetable oil, then came coal.
What to see
The building is a fortified neoclassical design. It has been altered many times, but the monumental layout survives: a low compact block on the rock, the tower rising clear of it and the lantern on top, some thirty metres up.
Tino is a military zone and stays closed to the public all year, with one exception: 13 September, the feast of Saint Venerius, patron of the Gulf of La Spezia and of Italy's lighthouse keepers. On that day you can land and walk up to the light. The lighthouse was electrified when mains power arrived and fully automated in 1985; today it answers to the Marina Militare lighthouse command in La Spezia, which looks after every light on the upper Tyrrhenian. Since 1997 it has formed part of the UNESCO site covering Porto Venere, the Cinque Terre and the islands.
Visiting
Outside 13 September there is no landing. The normal way to see it is from the water: the summer boats that circle Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto pass below the cliff without putting anyone ashore. At night the terms reverse, because the flashes read perfectly from a distance: from Lerici, on the far side of the gulf, and from the high paths of the Cinque Terre.
Our editors' tip
If you are here in September, keep the 13th free: the organised boats for Tino leave from several points around the gulf and places go early, so ask a few days ahead. At other times we suggest the opposite vantage point, the night one: from the Doria castle in Porto Venere, or from the road climbing towards the Cinque Terre, you wait for the flash, count the interval and understand why a light burning for nearly two centuries still earns its keep.