From Piazza Sant'Antonio, at the far end of the Capo, a narrow dirt road, bordered by two dry-stone walls, leads straight to the tower of the lighthouse or Lanterna. The tower rests on a rocky cusp that rises on a plateau about 80 metres above sea level.
In ancient times, this area was referred to as San Nicolò, because of an ancient small church that stood there.
The 'Lanterna Tower' was built in the 16th century. It was under construction around the 1960s, and a 'Memoriale' from 1570, preserved in the Messina State Archives, laments that it has not yet been completed. It has a cylindrical structure, was later laterally reinforced and is accessed by means of a masonry staircase. Conceived as a 'lantern tower', but certainly also as a lookout tower, it has maintained to this day its ancient role as a source of signals to sailors. It can rightly be defined as a vantage point of regional importance: from it one can admire the horizon from Cape Calava to Cape Rasocolmo, with all the Aeolian Islands, and, to the south, the Gulf of Milazzo and that of Patti.
The surrounding area, made up of terraces overhanging the sea and a plateau planted with olive groves and vineyards, is part of the Baronia, now owned by the Lucifero Foundation. It is of great naturalistic, geo-palaeontological and archaeological interest. Not far away is the ancient rupestrian church of Sant'Antonio da Padova, a pilgrimage destination on 13 June.
Fulco C., Picciolo L., Le torri di Milazzo - 2. Il Capo, in Milazzo Nostra
Lanterna Tower Via Sant'Antonio 3, Milazzo (ME)
