Lighthouse · 1927 · Trieste

Victory Lighthouse (Faro della Vittoria)

The Victory Lighthouse (Faro della Vittoria) stands on the Gretta hill in Trieste, inaugurated in 1927 as a memorial to Italian sailors who died in World War One. Designed by architect Arduino Berlam, the 68-metre tower is surmounted by a bronze winged Victory statue by sculptor Giovanni Mayer, which also serves as the rotating light mechanism. It is one of the most recognisable landmarks on the Trieste skyline and a major site of civic memory for the city’s post-war Italian identity.

Type: Memorial lighthouse
Period: Inaugurated 1927
Style: Rationalist / monumental
Location: Colle di Gretta, Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy

Overview

The Faro della Vittoria is a working lighthouse and war memorial erected on the highest promontory overlooking the port of Trieste. Architect Arduino Berlam designed the tower in a monumental style that blends rationalist geometry with commemorative symbolism. The 68-metre structure is visible from the sea for more than 50 kilometres, making it both a navigational aid and an urban icon.

History

Construction began in 1923, four years after Italy’s annexation of Trieste following World War One, and the lighthouse was inaugurated on 3 November 1927 — the anniversary of the Armistice with Austria-Hungary. It replaced an earlier Austrian lighthouse on the same promontory and was conceived as a dual-purpose monument: a functional aid to navigation and a lasting tribute to the sailors of the Regia Marina who perished at sea between 1915 and 1918. The bronze Victory atop the tower, crafted by Giovanni Mayer, was designed so that the rotating light shines from the figure’s outstretched arm, merging artistic and technical functions in a single element.

What you see

The tower rises in a series of tapering cylindrical sections clad in Istrian stone, with a lantern gallery and an observation terrace accessible to visitors. At the base, bronze panels list the names of fallen sailors, giving the structure the character of a cenotaph. The hilltop location provides panoramic views over the Gulf of Trieste, the Karst plateau, and on clear days the Istrian peninsula. The surrounding park contains paths and benches from which the full height of the lighthouse can be appreciated.

Cultural significance

The Victory Lighthouse is a symbol of Trieste’s complex 20th-century history, marking the city’s transition from Habsburg port to Italian city after 1918. For Triestine residents and the broader Italian maritime tradition, it functions as a primary site of collective memory and national commemoration. The lighthouse remains active and is managed by the Marina Militare Italiana as a working navigational station.

Practical information

The exterior and park are freely accessible. Interior visits to the lighthouse tower are organised on specific dates by the Marina Militare Italiana and local cultural associations — check official local tourism websites for current schedules. Address: Colle di Gretta, 34136 Trieste TS. Coordinates: 45.6756° N, 13.7680° E.

Getting there

From Trieste city centre, take bus line 36 or 6 towards the Barcola seafront and then walk uphill via the Strada Costiera. By car, follow signs for Opicina and turn off at Colle di Gretta. The site is approximately 4 km from Trieste Centrale railway station.

Sources & resources

The Victory Lighthouse was built to illuminate the Gulf of Trieste as well as to represent a support for a &quot;navigation of other times&quot;. But not only. It is also a commemorative monument dedicated to the sailors who fell during World War I as well as celebrating the passage of the city of Trieste to the kingdom of Italy.



The new work, therefore, was designed by the Trieste architect Arduino Berlam (1880-1946) and the sculptor Giovanni Mayer (1836-1943) and was built, between February 1923 and May 24, 1927, in the district of Roiano a few steps away. from the center of Trieste.



Today, the Vittoria lighthouse can be seen from all over the city. It stands on the Gretta hill and reaches a record height of seventy meters which, due to its size, is second in the world only to the Statue of Liberty in New York.



The Victory Lighthouse rises 130 meters above sea level, and finds solid foundations in the round bastion of the former Austrian fort Kressich (1854 - 1857). It is lined on the outside with blocks of Istrian and Karst stone. The ornamental part, on the other hand, depicts a sailor and was built, based on a project by Mayer, using hundreds of tons of Vrsar stone.



The statue of the sailor is eight meters and sixty centimeters high and displays the image of a sailor with the classic rain hat of the Regia Marina, known as the &quot;South-West&quot;, and high work boots while scanning the Gulf.



At the foot of the structure is the anchor of the torpedo boat Audace: the first ship that, in the distant 3 November 1918, reached the port of Trieste. Its dual purpose remains that of &quot;celebrating the passage of the city of Trieste to the Kingdom of Italy as well as&quot; commemorating those who fell overboard during the First World War &quot;.



Above the lighthouse, the statue of Winged Victory is in good life, raising a torch with her left hand, while holding a laurel column with her right. The Winged Victory was also the work of the Trieste sculptor Giovanni Mayer, and was made of embossed copper by the craftsman Giacomo Sebroth.



To withstand the strong gusts of the Bora, characteristic of this extreme strip of Italy, it was anchored to a steel tube that engages in the tower while its wings have some openings aimed at reducing its resistance. The crown that adorns the head, on the other hand, hides the system of protection from atmospheric discharges.



At the foot of the Lighthouse, an epigraph &quot;MCMXXVII Shines and remembers the fallen on the sea MCMXV - MCMXVIII&quot; is on display which seems to want to underline how this lighthouse, with its light, represents an instrument of the past that serves to guide sailors contemporaries of the Gulf, but also wants to remember the many who died in the sea of ??the past.



The chain, which surrounds the flowerbed at the base of the lighthouse, and the two bullets placed at the entrance are of distant memory. In fact, they belonged to the Austro-Hungarian battleship Viribus Unitis, which was sunk in Pula by raiders of the Italian Navy. It was back in 1918.



The lighthouse represents one of the most beautiful and characteristic attractions of Trieste. It can be visited for free although it is not always open. More information on how to visit, opening hours and days are available online.



Under the lighthouse, close to the sea of the Gulf, the port of Trieste winds its way and that coastal coast that takes the name of Barcola, and is the favorite destination of Trieste for a walk or, in the hot Trieste summers, a regenerating bath.


A short Documentary:

In the Telequattro Newsletter, Umberto Bosazzi tells the story of the Lighthouse (click).

https://culturalheritageonline.com/places/victory-lighthouse-l4571/

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