Thursday, July 31, 2025

Lighthouse of the Week, July 27 - August 2, 2025: Phare du Titan, France

 

Somewhat by accident, I'm on a streak of featuring lighthouses on small islands in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas.  This one showed up in a search for something else, but I thought it worth featuring.

It's on one of three islands in the Mediterranean Sea, just around a bend of coastline from Marseille. The islands are called the " Îles d'Hyères " or Golden Islands. The island that the lighthouse is on is Levant Island.  It's an interesting island;  about 90% of it is a military installation (including where the lighthouse is); the other 10% is one of the best naturist (i.e., living without clothing) locations in France.  

The island is also in an important location, because if one is coming eastward toward Marseille and staying near the coast, the lighthouse guards the entrance to the passage inward of the islands.  (You still have to avoid the Giens Peninsula, though.) So, fortunately, it's an active lighthouse.

This is what the Lighthouse Directory says about it:

"1893 (station established 1837). Active; focal plane 70 m (230 ft); white flash every 5 s. 10 m (33 ft) round stone tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 1-story stone keeper's house. Centered on the roof of the house is a square tower that originally carried the lantern. Lighthouse painted white with unpainted stone trim; lantern painted black. The present light tower was added in 1893 because the original tower was not large enough to carry a 1st order lantern. This historic lighthouse marks the eastern end of the Îles d'Hyères, making it a very important light for westbound shipping. Built at the eastern tip of the Île du Levant, it is located in a restricted military zone not accessible to the public in the past; the 2023 photo and other recent photos suggest this may be changing. Site status unknown, tower closed."
There aren't a lot of pictures of this one, given that tourists can't visit there, whether or not they're wearing anything.

So here are three.






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