Costa Cálida - Cartagena

Of origins hardly known, existence of Cartagena was meant to have a starting point with the remains of an ancient Tarshish settlement. Its port was well known even before the arrival of the Carthaginians, the real architects behind the development of Cartagena as a city in its own right. In 223 B.C., their leader Asdrúbal founded the settlement of Quart Hadas or Quart Hadassat, the present Cartagena. The legacy of the city belongs, however to their Roman successors. As a city in the Roman Empire, Cartagena enjoyed a commercial pre-eminence. After a period of Byzantine domination, the city of Cartagena was ruled by the Arabs, and later by Castilians. Cartagena still preserves its maritime atmosphere with its millennial traditions of great tourist interest, despite periods of wars and crises, as well as economic and social upheavals, and even a short period of self-government.

Monuments in Cartagena are historical evidence on a daily basis. A large number of monuments can be admired in the city and its surrounding areas.

At the Port, with the main enclave in the square, we can admire the landscaped esplanade of the Héroes de Cavite (Heroes of Cavite), as they were ‘disembarking’. This monument was erected as a tribute to all those who fought in the battles of Cavite and Santiago de Cuba. Furtheron, the first prototype submarine, designed by the local engineer Isaac Peral, a direct predecessor of the modern submarine, and the forerunner of our modern models.

The Calle Mayor (Main Street) in Cartagena, Spain is the principal artery of social life in the old quarter. Modernism is present in every doorway, in every window, in every building along the pedestrian area that leads into the heart of the city.

Right in the middle of the Calle Mayor, the Casino of Cartagena, an emblematic mid-century institution evokes all the splendor and decadence of the golden years. The Casa Cervantes and Casa Llagostera, with its peculiar tiled facade depicting allegoric images of Mercury and Minerva, in full modernist swing. In calle del Aire (Air Street), the church of Santa María de Gracia with its unfinished facade. This church hosts the images of the 4 local Saints (Fulgencio, Isidoro, Leandro, and Florentina, still quite popular Christian names amongst local people) by Salzillo. The church also enjoys its real preeminence during the Holy Week, when most "tercios" ("regiments") and "tronos" ("thrones") commence their processions here.

The magnificent cuisine of Cartagena offers dishes as enticing as la ensalada cantonal, a salad based on salted fish and fish in brine, el pulpo a la plancha (grilled octopus), rice with cod, el caldo con pelotas (broth with meatballs) and the famous caldero, a traditional fisherman´s dish, which is made by boiling rice in fish stock and adding garlic sauce. After dessert, it is essential to try an “asiático” of “Asian Coffee”: coffee, condensed milk, cognac and cinnamon, served in a special glass. In the countryside around Cartagena, visitors will find exquisite vegetables, fruits, pulses, sausage meats and dishes such as cabrito al horno (roast lamb) and patatas al ajo cabañil (potatoes in garlic sauce), which can be sampled in the numerous inns dotted throughout the area of Cartagena.

Along the road beside the port and the marinas, you can visit the barrio de Santa Lucía (districts of Santa Lucía), an isthmus linked to the City by a strip of land. This is the true fishermen’s district, where you may sit and watch the colourful exhibition of the boats preparing to go out to sea, or the competitors of Latin-rig boats leaving the adjacent Regatta Club, while you taste some fried fish, squid, octopus, at any of the open-air bars by the shore. Yet further along the road leading to la Curra Lighthouse, is Cala Cortina (Cortina Cove), a traditional natural hay where it is easy to spot entire families enjoying a bathe of its refreshing waters.

The town’s superb cultural program includes many events such as the festival of El Cante de las Minas de La Unión, which takes place in August in the incomparable Modernist setting of the Public Market, converting the town into a veritable forum for modern flamenco and traditional flamenco singing, known as “cante jondo”.

In July the International Festival of Music of the Mediterranean takes place, as well as the Mar de Músicas Festival, which presents different types of music from around the world, accompanied by some striking stage sets and fabulous parallel activities. September transports us back in time to the Second Punic Wars, with the local celebrations involving staged presentations of the battles between Carhaginians and Romans, when the city recalls the disembarkation of Scipio and the capture of the city.

Surrounding Areas

Why not visit the Regional Park of Calblanque, an exceptional expanse that runs along the Murcian coastline of Cartagena in Spain that is rich in animal and plant life, featuring terrain as varied as coves, extensive beaches, fossil dunes, salt-flats and mountain summits.

You should also make a trip to the Sierra Minera, with its huge underground mines and open-cast mines, as well as the remains of various mining constructions, such as the unique “castilletes”.

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