Church of Santo Toribio - The Cannonball at Mass
Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on Cartagena Walled City Walk, a free self-guided tour.
This compact church near Plaza Fernandez de Madrid is one of the smaller churches in the old town, built between 1666 and 1732. Its plain outside hides a lovely interior, with a carved wooden ceiling in the Mudejar style and a gilded altar.
It is also home to one of Cartagena's favorite stories. During the British siege of 1741, the tale goes, a cannonball crashed through a window while the church was full of people at Mass, and no one was killed. Local tradition holds that the ball on display inside is the one that came through. Whether it is the very same ball or not, the story captures how close the war came to ordinary life inside the walls.
This is your last stop. If the church is open, step inside and look for the cannonball in its case. Then follow the street south about 6 minutes back to the Clock Tower Gate, perhaps with a fresh fruit juice for the road.
Getting here: From Las Bovedas, walk south-west back into the old town, about 5 minutes, to the small Plaza Fernandez de Madrid; the church is just off it.
Did you know?: The square beside the church honors Jose Fernandez de Madrid, a Cartagena-born doctor, poet and early leader of independent Colombia.
Photo op: Step back across the street to frame the church's simple facade against the sky.
More on Wikipedia: Battle of Cartagena de Indias · Mudejar art · Edward Vernon
Stops on this tour
- Torre del Reloj - The Clock Tower Gate
- Getsemani and Plaza de la Trinidad - Where Independence Began
- Plaza de los Coches - A Market of Human Lives
- Plaza de la Aduana - Customs, Columbus and City Hall
- Church of San Pedro Claver - Servant of the Enslaved
- Las Murallas - Walking the City Walls
- Plaza Santo Domingo - Legends and a Botero
- Palace of the Inquisition - Fear Behind a Fine Doorway
- Cathedral and Plaza de Bolivar - Shade, Stone and Gold
- Plaza de San Diego - Convents and a Novelist's Ghost Story
- Las Bovedas - Vaults in the Wall
- Church of Santo Toribio - The Cannonball at Mass