Whoever knows me well also knows about my passion for visiting and photographing lighthouses whenever and wherever I have the occasion. I could not miss the opportunity during my vacation in Malta, a place which I suspected may have some beautiful such constructions, related to the naval history of this island located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean.
St. Elmo and Ricasoli
The first relevant place that I encountered was in the city of Valletta. A couple of lighthouses mark the entrance in the harbor on the East side of the peninsula. One is located on extremity of Fort St. Elmo. The present structure dates from 1908 according to http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/mlt.htm, but I suspect that there may have been a lighthouse there for quite long time before, maybe since the 16th century when the city was built. Oposite to it, at the extremity of the breakwater on the Three Cities side one can see the lighthouse of Ricasoli, built the same year. Both are active, and can be admired and photographed from almost any place on the East side of Valletta.
Delimara Point
In order to see the other two lighthouses we had to rent a car which was an experience by itself in a place where they drive on the correct side of the road. Delimara Point is located on the South East extremity of the island, and in order to reach it you need to cross the small fishing and touristic village of Marsaxlokk, and engage on a country road. The result is rewarding, as the lighthouse location offers a beautiful view of the gulf where the village is located and of the open sea. Built in 1855 it is inactive since 1990, but a restoration project is under way and may lead to the site being open for visiting.
Cirkewva
In order to reach the third point of interest we had to cross the whole island, as Cirkewva is located on the North-West extremity of Malta, close to the embarking for the ferry-boat that crosses the straight to the island of Gozo. The drive is about 40km, by the way. Unfortunately, not too much is left from the original shape of the lighthouse which is inactive and was transformed in a platform which does offer splendid views and photo opportunities to the sea and to Gozo, but does not seem to care much about authenticity or history. At least I took a few beautiful pictures of the sea.
the sea from Cirkewva