Municipality of Otranto, Punta Palascia Lighthouse and former lighthouse keeper’s lighthouse

Capo d’ Otranto or Punta Palascìa is the easternmost point of Italy  located in the municipal area of ​​Otranto, in the province of Lecce.
Before the current construction, in the same place, there was an ancient watchtower dating back to the sixteenth century. The building functioned as watch tower by the coast to prevent pirate raids coming  from Turkey. The structure was later abandoned and in 1869 it was completely pulled down. Subsequently, a lighthouse was built, managed by the Marina Militare Italiana, and remained operative as a weather station until the 1970s. The old lighthouse has now been replaced by a solar-powered lantern that is located higher up, at the headquarters of the Navy. However, it remains an extremely fascinating place, as well as a monument to industrial archeology.
It is a point of connection between History and Nature as it is in the list of Coastal Site of Community Interest (SIC), within a regional protected area and within an established marine protected area.
It is recognized as one of the five most important lighthouses in the whole Mediterranean. 
It has been a symbolic mark of separation between the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea for 150 years. The lighthouse is about 70 km far from the Albanian coast and 100 km far from the Ionian Islands.