A 1st building in 1320
Ile du Planier is located southwest of Marseille, about 8 miles from the Old Port. The first lighthouse was built in 1320 by Robert d'Anjou, who erected a fire tower. This edifice will evolve over time, until the construction of a 59 m high cylindrical tower made of freestone.
It was preserved for most of the Second World War, but German troops blew it up in August 1944, to slow down the landing in Provence. During 2 years, it is replaced by a flash fire on a pylon.
In 1947, work began on the new lighthouse and annex buildings. The present lighthouse was lit in 1959. The complex is designed in an original architectural style by the architects Arbus & Crillon.
The architecture is intended to be monumental, with the creation of a square integrated in the middle of the complex. Large annex buildings, on two levels, house the caretaker's quarters and the technical premises.
The entire project was considered too costly and will never be completed. But the caretakers' apartments are considered to be among the most luxurious for the standards of the time.
Automation then abandonment
After the lighthouse was automated in 1986, the keepers' quarters were converted into a diving club. They are numerous to come and go, and sometimes stay there for weeks. Life in autarky is all the more authentic on the days of the Mistral, which makes the slightest landing impossible.
In 1992, an inn was created by Eric Savarino and his partner Aimé Bergero. For several years, they offered accommodation, meals and equipment for divers. As the island is not connected to the water and electricity network of the "mainland", the logistic constraint is very heavy to manage. The hostel will close its doors in 1998 for administrative reasons.
All the buildings are now unoccupied. Only the lighthouse is maintained by the Lighthouses and Beacons service. Numerous rehabilitation projects have been proposed, but none have seen the light.
An impressive bitterness
67 m high, the Planier lighthouse is a cylindrical freestone tower with a square platform carrying the lantern. Its 150W bulb associated with a Fresnel lens gives it a range of 23 miles, materialized by a white glow every 5 seconds.
A very popular diving spot
The Planier's most visited wreck is the Chaouen, a Moroccan cargo ship that sank in 1970. Filled with oranges, she sank after 24 hours of effort on the part of the port services. The prow will remain raised during approximately 15 years but the successive storms make sink little by little the Chaouen towards the bottom. Its highest point is located at about 12 m depth in 2020.
A Messerschmitt 109 aircraft, sunk in 1944, is also visible in the north of the island, in about 45 metres of water. Following an engine failure, the German pilot had voluntarily landed near the Planier and was able to get out of it.
Finally, a 71-metre Greek freighter, the Dalton, is visible in 30 metres of water near the Messerschmitt. Sunk in 1928 as a result of a navigational error, it was among the first wrecks filmed by Captain Cousteau aboard the Calypso.
