Far de s'Arnella, Lighthouse in El Port de la Selva, Girona, Spain
S'Arnella Lighthouse is a coastal beacon on a rocky point at the northwest edge of El Port de la Selva, Catalonia. The isolated stone building has a square base, whitewashed signal tower, metal dome, and an attached former keeper's house, standing about 22 meters above the sea.
The structure was completed and first lit in 1913, after local rescue societies had pressed for it since 1891. Its design later served as a reference for other Spanish lighthouses, including the one at Tossa.
The rocky point was once part of a local defense network against seaborne raids, so visitors walking along the path can sense the old watchful role of this coastline. Today the lighthouse is mainly a navigational mark, and its small esplanade offers a quiet place to watch the sea change with the wind.
The site is reachable via the coastal path between Port de la Selva and Llançà, with a viewpoint on the seaward side. Expect strong north and northwest winds, so a windbreaker is useful even when the weather inland feels mild.
During the Civil War, batteries were installed beside the tower, and in the years that followed, sea mines sometimes washed up at its base. Some were defused, but others exploded with enough force to shake the building.
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