A fantastic experience, for great and small. To find out the truth behind Roman priests, aristocrats, Venus, legionaires, gladiators, station-masters, papyrus makers, physicians, pan flute players, the ´Earth Mother´ Demeter, cavalry horses, catapults, wines, fishing, Carthaginian pie, jewelry, cosmetics, frescoes, the cosmic mysteries of the Mithras-cult and an endless list of other things Roman and to get away from the familiar but fake ´Gladiator´-image of Roman history, Tarraco Viva is the place. Bringing to life the city´s great and small Roman monuments, stories and legends with activities both high-brow and low-brow. Some events are definitely more didactic-historical, while others go more for life reconstructions of scenes and battles - but in most cases a bit of both is served up. The organizers really want to get the message across - and succeed in their objective - that Hollywood screenwriters take lots of liberties with real Roman history. Children and adults will enjoy this celebration of all things Roman.
Why go to Tarraco Viva? These are my 7 reasons for going:
1. This is not the run-of-the-mill, amateurish Roman arts-and-crafts fun fair - this is professional and tasteful;
2. All done in a setting which anyone living north of the European ´olive frontier´, at most accustomed to a bit of Roman rubble, would instantly die for;
3. A programme that has something to offer to all: the diehard genre fan, the connaisseur, mum and dad out with the kids for a day or weekend of education-cum-fun and the sun-and-sand tourist keen on history and culture as long as it doesn´t involve reading wall labels in museums;
4. You would have thought that to witness a Roman festival, no place better than Italy. Big mistake - for some reason Spaniards are more rigorous, professional and obsessed about reliving their Roman past than Italians are;
5. If you are keen to discover the Roman genes buried deep in all of us or just want to buy a swell replica sword, helmet, shield, tunic or ceramics to take back home, this is the place;
6. As it´s the last weekend of May, you´ll have the best of the Mediterranean climate (25-27 degrees Celsius guaranteed - clear, warm, breezy weather), which is exactly what you would want when you´re going to a toga party;
7. Don´t be afraid of the local lingo (all events are either in Spanish or in Catalan, interspersed with the odd bits of Latin): there´s lots to be enjoyed and learned even if you don´t know the difference between ´ser and ´estar´.
Tarraco Viva is fast becoming one of the prime pillars of Tarragona´s cultural tourism, drawing 10,000s of people. And a growing number are foreign tourists. According to ElPeriodico.com (01/06/2009), local hotels, restaurants and shopkeepers commented that "this year round there have been more foreigners, lots of French and Italian tourists with an interest in the city". Next year the festival hopes to attract more foreign tourists. To do so, I think that apart from the re-enactments, workshops, walks, talks and arts & crafts stalls, one way to further boost the appeal and the quality of Tarraco Viva would be to add to the festival´s musical events (more Roman music please!) and the audiovisual programme (more documentaries and films please!). Rendez-vous in 2010!
Why go to Tarraco Viva? These are my 7 reasons for going:
1. This is not the run-of-the-mill, amateurish Roman arts-and-crafts fun fair - this is professional and tasteful;
2. All done in a setting which anyone living north of the European ´olive frontier´, at most accustomed to a bit of Roman rubble, would instantly die for;
3. A programme that has something to offer to all: the diehard genre fan, the connaisseur, mum and dad out with the kids for a day or weekend of education-cum-fun and the sun-and-sand tourist keen on history and culture as long as it doesn´t involve reading wall labels in museums;
4. You would have thought that to witness a Roman festival, no place better than Italy. Big mistake - for some reason Spaniards are more rigorous, professional and obsessed about reliving their Roman past than Italians are;
5. If you are keen to discover the Roman genes buried deep in all of us or just want to buy a swell replica sword, helmet, shield, tunic or ceramics to take back home, this is the place;
6. As it´s the last weekend of May, you´ll have the best of the Mediterranean climate (25-27 degrees Celsius guaranteed - clear, warm, breezy weather), which is exactly what you would want when you´re going to a toga party;
7. Don´t be afraid of the local lingo (all events are either in Spanish or in Catalan, interspersed with the odd bits of Latin): there´s lots to be enjoyed and learned even if you don´t know the difference between ´ser and ´estar´.
Tarraco Viva is fast becoming one of the prime pillars of Tarragona´s cultural tourism, drawing 10,000s of people. And a growing number are foreign tourists. According to ElPeriodico.com (01/06/2009), local hotels, restaurants and shopkeepers commented that "this year round there have been more foreigners, lots of French and Italian tourists with an interest in the city". Next year the festival hopes to attract more foreign tourists. To do so, I think that apart from the re-enactments, workshops, walks, talks and arts & crafts stalls, one way to further boost the appeal and the quality of Tarraco Viva would be to add to the festival´s musical events (more Roman music please!) and the audiovisual programme (more documentaries and films please!). Rendez-vous in 2010!
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