Presentation

Cabo Mayor Lighthouse first lit in the night of 15 august 1839 and presides over the entrance to the Bay of Santander. A privileged balcony overlooking the sea and the city, nowadays it is one of the most emblematic and evocative buildings for the citizens and visitors of Santander.

The main commitment of this project, focused on art, sea and, especially, in lighthouses as cultural icons, is to recover for public use and enjoyment the installations of the Cabo Mayor Lighthouse and the collection assembled by the artists Eduardo Sanz and Isabel Villar throughout their professional careers, which makes it unique in Spain and Europe.

The core and foundation of the Cabo Mayor Lighthouse Art Centre (CAFCM) is the Sanz-Villar collection, possibly Eduardo Sanz's most admirable creation, that was born thanks to his intense passion for lighthouses. As a result, a coherent collection of more than two thousand pieces was created, made up of works by the artist and others, as well as objects and curiosities that have the lighthouse as an inexhaustible axis of thematic attention.

The CAFCM's activity is completed with a programme of temporary exhibitions, both artistic and documentary, with special emphasis on the maritime landscape and environment.