Cultural: Day Trip to Tarragona

I spent many weekends during my semester in cities in different countries such as Amsterdam, Budapest, Berlin, or Dublin but one of my favorite trips were within the country of Spain. During our semester of Barcelona: Past & Present we learned a great deal about the history of Catalonia and Barcelona starting with the Romans. Along with the Roman city of Barcino (Barcelona) their other major city on the Mediterranean coast was Tarraco (Tarragona). We never spoke much about the history of Tarragona in our class so I took it upon myself to go out and see the city. During our spring  break I decided to take a trip down the coast of Spain and made the city of Tarragona my first stop.

The first piece of history that I had to visit in Tarragona was the ruins of the Roman Amphitheater. The Amphitheater is a piece of the old Roman town of Tarraco that historians do not know too much about due to the lack of historical records of its uses. It is assumed that the amphitheater was used for performances, town meetings, and even events that are similar to the massive coliseum in Rome such as wild animal fights and gladiators. After the fall of the Roman empire, the amphitheater went through many renovations and over time it was used for different purposes. At some point the Visigoths put a church in the amphitheater, which can be seen as the ruins on the lefts side of the picture on the left.





After exploring the amphitheater I relaxed and got lunch and looked over the park that sat just outside the amphitheater. That day was the Sunday before Easter and there was some sort of picnic going on in the park. There was a jazz band playing live music at the bottom of the park, while families with children and dogs sat on blankets and relaxed in the beautiful weather.

After relaxing for a little bit I walked throughout the small beach city towards the bus station. On the way to the bus station I ran into the Monumento a los Castallers. The Monument is a figurative sculpture depicting a castle made of people.

The whole scene is composed of 222 people carried out with great detail. 219 are figures in the castle, where both many of the faces include famous Spaniards such as Pau Casals, Pablo Picasso, Antoni Gaudí, Joan Miró and Joan Antoni Samaranch and several characters. Outside the castle there is a group of three musicians in a band, composed of two grallers and timbaler- and the head of the group. It is a very unique sculpture that fits in with the unique aspects of Tarragona.


I then took the bus to the other ancient Roman ruin that was within the city of Tarragona. This monument was El Pont Diable, which is the ancient Roman aqueduct. This monument was certainly a sight to see, as it is one of the greatest feats of engineering in history. The aqueduct pictured below would transport water from far distances, carry it over the valley in which it stands, and deliver it to the middle of the city for use. I was also able to walk across the top of it, which was a great experience.