San Venerio Lighthouse (Italian: Faro di San Venerio) is a lighthouse on the island of Tino, in the comune of Porto Venere in the Province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. Its construction began in 1839, and completed in 1840. It illuminates and guides the sailors in that part of Ligurian Sea.
San Venerio Lighthouse is a good example of a fortified neclassical building, despite having undergone many changes over time. Construction of the lighthouse was granted by King Charles Albert of Savoy and was initially fueled by vegetable oil, followed later by coal. In 1884 another tower was built, taller than the original at 30 metres height, and at the top of the lenses an optical filament was added, electrically powered by two steam engines. Since this system gave too much power to the beam of light produced in 1912 the fuel was replaced with petroleum. The lighthouse was later electrified, and became fully automated in 1985.
Currently the lighthouse is completely controlled and operated by the Italian Navy based in La Spezia.
In the evening, by Lerici (located on the opposite side of the Gulf of La Spezia) or the Cinque Terre the light can be seen flashing across the sea in the darkness.
