The president of the Port Authority of the Bay of Cádiz, Teófila Martínez, the delegate of the Regional Government of Andalusia in Cádiz, Mercedes Colombo, and the mayor of Cádiz, Bruno García, have inaugurated the exhibition “Port, City and Memory”, installed along the fence of the city’s quay.
The exhibition brings together around thirty large-format photographs—three metres wide by two metres high—offering a visual journey through the evolution of the Port of Cádiz from the mid-19th century to well into the 20th century.
All the images on display come from the collection of Rafael Garófano, a valuable photographic archive donated to the Regional Government of Andalusia and preserved at the Provincial Historical Archive of Cádiz. The director of the Archive, Santiago Saborido, was also present at the event.
During the inauguration, the president of the Port Authority highlighted that the exhibition “helps us understand how the Port has grown and transformed hand in hand with the city, shaping a space that has historically been an economic and social engine for Cádiz.” She also noted that initiatives such as this “help bring the Port closer to citizens and strengthen the historical relationship that has always existed between the port and Cádiz.”
For her part, the Andalusian Government’s delegate in Cádiz thanked the Port Authority of the Bay of Cádiz for “making available this natural space along the quay fence to exhibit this photographic collection.” She also expressed her gratitude to Cádiz City Council for its collaboration. Colombo underlined the importance of the photographs donated by Garófano to the Regional Government as “a very appropriate donation that allows us to preserve and safeguard them in our Provincial Historical Archive.” She concluded by inviting “all the people of Cádiz and everyone who visits us to take a journey through this part of our history.”
The mayor of Cádiz, Bruno García, noted that the exhibition “helps us understand the present by looking at how the Cádiz quay has evolved in the past, at a time when a major transformation is taking place through the port-city integration project.” He also highlighted “the generosity shown by Rafael Garófano in donating his photographic collection to the Regional Government of Andalusia, making exhibitions like this possible.” Finally, he emphasised the importance of the quay fence area as an exhibition and cultural space for the city, thanking the Port Authority of the Bay of Cádiz for its work in this regard.
With this exhibition, the Port Authority of the Bay of Cádiz continues to promote initiatives aimed at sharing the history of the port area and advancing the process of port-city integration, inviting both residents and visitors to discover the evolution of one of the city’s most emblematic spaces.
