The origins of these walls, which are nowadays a remarkable feature of Cartagena de Indias, can be traced to past times when the city came under numerous attacks.
Behind the walls people would feel safe and protected, and fears about irreversible damage would subside. Time, it is said, went by differently and the pace was another one.
This great wall was built in different stages; a great amount of work, effort and time was required in order to protect Cartagena. It was Italian engineer Bautista Antonelli who decided to begin the works in 1586.
By 1608 all the area of the city that faces the sea had been fortified. This time Cristobal de Roda was in charge of the construction.
Works were resumed by Francisco de Murga in 1631, extending the fortification until the entire Getsemani neighborhood was walled two years later.
During those two years everything went fine. However, the strength of the sea and a surprise attack led by the Baron of Pointis, Juan de Herrera y Sotomayor made it necessary to make reparations.
In 1721, still unsafe despite recent reparations, Don Juan de Herrera y Sotomayor, under the rule of Viceroy of Villalonga, decided to build a jetty opposite the ruinous walls.
Finally, the construction reached the last stage and it was engineer Antonio de Arévalo who was in charge of it. He built the jetty that links Punta Icacos and Tierrabomba. The works were finished in 1796.
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