Scola Tower

Scola Tower
Basic information
Location  Italy
Geographic coordinates 44°03′06.3″N 9°51′29.8″E / 44.051750°N 9.858278°E / 44.051750; 9.858278Coordinates: 44°03′06.3″N 9°51′29.8″E / 44.051750°N 9.858278°E / 44.051750; 9.858278
Affiliation Roman Catholic
District Liguria
Province La Spezia
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Military Tower
Architectural description
Groundbreaking 17th century
Completed 17th century
Construction cost 56.000 genoese liras
Specifications
Height (max) 4 metres (13 ft)
Materials marble,stone

The Scola Tower - or tower of St. John the Baptist - is a former military building located just beyond the northeastern tip (called tip Scola) of Palmaria (island) in Portovenere, in the Gulf of Poets in the province of La Spezia, Italy. It is part of, along with the Fort Cavour and Umberto I and the Batteria Semaforo, the defensive positions of Palmaria.[1]

History and Description

As other coastal towers and lookout of the Ligurian coast, even the Scola Tower is part of that defensive system desired by the Senate of the Republic of Genoa in the 16th and 17th century to protect the coast and, consequently, the towns and villages. According to some studies, the tower, which cost an estimated 56,000 Genoese liras, may have been built in the early 17th century in response to the new demands that military ballistic and forced the Senate of Genoa to a rapid conversion of architectural sites defensive existing or create new ones anyway.

The tower is pentagonal in shape with an average thickness of the walls about 4 feet, which accommodates up to eight people, (eight soldiers, a captain and a master "bombardero") and ten cannons, and can cover "on fire" the stretch of sea between the Bay of Palmaria, Olive bay to Porto Venere and Lerici breast.

With the Napoleonic domination, it was at the center of the naval engagements of January 23, 1800, between the British and French fleets, to remove the latter from the Gulf of La Spezia, so that for the damages suffered by gunfire (demolition of the curtains of a side of the tower) was decided on total neglect in the first half of the 19th century.

Staved off the complete demolition in 1915, provided by the Navy, and deleted after the interest of an inspector that Ubaldo Mazzini monuments made a special report to the Ministry of Education, it was decided to convert the tower to a lighthouse tower. Between 1976 and 1980, the structure has undergone major restoration and consolidation of the perimeter wall.[2]

Lighthouse

Scoglio Torre della Scuola Lighthouse
Torre di San Giovanni Battista

Scoglio Torre della Scuola Lighthouse
Liguria
Location Isola della Palmaria
Portovenere
Liguria
Italy
Coordinates 44°03′06.3″N 9°51′29.8″E / 44.051750°N 9.858278°E / 44.051750; 9.858278
Year first constructed 1920s or 1930s
Construction metal mast
Tower shape cylindrical mast
Markings / pattern white mast with light
Height 2 metres (6.6 ft)
Focal height 16 metres (52 ft)
Current lens type TD
Light source solar power
Intensity 100 w
Range 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi)
Characteristic Fl (2) W 6s.
Admiralty number E1263
NGA number 7708
Italy number 1716 E.F.
Managing agent

Marina Militare[3]

[4]

Scoglio Torre della Scuola Lighthouse (Italian: Torre della Scuola) is an active light placed on a metal mast 2 metres (6.6 ft) high atop the Tower and a focal height of 16 metres (52 ft). It is fully automated and operated by the Lighthouses Service of the Marina Militare identified by the code number 1716 E.F. The lighthouse has a solar power unit and emits two white flashes in a six seconds period visible up to 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi).[4]

See also


References

  1. ↑ Palmaria (ed.). "Scola Tower".
  2. ↑ Isola Palmaria e Comune di Porto Venere Informazione Sostenibile. Retrieved 7 August 2016
  3. ↑ Torre della Scuola The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 7 August 2016
  4. 1 2 Scoglio Torre della Scuola Marina Militare. Retrieved 7 August 2016


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