Cadiz is located on a small peninsula connected to the rest of the country by an isthmus of marshes. Its only land connection with the peninsula is with the town of San Fernando, formerly “León Island”. Currently, it has two bridges, one recently built “Puente de la Constitución de 1812”, and another known as “Puente José León de Carranza”, both link Cadiz with the neighbouring town of Puerto Real.
The city centre is completely surrounded by walls. It is the oldest city in the West. In the time of the Phoenicians it was called Gadir, translated as “the fortress” or “walled enclosure”. It was a city devoted to the sea and trade. At that time Cadiz is not as it is today, it was really an archipelago of small islands, among which Erytheia stood out in the North, and Kotinoussa in the South. An important temple to the god Melkart was founded in this place.
From Gadir Hannibal set out to conquer Italy, stopping beforehand to pray at the temple of the god Melkart. In Roman times it was called Gades. This was a very positive period for the city. The first roads, circuses, aqueducts and temples were built, and it became famous for Garum, a sauce made from fermented fish intestines that is no longer consumed today. The Romans also brought water with an aqueduct from Jerez, and later with a system of cisterns. A whole history of people who have made their subsoil an environment rich in archaeological sites.
After the fall of Rome and during the Caliphate of Córdoba, the city was called Qadis. In 844 the Vikings sacked and occupied the city, from where they attacked Seville.
Alfonso X the Wise conquered it and repopulated it with people from the north (Cantabrians). At the end of the Middle Ages, Cadiz became a very important commercial port, with a very close relationship with Genoa and Venice, hence the tradition of Carnival, one of its great and well-known festivals, today declared of international tourist interest.
Today, Cadiz has an enormous cultural attraction and has become an obligatory stop for large cruise ships. The Falla Theatre, the Plaza de San Juan de Dios, the Cathedral, the Genovés Park, the Tavira Tower, the Alameda Apodaca are some of the places that you cannot miss. It was also in Cadiz that the Spanish Constitution was approved in the Oratory of San Felipe on March 19, 1812, on the day of Saint Joseph and hence the name La Pepa.