THE ECOMUSEUM> What can we discover? > The lighthouse
A Tireless Guardian Over the Mediterranean. A harbour without a lighthouse is not a harbour, it is naked, helpless. The lighthouse at the Cap de Cavalleria is a guide, crowning the peninsula that raises with a rock front 90 metres above the sea level. The cliff lowers steadily to the west disappearing into the sea, continuing under water, not very deeply, and the connects with the Porros island, forming a natural dam known as Es Pas that appeases the insane waves caused by the evil winds of the Tramontana.
The lighthouse project was done by the engineer Antonio López and it was the most requested work demanded by the Minorcan authorities, due to the high number of shipwrecks in the area caused by the strong storms.
It was vital to build. The Cavalleria peninsula, on the eastern part of the Balearics, between the Gulf of Lyon and Algiers, was a stop for all the boats sailing from the Strait of Gibraltar and the African coast on their way to France and Italy.
The works started in 1854 and the lighthouse was inaugurated on March 1, 1857. The lighthouse tower is 15 metres high, and it is located 94 metres above the sea level. The light is of the secondary type and shows two white lights every ten seconds. It reaches a maximum of 32 nautical miles. At the foot of the lighthouse we can see the sandstone quarry used to obtain the blocks employed in the building construction.
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