THE HISTORIC Santa Marta Lighthouse in Cascais, built around 1800, will soon be transformed into a museum. “The lighthouse will be restored and new areas will be created”, Cascais Mayor, António Capucho, explained recently. The museum will stage a permanent exhibition on Portuguese lighthouses, with exhibits made available by the Divisão Nacional dos Faróis, and another on the Santa Marta lighthouse in particular. According to Carlos Bessa of Cascais Câmara, part of the museum will be dedicated to lighthouse-keepers. With most lighthouses now operating automatically, there are only about 100 lighthouse-keepers active in Portugal. The lighthouse museum, the first of its kind in Portugal, is scheduled to open by the end of 2006.
