Tower of Hercules

The ancient roman lighthouse, Torre de Hércules, located in the autonomous region of Galicia, is the latest Spanish monument to join the UNESCO World Heritage List. 

The Tower of Hercules, which dates back 1900 years, is a National Monument of Spain and the second tallest lighthouse in Spain after the Faro de Chipiona.  It is believed to be the oldest Roman lighthouse in use in the world.

Located on a peninsula 2.4 kilometres from the centre of A Coruña (old name – Brigantia), the 55 metre tall structure overlooks the North Atlantic coast of Spain.  This region is notorious for shipwrecks, earning the name Costa da Morte, the "Death Coast".

The light that it casts is visible at sea from a distance of 50 kilometres.

It is known to have existed by the 2nd century.  At its base there is a preserved cornerstone with the inscription MARTI AUG.SACR C.SEVIVS LUPUS ARCHTECTUS AEMINIENSIS LVSITANVS.EX.VO identifying the architect as Gaius Sevius Lupus, a Roman engineer from Aeminium – now Coimbra in Portugal – who dedicated the tower to the Roman God of war, Mars.

The first restoration was ordered in 1682 by the Duke of Uceda.  In 1788 the original 34 metre high 3-storey tower was given a neoclassical restoration adding a 21 metre 4th storey.  The restoration was carried out during the reign of Charles III of Spain under the supervision of navel engineer, Eustaquio Giannini, and eventually completed in 1791.  The old Roman structure is conserved on the interior.
There are two differing legends surrounding this architectural masterpiece. 

On one hand it is believed to have been built on the site where Hercules buried the head of the giant, Geryon, slaying him after three days and three nights of battle. He is said to have ordered a town to be built there, which became the Roman town of Brigantia.  It later became A Coruña.

The other legend involves King Breogán, the founding father of the Galician Celtic nation, who is said to have built a massive tower of such great height his sons could see the shores of Ireland and decided to sail there in conquest. A statue of Breogán now stands at the side of the lighthouse.
The tower is the symbol of La Coruña, appearing on the town’s coat of arms.

By coincidence to our featured artist, the young Picasso knew the city well as his family came to live in La Coruña in 1891, when he was 10 years old, after his father took a teaching job at the local art school.

Although he spent only four years in the city, it was here that he started to draw and paint, and even held his first exhibition at the age of 13, at a furniture store on the Calle Real, the main shopping street. Reviewing his work, the art critic of the local paper wrote: "If he carries on like this, a glorious, brilliant future undoubtedly lies ahead of him."

Examples of this early work are featured on 10 information posts that have been installed recently, each showing a painting in the location where it was created.

Picasso called the tower the Torre de Caramelo, as it reminded him of a kind of sweet sold on the streets. In 1894, he sketched the tower and headland in pencil and brown ink, and a year later painted the same view in oils.

On a sad note, Picasso’s young sister, Conchita, who died at the tender age of seven, is buried in the Cementerio de Santo Amaro in the city.