Phare de la Madonetta, Maritime beacon on coastal cliffs in Bonifacio, France

Phare de la Madonetta is a red square tower rising from the centre of a rectangular white building with corner stones, set on a flat layered rock promontory west of Bonifacio. A white weathered base with a curved retaining wall supports it, and a stone stairway with a low wall runs diagonally down the left side. The tower carries a red-painted lantern at its top.

The lighthouse was inaugurated in 1854 as part of Corsica's second lighting programme, alongside the citadel light at Ajaccio harbour, the Dragon at Bastia harbour and the Îles Lavezzi lighthouse. It was automated in the second half of the 20th century. The Conservatoire du littoral bought it in 2018 and restored it: the limestone stairway was repaired in 2020-2021 (about €180,000), and a second phase ran from 2022 to 2024 (about €800,000).

The name Madonetta is Corsican, and the lighthouse is also called Fanali di a Madonetta in the local language. The white rectangular building with corner stones once housed the keepers' quarters, while the smooth red square tower rises from its centre. The light is produced by a halogen lamp.

Access is via the coastal cliff path, whose limestone steps were restored between 2020 and 2021 with funding from the Collectivité de Corse, about €180,000. A second restoration phase, roughly €800,000, ran from 2022 to 2024 under the Conservatoire du littoral, which bought the lighthouse in 2018. The light is automated and runs on a solar panel.

The lighthouse was inaugurated in 1854, part of Corsica's second lighting programme alongside the citadel light at Ajaccio, the Dragon at Bastia and the Îles Lavezzi light. The Conservatoire du littoral bought it in 2018 and restored the limestone stairway from the coastal cliff path in 2020-2021, at a cost of about €180,000.