Attractions

Since its origins, the Mediterranean has shaped the destiny of Tarragona.

In 218 BC, during the Punic Wars, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio landed on our shores and established a military camp that would eventually become the main base of the Roman Empire in Hispania. From Tarragona, the Iberian Peninsula was conquered over the following 200 years, and Latin civilization spread across Hispania... This is the beginning of the story of Tarraco.

Tarraco was initially organized into two main areas: the military zone in the upper part and the civil and residential area in the lower part. In the 2nd century BC, the city took shape with the construction of its walls and a network of streets. Its importance grew throughout the 2nd and 1st centuries BC with the arrival of new settlers.

It was granted the title of "colony" by Julius Caesar himself, probably in 45 BC, under the name Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco. Between 27 and 25 BC, Emperor Augustus resided in the city, directing battles against the Cantabrians and Asturians, and governing the Empire for the first time outside of Rome.

In the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, Tarraco, as the capital of the province of Hispania Citerior (the largest in the Empire, encompassing more than half of the Iberian Peninsula), became an essential hub, with an incredible urban expansion. The city was filled with monumental structures: the forum was expanded, public baths and an amphitheater were built, and the grand provincial forum and circus were constructed on the acropolis. The famous Temple of Augustus was also erected, as described by Tacitus.

The legacy of Tarraco endures through the monuments that history has left behind. Don’t miss the fascinating heritage of this ancient era!