El Semàfor (la casa de Senyals)

El Semàfor, also known as la casa de Senyals, is a historical building built at the end of the 19th century in the Albufera area of the Llobregat Delta, about 200m from the old Caserna de Carrabiners. It was constructed to regulate maritime traffic along the coast and reduce the number of accidents by installing semaphores equipped with optical telegraphs. These devices used a pre-established code to communicate with ships sailing along the coast.

Officially known as Semáforo del Río Llobregat, the building also communicated with the castle of Montjuïc through a flag telegraph. To protect the structure from sea tides, the land was raised three meters above sea level. The rectangular building featured a central lookout and an underground cistern to collect rainwater.

Records of the first workers date from 1897. These workers lived in very poor sanitary conditions and suffered from continuous episodes of malaria, which was typical throughout the Delta del Llobregat area.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons