The Mangiabarche lighthouse rises on a cliff not far from the coast by the Punta della Tonnara point at the end of the Spiaggia Grande beach. All white and a bit dilapidated, it stands there with its door inviting you in, and its single window overlooking the coastline.
I must say I find it devastatingly romantic. Sometimes it amazes me to think how I can take off and be there in five minutes, and even when things are at their toughest, sit down by the lighthouse and watch the waves breaking on its little island.
For good reason, it is one of Calasetta’s most photographed features as it is amazingly photogenic in all light and weather.
In calm seas, it offers a certainty, a guardian of safe sailing, a stable point for each of our journeys.
In stormy seas, it stands tall in all its strength, proving its indomitable constancy, simply always being there, taking all the waves beating on its back without giving an inch, and putting on a marvelous show all the while.
The morning light strikes brilliantly against its whiteness; at sunset, the sky stands in rosy contrast, and, throughout the year, the ever-changing fireball of the sun adorns it gloriously.
It may be a small lighthouse, like many others, but it’s here where I can see it, where I can visit it on a dinghy, and I can swim around it. It is mine.
And it’s the most romantic lighthouse in the world.