Annamaria Mariotti was born in Camogli, in northern Italy, and she still lives and works there. She is the author of many books, articles, and stories related to the sea. Her passion for lighthouses began with the Capo Sandalo Lighthouse on the Italian island of San Pietro and with the Lighthouse of Genoa. She’s visited many lighthouses in Italy, on the Atlantic coast of the United States, in Canada, and in the Caribbean.

Her lighthouse-related books include: Tales of lighthouses and other sea stories, The evolution of lighthouses from the origins to the Kingdom of Italy, and The Lighthouses of Tuscany. Most of her writing has been in Italian, but in 2005 she published The World’s Greatest Lighthouses in English, as well as in other languages. The World’s Greatest Lighthouses, which was reprinted in 2011 and 2018, features photographs of the most picturesque lighthouses in the world along with text that describes each structure’s location, architecture, construction, history, technology, and stories of lighthouse keepers.

In 2006, the General Command of the Harbor Offices, Coast Guard, and the Mediaset Group awarded her the NAVIGARE INFORMATI Award “For her constant commitment to the dissemination of maritime culture in our country.” She’s also the founder and former president of an Italian lighthouse organization, and she’s lectured frequently in Italy and the United States.

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Wickie from NH

Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is the president and historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org