The Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum is a working lighthouse and museum in the Santa Marta fort in Cascais, opened in July 2007 as the first lighthouse museum in Portugal. The lighthouse was first lit in 1868 and still guides ships into the bay of Cascais.
The architects Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus designed the conversion, and the Portuguese Navy's Lighthouse Directorate supervises the light.
What to see at the Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum
- Lighthouse: a square tower covered with white tiles and blue stripes, built on the south-east corner of the fort.
- Portuguese Lighthouses: Technology and History: an exhibition in the former lighthouse keepers' houses, with large Fresnel lenses, including the 3.70-metre optical panel of the Berlengas lighthouse.
- Fort platforms: the gun platforms of the former fort, with views over the sea and the bay of Cascais.
History of the Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum
- 17th century: the Santa Marta fort is probably built in this period, after the restoration of independence in 1640, to defend the coast.
- 1867: the fort passes to the lighthouse service.
- 1 March 1868: the lighthouse is lit for the first time.
- 2000: Cascais Municipality and the Navy sign an agreement to turn the keepers' houses into a museum.
- July 2007: the lighthouse museum opens.
Visiting the Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum
- Location: the museum is on Rua do Farol de Santa Marta, about 400 metres from the centre of Cascais, next to the Condes de Castro Guimarães Museum and the Marina de Cascais.
- Opening times: the Bairro dos Museus website publishes current opening times and prices.
Places to visit in Cascais
Cascais, Portugal
Estoril, Lisbon
History of Cascais
Visiting Cascais
Boca do Inferno
Citadel of Cascais
Casa das Histórias Paula Rego
Condes de Castro Guimarães Museum
Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum
Cascais & Guincho
Marina de Cascais