Today we have just a taste of Tarragona. It’s the town we visited on a day trip while we were staying in Barcelona.
Today’s visit to Tarragona includes only the Roman ruins that visitors can see there. Back in Roman times, Tarragona was actually the capital city of that area in Spain — Barcelona became the bigger city, and more important port, centuries later.
We decided to visit Tarragona in part because it has the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre, one of our favorite kinds of Roman ruins to visit. As you’ll see in the photos below — and as hinted at last week in that “sneak peek” post —, the Roman amphitheatre in Tarragona is pretty well-preserved, considering that centuries later, two different Catholic churches were built within the walls of the Roman arena.
There are additional Roman ruins to visit in Tarragona as well — we took in the old Roman wall, including old Roman statues that have been places near there. Plus we saw the old Roman Forum, although truth be told it wasn’t really worth the hike across town to visit. However, it’s interesting that this small seaside town has a well-developed tourist industry, with well-marked paths and maps to guide you to all the main touristy sights. Very nicely done.
Anyway, hope you enjoy today’s photographic look at Roman Tarragona. Note that most of the photos are by Chris (thanks, Chris!), who captured some great shots inside the Roman arena.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you a bit more about our visit to Tarragona, and reveal the primary reason we made the trek there …
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- Roman Forum, Tarragona
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- Columns in the Roman Forum, Tarragona
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- Romulus and Remus with the wolf, Tarragona
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- Statue of Augustus, Tarragona
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- Roman Wall, Tarragona
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- Roman archway near the Circus Maximus, Tarragona
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- “Emperor” Friendly Tourist #2 Roman Amphitheatre, Tarragona
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- “Emperor” Friendly Tourist, Roman Amphitheatre, Tarragona
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- Seaview behind the Roman amphitheatre, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – archway opening to the sea, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – still more wall detail, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – more details of the churchs, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – seating and wall detail, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – wall detail with traces of the church arches, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – stone detail, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – church archway, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – entrance with stairs, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – inner wall, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – detail, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre – medieval church wall, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre Seating, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre, Tarragona
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- Roman Amphitheatre Panorama, Tarragona
I’m hoping the “primary reason” turns out to be a pastry!
Dovie, that is too funny. I see we have a definite reputation, eh? Tune in tomorrow for the answer… 😉
Nice photos. I like the one Roman archway near the circus maximus . It looks like a blue cycle and a bother blue shape. pretty cool. all pics are great. I know you took some and those would be Chris. the stones are so interesting as they show how they laid brick and made arches. I always wanted to make an archway. I wonder how long it took to get the proper shapes. do you think the made a sketch on the earth and fit them there first?
Good question regarding making an archway – there are so many different types of arches, too, it would be interesting to know how it’s done.