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Barcelona with history

The founding of a city

The Roman walls that surround the heart of Barcelona embrace Bàrcino, which existed from the 1st century BC to the start of the Middle Ages. A city that began as a small colony and gradually grew to briefly become an imperial city.

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  • The Augustus temple columns

    Hidden away in the courtyard of a Gothic palace on Carrer Paradís are four 12-metre-high columns from the temple that the Romans built in honour of Emperor Augustus at the top of Mount Taber.

  • MUHBA Plaça del Rei

    The Museu d’Història de Barcelona (MUHBA - Barcelona History Museum) is housed in one of the most important monumental complexes in the city. It is built over Bàrcino's remains and visitors can stroll through Roman streets and the interior of some of the buildings in the subsoil.

  • The Porta de Mar and the harbour baths

    The remains of the harbour baths, which were outside the walls, can be found in the Pati Llimona Civic Centre, along with part of the Porta de Mar, the access gate to one end of the decumanus.

  • Via Sepulcral Romana

    Outside the old walled Bàrcino, in today's Plaça Vila de Madrid, lie the remains of the Roman Funeral Way, a necropolis dating from the 1st to the 3rd century. Items found at this site are displayed in the Interpretation Centre.

  • Domus on Sant Honorat

    The remains of a large house, or domus, discovered on Carrer Sant Honorat, near Plaça Sant Jaume, which includes commercial premises dating from the 4th century, allow us to learn more about the domestic architecture of the Roman period.

  • Museu Arqueològic de Catalunya

    If you want to see remains showing how Barcelona and Catalonia have evolved since prehistoric times, a visit to the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia (MAC) on Montjuïc is a must. They house items from the Iberian, Roman and Visigothic periods.

  • Map of Bàrcino

    As part of the Bàrcino Plan, the Barcelona City Council Archaeology Service has created a list of all the places where excavations are being carried out, which is available to the public.

  • El mapa de la muralla romana

    Before setting off around the Roman city, you can take a look at the Barcelona Archaeological Map to find out exactly where the Bàrcino wall ran.