Explorations a Spanish city with Roman ruins around every corner.
Are you visiting Spain and want to see some Roman ruins? Well, Mérida is the place to do it. Mérida took its ancient past and ran with it. The city is full of archaeological sites and Roman ruins to explore. These ruins are out in the open and even hiding under other buildings. I spent an entire day in Mérida, and I could have used more time honestly.
Mérida was a very important Ancient Roman city. Founded in 25 BCE, Emerita Augusta was founded for the Roman veterans of the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans. It was common for the Ancient Romans to found colonies for the veterans that stayed in a conquered area, the land being part of the army’s payment. The city was placed here to guard a river crossing (where a Roman bridge still stands) and the city grew to become the capital of the province of Lusitania (which contains a portion of today’s Western Spain and much of Portugal).
Even after the Romans left and the city was conquered by the Visigoths, Mérida continued to be a splendid capital of Visigothic Hispania, run by the city’s bishops. Even the Moorish conquered continued to use many of the Ancient Roman buildings when they arrived in the 8th century CE, even remodeling the Alcazaba, first built by the Romans and then reinforced by the Visigoths.
Today, remains from the Romans, Visigoths, Arabs and Spanish Christians can be found in the city.
Puente Romano is a 1st century BCE Ancient Roman bridge. It led to one of the four city gates and is a whopping 2,500 ft (762 m) long.
The bridge is at the foot on the old Alcazaba.
The Alcazaba’s main gate (right) was inside of the city gate. You had to pass through this box (Alcazarejo) in order to enter the city (left). The Ancient Roman roadway is amazingly still there.
Now inside the Alcazaba, the ruined walls on the right were Roman and refaced with blocks of stone by the Visigoths.
What remains of a three-story tower. The decorative door frame is from some other Visigothic building.
There are even ruins of an Ancient Roman villa inside of the Alcazaba.
Continuing along the river. There is a unique archaeological site located under a modern building, the Archaeological Area of Morería.
You not only get to see some villa ruins, but also walk on an original Ancient Roman road to see them.
Storks have a habit of putting their nests on top of buildings in Spain.
In the middle of Mérida, there is the giant Arch of Trajan. The formally marbled arch spanned one of the major streets of the city.
The Temple of Diana was saved because someone incorporated the columns into their Renaissance palace.
The portico of the city Forum.
Looking for Roman art? Look no further than the National Museum of Roman Art in Mérida. The collection is huge, and they even have a reconstructed Ancient Roman room from the 4th century CE.
There’s even a Roman street and some ruins under the museum.
Next door to the museum is the Amphitheatre of Mérida.
The amphitheatre was completed in 8 BCE and could fit up to 15,000 spectators.
Several passages cross underneath the structure.
Many, many passages.
Next to the amphitheatre is the famous Roman Theatre of Mérida.
The theatre was built between 16 to 15 BCE. What makes this theater special is its backdrop (scaenae frons), the columned structure on the back of the stage. Not many of these have survived to the day, at least to this extent.
The theatre could have fit up to 6,000 people. Men and women, however, had to sit apart.
Next to the museum and the other two sites is the Casa del Anfiteatro. The ruins of the villa is mostly covered by a giant awning. Some cool mosaics can be found here.
This is a really cool design. They filled in the areas of the mosaic that was lost so you can see the entire design.
Two different patterns next to each other in the same room. It’s a really fishy design.
This villa was richly decorated.
The villa is right next to a mausoleum. It wasn’t that uncommon for this to happen. Ancient Romans had to buried outside of the city walls, which lead to many being next to suburban villas.
There are the sarcophagi! It was common for multiple people, often family members, to be entombed in the same mausoleum. This mausoleum had 8 graves from several centuries. Later in antiquity, the mausoleum was turned into a house. The tombs remained under the floor until found by archaeologists.
South of the amphitheatre is the Casa del Mitreo (House of the Mithraeum), a giant 1st century CE villa. This villa had a wonderfully painted atrium (entry hall).
The ruins of the baths of the villa. They had a nice black and white mosaic floor.
A basement? Semi-subterranean rooms were common. They would make wonderful summer bedrooms.
That’s a fancy design.
Cool little fresco design.
Giant mosaic. It has some sort of oceanic mythical scene going on.
North of the villa, there is another cemetery, which has a couple of mausoleums.
Now for something a bit different, Santa Eulalia. The little building in front of the church is called the Hornito (oven) and started its life as temple to Mars.
Santa Eulalia is known for its really cool crypt, which you can wander through.
That’s not creepy whatsoever.
Tombs all over the place down here.
A late Roman mausoleum that was painted in the 16th century. Now hidden under the church.
Santa Eulalia is a half bad looking church.
The Aqueduct of San Lazaro. Mérida has two really cool stretches of Ancient Roman aqueducts. This one is the most intact.
The Acueducto del los Milagos is super tall. It’s really impressive that some sections are still standing.
People for scale.
Mérida is a fantastic place to spend a day or two. There are many outdoor attractions and museums in the city. There are even two Ancient Roman dams nearby that are still in use. You can even find a well-preserved Circus Maximus (chariot racetrack) on the north side of town, which I completely missed even though I was maybe two blocks away. Mérida is just chock full of neat things to find around every corner.
Check out my next update where I start my exploration of Seville!
or
Start at the beginning of my travels around Spain!
