Tarragona.casa

with passion for Spain, Catalonia and Tarragona

cultural Tarragona

In 200 BC. Tarragona became the first Roman settlement outside Italy and the capital of Hispania. The two-thousand-year-old traces hereof can still be found throughout the city and on every street corner. Tarragona is therefore prominent on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition to the Roman heritage, there is also much to see from the Middle Ages (such as the cathedral) and contemporary history (such as Casa Casals and Casa Castellarnau).

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Cathedral

Catedral de Santa Tecla de Tarragona in early Gothic style, from about the 12th century. The cathedral itself was built on top of the 2,000-year-old Roman Temple of Augustus)

Amphitheater

Built in the 2nd century it was used for gladiatorial and animal fights. The amphitheater could seat 15,000 spectators and measured 130 by 100 metres.

Puente del Diablo

Aqüeducte de les Ferreres (Catalan) or Pont del Diable (Devil's Bridge) is a Roman aqueduct. It was built to supply water to the ancient city of Tarraco. The aqueduct is located 4 kilometers north of Tarragona and can easily be combined with a nice walk in the nature reserve there.

Paseo Arqueologico

An open-air museum along the two-thousand-year-old Roman walls that line the city. From here the Romans already fought during the 2nd Punic War (Hannibal and his elephants).

Foro Provincial

The provincial forum was the political and administrative nerve center of the province of Tarragona. Today, this once sprawling square with its surrounding arcade is home to dozens of houses and streets, like here on Plaça del Fòrum.

Foro local o Foro de la Colonia

The forum de la colonia was the local nerve center of Tarraco. The main streets led here, a meeting place for the local elites. The heart of the colony's social and political life.

Circo Romana

Circus Romana with its chariot races was without doubt the most popular mass spectacle in the Roman world. Built in the 1st century and about 235 by 115 meters.

Torre de les Monges

In the 14th century, the walled area was expanded to include the area of the ancient Roman circus by the construction of the Muralleta, or small wall, which is still partially visible next to the vaults of Sant Hermenegild. This part of the wall was reinforced with several towers, of which only the towers of Monges and Tintoré remain today.

Torre del Pretorio

The Praetorium is a tower from Roman times that housed the stairs that allowed the passage from the lower town to the Provincial Forum, to which it is connected by underground passages.
Pontius Pilate (who had condemned Jesus in Jerusalem) is also said to have died here.
It is one of the corners of the large rectangle of the Provincial Forum Square. In the 12th century it became the palace of the kings of the Crown of Aragon and later a prison.
Today you have a fantastic view over Tarragona from the roof (see link video below)

Teatro Romano

The theater was built in the time of Emperor Augustus in the 1st century BC. as part of the Fórum de la Colonia and one of the most emblematic buildings in Tarraco.

Portal del Roser and Plaza del Pallolo

The provincial forum was the political and administrative nerve center of the province of Tarragona. Today this once sprawling square with its surrounding arcade is home to dozens of houses and streets, such as here at Plaça del Pallol (entrance, vault and pilasters of the old nunnery) and the access from the wall at Portal del Roser.

Antoni Gaudí in Tarragona

This altar was designed by Antoni Gaudí and can be seen in El santuario de Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón (The Shrine of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart)

Casa Museo Castellarnau

In the Middle Ages, Carrer Cavallers was the place where the most important noble families of the city had their houses and palaces. Today, number 14, once the residence of the powerful Castellarnau family, is a museum. The house, itself from the 15th century, is currently after several renovations mainly in 18th and 19th century styles.

Casa Canals

Casa Canals is one of the few noble houses in Tarragona that has been completely preserved to this day. The house was built into the Roman wall dating back to the late 2nd century BC, and remains of a 14th-century house can still be seen on the first floor. The building also contains a shelter from the Spanish Civil War. The tour also takes you to the terrace, which overlooks the walls and offers spectacular views over the sea.

Museum de Arte Moderno in Tarragona

Established in 1976, this museum fills three separate contiguous 18th-century houses. The collection includes 20th-century paintings and sculptures by Julio Antonio, Salvador Martorell, Santiago Costa, Josep Sancho, José Nogué, Ramon Carreté, Lluís Saumells and also features temporary exhibitions.

Ca la Garsa

The Ca la Garsa building, located on the former Roman provincial forum, is largely constructed with recycled Roman bluestone. It is a unique architectural remnant of the Jewish community in Tarragona from 1238 to 1492.
Today everything has been demolished, only the medieval arches and part of the late Roman wall have been preserved.

Vila Romana dels Munts

Vila Romana dels Munts is one of the best preserved aristocratic villas from Roman Hispania.

In an incomparable setting on the shores of the Mediterranean, the inhabitants of this country house would have enjoyed the tranquility of rural life and the beauty of its surroundings, but without giving up luxury and sophistication.

It was a house designed for the leisure and relaxation of the Tarraco elites and would undoubtedly have played a key role in their social, political and economic relations.

Mèdol

It is a huge pit, more than 200 m. long, where stone was quarried in Roman times. In the center of the quarry stands a stone column that has been left untouched, known as the "agulla de Mèdol". Stone from the quarry was used to build a number of important buildings in Tarraco.

Tarraco vivo

The Tarraco Vivo takes place every year in Tarragona, in which Roman gladiator fights, plays, music, etc. are reenacted in an authentic way throughout the city in a two-thousand-year-old setting.
The town's restaurants also offer classic dishes from the Roman era.

Centcelles

The Roman villa of Centcelles contains a masterpiece of early Christian art. In one of the rooms, which is almost completely preserved, you can see the oldest known Christian-themed dome mosaic in the Roman world, dating from the 4th century AD.

Torre de los Escipiones

It was built in the middle of the 1st century, six kilometers from the city of Tarraco, the capital of Hispania Citerior, on the route of the Via Augusta, the Roman road that connected in the Iberian Peninsula from the Pyrenees to Gadir, (Cadiz). It is one of the most important funerary monuments from the Roman era still preserved on the peninsula.

Arc de Bera

The Arc de Berà (Catalan for Arch of Berà) is a Roman triumphal arch near the Spanish village of Roda de Barà, 20 kilometers north of Tarragona. It stands on the Via Augusta, a Roman road restored by Emperor Augustus at the beginning of the 1st century. The arch was built around 13 BC. built for Lucius Licinius Sura, who had ordered this in his will. It is believed that the arch was dedicated to Augustus or his genius and that he marked the boundary of the district of Tarraco. The arch takes its current name from Berà, the son of William with the Horn. He was the Count of Barcelona and in 801 extended the territory of Barcelona as far as Tarragona, where the triumphal arch stood on the border.

Mosaico de Ampelio

You can find this ampellium mosaic in the Paleo-Christian necropolis of Tarragona, one of the best-known and best-preserved late Roman cemeteries (3rd-5th century AD) from the Roman Empire.

La muralla

Since the Roman wall was built two thousand years ago, a lot has been renovated. Apartments have been built in it, as can be seen here near the paseo de Sant Antoni.