La Lanterna, Genoa, Italy

Genoa's Lanterna, lit up at dusk above the port, with the city's red cross on white shield on its upper shaft. The present tower dates from 1543, rebuilt on the site of a medieval light, and at about 76 meters of masonry it stood as the tallest lighthouse in the world until France's Île Vierge rose in 1902. It sits on a rocky spur that lifts the light far higher still, and it remains the emblem of the city as well as a working light.