The Isla de las Palomas or Tarifa Island , currently linked to land by a road, is the island in front of the city of Tarifa and whose southern end, the Punta de Tarifa , represents the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula and the Continental Europe. Its southernmost point, Punta Marroquí, is currently occupied by a lighthouse, built in the 19th century (the first in the Strait of Gibraltar) using a 16th century beacon tower. Due to its location, right at the point where the seas widen, it must have been a magical place for sailors who ventured into its waters, and for this reason it has been suggested that it could have housed a Phoenician temple. Nothing would remain of it, but a series of hypogeums or tombs dated between the 6th century and 4th century BC. Nearby is a Cyclopean breakwater, which has also been considered Phoenician, although it dates back to the 19th century.
Almost the entire surface of the island has been greatly altered by the construction of quarries from which, since Roman times, fossiliferous limestone rock was systematically extracted for construction.
The island did not house any fortification until the 19th century, after the French invasion, when a fortified dock and a complete series of batteries were built on its perimeter, and inside barracks and an impressive underground powder magazine, excavated in the rock.
The road connecting the island to Tarifa was built in 1808. From the moment of its construction, it marks the border between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
