ruins

City known as Tarraco in ancient times saw port move site to make space for theatre

Building work in Tortosa uncovers remains of three bodies, with experts hoping find might lead to location of ancient city's cemetery

This week, the Museum of the History of Barcelona (MUHBA) launched a new exhibition 'Barcelona in late antiquity: Christianity, Visigoths and the city'. 120 new pieces dating back from between the 4^th and 7^th centuries are going to be on display in the museum's Monumental Site of Plaça del Rei, in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. The launch has also been an opportunity to present the re-designed archaeological tour of this specific underground site, with its area which is open to the public growing in size. "The new archaeological discoveries contribute to explain the main transformations that took place in Barcelona, from Roman Barcino to Christianity", the curator Julia Beltran de Heredia said to CNA.

Barcelona has unveiled a new museum located in the Born neighbourhood, next to the Gothic quarter, which explores how life was in the city during the early 18^th century, and will exhibit 8,000 objects. The Born Cultural Centre shows the neighbourhood’s ruins dating from 1714, when residents were forced to destroy their own homes and leave without any compensation after Barcelona’s military defeat. Next to the area, the largest urban military citadel in Europe was built, being part of the fierce repression that the Bourbon troops inflicted on Catalan citizens. From that moment onwards, Catalonia lost its self-government institutions, its own laws and freedoms, and Catalan language was banned and persecuted with the aim to homogenise the recently-formed Spain.

Extraordinary 5th century Early Christian tombstone lid on show, in Mataró, a Coastal town some 30 km north of Barcelona. It is a unique archaeological piece in Spain, which was found in one piece, with a cross in relief at the head. It needed to be restored and is now on show, placed in the old baptistery of Mataró’s Santa Maria Basilica. This piece is one of the first examples of the consolidation of Christianity at a local level after the last Roman period. It was found in 1958, was then exhibited in a local museum, but afterwards it ended up in the church’s crypt and deteriorated.

Restoration works of this UNESCO World Heritage site are expected to end in May, at a cost of €225,000 and after 14 weeks. The Paleochristian cemetery of Tarragona is mostly a third century funerary site, although it also contains ruins dating between the first (Roman times) and seventh century (Visigoth period). It is located in the city’s suburbs, near the Francolí River. It is the most important cemetery of the Western Mediterranean and due to its importance and uniqueness, the City Hall has decided to make it accessible to the public again. The space has remained closed since 1992.

From May 17th to 27th, the 14th edition of 'Tarraco Viva' will be held in Tarragona. Last year, over 82,000 people visited this festival, an increase of 186% compared to 2007. 'Tarraco Viva' is a festival which takes over the Roman city, allowing the audience to witness many historical recreations and performances that allow them to imagine how people lived 2,000 years ago.

Catalonia’s capital discovers the new Pati Llimona community and art centre, after two years of renovation and enlargement works. The centre shows 17 metres of the Roman wall circling the old Barcino, which are integrated in the building. It also displays the wall’s gate facing the sea. Excavations have also unveiled thermae from the 1st century AC, which are on display together with other remains. The new Pati Llimona will focus its cultural activity mainly on photography.

Iesso was the Roman town that is know nowadays as Guissona, in Western Catalonia. The facilities offer a walk throughout the ruins and an entertaining audiovisual guide to life in the ancient city of Iesso.

Visitors can get closer to the centre of the historical Roman stage thanks to a new ramp. Tarraco, Tarragona’s Roman name, was the capital of the Tarraconensis Province and an important city of the Roman Empire. Tarragona’s Roman ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage.

The revamped 10,000 square metre site allows visitors to understand what it was really like in Ancient Times. Empúries is one of the largest archaeological sites in Catalonia, with well-preserved ruins from Greek and Roman towns.