Mérida – Spain

April 18, 2019:

I know this trip is supposed to be about Portugal. But we decided to mix it up and do a Day Trip from Vila Viçosa to “Visit the Old Roman Empire”. We had missed Mérida on our previous trip to Spain in 2018, and thoroughly enjoyed this diversion from our 2019 Portugal Travels.

Because we did this trip kind of “seat of the pants”, we had little documentation about the places we were visiting, and so this post has few details about each site. Below are the highlights of our visit to Mérida.

Roman House of the Mitreo (Casa del Mitreo):

This was a large Roman house (domus) belonging to an important family. Together with the house, remains related to the cult of Mitra were found and this is where its name of the site comes from.

The house consists of three peristyles or courtyards with columns around which the residence is organised.

Exploring the Roman House of the Mitreo

The rooms are decorated with high quality mosaics and mural paintings.

The most important mosaic is the Cosmological one which represents Heaven, Earth and the Sea. Despite being in ruins, the house in general is extraordinarily beautiful.

Mosaico comológico (Cosmological mosaic)

Cosmological mosaic, detail of Oriens the sun with gold halo – Photo: www.consorciomerida.org

This Roman House was right next to a bullfight arena, the Plaza de Toros.

The Plaza de Toros next door to the Roman House of the Mitreo

Also nearby was a fountain in a roundabout, the Monumento a La Piedad (Monument to Piety).

Monumento a La Piedad (Monument to Piety)

From the Casa del Mitreo it was a short walk to the…

Walk from the Casa del Mitreo

Amphitheatre of Mérida (Anfiteatro de Mérida):

The amphitheatre was inaugurated in the year 8 BC. This building was intended for gladiatorial fights and combats between beasts or men and beasts (venationes).

The city itself, Emerita Augusta, was founded in 25 BC by Augustus, to resettle emeritus soldiers discharged from the Roman army from two veteran legions of the Cantabrian Wars (the Legio V Alaudae and Legio X Gemina). The term emeritus refers to the soldiers, all of whom had been honorably discharged from service.

The amphitheatre was built as part of an entertainment complex together with the Roman Theatre (see next). Nowadays both are part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida, which is one of the largest and most extensive archaeological sites in Spain and that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.

Amphitheatre of Mérida (Anfiteatro de Mérida)

Right next door to the Ampitheatre of Mérida is the…

Roman Theatre of Mérida (Teatro Romano de Mérida):

The Theatre’s construction was promoted by the consul Vipsanius Agrippa and was built in 16–15 BC. It was used for Roman theatrical performances during ancient Rome. Since 1933, it houses the International Festival of Classical Theatre of Mérida.

The theatre has undergone several renovations, notably at the end of the 1st century or early 2nd century AD (possibly during the reign of Emperor Trajan), when the current facade of the scaenae frons was erected, and another in the time of Constantine I (between 330 and 340 AD), which introduced new decorative-architectural elements and a walkway around the monument.

Following the theatre’s abandonment in Late Antiquity, it was slowly covered with earth, with only the upper tiers of seats (summa cavea) remaining visible.

In local folklore the site was referred to as “The Seven Chairs”, where, according to tradition, several Moorish kings sat to decide the fate of the city.

Roman Theatre of Mérida (Teatro Romano de Mérida)
Broke my blue backpack – picked up what was available…

Next to the Roman Theatre is the…

National Museum of Roman Art (Museo Nacional de Arte Romano):

The National Museum of Roman Art of Mérida (Spain) (MNAR) was inaugurated on September 19, 1986 in its current location, the work of architect Rafael Moneo. It is a research and dissemination centre for Roman culture where, in addition to hosting archaeological finds from the ancient Roman city of Augusta Emerita, congresses, colloquia, lectures, courses, exhibitions and many other activities of national and international scope are held. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage buildings as part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida.

National Museum of Roman Art (Museo Nacional de Arte Romano)

From the National Museum of Roman Art, we headed northwest on C/ José Ramón Mélida until we reached a square and the…

Puerta de la Villa Fountain:

This fountain represents archeology as a woman, dressed in Roman style, carrying a branch of laurel in one of her hands. The sculpture is the work of the famous local sculptor Juan de Ávalos. This was made in tribute to the archaeologists who began excavations in Mérida at the beginning of the 20th century.

Puerta de la Villa Fountain

A block away to the northeast of the fountain there is another statue, this time made of marble.

Northeast of the fountain

Monument to Saint Eulalia (Monumento a Santa Eulalia):

It is the ideal representation of the Martyr Eulalia, patron saint of the city. It was made by another sculptor from Mérida: Eduardo Zancaza.

Monument to Saint Eulalia (Monumento a Santa Eulalia)

We now retraced our steps to the fountain and headed southwest to the…

Temple of Diana (Templo de Diana)/Roman Forum (Foro Romano):

The Roman Forum/Temple of Diana is an archaeological area in Mérida, Spain. It was the main public area of the Roman city of Emerita Augusta, founded in 25 BC by Emperor Augustus. The city had another forum, the Provincial Forum, built in 50 AD. Together with the other archaeological sites of the city, it was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.

