Puntos de Interés
Orography
Punta Nati
Punta Nati is a cape located on the north-west of the island of Menorca. In this rocky and arid landscape, lashed by the sea currents and the tramontana wind, the Punta Nati lighthouse dominates.
Designed by engineer Mauro Serret, this lighthouse consists of two rectangular buildings and a hexagonal tower standing 19 metres high. It was built in 1912 in order to prevent the numerous shipwrecks that had been occurring in this area of the Menorcan coast for centuries. The final stimulus for its construction was the sinking of the steamship Général Chanzy, a French ship sailing from Marseille to Algeria, which crashed into the cliffs during a storm. A total of 156 people died, leaving only one survivor.
This accident took place to the east of the lighthouse, in front of Playa de Torrenova (Torrenova Beach), a stony bay surrounded by high cliffs where a monument commemorates the tragedy.
Next to the lighthouse, which has a range of 26 miles, there are three artillery bases built by the Republican side during the civil war. Another peculiarity of this area, battered by the strong waves, is the curious phenomenon of blowholes (bufadors): on stormy days, the waves slip through the cavities of the cliffs, emerging as columns of water in these chasms.