Designed by the architect Emili Pou who planned a number of lights in the Balearic Islands. It first became operational in July 1859, and was equipped with a 4th order Fresnel lens. The optics were supplied by Henry Lapute of Paris at a cost of 3,250 francs.[1]

The original tower was much shorter than that seen today, with a height of only 17 metres. Reverberations from waves entering a sea cave nearby caused problems within the lighthouse producing "tremors in the building and panes of glass in the lantern to shatter".[1] In 1967, a new maritime lighting plan for the Balearics was drawn up which outlined the need for a higher tower at Artrutx. When the new tower was constructed in 1969, the 34-metre-high (112 ft) cylindrical structure was built with four buttresses or ribs, giving the light a unique shape in comparison to others in the archipelago.[1]

With the automation of the lighthouse in 1980, the unused keeper's accommodation was later converted into a café and restaurant, providing food and drink to patrons who visit to watch the sunset on the terrace.[2] The lighthouse can be visited when the restaurant is open, but the tower is closed.[3]

In 2005 the lighthouse became a registered historical site when it was declared a Patrimonio histórico español.[4]