The last lighthouse-keeper of Portopí, Pere Bonet, retired 2 years ago.  Pere Bonet not only supervised the activity of the lighthouse but also lived there with his family.  Since his retirement, the Portopi lighthouse has entered the new generation of lighthouses, where the lights work automatically and no dwellers can be found.  This generation of lighthouses is rapidly increasing in number over the traditional lighthouses.

In any case, the lighthouse of Portopí will always have a special place for those interested in  history, as it has achieved the status of  the “father” of the rest of the lighthouses in the Balearic archipelago. This lighthouse has witnessed the evolution of the port of Palma since the XIII century. Moreover, when talking about lighthouses, we must point out that  this Majorcan tower is  the third oldest lighthouse in the world that still is in operation today.According to some documents, this lighthouse was built in 1290, but it is not possible to find some references of it in official documents until 1369.

This old admirable building has gained the respect of the Harbour Authority of the Balearic Islands. Therefore, it will house the headquarters of the Historical Archive of the Lighthouses of the Balearic Islands. At the present moment, representative documents related to the ordinary life of this towers are being collected from the internal books kept in each of the lighthouses. All the  documents found from the different lighthouses of Majorca have already been collected, and only some of the documents from a remaining number of lighthouses from Menorca and from the Pitiuse Islands need to be compiled  in order to complete the collection.

In order to understand the importance of these treasured volumes, it is important to mention that details of the daily life of the lighthouse-keepers since 1860 can be found in these documents, which contain information about the way they used to work, their supplies, or their weather reports.

At the moment, the material is being catalogued, so that the importance that they may have, has not been determined yet  The refurbishment carried out in the last  few years and the setting where all these documents are being kept gives the lighthouse an exhibition hall aspect. Its rooms that, for some decades, have been keeping some of the photographic samples of the most important lighthouses in the world, are now much bigger.This would not have been possible without Rafel Soler, the previous Director of the Harbour Authority.

These rooms, which where once dwelling spaces, have been refurbished to redistribute and extend the area dedicated to the exhibition of lighthouse pieces. The ground floor  has been used to place furniture of historical value (bookshelves, tables...)., which once belonged to the “sister” lighthouses of the Portopi lighthouse. Some new facilities have been added to this area, such as: two bathrooms and an inner elevator that communicates both floors. In addition, the modern facade, which does not belong to the original tower has been completely painted.

according to the Harbour Authority, This refurbishment, has been carried out in order to increase the amount of guided visits to the lighthouse within the near future. These guided visits seem to have been a success among schools and other education centres.