Most of Italy (officially the Italian Republic, Repubblica Italiana in Italian) occupies a long peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, with the Adriatic and Ionian Seas on the east and the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas to the west; the country also includes the Mediterranean's two largest islands, Sicily and Sardinia, and many smaller islands. With this geography Italy has a very long coastline reckoned by geographers at about 7600 km (4722 mi). Guarding this coast are many lighthouses; the Directory lists more than 400. Italy is divided into 20 regions (regioni), many of them well known outside the country in their own right. This page includes the lighthouses of the southern half of the Italian region of Puglia (also known historically as Apulia), including the provinces of Brindisi, Lecce, and Taranto. Puglia includes the Salento peninsula, the high heel of the Italian "boot." The east side of the peninsula faces northeast on the Adriatic Sea and east on the Strait of Otranto, the south end faces the Ionian Sea, and the west coast faces the Gulf of Taranto. The city of Taranto is the most important port of the region, but there are many other ports. Prior to the unification of Italy in 1861 all of Puglia was part of the Kingdom of Naples until the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) when the Kingdom of Naples merged with Sicily to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Italian word for a lighthouse is faro, plural fari. This name is usually reserved for the larger coastal lights; smaller beacons are called fanali. In Italian isola is an island, isolotto is an islet, secca is a shoal, cabo is a cape, punta is a point of land, baia is a bay, stretto is a strait, fiume is a river, and porto is a harbor. Aids to navigation in Italy are operated and maintained by the Italian Navy's Servizio dei Fari e del Segnalamento Marittimo (Lighthouse and Maritime Signal Service). Lighthouse properties are naval reservations, generally fenced and closed to the public. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. EF numbers are from the Italian Navy's light list, Elenco Fari. Admiralty numbers are from volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.
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Brindisi Province Lighthouses
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![]() Le Pedagne Light, Brindisi, August 2019 photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
Lecce Province Lighthouses
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![]() Isola Sant'Andrea Light, Gallipoli, April 2024 Google Maps photo by Antonio D'ostuni |
Taranto Province Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses: |
![]() Isolotto San Paolo Light, Taranto, August 2019 photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Northern Puglia | East: Albania | West: Calabria and Basilicata
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted August 10, 2006. Checked and revised March 7, 2025. Lighthouses: 33. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.