The Ancient site of Empúries to host a festival of chariot races and gladiator fights this summer

L'Escala (ACN). - The site of Empúries’ ruins will this summer include a new activity to complement your visit to the Greco-Roman site: the Emporiae Road to Rome Festival. The Road to Rome, organised by the Drakonia company from Figueres, will run from the 25th to 27th July 2014. The fast-paced and dynamic show will feature over 30 artists, ranging from riders, charioteers, dancers and legionaries, and 14 horses.  Highlights of the festival will include a chariot race, something that has not been held in Spain for over 40 years. A circular stand has been installed right next to the Forum, with capacity for 2,500 people. Tickets to the festival, which will be held in the afternoons, will include a visit around the ruins of the site. 

The Archaeology Museum of Catalonia-Empúries, in collaboration with Drakonia Productions, have decided to incorporate a new Greco-Roman activity at the site to allow visitors to better understand what life was like in this historically strategic location over 2,000 years ago. The festival, named ‘Emporiae, the Road to Rome, ' was inspired by historical facts but includes a great deal of entertainment and action.

With performances by more than 30 artists, among them horsemen, charioteers, dancers and legionnaires, and with the help of 14 horses, the show will include gladiator fights, dances, games of skill, riding and even chariot racing. This last event is what is anticipated to excite the most interest among visitors. The running of two chariots, each pulled by four horses, has not been seen in Spain for over 40 years.

One of the actors participating in the show as the King of Indiketes, said the aim of the race was not so much to see who can run the circuit faster, but also to watch the balance, exercises and risks made by the racers during the performance.

A Roman circus has been installed next to the Roman Forum and includes a tiered circular stand, which will give the audience a clear view of the action during the hour and a half long show. The stand has capacity for 2,500 people, with a ring 65 meters long and 40 meters wide.

One of the managers of the Figueres Drakonia company,  Cesc Martinell, described in a presentation on Thursday how excited the company was to perform  this show at the historic site, and expressed his hope that it would be repeated in future editions. The coordinator of the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia-Empúries, Marta Santos, announced that she also was “very excited” and expected the new festival to generate a lot of interest and be well received.

Tickets can now be purchased at the price of 15 euros, both at the museum and online through Ticketmaster. Visitors can access the site from 4.00 in the afternoon to visit its facilities, with the show scheduled to start at 6.30pm.

Drakonia will also present a similar show, 'Coliseum' at the Palau de Sant Jordi in Barcelona on 4th October this year. "Nobody thinks it will be a fully authentic Roman circus, there is a historical basis but what we offer is performance, which is what people like," said Mireia Blasco, who is a member of the company.