La Manga Club Official Blog for La Manga Resort in Murcia, Spain with Golf Holidays, 5 star hotel, tennis breaks, Spa La Manga Club

Sightseeing Tours to Cartagena, Port of Cultures

July 13, 2010

Every Tuesday (starting today), La Manga Club is offering guests the opportunity discover some of Cartagena’s most beautiful attractions on a tour accompanied by an expert in our cultural, historical, artistic and architectural heritage.

Cartagena, Port of Cultures
Every Tuesday from 9:30 hrs to 13:30 hrs

Explore fascinating Cartagena, the city from which Hannibal set off with his elephants on his epic journey to attack Rome. With a history going back almost 3000 years there is plenty to see and do.

Highlights include a ride in the Panoramic Lift up to Concepción Castle and Torres Park where you can admire the 360º’ views of the city and port, a catamaran trip around the bay and a walking tour of the city centre with its beautiful Art Nouveau Modernist buildings, typical bars and cafés and Roman remains.

The tours include the services of a Spanish/English speaking guide and return transport from and to La Manga Club.

It’s a good idea to book a couple of days in advance as tours are subject to minimum (and maximum) numbers of participants.

Information and bookings: Tel. 968 33 1234, ext. 8770

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Patti Smith and world music greats at the Mar de Músicas

July 11, 2010

The 2010 edition of the Mar de Músicas world music festival, which is dedicated to Colombia, is already under way in Cartagena.

Highlights include Patti Smith, Martha Wainwright (sister of Rufus), Salif Keita, Toto la Momposina and Grammy Award-Nominees Aterciopelados.

The team at Simply Networking have translated the full programme into English, click here for details.

If jazz is more your scene, don’t forget, the San Javier Jazz Festival is also on this month. Again, thanks to the guys at Simply Networking for full programme information in English.

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Cartagena’s Roman Theatre chosen as one of Europe’s cultural treasures

June 22, 2010

The Roman Theatre in Cartagena, the Carmelite Convent Church in Écija and the Real Sitio de San Ildefonso were the three Spanish heritage sites to receive the Europa Nostra 2010 prize for cultural heritage on June 10th. The awards recognise the best cultural heritage conservation projects within the EU. In addition, Cartagena’s Roman Theatre was one of just six Grand Prix Laureates chosen from the previously announced 29 Award winners of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards.

The awards were presented by the EU Commissioner responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou and Europa Nostra Executive President Denis de Kergorlay to the 29 winning projects in the Conservation, Research and Dediacted Research categories, which were chosen from amongst 139 entries from 26 countries.

The Roman Theatre in Cartagena received the highest accolade — alongside five other projects from Germany, France, The Netherlands and Denmark — for the restoration and conservation of the treasures uncovered during excavation and their integration into the existing urban fabric.

In the words of the Jury: “The Jury applauds the restoration of the Roman Theatre of Cartagena (Cartago Nova) and its well-executed integration into the existing urban fabric, as well as its proper conservation and exhibition and use for educational and cultural purposes. The new and well designed museum which incorporates elements such as the crypt of the Santa Maria Coviesa church and the Pascual de Riquelme Palace, has been invaluable in securing the timely regeneration of this area in Cartegena.”

More information on the Europa Nostra web site >> and here on the La Manga Club blog >>

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Cartagena’s Roman Theatre Finalist in the European Prize for Cultural Heritage

April 25, 2010

The restoration project for Cartagena’s Roman Theatre is up for an award in this year’s European Prize for Cultural Heritage, Europa Nostra Awards. The Roman Theatre project has been shortlisted along with 29 others from amongst the 140 entries for this edition.

The theatre has received recognition in the restoration, recuperation and conservation of European cultural heritage category, where 16 finalists have been selected, with other Spanish finalists including the Real Sitio de San Ildefonso (Segovia) and the Las Descalzas Church in Écija.

According to the Europa Nostra awards site:

The Jury applauds the restoration of the Roman Theatre of Cartagena (Cartago Nova) and its well-executed integration into the existing urban layout. The recent exhibition has further enriched the cultural and educational value of the outstanding new museum which incorporates elements such as the crypt of the Santa Maria Coviesa church and the Pascual de Riquelme Palace. The project has been invaluable in securing the timely regeneration of this area in Cartegena.

The overall winner will be selected from among the 16 finalists in this category in Istanbul on June 10th.

More information about shortlisted finalists…

The European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards were jointly launched in 2002 by the European Commission and Europa Nostra, in the framework of the Commission’s Culture Programme, to celebrate outstanding initiatives among the many facets of Europe’s cultural heritage in categories ranging from the restoration of buildings and their adaptation to new uses, to urban and rural landscape rehabilitation, archaeological site interpretations, and care for art collections. Also awarded are prizes for research, dedicated service to heritage conservation by individuals or organisations and education projects related to cultural heritage.

Published courtesy of the Cartagena City Council News Page on www.cartagena.es

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The Artillery Museum, Cartagena

April 11, 2010

Cartagena has such a rich military history , existing as a fortified city as far back as 250 BC, its  sheltered port offering protection from the seas and in a strategic trading position for exports from the region, so it has been fought over frequently, the fortifications built throughout the centuries put to good use many occasions.

By the 17th century it had developed an extensive protective system , with many military buildings constructed in the city during the 18th century, and in the 1860s the entire defences of the city were re-modelled under the Plan de Defensa 1860, known as the plan O’Donnell.

It’s nothing short of a miracle that the beautiful building which houses the museum today is still standing at all. Even if you have no real interest in military history, it is well worth visiting to see the beautiful vaulted ceilings, built with brick on spherical pillars, in a simple Byzantine style, which of course was hijacked in the gothic movement, so today is known as neo-classical gothic. It doesn’t matter what they’re called, they’re beautiful and well worth the effort to visit, although they were built as being not only decorative, but practical, the structure allowing air to circulate in what would have been workshops.

Originally completed in 1786, what you see today was part of a much larger structure, part of a massive building programme in the city throughout the 18th century. Spain went through a tumultuous period of civil conflicts during the 19th and early 20th century, one part of which resulted in the siege of Cartagena in the years of 1873-1874 , one side wishing to centralize Spanish government to a greater degree, and the other, which included Cartagena, fighting for a greater level of autonomous self-government.

Read on and get more details on simplynetworking.es

The museum is open from 10:00 to 13:30 hrs Monday through Friday
(closed weekends and public holidays).

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Carmen Conde – Famous writer from Cartagena

March 27, 2010

Winner of the Elisenda de Moncada Prize for Novel Writing in 1953, the Simón Bolívar International Poetry Prize in 1957, the Doncel Prize in 1960 and the National Literature Award in 1967, amongst others, in 1978 Carmen Conde was the first woman to be admitted as a member of the Royal Spanish Academy.

Despite having spent many years away, she never forgot the city where she was born. In her will, she left to the City of Cartagena all of her literary works and those of her husband, Antonio Oliver Belmás (d. 1968), her archive and library (comprising some 7000 volumes, including a number of valuable first editions, many of which are signed by their author), and the furniture and household effects from her last home, all of which can be seen today in the Carmen Conde – Antonio Oliver Museum in the “Ramón Alonso Luzzy” Cultural Centre in Cartagena.

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