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If you've walked past Cartagena's Town Hall square this week and noticed the building looking particularly striking after dark, there's a reason for that. The Ayuntamiento palace was officially unveiled with its new ornamental lighting on Monday evening, the result of a €250,000 investment by the Iberdrola Spain Foundation that has transformed how one of the city's most beloved buildings looks at night.

 

The project involved installing 2,892 state-of-the-art LED lights, carefully positioned to suit the building's specific architectural features while minimising any impact on the monument itself. The installed capacity is 2,904 watts, and energy efficiency has improved by around 60% compared to the previous system, which is a significant step in the right direction for a heritage building of this scale.

 

The lighting has been designed to draw out the best of the palace's modernist architecture. Warm tones and crisp whites pick out the white marble facades, the pilasters, balconies, cornices and decorative reliefs, while the building's distinctive zinc-clad metal domes, one of the most recognisable features of Cartagena's skyline, are now illuminated to genuinely striking effect.

 

 

Mayor Noelia Arroyo was clearly pleased with the result. "The City Hall regains the prominence it deserves after nightfall," she said, describing it as part of a broader commitment to making Cartagena's heritage visible around the clock. She was also quick to put the project in context: "This is not an isolated action. It complements the lighting of the Castle of La Concepción and the Archaeological Park of El Molinete, ensuring that our heritage can also be discovered and enjoyed when night falls."

 

Jaime Alfonsín, president of the Iberdrola Spain Foundation, framed the project in terms that go beyond aesthetics. "Heritage conservation requires a perspective that combines respect for history with innovation," he said. "This project highlights the extraordinary architectural richness of the City Hall, restoring visibility to one of Cartagena's great landmarks."

 

The building itself has a remarkable history. Designed by architect Tomás Rico Valarino and inaugurated in 1907, it was built during a period of considerable prosperity fuelled by mining in the Cartagena-La Unión mountains and the growth of the port. Its unusual triangular floor plan, dictated by its position between the square and the port area, makes it unlike almost any other civic building in the region.

 

The Iberdrola Foundation has been running its lighting programme since 2011, with more than €3 million invested in over 40 monuments across Spain. In Murcia alone, the Foundation has also funded the lighting of the Basilica of Vera Cruz in Caravaca de la Cruz, collaborations with the Roman Theatre Museum since 2015 and with the Salzillo Museum since 2013.

 

 

Images: Ayuntamiento de Cartagena