Tower of Hercules (Roman lighthouse)
Torre de Hércules (faro romano)
- Date
- finales del century I d.C. · confidence medium
- Place
- A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
- Credited to
- Gaius Sevius Lupus, a Lusitanian architect from Aeminium (Coimbra)
- Field
- Movement
What it is
A 55 m Roman lighthouse, 34 m of which preserve the original masonry, built on a peninsula north of Brigantium to guide Atlantic shipping. It is the only surviving Roman lighthouse still in use for maritime signalling.
The inscription at the base of the tower names Gaius Sevius Lupus and dedicates it to Mars. The tower was restored by Eustaquio Giannini in 1788-1790, who clad the Roman core; the exact date of construction (between Nerva and Trajan, c. 98-117) is approximate.
What it led to
- signalling of the Atlantic route between Hispania, Gaul and Britain
- the port of Brigantium as a stop on the tin and salted-fish trade
- a surviving model of an ancient lighthouse, a World Heritage site since 2009