Faro della Vittoria, Trieste, Italy

Reopened after years of restoration work, the Victory Lighthouse is certainly worth the 200 or so steps to arrive at the top. There is a magnificent view of the whole of the gulf of Trieste, the city and part of the karstic coast. Built from white stone on a wide base, the lighthouse was constructed during the 1920s on the design of a famous local architect, Arduino Berlam, and is dedicated to all the sailors that were lost during World War I. Above the column, the capital supports the top designed to resemble the mast of a ship in which the light itself is fitted. The light container is covered with a bronze dome and decorated with a scale design. On the tip of the dome stands the embossed copper statue of Victory designed by sculptor Giovanni Mayer and produced by Giovanni Srebot. Mayer was also responsible for the statue of the sailor attached to the anchor of the torpedo boat Audace, the first Italian ship to enter the port of Trieste in 1918, so signaling the return of the city to Italy. This lighthouse is thought to have the greatest range in Europe. Today its function is much reduced but it remains one of the symbols of Venezia Giulia.