{{Short description|Lighthouse on the island of Menorca, Spain}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}} {{Infobox lighthouse | name = Punta Nati Lighthouse | image = Faro Punta Nati JGT.jpg | image_width = | caption = | location = Punta Nati<br /> Menorca<br />Spain | coordinates = {{coord|40.050229|3.823542|display=inline,title}} | yearbuilt = 1913 | yearlit = | automated = | yeardeactivated = | foundation = | construction = | shape = octagonal stone tower with balcony and lantern | marking = | height = {{convert|19|m}} | focalheight = {{convert|42|m}} | lens = | currentlens = | intensity = | range = {{convert|18|nmi}} | characteristic = Fl (3+1) W 20s. | fogsignal = | racon = | country = | countrynumber = | countrylink = | managingagent = | heritage = }}
The '''Punta Nati Lighthouse''' is an active aid to navigation located on the rocky north western coast of the Spanish island of Menorca.
The lighthouse was built following demands from the French authorities to light the northern coast of the island. This was primarily in response to the sinking of the French steamship ''Général Chanzy'' nearby in 1910, during which 156 passengers and crew lost their lives. Designed by the engineer Mauro Serret, Punta Nati was constructed rapidly in just over a year, it became operational in 1913, and was fully completed in 1914.
The loss of the ''Général Chanzy'' was the catalyst for building the light, but a number of other shipwrecks had also occurred in the area despite the presence of the lighthouse at Cavalleria, which was completed in 1857. Construction of a third lighthouse on the northern coast at Favàritx began in 1917, which was also designed by Serret.<ref name=fars/>
==Loss of the Général Chanzy== Named after the famous French general Antoine Chanzy, the steamship was a packet boat that sailed a regular route from Marseille to Algiers, and was part of the CGT or French line. It left the French port of Marseille on the 9 February 1910, but was caught in a storm whilst passing through the Menorca straight. Due to the poor conditions many passengers came on deck including Marcel Bodez<ref group=note>Also reported as Marcel Badez</ref> a French customs clerk who was the only survivor. He jumped overboard wearing a lifejacket when the ship struck rocks, and witnessed the loss of the ship when it broke up as a result of the boilers exploding.<ref name=GCS/><ref name=JLH/>
Washed against the foot of a steep cliff, the injured Bodez found a cave in which to shelter as the flotsam from the wreck came ashore. By the next day the storm had subsided enough that he was able to climb the steep cliffs and made his way inland until he found a local islander. Unable to converse due to the language difference, he had to explain it through drawings using charcoal. He was then taken to the nearby town of Ciutadella to recuperate, from where a recovery operation was initiated to retrieve the many bodies of those drowned in the disaster that had come ashore.<ref name=Glgz/><ref name=Menorca/><ref name=JLH/>
==Memorials== thumb|Memorial stone cross with the lighthouse on the horizon There are a number of memorials commemorating the loss of the General Chanzy, one is a simple cross on top of a cairn not far from the lighthouse.<ref name=Dillon/>
Located within the old cemetery in Ciutadella, is another more elaborate memorial. Completed in 1911, it features a large statue of an angel with a stone plaque depicting the ship. It was funded by donations from the people of Menorca and the CGT shipping company. In 1917, the remains of twelve unidentified victims were interred in the cemetery.<ref name=GCM/>
A third memorial was built in the grounds of Chateau Danem, designed by the architect Georges Wybo it commemorates the loss of a number of French cabaret artists who were victims of the shipwreck.<ref name=GRHL/>
==Operation== The lighthouse has a {{convert|19|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} stone tower, flanked by two keepers’ houses, set within a walled compound. With a focal height of 42 metres above sea level, the light which displays a three plus one pattern of white flashes in 20 seconds has a nominal range of 18 nautical miles.<ref name=fars/>
It marks the eastern side of the Menorca Channel, a strait that separates Majorca and Menorca.<ref name=Martin2010/><ref name=rowlett/> The rocky northern coast of Menorca has been the site of many shipwrecks, these losses continuing despite the construction of the Cavalleria Lighthouse in 1857.<ref name=farscav/> Although the loss of the General Chanzy was the spur for the lighthouse, other wrecks of that time included the ''Ville de Rome'' in 1898 and the ''Isaac Pereire'' in 1906, both of which also belonged to the CGT line.<ref name=farsfav/><ref name=desc/>
The lighthouse is operated and maintained by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands, and is registered under the international Admiralty number E0348 and has the NGA identifier of 113–5220.<ref name=rowlett/>
==Location== The Camí de Cavalls a long-distance footpath that circumnavigates the island, passes along the coast near to the lighthouse. It marks the end of the stage from Ciutadella and the start of the next section to Cala Morell.<ref name=Dillon/> Close to where the path crosses the road to the lighthouse, a car park has been built. Visitors can then walk 1 km towards the lighthouse, although the tower and compound are not accessible to the public<ref name=google/><ref name=rowlett/>