It is composed of several buildings:

Temple of Diana. Despite its name, wrongly assigned in its discovery, the building was dedicated to the imperial cult. Erected during Augustus’ reign with local granite, later it was partly re-used for the palace of the Count of Corbos
Temple of Mars. Dedicated to the imperial cult
Portico, located near the Temple of Diana, was built in the 1st century. It consists of a porticoed building with a wall housing several niches intended for statues found at this site. The portico was restored in the 20th century, and the discovered remains are on display at the National Museum of Roman Art
Basilica, located in front of the temple of Diana
Baths

Temple of Diana (Templo de Diana)/Roman Forum (Foro Romano)

Right around the corner from the Temple of Diana/Roman Forum is the…

Plaza de España (Spanish Square):

Since its organization as such, during the time of the Catholic Monarchs, the square has been a market place and where the pillars or fountains of running water were located. It also served as a stage for theatrical performances, a bullfighting arena, a setting for executions, masquerades, luminaries, cane games and processions. Here the people received the monarchs and members of their family on their royal visits, here they also proclaimed fidelity to a king when they ascended the throne or mourned when he died. Today it is ringed with interesting buildings and restaurants.

Plaza de España (Spanish Square)

In the center of the plaza is a neo-Baroque marble fountain from the late 19th century, the work of the Lisbon workshop of Germano José do Salles. A pedestal with cupids, mounted on dolphins, emerges from a large circular pool, making the sound of cornucopias. On this pedestal there are two small pools in the form of circular trays, profusely decorated with plant motifs. The whole is topped by a Corinthian capital.

Fuente Ornamental de la Plaza de España (Ornamental Fountain of the Spanish Square)

Also facing the square is a cathedral…

Santa Iglesia Catedral Metropolitana de Santa María la Mayor

We now made our way southwest towards the Guadiana River and the…

Coat of Arms on a building

Relief on another building

Capitoline Wolf (La Loba Capitolina):

Luperca is the name of the she-wolf that, according to mythology, suckled Romulus and Remus when they were killed by King Amulius. Today, the statue dedicated to her, called “the Capitoline Wolf” (lupa capitolina in Italian), is kept in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. It is a bronze figure, 75 centimetres high, and to which later, sculptures of the children Romulus and Remus suckling were added, to represent the mythological legend of the founding of Rome (possibly in the 15th century).

According to mythology, both brothers founded the city of Rome, at least in the seven centuries BC. Near the mouth of the Tiber River there were what they called “The Seven Hills.” In one of them, called “Palatine”, is where Romulus wanted to found Rome, since more vultures flew over this hill, making this decision due to Etruscan customs. Romulus, with a plow, made a line and warned that anyone who crossed that line would die. Remus dared to cross it, and Romulus murdered him, becoming the first King of Rome.

Mérida’s work is a copy of said sculpture that was donated by the city of Rome in 1997.

Capitoline Wolf (La Loba Capitolina)

The Capitoline Wolf closeup

Since we are close to the river, we can see the…

Puente Roman (Roman Bridge):

Built by the Roman Empire at the end of the 1st century BC, the bridge was raised above the river in ancient times along two sections separated by a cutwater. Today, the bridge has a length of 790 m and rests on sixty arches, of which three remained hidden until the end of the 1990s, when the regeneration works on the banks of the river left them exposed.

The bridge is part of the Archaeological Site of Mérida, one of the main and most extensive archaeological sites in Spain, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1993 by UNESCO.

Puente Roman (Roman Bridge)

The last sight we’re seeing in Mérida is the…

Alcazaba de Mérida:

The Arab citadel of Mérida was built by Abderramán II in the year 835 AD as a bastion to control the city, which since 805 had continually rebelled against emiral rule. This makes it the oldest Muslim fortification preserved in the Iberian Peninsula.

It is declared a World Heritage Site as part of the Archaeological Complex of Mérida.

The fortification consists of a square enclosure measuring 130 meters on a side capable of housing a good number of troops. The perimeter of the citadel is almost square, about 550 metres. The walls, about 2.70 metres thick and 10 metres high, are mostly made of granite ashlars reused from Roman and Visigothic works with an interior filling of earth, stones and mortar. Originally there was a large square tower in each corner of the enclosure (four in the main one and two in the small citadel), while in the sections of the wall, at regular intervals or flanking the doors, there were a total of twenty-two other small towers with a square base, some from the Christian period.

Alcazaba de Mérida

Inside there is a cistern, which is an underground cistern of water filtered from the nearby Guadiana River that is accessed by a double staircase from the ground floor of a tower. Inside, the reused pilasters of some Visigothic building stand out, whose decoration, in relief, consists of columns on its sides and plant motifs that form circles around clusters and palmettes on its fronts.