The Monte Poro lighthouse is a maritime lighthouse located on the homonymous promontory along the southern coast of the Island of Elba. The lighthouse was activated in the second half of the twentieth century to illuminate the coastal stretch that closes the bay of Marina di Campo to the southwest.
The infrastructure consists of a circular section tower in white masonry that rests on a concrete bunker, built by the Royal Navy during World War II as a command and control point for the underlying coastal battery placed to defend the island. The lighthouse, once manned by the lighthouse personnel who lived in a cottage, now in ruins, located in the immediate vicinity, has long been automated and can only be reached after having traveled a rough sheep track of about 3 km which, starting from Marina di Campo, leads to the top of the mountain at 160 mt. in height.
Following the inspection carried out by the lighthouse workers on the island of Elba, the lighthouse was not working due to a problem with the flashing light and the emergency batteries gave such discharge times that they were deemed no longer usable. Furthermore, the lighthouse, not yet equipped with remote monitoring, required a general technological adaptation and the installation of the SCF system for remote control of operation. The problem was to bring all these components, some weighing over 30 kg., To the top of the mountain with all the risks associated with the transport of dangerous material such as batteries containing acid. The width of the sheep track and the slope made it impossible to use the wheelbarrow and therefore the only possibility to repair the lighthouse was to arrange a coordinated action between the technical maintenance team of the navy headlight service and the support of a Maristaeli helicopter. Luni.
Having assessed the weather conditions and obtained the required authorizations from Cincnav and Comforaer, Maristaeli Luni gave the availability of an EH 101 for the activity; however, it was necessary to first train the designated personnel to be lowered with the winch near the lighthouse.
The opportunity could not be missed and therefore while the staff of Marifari La Spezia prepared the necessary material in special plastic crates also suitable for the transport of dangerous substances, the technical chief Maurizio Palla went to Maristaeli for the necessary indoctrination and a flight of reconnaissance on Monte Poro to identify methods and point of descent.
Once the preparation and training phase was completed, on 1 July the Marifari technical intervention team left Marina di Campo early in the morning to reach, by land, the top of the mountain and begin the necessary preparations and disassembly of the damaged components. At the same time, other personnel went to Luni to load the crates with the material necessary for repair on the helicopter.
At 11.00 the EH 101 reached Monte Poro and, using one of the old naval gun posts, unloaded the material and the chief technician to then move back to the small airport of Marina di Campo.
After about two hours of intense work, the headlight was restored by replacing all the electronic components in failure and installing a new LED flasher. After the helicopter was recalled, all the crates with the material no longer needed were recovered on board and then the EH 101 headed for Luni where the Marifari personnel waited for recovery and transport to the Headlight Area Command. At the same time, the team remaining on Monte Poro completed the installation of the equipment for remote monitoring and proceeded with the verification of the correct functioning of the whole system and the cleaning of the area.
At 16.00 the team began the descent towards Marina di Campo at the end of an intense day of work and a perfectly successful combined action. In the evening a toast among the team staff celebrated the first flash of the reborn lighthouse of Monte Poro.
Source: Military Navy
