?Ponta do Pargo was named like that by the first colonizers of Madeira because the fished a Pargo (Portuguese for Pagrus - Red Porgy) when they passed by the place.
It´s the western most point of the island. Dark, rocky, very high and falling verticaly over the sea.
The lighthouse erected here took it´s name after the place.
In the general planing of lighthouses in Portugal in 1883 there was a project for a lighthouse in Ponta do Pargo with a 2nd order lamp with a 25.5 mile range, but only in 1896 the first studies took place at the spot.
In 1902 there was a proposal to install a small model 3rd order light but only in 1911 the final project was made.
The tower was reduced to the minimum height because of the natural characteristics of the terrain (very high) and the houses for the families of the lighthouse keepers were built facing an internal yard so that no one had to leave the premisses to go to work.
The optics were ordered to the house of Barbier Benard & Turenne in 1915.But, due to the war at the time (WWI), the Junta Geral do Distrito do Funchal asked in 1917 that the delivery was delayed. The lantern was delivered only in 1920 and the lighthouse began functioning in the 5th of July of 1922.
The Tower has 14 mts of height and 312 mts of altitude. It was equiped not with a 3rd order as planned initialy, but with a 2nd order one (700mm focal distance). The light source was a constant level petrol lamp and the rotation was produced by a clock mechanism.
This lamp was replaced in 1937 for and petrol vapour one.
In 1958 it was electrifyed but it kept a gas system as a backup.
In 1999 the Regional Government declares the Lighthouse as a place of Local Interest.
In 2001 a museum was created in the lighthouse.
Ponta do Pargo Lighthouse specifications:
Place: West of Madeira Island
Height: 14mts
Altitude: 312 mts
Light: FI (3) W 20s
Reach: 26 Miles
Optics: 2nd Order Lens device.
Year:1922
Source: Portuguese Navy - Lighthouse Direction
Dont forget to check the Lighthouse Waymark (
visit link)