The Submarine Peral is usually one of the protagonists when talking about the history of the city of Cartagena. However, on 12 April, the protagonist was the mural, created by the painters Enrique Gabriel Navarro and Ramón Alonso Luzzy, which accompanied the submarine in its original location, under the gardens of the Military Government in 1965. Thanks to the restoration work, financed by Cartagena City Council, the mural has been unveiled in the courtyard leading to the Isaac Peral Hall of the Naval Museum.
The Mayoress, Noelia Arroyo, attended the event, which was attended by Mauricio de la Gandara, Director of the Naval Museum, Pedro Luis de la Puente, Chief Admiral of the Cartagena Arsenal, Enrique Navarro Carretero, painter and son of Enrique Gabriel Navarro, Ramón Alonso-Luzzy Campoy, son of Ramón Alonso-Luzzy and Luis Miguel Pérez Adán, Chronicler of Cartagena.
The tiles were restored more than 15 years ago by Enrique Navarro and have been kept in the municipal art gallery ever since. From today they can be visited in the courtyard at the entrance to the Isaac Peral Hall of the Naval Museum of Cartagena.
This restoration is a step forward in protecting the heritage surrounding the history of Cartagena. The mural, which will be permanently installed in its new location, is made up of a total of 462 tiles of about 14 centimetres each, hand-painted and fired.
It is a composition of two blocks on the sides and one in the centre, which refer to a naval scene depicting the navy, both ancient and modern. Originally, the panel also contained a central mosaic depicting the tower of the coat of arms of Cartagena, which unfortunately has not been located.
This ceramic mural which accompanied the «Peral» for almost forty years is now coming back to life, representing part of the history of a very characteristic element of the city such as the ornamental ensemble of the Peral submarine, which has been photographed on countless occasions by the many visitors to the city or the people of Cartagena itself.
The submarine, since its location in the port in the mid-sixties, has been adopted by all the people of Cartagena as one of the great symbols of the city. Now, thanks to the restoration work carried out, the mural and the submarine can once again be visited together.
The ownership of the mural belongs to the Port of Cartagena, which has paid for the installation in this new location.
The City Council is also continuing with the project to open the museum house of Isaac Peral.