# Piedade and the Ponta da Ilha lighthouse
Question: What is at Piedade, at the far eastern end of Pico?

URL: https://picoisland.pt/villages/piedade
Status: verified
Last verified: 2026-10-03

Piedade is the parish at the far eastern end of Pico, in Lajes do Pico municipality. It holds the Ponta da Ilha lighthouse, built in 1946, two small fishing harbours at Manhenha and Calhau, and a parish church on the village square. It had 757 residents in 2021, and few visitors drive this far.

## The end of the island

Piedade is the easternmost parish on Pico and part of [Lajes do Pico](/villages/lajes-do-pico)
municipality. The island ends here at a point, the Ponta da Ilha. Most visitors never get this far: from [Madalena](/villages/madalena) and the ferry it
is the full length of the island, and that drive is the main reason to plan a day around it rather
than tack it on.

The municipality dates the settlement to before 1506. In 1755 an earthquake destroyed the parish
church and many of the houses, and the church that stands on the Largo da Igreja today is a
nineteenth-century building with three naves.

## What to see

The **Ponta da Ilha lighthouse**, also called the Manhenha lighthouse, stands at the tip of the
island. The municipality describes it as the most recent lighthouse in the Azores, built in 1946,
and records it in good condition.

Below it the parish has two small fishing harbours, at **Manhenha** and at **Calhau**. At Calhau
two nineteenth-century boat shelters still stand by the harbour, now used as stores, and the ruined
chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Rocha sits on the cliff above. Inland, the municipality also
lists a twentieth-century windmill with a turning wooden cap at Canada do Miguel and the Matos Souto forest park, which houses the
island's nature conservation and environment services.

Piedade was once an important Verdelho wine area, and the municipality still counts it among the
most productive farming parishes on the island. The best-known vineyard walls today are elsewhere: in
the west at [Criação Velha](/villages/criacao-velha), and on the north coast at
[Santa Luzia](/villages/santa-luzia).

## How it fits a trip

Treat Piedade as a day out from Lajes or from [São Roque do Pico](/villages/sao-roque-do-pico)
rather than as a base. Combine the lighthouse with lunch at
[Adega Açoriana](/eat/adega-acoriana), the restaurant listed for this end of the island, and call
ahead first: a closed door at the far end of a long drive is the failure this corner punishes. The
[Museu dos Baleeiros](/things-to-do/museu-dos-baleeiros) at Lajes is on the way back along the south
coast. See [Pico's villages](/villages) for how the parishes compare as a place to stay.

## What this page does not tell you

Whether the lighthouse grounds are open to visitors, and on which days, has not been checked
against a primary source. Nothing here about swimming or access to the harbours is stated, because
it has not been verified.

## Sources

- Municipality: Lajes do Pico (source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q945151)
- Parish population: 757 (2021 census) (source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q945151)
- Parish area: 12.94 km² (source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q945151)
- Coordinates: 38.4244° N, 28.0550° W (source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q945151)
- Ponta da Ilha lighthouse, built: 1946 (source: https://cm-lajesdopico.pt/menu/281/piedade)
- Ponta da Ilha lighthouse, coordinates: 38.4122° N, 28.0304° W (source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10280123)
- Probable founding: before 1506 (source: https://cm-lajesdopico.pt/menu/285/piedade)
- Earthquake that destroyed the parish church: 1755 (source: https://cm-lajesdopico.pt/menu/285/piedade)