Tower shape quadrangular Characteristic Fl(2) W 6s Address Praia, Cape Verde Opened 1881 Year first constructed 1881 | Focal height 25 metres (82 ft) Admiralty number D-2876 Height 21 m Phone +238 190 20 96 | |
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Location Prainha
southeast of Praia
Santiago
Cape Verde Range 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayClosedMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hours Similar Monumento de Diogo Gomes, Pro‑Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace, Gamboa - Praia, Farol da Ponta Preta, Estádio Nacional de Cabo | ||
Farol de D. Maria Pia, better known as the Farol da Ponta Temerosa or Farol da Praia is a lighthouse in the southern point of the island of Santiago in northeastern Cape Verde approximately 3.5 km southeast of the capital city of Praia inside the neighborhood of Prainha where much of the foreign embassies are located. It marks the limits of Praia Harbor with the rest of the Atlantic, the limits exends to Ponta do Porto (de Visconde) and northeast to Ponta das Bicudas. The western entrance of the Port of Praia is to the west, it is connected with a small road linking the ferry portion of the port.
Description
The lighthouse was built in 1881 and its early etymology was after Maria Pia of Savoy, queen of Portugal at the time, one of the last Portuguese queens, the other is after its nearest promontory to downtown Praia, Ponta Temerosa situated on the tiny head known as Lazareto, its height is 21 m and is built at around 10 m above sea level. Northwest of the lighthouse is the Seminary of Sāo José (Saint Joseph). Since the 1980s and the 1990s, houses and buildings dominated the area within the cape and the entire area is the urban area of the south of Praia and is the southernmost extremity of the city and the urban area, it is being in the subdivision of Prainha.
The lighthouse tower has an octagonal lantern and a gallery, with a building connecting the land. Its structure is painted black, it also has a grey coloured door. The lighthouse is used for navigational purpose and is open to the public though the tower is closed today. The main reason is that the city lights and its lights by the harbor light up the harbor and its vicinity today.