The torch of the Carthagineses y Romanos fiestas in Cartagena sets out this year from Linares

A 270-km route including Lorca and Águilas will be covered in 6 stages from the ancient city of Cástulo to Cartagena

The 2024 Carthagineses y Romanos fiestas in Cartagena, which have been awarded International Tourist Interest status, begin in the city on Saturday September 14, but prior to that the Olympic-style torch with its sacred flame (“Iter Ignis”) will be carried by runners on six stages from the town of Linares, in the province of Jaén.

This is the longest journey so far for the torch, which last year set out from Puerto de Mazarrón, and the route covers a distance of 270 km from what was known in the times of Hannibal as Cástulo, the capital of the province of Oretania. Along the way it passes through Baeza, Quesada, Baza, Huéscar, La Parroquia, Lorca and Águilas before undertaking the final leg by boat, recreating the voyages which were undertaken in the last centuries BC.

A second torch follows a shorter route from Santomera, around 10 km from the city of Murcia, covering the entire distance in one day before being installed on the Molinete hill for the duration of the fiestas.

For more upcoming events in the Region of Murcia go to the What’s on section of Murcia Today.