Lighthouses
Original title: Faróis
Brief account of early attempts to light the coasts of Madeira, notably an unsuccessful 1861 parliamentary bill for lighthouses at Ponta de São Lourenço and the Pontinha islet.
Only around the middle of the third quarter of the 19th century was serious thought given to lighting the coasts of our archipelago. Several attempts had been made before, but without appreciable results.
On 25 June 1861 the deputies for Madeira António Gonçalves de Freitas, Luís de Freitas Branco and Dom Luís da Câmara Leme introduced a bill in parliament authorising the construction of a revolving lighthouse on Ponta de São Lourenço and a fixed light on the Ilhéu da Pontinha (‘islet of the little point’). This new attempt, too, proved fruitless.
- António Gonçalves de Freitas 1858–1904
- D. Luís da Câmara Leme 1817–1904
- Luiz de Freitas Branco 1819–1884