Name and Location

Faro di Baratti is an active coastal lighthouse located in the municipality of Piombino (Province of Livorno), Tuscany, Italy. The exact address is XFVW+W4, 57025 Piombino (Livorno), Tuscany, Italy, with coordinates 42° 59′ 38.1″ N, 10° 29′ 41.4″ E.

2. Construction and History

The lighthouse was first lit in the early 20th century, with activation estimated between 1910-1920. Its purpose is to improve navigational safety for coastal traffic and fishing boats visiting the Gulf of Baratti. Until automation in the 1970s, the station was staffed by two full-time lighthouse keepers and assistants.

3. Architecture and Materials

The lighthouse has a masonry cylindrical tower rising directly from a one-storey keeper's house. The materials used are thick stone and brick walls rendered and painted white; metal lantern and gallery painted light gray. The tower height is 8 meters above ground level, while the keeper's house is a single-storey rectangular block that is now unoccupied.

4. Light and Navigation

The lighthouse has a focal height of 24 meters above mean sea level and a light characteristic of Fl W 5 s (one white flash every 5 seconds). Its nominal range is 10 nautical miles, with optics and lamp consisting of a Fresnel lens with a 1,000 W electric lamp (220 V AC).

5. Accessibility and Visiting

The site is fenced and not open for interior visits; external inspection only is possible. Access path: a short pedestrian trail from Baratti beach parking area (exit SS1 Aurelia km 314). There are no visitor facilities on-site, but nearest services can be found at the Gulf of Baratti ticket office for the archaeological park.

6. Notable Views and Landscape

The lighthouse offers panoramic views over the Gulf of Baratti, the sandy beach, and forested headlands toward Piombino and the island of Elba. At sunset, the lighthouse silhouette frames the Etruscan promontory of Populonia.

7. (No information available)

8. Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse is fully automated and remotely monitored since the late 20th century. It does not have a dedicated shore-based radar; occasional AIS repeater antenna is present.

9. Further Information

• For further reading, please visit Italian Wikipedia: it:Faro_di_Baratti, Marina Militare – Elenco dei Fari (official list of lights), Wikimedia Commons gallery: “Faro di Baratti”, and Istituto Idrografico della Marina – Guide to Italian Lighthouses (Vol. VI Mediterranean).