Cartagena, survivor after 3000 years of history

Roman theatre

At the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, Cartagena seemed dormant, but it was discovered in 1988 by chance. Roman theatre This has been the impetus to change the direction of the city, especially since in 2003 Rafael Moneo began directing the work to create a new museum space in this monument built by order of Emperor Augustus. The architect designed an entrance to the museum in front of the city hall with two archaeological underground passages, one of which is under the city hall. Cathedral of Santa Maria la Vega, Which leads at the end of this “time tunnel” to the steps of the impressive theater from the first century BC

Buried for centuries beneath a crumbling neighbourhood, the stadium had a capacity of 7,000, and was only surpassed in Roman Hispania by Sagunto. Now a new icon of Cartagena for visitors it is one that always surprises when this original tour ends. Its museum opened in 2008, and inside there are three circular altars dedicated to the Capitoline triad (Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva) and the courtship of Apollo (the graces, the muses, and the hours).

Forum area and La Casa Fortuna

The Roman footprint in Cartagena is also very clear Roman Forum Districtclose to the port in its origins, has been housed since 2008 in a three-storey museum where a selection of 350 archaeological objects discovered in the Cerro del Molinete area are displayed, among which the paintings of the Muses, Apollo and the Horn of Plenty (67 cm) stand out. Excavations have made it possible to verify the location of the Colonial Forum with a temple dedicated to the deified Emperor Augustus, the Curia, the seat of the Senate with its luxurious marble, the Temple of Isis, ancient avenues with chariot tracks, baths and the atrium building with its high walls used to celebrate ritual banquets.

To delve deeper into Roman heritage, it is also worth a visit House of luckA house from the end of the first century BC, measuring 204 square meters, belonging to a wealthy family. The tour allows you to admire the Roman road that continues with a screen with images of Herculaneum and different rooms decorated with mosaics and frescoes loaded with great mythological symbolism. In some of them you can admire well-preserved images of a swan, an image of a house, a swastika, flowers and a pomegranate.

Walk through the old city

These sites are located in the Old City and should be explored on foot. For example, through Calle Mayor where Cervantes Housewhere in his old bar Antônio Álvarez Alonso composed the famous song “Sighs of Spain” in 1902, the casino, the grand hotel with a nod to French and Viennese modernism in its magnificent dome and the stunning city hall at the end of the road where the port can actually be seen. Civil weddings are usually celebrated on the premises, while religious weddings are held on the premises Church of Love Where image Virgin of Sorrowspatron saint of Cartagena.

It also doesn’t hurt to go to the Plaza de Santo Domingo to admire the Casa Maestre (1906), inspired by Gaudí’s Casa Calve, with its beautiful Rococo decorations in an urban environment dominated by a ficus tree planted in 1893, 25 meters high, and a handful of tropical palms.

You can continue walking through the highest areas of the city thanks to the panoramic elevator. Combined with its accessibility you cannot miss it Civil War Museum Shelterone of the many shelters used by residents to protect themselves in the city that suffered more than a hundred bombings during the civil war, and at the top is the Castillo de la Concepción, of medieval origin, from which you can see a 360-degree panoramic view of Cartagena and all its surroundings. At one of its viewing points you will notice the next Roman discovery of the city, its hidden amphitheater under the bullring built on the high walls of this amphitheater that received more than 11,000 spectators. The runway is scheduled to open at the end of 2026.

Port

A visit to Cartagena can culminate in its port where other tourist attractions such as National Museum of Underwater Archeologywhich displays part of the treasure trove of the frigate Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes consisting of more than 650,000 gold and silver coins, or the Maritime Museum with its rooms dedicated to Isaac Peral and submarines to admire the original prototype of the Cartagena engineer launched in Cádiz in 1888, although perhaps the best idea is to take a boat to better understand how the entire bay was deployed. During the tour you will be able to see the great importance of Cartagena as a military city surrounded by forts, walls, coastal artillery batteries, and about 50 points of the defensive complex that is supposed to be the next UNESCO World Heritage.