Giraglia Lighthouse, Lighthouse on Giraglia Island, Ersa, France.
Giraglia Lighthouse is a cylindrical stone tower located on an island off the Corsican coast near Ersa. The structure stands above a square base that once housed storage rooms and the keeper's living quarters.
Construction began in 1839 on the site of an old Genoese tower, to a design by Léonce Reynaud. The lighthouse was lit on 1 January 1848 and is the fifth first-order lighthouse built to ring Corsica. In 1904 its signal changed to a flash every five seconds, and in the second half of the 20th century it was automated and placed under remote control from Bastia.
The lighthouse is called Fanale di a Giraglia in Corsican. Its light comes from a 150-watt halogen lamp with a range of 26 nautical miles, and it also transmits a radio beacon on 305.0 kHz. The tower is not open to visitors; the site is seen from the sea or from the coastal path.
The lighthouse is not guarded and cannot be visited, so the tower and its lantern stay closed to the public. It is automated and remotely controlled from Bastia. The island lies about two kilometres north of the fishing port of Barcaggio, in the commune of Ersa, and is reached by boat from there.
The island serves as a crucial migration corridor for birds traveling across the Mediterranean each year. Researchers use the site to study and band birds, gathering data on their travel routes and patterns.
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