Image:
Empúries is the only archaeological site in the Iberian Peninsula where the remains of a Greek city Empòrion coexist with those from the Roman city, Emporiae. It is also the gateway to the classical culture: Ten centuries of history that transformed, forever, the ancient Iberian peoples that inhabited it.
The first settlement of the Greeks was in the 6th century BCE on a small island off the coast of the Gulf of Roses (Palaia Polis, ancient city), and then moved to the mainland to establish what was known as the Neàpolis, the new city. In 218 BCE, the port of Empúries was used as an entry point to the peninsula for the Roman troops in their fight against the Carthaginian army. Between the 6th century BCE and the 5th century AD, Empúries has been a port, a commercial enclave, a western colony of Greece, the first Roman encampment on the peninsula, a prosperous Roman city...
The current Greek ruins belong to the city from the Hellenistic period. During the visit there we would find the precincts Asclepius and Serapis, the small industry which produced canned fish and sauces, the Agorá or public square and the remains of the floor of a banqueting room with an inscription in Greek.
Notable from the Roman period is the Domus 1 with the mosaics that decorated the ground, the Insula 30 (area occupied by the city’s public baths), the Forum, the remains of the Basilica and the Curia and the tabernae or shops.
Half way along the route you can visit the Museum of the Empúries excavations which houses the exceptional original sculpture of Asclepius found at the site.
It is therefore a privileged space for understanding the evolution of the Greek and Roman urban development and is a turning point in the history of the Iberian Peninsula. Currently it is one of the sites of the Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya (Archaeological Museum of Catalonia).
History stops again and again at Roses. Founded as a Greek colony, its location makes it a strategic point in the Mediterranean. For this reason, the site has experienced various occupations and has been a target of numerous attacks. Today, the Ciutadella is a modern cultural centre and an extraordinary site.
Brought together over an area of 139,000 m2 are the archaeological remains of the Greek colony and later Roman colony of Rhode, the Romanesque monastery of Santa Maria and the structure of the old village of Roses, which even retains some medieval fortifications.
The current walls are fortified with large bastions dating back to the Renaissance and modern eras. It was in the 16th century that the King Carles V the Holy Roman Emperor, commanded the Ciutadella and the Castell de la Trinitat to be built to protect them from pirates and Turks.
In 1814 the French themselves were the ones who wanted the Ciutadella, which has been restored and was opened to the public at the end of the 20th century.
Since 2004 within the enclosure, you can visit the Museu de la Ciutadella, a contemporary building which summarises the history of the complex.
