Cap Ferrat Phare, Historical lighthouse in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France
Cap Ferrat Phare is a stone lighthouse positioned at the tip of the Cap Ferrat peninsula, situated between Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Riviera coast. The structure marks a key navigation point for ships traveling along this section of the Mediterranean.
A 16th-century fire tower first stood on this site, guiding boats into the rade de Villefranche. Engineers of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia built the first Villafranca lighthouse here, bearing the inscription "AN 1732", and it was restored in 1827-1828. German troops destroyed it in 1944; the Ponts et Chaussées built the present tower in 1949, lit in 1952.
The current tower was listed as a monument historique on 13 September 2012. French actress Sophie Duez is its sponsor, or marraine, and took part in its 2016 restoration. The lighthouse stands about a hundred metres from the Grand Hôtel du Cap Ferrat.
The lighthouse sits at 11 Chemin du Phare in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and is not open to the public for entry. Visitors can still view the exterior structure from the coastal path that circles the area.
The lighthouse stands about a hundred metres from the Grand Hôtel du Cap Ferrat, and the actress Sophie Duez is its sponsor, or marraine. The same cape also carries a semaphore built in 1862 on the order of Napoleon III, now run by the French Navy to regulate maritime traffic and watch for fires along the coast.
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