The Sanguinaires lighthouse is located on the main island of the Sanguinaires archipelago, 18 km off Ajaccio.
It was commissioned in 1844 after six years of work, the work proving difficult because the materials were transported by barge and then donkey. The building was the first of a series of five lighthouses erected to secure maritime traffic. The lighthouse Sanguinaires itself serves as a beacon on the entire south-west coast of Corsica and the entrance to the Gulf of Ajaccio.
High of 18 m, it overhangs the sea of 98 m. Equipped with a halogen lamp, its current range is 44 km.
Architecturally, the Sanguinaires lighthouse has the specificity of having a square-shaped stone base centered on a building of medieval appearance, with machicolation, reminiscent of Genoese towers that once marked the coast of Corsica. A tower of this type was previously implanted before the lighthouse.
Automated since 1985 (three guards took turns until then to monitor its operation), the lighthouse saw its renovated exteriors in 2011.
The building itself can not be visited but it can be the object of a walk on this exceptional site, protected for its environment, after a boat ride then a small walk on a path offering views magnificent on the archipelago, the sea and the gulf.
Information on +33 4 95 51 53 03.
