Meloria North End Lighthouse, Maritime lighthouse in Livorno, Italy.
The Meloria North End Lighthouse is a white concrete tower of circular section rising from the northern tip of the Meloria shoal, in the Ligurian Sea off Livorno. It is 20 metres high, with an internal gallery and a summit terrace carrying the grey metal lantern and its dome, flanked by the solar panels that power it. The Marina Militare built it in 1958.
The present tower was built by the Marina Militare between 1950 and 1960 to light the northern stretch of the Meloria shoal for pleasure craft and merchant ships. It replaced a lattice lighthouse with a hexagonal lantern erected in 1867 beside the historic Meloria tower, which no longer covered the whole shoal; a second lighthouse had already been raised at the southern end.
Locally the tower is known as "Ship Light", a nickname used by seafarers in the waters off Livorno. Its lantern shows two white flashes every ten seconds, a rhythm that identifies it at night along with code 1884 E.F. The light is run by the Marina Militare.
The tower stands on the northern tip of the Meloria shoal, 7.5 nautical miles north-west of Livorno and the same distance north of the southern Meloria lighthouse, so it can only be approached by boat. It is a Marina Militare installation and not open to the public; the closest land viewpoints are on the Livorno coast.
The light is locally known as "Ship Light". It replaced a lattice lighthouse with a hexagonal lantern activated in 1867 beside the historic Meloria tower, which was judged unable to light the whole shoal, so a second lighthouse was built at the southern end.
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