Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse

The Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse (Portuguese: Farol da Ponta da Piedade) is located at Ponta da Piedade in Lagos, in the Algarve region of Portugal. It started operations in mid-1913.[3]

Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse
Farol da Ponta da Piedade
The Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse
Portugal
LocationLagos, Faro District, Algarve, Portugal
Coordinates37°04′50″N 8°40′10″W
Year first constructed1913
Automated1983
Tower height51 metres (167 ft)
Focal height51 metre 
Current lensFourth-order Fresnel 300mm
Range20 nautical miles
CharacteristicFl W 7s
Admiralty numberD2174[1]
NGA number113-3624
ARLHS numberPOR 042[2]
Heritageheritage without legal protection 

History

The lighthouse is a stone tower of masonry, 51 metres above sea level, with an attached keeper's house. It has a red flashlight. Despite plans having been made as early as 1883, it was not erected until 1912–13, on the site of the ruins of the "Nossa Senhora da Piedade" hermitage and a farmhouse that was bought from the owners. The delay was in part due to the opposition of the local parish council to the construction as it involved the destruction of the remains of the hermitage. Ponta da Piedade is now a well-known tourist location because of its rock formations, which can be visited by boats on hire close to the lighthouse.[4][5]

Distant view of the lighthouse on the Ponta da Piedade cliffs

Initially the lighthouse had a fourth-order Fresnel lens that emitted five flashes, grouped every ten seconds. The light source was an oil lamp and the range was 18 nautical miles. The 4th order lens was temporarily replaced during 1923 by a 6th order with a fixed white light. In 1952, the lighthouse was electrified with power from the public grid, and the oil lamp was replaced with an electric lamp, with an initial range of 15 nautical miles, subsequently increased to 18 nautical miles. Four years later, a new electric filament was mounted. It was automated in 1983, using a system supplied by the Gisman company, with one white light flash every seven seconds.[4][6]

See also

References
  1. "Admiralty Digital List of Lights". Taunton, Somerset, England: United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. 2017.
  2. "ARLHS World List of Lights (WLOL)". Identification Codes. Merchantville, New Jersey: Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society/The Weidner Publishing Group. 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  3. "É inaugurado em Lagos o farol da Piedade". Fundação Mário Soares. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  4. "Farol da Ponta da Piedade". Autoridade Marítima Nacional. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  5. "Lighthouses in southern Portugal". The Lighthouse Directory. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  6. "Farol da Ponta da Piedade". Farois de Portugal. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
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