Cabo Espichel Lighthouse

Very picturesque. The colors of sky, sea, vegetation and lighthouse are almost kitschy.

There is news that as early as 1430 the brotherhood of Our Lady of the Cape had installed a lighthouse that was the predecessor of the current lighthouse.The current tower was inaugurated in 1790, in 1865 it was fueled by oil, changing fuel in 1886, when its light began to be powered by incandescent petroleum vapour and, much later in 1926, by electricity.In 1983 this lighthouse had a lighting device installed, called a first order, which emitted light in groups of four white flashes, instead of the old fixed light system. With this new system it now had a luminous range of twenty-eight nautical miles (forty-five kilometres).The support structure for the lighthouse was extended to the sides around 1900.In 1947 a new era in terms of lighting was entered. An aero-maritime optical device was installed, which had previously been in service with the Cabo da Roca Lighthouse. This new dioptic - catadioptic optic called fourth order, a large model, has a focal length of thirty centimeters, producing single flashes, now with a luminous range of forty-two nautical miles (about sixty-seven kilometers).

There has always been a lighthouse at Cabo Espichel since 1430.In 1790, the white and red tower of the Farol do Cabo Espichel, which is now 32 meters high, was renovated and technically equipped. From then on, sailors saw his light up to 48 kilometers out to sea.