Architectural bric-a-brac in Tarragona

Not so visible to the first-time visitor to Tarragona is how the medieval and modern city was built on top of the remains of Roman Tarraco and how Roman stone blocks, columns, tombstones and even memorial stones carrying Latin inscriptions from the city´s walls, forums, its circus, its temples, its theatre and amphitheatre and other Roman edifices were creatively re-used by builders over time.

Away from the Roman fortification and the great tourist sites where you can see plenty of examples, just walking the streets of the Parte Alta (from the Middle Ages the city contracted to the Parte Alta and would remain small till the 19th century) one can also find examples. Of course, much more even can be found below street level inside people´s houses and the most valuable pieces (Roman epigraphy!) have been stored away for posterity in the city´s museums.

The medieval city - at least the stone structures (a minority of the buildings at the time) - must have been an amazing puzzle of architectural bric-a-brac in its re-use of these Roman antiquities. Of course, for medieval man these were just blocks and stones valued only for their solidity and usefulness. Stone that had once been extracted by Tarraco´s Romans from the quarries surrounding the city was now finding a new lease of life...