Tarragona. Praetorium&Roman Circus

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From the Roman amphitheater let´s go up to the Praetorium & Roman Circus.




Praetorium or Pretori Romá (cat.) is a tall tower built by the Romans. It was connected to other parts of the city by underground passages through the circus.



The building has been restored and in the 14th Century it was turned into a royal palace and used as a royal residence. Later, it functioned as a prison. You can go underground and also climb to the top where you can enjoy great views over Tarragona.





Roman Sculptures on display in the Provincial Forum/Praetorium Tower.





Tarragona's Roman Circus can be reached via a tunnel from the Praetorium. Here Roman chariot racing and other big crowd events would have been held. It had a capacity of 20.000 spectators. Today you can still see some of the walls and vails that composed its structure.


Here we have one "lion" :)


And It´s little relatives... The only inhabitants of the circus.


Museu Nacional Arqueologic de Tarragona/Archaelogical Museum



Most of the collections displayed inside are Roman, and this museum really does form the centre for the history of Roman life, architecture, art, food, circus, theatre and more once prevalent on the Iberian peninsula. Most Roman finds along the Spanish coast and peninsula have ended up here in this definitive Spanish Roman Archaeological Museum.

To be continued...

• (C)All pictures, but museum taken by me
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