Avanzada de Santa Isabel, Historic site in Cádiz, Spain
The Avanzada de Santa Isabel is a historic fortification on a small rocky islet near Playa de La Caleta in Cádiz, Spain. It consists of a nine-sided main fort with parapets and gun ports, and a smaller forward island where a metal lighthouse now stands.
The complex was built in the 18th century on the foundations of earlier structures, including a 15th-century chapel and a watchtower that had later been converted into a lighthouse. The main fort started construction in 1706, and a metal lighthouse was added to the forward islet in 1908.
The Avanzada de Santa Isabel sits on a small rocky islet just off Playa de La Caleta, connected to the shore by a narrow causeway. The name of the complex traces back to a chapel built by Venetian sailors in the 15th century as a gesture of thanks to the local population after a plague outbreak.
The site is currently closed to the public for safety reasons and can only be viewed from the outside. The causeway leading toward it offers good views of the sea and the surrounding city, and the area around Playa de La Caleta is easy to reach on foot.
The metal lighthouse placed on the forward islet in 1908 was one of the first electric lighthouses of its type in Spain. It is still operational today, sending its signal from a place that is hardly accessible from land.
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