Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse

The Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse (Portuguese: Farol da Ponta da Piedade) is an active lighthouse located n Lagos, in the Algarve region of Portugal. It was built and began operations in 1913.

The area known as Ponta da Piedade (Portuguese for “Piety’s Point”) is a group of rock formations along the coastline of the town of Lagos. Consisting of yellow-golden clifflike rocks up to 20 meters high, they are one of the most famous touristic attractions of Portugal; several grottos in the area can be visited by boat.

The lighthouse is a stone tower of masonry, 51 meters above sea level, with an attached keeper’s house. Originally, plans were made as early as 1883 for the lighthouse to be erected, but there was a significant delay in part due to the opposition of the local parish council to the construction as it involved the destruction of the remains of the “Nossa Senhora da Piedade” hermitage. The lighthouse was eventually built in 1913, on the site of the ruins and a farmhouse that was purchased from the owners.

Initially the lighthouse had a fourth-order Fresnel lens that emitted five flashes, grouped every ten seconds. The light source was an oil lamp with an 18 nautical mile range. 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. Four years later, a new electric filament was mounted, and the lamp was automated in 1983, using a system supplied by the Gisman company, with one white light flash every seven seconds.