After having started life as a colony established by the Roman Emperor Augustus between 15 and 10 BC. On the small hill of Mons Taber, Barcelona continued to be part of the Roman Empire for more than 400 years. An impressive number of Roman monuments and artifacts can still be seen, although many have been absorbed into the framework of later buildings and structures.
The Roman sights of Barcelona focus on the Gothic Quarter. In particular, the area around the Cathedral of La Seu and along the edge of Via Laietana, where part of the city walls ran.
Any trace of Roman theme should be culminated in a visit to the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat (Barcelona City History Museum), which contains a wealth of artifacts from the time. Below is a short guide to the main Roman remains in the city.
But the best Roman ruins in the Barcelona area are in Tarragona, a city that is a short train ride down the coast.
Portal del Bisbe
Barcelona was protected by fortified walls with four gateways. The fourth-century quadrangular towers of one of the gates can be seen at the Puerta del Bisbe in Plaça Nova. Here at the back of the medieval ecclesiastical palace, Casa de l’Ardiaca (Santa Llùcia 1), there is also a modern replica of the aqueducts that once led to the surrounding countryside from the entrance gate.
Regomir Street
The remains of another front door and the original Roman pavement can be seen on Regomir Street at the Pati Llimona Civic Center, which was also home to the Roman baths.
Plaza Ramon Berenguer
Next to the cathedral on Via Laietana, this square features one of the most spectacular sections of the old city walls. Mainly from the 4th century, the walls are crowned by a Gothic chapel, that of Santa Àgata.
Augustus temple
Right next to Plaça Sant Jaume, on Calle del Paradís, in the courtyard of the Centro Excursionista de Catalunya, there are four impressive 30-foot-tall Roman columns. Sculpted in the Corinthian style, these columns are all that remains of what was once Barcelona’s Temple of Augustus, built in the 1st century BC. C.
Plaza Villa de Madrid
In this square, near the top of Las Ramblas, are the remains of a Roman necropolis, whose 2nd and 3rd century tombs were recently excavated and have become the focal point of a small park surrounded by fashionable shops and coffee shops.
History Museum of the City of Barcelona
Barcelona’s main Roman-themed attraction, this museum is built on the remains of a Roman garum factory and a clothes-dyeing workshop and has hundreds of artifacts recovered from Roman times.
