The lighthouse Armenistis, one of the biggest lighthouses in the Aegean, was constructed on Cape Armenistis, on the northern coast of Myconos in 1890.  The decision by the Prime Minister at that time, Charilaos Trikoupis to construct a lighthouse at this point was prompted by the wrecking of the cable-laying steamship Volta in 1887 in that area.

The mechanism was constructed by Sautter Lemonier and was honored in the Paris International Exhibition of 1887.  The lighthouse was operating until 1983, when after approximately 100 years of service it was replaced by a modern one.  In 1987, the Aegean Maritime Museum, believing that this beautiful old and still operating mechanism shouldn’t be lit off forever, got the lighthouse from the Hellenic Navy.  Finally, after a lengthy restoration the lighthouse was transported from the Cape Armenistis to the Museum garden where it operates again.