(Photo: Yellow.Cat)
This is the Tower of Hercules near La Coruña, Spain--the northwestern tip of the Iberian peninsula. It may be the only ancient lighthouse still in use. It's possible that a Phoenician work preceded it, but we can be sure that a Roman structure lies at the core of this tower. The Romans built it sometime during the reign of Emperor Trajan (r. 98-117 A.D.), who was himself from an area that forms modern Spain. The Romans referred to it in classical writings as Farum Brigantium.
During the Eighteenth Century, the architect Eustaquio Giannini conducted a renovation of the site, building a 161-foot tower over the original 112-foot Roman one.
(Photo: Juan José García Fernández)
-via Amusing Planet
According to a myth that blends Celtic and Greco-Roman elements, the hero Hercules slew the giant tyrant Geryon after three days and three nights of continuous battle. Hercules then—in a Celtic gesture— buried the head of Geryon with his weapons and ordered that a city be built on the site. The lighthouse atop a skull and crossbones representing the buried head of Hercules’ slain enemy appears in the coat-of-arms of the city of Corunna.
built over it in the 18th century? Seems to me it's an 18th century lighthouse. The old one is completely covered up by the new one. Lighthouses don't work when they are surrounded by large building blocks.
"During the Eighteenth Century, the architect Eustaquio Giannini conducted a renovation of the site, building a 161-foot tower over the original 112-foot Roman one."