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INTRODUCTION.- Tarragona, located on the Mediterranean coast in the north-east of Spain, is the most souther of the point of view it can be divided into two sections: the coastal area and the area inland.
The main feature of the coastal area is intense brigtnees of the sunligth. Here the carob trees, vinyeards, hazel, almond and olive trees give an air of grace and beauty.
During the summer the temperature ranges from 23 C to 25 C, but the constant sea breezes help maintain a cool armosphere. The winters are always mild. Other characteristics of the climate of Tarragona are fairly low rainfall throughout the year, and and extraordinarily large number of bright sunny days during any season of the year.
THE CAPITAL.- This typically Mediterranean city was founded by Publius Cornelius Scipio during the Second Punic War(218 B.C), and it preserves all the characteristics of a great city where the Romans keep their legions.
The visitor may see the PRAETORIUM,CIRCUS, AMPHITHEATRE, FORUM, THEATRE and the walls and towers. The city itself stands on a rocky hill which gradually slopes down towards the sea. From medieval times perhaps the CATHEDRAL is the most representative monument. Tarragona was the metropolitan seat of the Crown of Aragon uo until the reig of the King JAIME II, and then later it became the capital of the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona. The formet Roman roads are it present day streets and squares(the Plaza de la Font stands over part of what was the Roman Circus), and the port is the continuation of a breakwater built by the Romans.
About 1 Kmt outside the city we dinf the Paleo-Christian Museun, located in what was once and ancient necropolis. It contains some interesting tombs dating from the 3rd and 4th C, ranging from sumptuosus sarcophagy to more modest tombs made from tiles. There are also amphorae contains the mortal remains of very young children.
The visitor may also see the remains of a Christian basilica, and a valuable collection of mosaics, pottery, metalwork, glass, objects and small works in ivory, incluiding a beautifull doll.
THE ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE.-The Roman Amphitheatre in Tarragona is situated in the eastern part of the city, outside the walls and next to EL MIRACLE BEACH, it was here that the Romans held thear public spectacles including combats between gladiators and wild animals before and audience of some 12,000 people. In the year 259 A.D, Bishop Fructuoso and his deacons Augurio and Eulogio were martyred here, and during the 6th C. the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria del Miracle was built over it.
OTHER MONUMENTS OUISIDE THE CITY.- The legacy of the Romans can also be found outside Tarragona in the form of several monuments that are well worth visiting. The tower of LOS ESCIPIONES, for example, stads beside the ancient Via Augusta and is a funeral monument dating from the 1st C. It was built in three quadrangular sections, each smaller than the previous one, and on the upper section there are two sculped male figueres representing funeral gods.
Four kilometres away, at the side of the Lerida road, there is a magnificent example of Roman engineering. This is the aqueduct known as EL PUENTE DEL DIABLO, or Devil's Bridge, which possibly dates from the time of Trajan. It is composed of a series of double arches and has a length of 217 m. Thanks to its near perfect state of preservation it is of great architectural importance.
Continuing a long the VIA AUGUSTA some 20 km from Tarragona we reach the BARA ARCH. It is formed by two solid blocks of stone joined by a semicircular arch. Both sides are decorated with false fluted colums of the Corinthian order, and the entire construction dates from the 2on C.
THE WALLS.- In upper part of the city can be found some 1,000 m. of Roman walls, built with a megalithic base(the original walls stretched nearly 4 km).
These walls can be divided into various sections: The megalithic base, formed by large blocks of stone, which served as a foundation for later ashlars(either dressed or plain depending on the time when they were added), and finnaly the medieval section. There are also seven defence towers and gates that give access to the city, all of which go to form a unique ensemble, greatly improved during 1933 when the PASSEIG ARQUEOLOGIC was decorated with reproductions of clasical statues.
THE COSTA DORADA.- For some 212 Km, running along the entire coastline of the province of Tarragona from Cunit as far Las Casas de Alcanar, there is a successions of excellent beaches and impressive cliffs, along with a beautifull handland covered with pine trees and a small cove. In the city of Tarragona itself there is EL MILAGRO beach, and a little further north can be found the beaches of RABASSADA, SABINOSA, DELS CAPELLANS, and LLARGA. At the end of the latter stands LA PUNTA DE LA MORA wich has a 16th C watchtower. The small towns of ALTAFULLA and TORREDEMBARRA, both complete with castles, stand next to these beaches and are location of many hotels and urban developments.
Tarragona has been formed thanks to the influence of generations and cultures. Nowadays it spreads a far as the banks of the river Francoli. Another important part of the city is LA RAMBLA, a residential area built around 1854 and a somewhat bold vision of modern urban development. The PASSEIG ARQUEOLOGIC is an avenue running alonside the city walls, and the viewpoint know ad EL BALCON DEL MEDITERRANEO offers some fine panoramic view of the sea and the sorrunding countryside, with the Sierra de Prades and the Sierra de Llaveria in the background.
The city has some 120,000 inhabitants, and the beaches stretch as far as the mouth of the river Gaia where the farmhouses blend in with pinewood and the typical scrublands with the dry land crops.
Tarragona is an ideal place to live, with al the advantages of a provincial capital yet none of the inconveniences of a heavily-populated city.
TARRAGONA VIEW
TYPICAL FOLKLORE