The Islote de Sancti Petri is a small barren island belonging to the municipality of San Fernando, Cádiz in the province of Cádiz and the autonomous region of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is close to the coast and south of Cadiz city. For many years, the island was a restricted military zone, but it is now under the control of the Spanish Environment Ministry. In the first century BC the Greek historian Strabo mentioned in his book '' Geographica'' that the

Tyrians Tyre (; ar, صور, translit=Ṣūr; phn, 𐤑𐤓, translit=Ṣūr, Greek ''Tyros'', Τύρος) is a city in Lebanon, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny pop ...

founded Gadeira, building a sanctuary to Melkart, known as

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

to the Greeks, in the eastern part of the island and the city in the western part.

Castle

The ruins of an eighteenth-century castle remain on the island; the tower of the castle has been substantially rebuilt, and it is now in use as a lighthouse. It was declared ''

Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" (" goods" in the economic sense) and incl ...

'' in 1993. The name, Sancti Petri, also applies to the beach on the mainland, in

Chiclana de la Frontera Chiclana de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in southwestern Spain, in the province of Cádiz, Andalucía, near the Gulf of Cádiz. It belongs to the association of municipalities of the Bay of Cádiz (Bahía de Cádiz), the provincial c ...

, directly opposite the island.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islote De Sancti Petri Tourism in Spain Beaches of Andalusia Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Cádiz Geography of the Province of Cádiz