Roman Tarragona in National Geographic
- Hugo
- Nov 15, 2021
- 3 min read
Under the title ‘Tarraco, capital of Roman Hispania’, National Geographic takes its readers back to Tarragona as it was two thousand years ago. With stunning photographs and reconstructions, the article once again shows just how important this city once was within the Roman Empire.
The article appears in issue 271 of National Geographic Historia (still available to buy and read online via Kiosko y Más, go to this link).
It is always great to see a magazine such as National Geographic devote an extensive article to ‘our’ city of Tarragona. And rightly so. Tarraco, as Roman Tarragona was known at the time, was far more than just another Roman settlement on the Mediterranean.
The city was established as a military base in 218 BC during the war against the Carthaginians and went on to become the capital of Hispania Citerior, later known as Tarraconensis. Even Emperor Augustus spent some time here. National Geographic describes Tarraco as one of the largest and most impressive cities in the Roman Empire.
A Roman metropolis
What I like about the article is that it goes beyond the well-known monuments.
Naturally, the amphitheatre by the sea features prominently. This was where gladiatorial combats and wild-animal hunts took place. The circus, where chariot races were held, is also featured. The enormous vaults that once supported the stands can still be found right in the middle of the modern city.
But above all, National Geographic shows just how complete a city Tarraco really was.
There was a bustling port where ships, goods, sailors and travellers arrived from all over the Mediterranean. There were temples, baths, theatres, shops and luxurious homes. Aqueducts supplied the city with water. Beyond the city walls were villas, roads and funerary monuments.
And above the city itself stood an enormous administrative complex.
National Geographic’s reconstruction of the upper part of Tarraco is particularly impressive.
Walking through the Part Alta today, it is not always easy to imagine what once stood here. At the highest point of the city was the vast provincial complex, with squares, colonnades and administrative buildings. Next to it was the circus.
What makes it especially fascinating is that the street plan of modern Tarragona is still shaped by that Roman city.
Walk across Plaça de la Font and you are actually walking through part of the former Roman circus. Wander through the narrow streets of the Part Alta and pieces of walls, vaults and Roman stonework appear everywhere.
Ancient Tarraco is therefore not an archaeological site somewhere on the outskirts of Tarragona. Tarraco is literally inside Tarragona. And that is precisely what makes this city so special.
Gladiators, art and luxurious villas
National Geographic also looks at everyday life in Tarraco.
Thousands of spectators could watch gladiatorial contests in the amphitheatre. The city had wealthy residents who decorated their homes with statues, frescoes and mosaics. The photographs in the article include images of Medusa, Jupiter, the muse Euterpe and beautifully preserved Roman toys.
An interesting detail: outside the city, wealthy residents built funerary monuments along the Via Augusta. The Torre dels Escipions, which still stands a few kilometres north of Tarragona, is a spectacular example.
A little further away is the Arc de Berà, a Roman triumphal arch that you can simply drive past today.
And the famous Pont del Diable aqueduct was part of the system that supplied Tarraco with water.
So in Tarragona, you really only have to walk or drive in almost any direction before you come across traces of the Romans.
Two thousand years later
What is remarkable is just how much of all this can still be seen more than two thousand years later. We have previously described a complete Roman walking tour through Tarragona on this blog.
But the National Geographic article reminded us once again why we find this part of Tarragona’s history so fascinating.
You do not have to visit a museum here to experience Roman history.
In the morning, you can walk alongside a Roman city wall. Have a coffee above a Roman circus. In the afternoon, stroll through an amphitheatre overlooking the Mediterranean. And in the evening, you may find yourself in a restaurant with a Roman wall or column right beside your table.
Tarraco never really disappeared.
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