CultureUpper Tyrrhenian Cosentino · Riviera dei Cedri
Votive Lighthouse to the Fallen of Calabria
The 1928 regional monument on Monte San Michele in Mormanno: a mountain lighthouse in memory of the Calabrians who fell in the Great War, with relics of the 11 gold medals and the Remembrance Park.
The Votive Lighthouse to the Fallen of Calabria 1915–1918 is a regional monument that overlooks Mormanno from Monte San Michele, at Torretta, the town’s northern quarter. It was promoted in 1926 by the Pro Faro committee and raised in 1928 in honour of the Calabrian soldiers who fell in the First World War, with funds from most of Calabria’s towns and from committees of emigrants abroad. It stands on the forecourt of the 17th-century church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and its architecture recalls the military ossuary of Monte Pasubio: like that, it is a shrine, holding relics and memories of the 11 gold medals for military valour and of the Calabrians who fell in the Great War. A mountain lighthouse, in short, that has become the symbol of Mormanno. Around the monument spreads a large Remembrance Park, crossed by a path that circles the wooded hillock and rejoins Via San Biase and the road up to the lighthouse. Next to it stands the sanctuary of Our Lady of Pity and Perpetual Help.
Frequently asked questions
- In 1928, at the initiative of the Pro Faro committee founded in 1926, with funds from Calabrian towns and emigrants.
- The military ossuary of Monte Pasubio; the lighthouse too is a shrine, holding relics of the 11 Calabrian gold medals of the Great War.
When was the votive lighthouse of Mormanno built?
What inspired the lighthouse’s architecture?
More places in Mormanno
- Old town
Old town of Mormanno
The village at 820 metres divided into the Costa, Capo lo Serro, Casalicchio and Torretta quarters: the 9th-century Annunziata, family chapels, sanctuaries, the botanical garden and Mario Cucinella’s church.
- Culture
Mother church of Santa Maria del Colle
Mormanno’s Neapolitan Baroque cathedral on Piazza Umberto I: built around 1700, consecrated in 1790, with Pietro Scardino’s tuff façade and the three portals of the confraternities.