The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the Mediterranean off the east coast of Spain. Mallorca (Majorca) is by far the largest of the islands; the other principal islands are Menorca (Minorca) to the northeast and Ibiza (Eivissa) and Formentera to the southwest. The islands were conquered by the Kingdom of Aragon and have been part of Spain for several centuries. The Catalan language is spoken and the islands are known officially by their Catalan name, Illes Balears. In the 20th century the Balearics became very popular resort destinations. A lighthouse is called a far in Catalan (or faro in Spanish) but the use of these words is generally restricted to the larger coastal light stations. Smaller lighthouses are called balisas (beacons) in Catalan (balizas in Spanish). In Catalan cap is a cape, illa is an island, badia is a bay, and cala is an inlet or harbor entrance. This page includes lighthouses of Ibiza, Formentera and nearby islets; this group is sometimes called the Pityusic Islands (from the Greek for Pine Islands). Navigational lights in Spain are the responsibility of the national port authority, Puertos del Estado, but many of them are operated and maintained by regional port authorities. The Balearics have their own port authority, the Autoritat Portuària de Balears. The Comisión de Faros, founded in 1842 to build and maintain Spanish lighthouses, is now an advisory panel. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. ES numbers are from the Spanish national list of lights, Libro de Faros. Admiralty numbers are from volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.
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Formentera Lighthouses
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Eivissa (Ibiza) Lighthouses
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![]() Illa des Penjats Light, Sant Josep de sa Talaia, September 2005 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Carlos Mejía Greene |
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![]() Punta Moscarter Light, Sant Joan de Labritja, 2010 Ports de Baleares photo |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Catalonia | Northeast: Mallorca and Menorca | West: Valencia and Murcia
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Posted March 20, 2006. Checked and revised March 17, 2020. Lighthouses: 19. Site copyright 2020 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.