The lighthouse of Punta Negra in Águilas
The current lighthouse was built in 1973 to replace one dating from 1860
The lighthouse is featured in Ruta 181, a nationwide route featuring all such structures in Spain
The lighthouse of Punta Negra stands on the slope at the foot of the hill which is home to the Castle of San Juan in Águilas, and the tower of 23 metres gives it an altitude of 30.9 metres above sea level. It has been in operation since 1973, with its signal of two white lights every five seconds visible from a distance of 13 nautical miles.
Curiously, perhaps due to the colour of its lights, the locals often refer to the lighthouse as the Faro Blanco, and in fact it was one of two in Águilas: the other emitted a red light and was located on the breakwater in the port, but it was deemed no longer necessary when the port was enlarged.
A previous lighthouse was erected in 1860, reaching a height of 14.6 metres above sea level. It was a grey octagonal tower 3 meters wide with a green lamp housing on top. The white lamp itself was visible from a distance of 5 nautical miles and was fuelled by olive oil. This was replaced by a Maris lamp in 1876 before the conversion to electricity in 1922.
However, the structure suffered storm damage in 1927, 1928, 1949 and 1953 before the decision was made to demolish it and build a new one next to the fishing port in the 1970s.
The last lighthouse keeper was Fernando Arévalo, who relinquished his post on 18th December 2006, and since then maintenance work has been carried out periodically.
The Faro de Punta Negra is included on the national lighthouse route, Ruta 181, which features 181 lighthouses on the mainland coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
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