Everyone knows the romanticism that lighthouses emit and give off, in Menorca we have 7 wonderful lighthouses that provide safety to the many sailors who arrive on our coasts.
The origin of the word lighthouse dates back to the oldest known lighthouse, the famous lighthouse of Alexandria, built in 650 BC in front of the mouth of the Nile River on the small island of Pharos.
This lighthouse with the name of Sigea is believed to have given its name to the other lighthouses in the world.
The construction of these beautiful buildings began to be necessary as a result of the growing maritime trade of the Mediterranean as well as the desire to discover the different cultures of the Mare Nostrum.
The sailors of those times realized the importance of having lights that from the coast and located in elevated places could help them identify the place they wanted to reach or return to during the night, in fog or simply during the day.
They started with bonfires in high places that, fed day and night, gave them clues as to where they were.
Later on, the construction of elevated buildings specially designed to warn sailors of dangers and thus reach those of today began.
To be identifiable, each of them hides its light and is decorated in a different way to create a specific code that gives it its own personality that sailors and sailors can identify.
These codes are compiled and provided by the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy to any seafarer who needs them.
In Menorca we have 7 lighthouses, 7 beautiful buildings of stylized construction that over the centuries have provided help to navigators to reach a safe port, 4 on the north coast and 3 on the south.
Located in the most dangerous places on the island of Menorca to warn passers-by and fishermen of the capes, access to ports and inlets.
To the north, Cavalleria is located on one of the highest cliffs in Menorca, a place that has witnessed nearly 700 shipwrecks, and also has an interesting interpretation centre. Not far away, the youngest of our lighthouses, Favàritx, was inaugurated in 1922 on a cape that witnessed the shipwreck of the ship General Chancy.
Approaching Mahón, on the southern shore of the port of Mahón, a small lighthouse replaces the former lighthouse of Mahón that was demolished to facilitate the work of defending the port of Mahón to the army. Less than 5 miles to the south we find the Isla del Aire, a majestic building located on the most famous islet in Menorca where exotic black lizards live, endemic and unique in the world.
Traveling along the entire south coast we will arrive at the beautiful Artrutx lighthouse that we skirt every day with the Fiesta Rojo, our boat, on the way to the most beautiful virgin coves in Menorca. Having a privileged perspective of such a beautiful building, further on in the port of Ciutadella, from where the Fiesta Rojo departs, we will find Sa Farola on the north bank of the port that you can visit by taking a pleasant walk from the mooring of the Fiesta Rojo.
When leaving and entering the port it greets and illuminates us throughout the summer season .
And finally , the beautiful lighthouse of Punta Nati, in the northwestern tip of Menorca, one of the best places to contemplate Mallorca, or the Menorcan Sunset watching the Sun set behind the neighbouring island.
The Fiesta Rojo tirelessly crosses the south coast of Menorca every day from Ciutadella passing under Sa Farola as it leaves its beautiful port and doubling a few miles further south the cape of Artrutx that gives its name to its majestic lighthouse, and then stops at the coves of Son Saura, Cala Turqueta passing through Macarella and Macarelleta and then skirting the beautiful white cliffs of the south of Menorca.
We hope that this little article will help you to know a little more about the codes of the sea and how lighthouses have been a guide and help for sailors and sailors of all times.
For our part, we only have to invite you to sail with us and discover the sea of Menorca and encourage you to explore our island in search of its 7 lighthouses... and its virgin coves.
We are waiting for you on board!
