The Albarnaz lighthouse, the westernmost in Europe, is located on the island of Flores. According to the director of lighthouses at the National Maritime Authority (AMN), it celebrated its 100th anniversary yesterday and continues to fulfill its mission.
“It’s one of the iconic lighthouses of the 53 lighthouses that illuminate our coast,” said Pedro Castro, referring to the territory between the Portuguese mainland and the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira.
When asked about the future of the century-old equipment, the AMN’s director of lighthouses replied that one certainty is that “we will continue to have the lighthouse in operation.”
“It’s more than proven that [lighthouses] continue to play a very important role in navigational safety, despite all the automation and electronics. And I, as director of lighthouses, with the instructions I also receive from above, [am] trying to guarantee the maintenance of this extensive heritage that is all the lighthouses, their buildings, for the future,” explained the commander.
In general, Pedro Castro admitted that the path of these facilities will also involve establishing partnerships “with local and other entities” and “making other use” of the installations, pointing out that there are already “several success stories” at the national level, such as the Santa Marta lighthouse museum in Cascais (Lisbon district).
In the case of the Albarnaz lighthouse, located in a “very inhospitable” place on the island of Flores, the parish council and the town council of Santa Cruz das Flores have expressed interest in building a viewpoint next to the building, and he believes that in the future a protocol could be drawn up to transfer the land for this use.


According to the AMN’s director of lighthouses, the centenary lighthouse on Flores has three lighthouse keepers in its garrison.
At the national level, lighthouse keepers are divided into three cadres: Azores, Madeira, and mainland.
There have been no courses for lighthouse keepers since 2018, so the ranks have deteriorated. In the case of the Azores, he pointed out that the cadre comprises 34 lighthouse keepers and “is down to 28, which is frankly too few to distribute among the 16 lighthouses on the islands”.
“Fortunately, we already have a course for lighthouse keepers underway, five of which have already been assigned to the Azores, and a new course will be opening soon, where we will be able to complete the planned 34-man roster for the Azores,” he said.
Pedro Castro recalled that the first responsibility of lighthouse keepers is maintaining the equipment and maritime markings.
However, he added, “it is often said that the lighthouse keeper is a man of seven trades.”
“Because he’s a maritime signaling technician, but he does all the tasks.
This is in the tradition of the isolation that used to exist, which now, fortunately, is not so much the case. Still, because of this, they end up being carpenters, electricians, painters, and public relations when they welcome people,” he said.
The centenary lighthouse on the island of Flores receives free visits on Wednesday afternoons.
According to Pedro Castro, the equipment will be part of the future European Lighthouse Route, founded on September 7, 2023, by Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Estonia, Ireland, and Germany to promote lighthouses for tourism and foster cultural and artistic creation.
According to the Municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores, the lighthouse is located at the tip of Albarnaz, where “you can enjoy a phenomenal view over the west coast of the municipality.”

From Diário dos Açores-Osvaldo Cabral, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.