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) and the regions are subdivided into provinces. The region of Sardinia (Sardegna in Italian) is the second largest island of the Mediterranean, after Sicily; the island is about 270 km (170 mi) from north to south and 145 km (90 mi) from east to west. Most of Sardinia is mountainous and the coastline is rugged. The island has a long and complex history. After several centuries of Spanish rule the Kingdom of Sardinia became independent in 1718 under the rule of the House of Savoy. For many years after that the kings of Sardinia controlled substantial Savoyard territory on the mainland, including Genoa in Italy and Nice in France. And in 1861, when Italy was united as a single country, the king of Sardinia, Victor Emmanual II, became king of Italy. In recent years there have been several changes in the division of the island into provinces. Since 2016 Sardinia has been divided into four provinces plus the metropolitan city of Cagliari. This page includes lighthouses of all of the island except the northern province of Sassari; Sassari lighthouses are on the Northern Sardinia page. 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 dei Fari e Segnali da Nebbia. Admiralty numbers are from volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113. Special thanks to Egidio Ferrighi for his helpful comments on this page and to Michel Forand for sharing his extensive and careful research on Italian lighthouses. |
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Nuoro Province (Central East Coast) Lighthouses
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![]() Capo Bellavista Light, Arbatax, March 2024 ex-Instagram photo by Agata M |
Sud Sardegna (South Sardinia) Province East Coast Lighthouses
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Metropolitan City of Cagliari Lighthouses
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Sud Sardegna (South Sardinia) Province West Coast Lighthouses
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![]() Capo Sandalo Light, Isola di San Pietro, March 2023 Instagram photo by Michele Vacca |
Oristano Province Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses: |
![]() Bosa Marina Light, Bosa Marina, September 2021 photo copyright Capt. Peter Misselberger; used by permission |
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Northern Sardinia | South: Western Sicily
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted May 24, 2006. Checked and revised May 4, 2025. Lighthouses: 29. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.