Adjacent to the lighthouse, overlooking the sea, is a cluster of defensive bunkers from the Spanish Civil War, which have been constructed in the form of sheep refuges or barracas.<ref name=Dillon/>
<gallery> File:Memorial General Chanzy - Ciutadella Cemetry.jpg|Général Chanzy Memorial in the old Ciutadella cemetery File:E4 Búnquers i far de la punta d'en Nati (Ciutadella).JPG|View of the bunkers and lighthouse File:Punta Nati Lighthouse (37377399362).jpg| Rear elevation view File:Punta Nati Lighthouse (23556093088).jpg|Narrow road to the lighthouse File:Cliff views (23556091528).jpg|Cliffs at the lighthouse </gallery>
== See also == {{Stack|{{Lighthouses of Menorca map}}}} * List of lighthouses in Spain * List of lighthouses in the Balearic Islands
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
== References == {{Reflist|refs <ref name=fars>{{cite web |url=http://farsdebalears.com/en/punta-nati-lighthouse |work=Balearic Lighthouses |title=Punta Nati Lighthouse |publisher=Port Authority of Balearic Islands |accessdate=20 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317150802/http://farsdebalears.com/en/punta-nati-lighthouse |archive-date=17 March 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> <ref name=GCS>{{cite web|url=http://www.generalchanzy.com/el%20superviviente_en.html |title=The Général Chanzy's story – The Survival |publisher= generalchanzy.com| accessdate= 4 July 2020}}</ref> <ref name=Glgz>{{cite news|url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3875956/3875958|work=Glamorgan Gazette|date=18 February 1910 |title=Disasters at Sea – French Liner Wrecked|publisher=National Library of Wales |accessdate=4 July 2020}}</ref> <ref name=Menorca>{{cite web|url=https://www.menorca.org/es/costa-de-menorca/faros/punta-nati/ |title=Punta Nati|publisher=Menorca.org|accessdate=4 July 2020}}</ref> <ref name=Dillon>{{cite book|author=Paddy Dillon|title=Walking in Menorca: 16 day and 2 multi-day routes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pUyVAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT226|date=17 October 2013|publisher=Cicerone Press Limited|isbn=978-1-78362-001-2|pages=226–}}</ref> <ref name=GCM>{{cite web|url=http://www.generalchanzy.com/El%20monumento_en.html |title=The Général Chanzy's story – The Monument |publisher= generalchanzy.com| accessdate= 4 July 2020}}</ref> <ref name=GRHL>{{cite web|url= http://grhl.fr/2020/01/le-naufrage-du-paquebot-general-chanzy.html |title= Monument aux artistes victimes du naufrage du paquebot général chanzy|publisher= Groupe Rissois d'Histoire Locale |accessdate=4 July 2020}}</ref> <ref name=JLH>{{cite web|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k252295r |title=''Journal l'Humanité'' |date=13 February 1910|publisher=BnF (Gallica) | accessdate= 4 July 2020}}</ref> <ref name=Martin2010>{{cite book|author=Ana G. López Martín|title=International Straits: Concept, Classification and Rules of Passage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHTbsky9LZMC&pg=PA102|date=14 August 2010|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-3-642-12906-3|pages=102–}}</ref> <ref name=farscav>{{cite web |url=http://farsdebalears.com/en/cavalleria-lighthouse|work=Balearic Lighthouses |title=Cavalleria Lighthouse |publisher=Port Authority of Balearic Islands |accessdate=4 July 2020}}</ref> <ref name=farsfav>{{cite web |url=http://farsdebalears.com/en/fav%C3%A0ritx-lighthouse |work=Balearic Lighthouses |title=Favaritx Lighthouse |publisher=Port Authority of Balearic Islands |accessdate=4 July 2020 |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703173827/http://farsdebalears.com/en/fav%C3%A0ritx-lighthouse |url-status=dead }}</ref> <ref name=desc>{{cite web |url=http://www.descobreixmenorca.com/en/category/lighthouses/ |work=Discovering Menorca |title=The Lighthouses of Menorca |publisher=descobreixmenorca.com |accessdate=20 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914212014/http://www.descobreixmenorca.com/en/category/lighthouses/ |archive-date=14 September 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> <ref name=google>{{Google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Parking+Punta+Nati/@40.0399472,3.8228134,924m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x12be05d5538e431d:0x9d037e827e3c1d29!8m2!3d40.041571!4d3.8251747?hl=en |title=Punta Nati Parking |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref> <ref name=rowlett>{{cite rowlett|blc}}</ref> }}
== External links == {{Commons category|Far de Punta Nati}} * [http://www.puertos.es/es-es/Paginas/Comisi%C3%B3n-de-faros.aspx Comisión de faros] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404163348/http://www.puertos.es/es-es/Paginas/Comisi%C3%B3n-de-faros.aspx |date=4 April 2016 }} * [http://www.farsdebalears.org/en/ Balearic Lighthouses]
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Category:Lighthouses in the Balearic Islands Category:Buildings and structures in Menorca Category:Lighthouses completed in 1911 Category:1911 establishments in Spain