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Tarragona
Coordinates: 41°06′56″N 1°14′58″E / 41.11556, 1.24944
Municipality	Tarragona
Government
- Mayor	Josep Fèlix Ballesteros (PSC)
Area
- Total	64.6 km² (25 sq mi)
Elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population (2005)
- Total	128,152
- Density	1,983/km² (5,135.9/sq mi)
Website: www.tarragona.cat

Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Spain
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii
Reference	875
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription	2000  (24th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Tarragona (IPA: [tərəˈɣonə] in Catalan) is a city located in the south of Catalonia and east of Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the catalan comarca Tarragonès. Its map coordinates are 41°06′56.51″N, 1°14′58.54″E. As of the 2005 census, the city had a population of 128,152, and the population of the entire urban area (including Reus, etc) was estimated to be 348,921.

Contents 1 History 2 Ancient remains 3 Modern Tarragona 4 Major Events 5 Other information 6 Town twinning 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

In Roman times, the city was named Tarraco (Ταρρακών in Ptolemy, ii. 6. § 17) and was capital of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis (after being capital of Hispania Citerior in the Republican era). The Roman colony founded at Tarraco had the full name of Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco.

Some experts suggest that the city was an Iberic town called Kesse or Kosse, derived of the iberic tribe of those region: the cosetians.Smith suggests that the city was probably founded by the Phoenicians, who called it 'Tarchon, which, according to Samuel Bochart, means a citadel. This name was probably derived from its situation on a high rock, between 700 and 800 feet above the sea; whence we find it characterised as arce potens Tarraco. (Auson. Class. Urb. 9; cf. Mart. x. 104.) It was seated on the river Sulcis or Tulcis (modern Francolí), on a bay of the Mare Internum (Mediterranean Sea), between the Pyrenees and the river Iberus (modern Ebro). (Mela, ii. 6; Plin. iii. 3. s. 4.) Livy (xxii. 22) mentions a portus Tarraconis; and according to Eratosthenes (ap. Strabo iii. p. 159) it had a naval station or roads (Ναύσταθμον); but Artemidorus (ap. Strab. l. c.; Polyb. iii. 76) says with more probability that it had none, and scarcely even an anchoring place; and Strabo himself calls it ἀλίμενος. This answers better to its present condition; for though a mole was constructed in the 15th century with the materials of the ancient amphitheatre, and another subsequently by an Englishman named John Smith, it still affords but little protection for shipping. (Ford's Handbook of Spain, p. 222.) Tarraco lies on the main road along the south-eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. (Itin. Ant. pp. 391, 396, 399, 448, 452.) It was fortified and much enlarged by the brothers Publius and Gnaeus Scipio, who converted it into a fortress and arsenal against the Carthagenians. Subsequently it became the capital of the province named after it, a Roman colony, and conventus juridicus. (Plin. l. c.; Tac. Ann. i. 78; Solin. 23, 26; Polyb. x. 34; Liv. xxi. 61; Steph. B. p. 637.)

Augustus wintered at Tarraco after his Cantabrian campaign, and bestowed many marks of honor on the city, among which were its honorary titles of Colonia Victrix Togata and Colonia Julia Victrix Tarraconensis. The city also minted coins. (Grut. Inscr. p. 382; Orelli, no. 3127; coins in Eckhel, i. p. 27; Florez, Med. ii. p. 579; Mionnet, i. p. 51, Suppl. i. p. 104; Sestini, p. 202.) According to Mela (l. c.) it was the richest town on that coast, and Strabo (l. c.) represents its population as equal to that of Carthago Nova (modern Cartagena). Its fertile plain and sunny shores are celebrated by Martial and other poets; and its neighborhood is described as producing good wine and flax. (Mart. x. 104, xiii. 118; Sil. Ital. iii. 369, xv. 177; Plin. xiv. 6. s. 8, xix. 1. s. 2.)

There are still many important ancient remains at Tarragona. Part of the bases of large Cyclopean walls near the Quartel de Pilatos are thought to be anterior to the Romans. The building just mentioned, a prison in the 19th century, is said to have been the palace of Augustus. But Tarraco, like most other ancient towns which have continued to be inhabited, has been pulled to pieces by its own citizens for the purpose of obtaining building materials. The amphitheatre near the sea-shore has been used as a quarry, and but few vestiges of it now remain. A circus, 1500 feet long, is now built over it, though portions of it are still to be traced. Throughout the town Latin, and even apparently Phoenician, inscriptions on the stones of the houses proclaim the desecration that has been perpetrated. Two ancient monuments, at some little distance from the town, have, however, fared rather better. The first of these is a magnificent aqueduct, which spans a valley about a mile from the gates. It is 700 feet in length, and the loftiest arches, of which there are two tiers, are 96 feet high. The monument on the northwest of the city, and also about a mile distant, is a Roman sepulchre, commonly called the "Tower of the Scipios"; but there is no authority for assuming that they were buried here. (Cf. Ford, Handbook, p. 219, seq.; Florez, Esp. Sagr. xxix. p. 68, seq.; Miñano, Diccion. viii. p. 398.)

Tarragona is home to a large port and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Much of its economic activity comes from a large amount of chemical industries located in the city or in surrounding areas.

Tarragona tourist attractions include the Museum of Archaeology and the Roman ruins of Tarraco, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Tarragona is located near the holiday resort of Salou and the Universal Studios theme park Port Aventura, one of the largest in Europe. Tarragona has a wall surrounding the old city. There are two gates through the wall of Tarragona: the Portal del Roser and the Portal de Sant Antoni.

Tarragona Ampitheatre

Portal de Sant Antoni

Via Imperial

Torre dels Escipions

• Carnivals in Tarragona.

One of the most important and interesting carnivals in Catalonia, with one of the most complete ritual sequences of the Catalan carnivals, so local and so universal that this is the synthesis that makes it special. Official website

• Tarragona International Dixieland Festival.

The unique dixieland festival in Spain and one of the most important in Europe: 25 bands and 100 concerts and activities the week before Holy Week. Official website

• Tarraco Viva

One of the most important Roman recreations of the world. A lot of groups around Europe recreate the Roman world: from the Roman legions, to the daily live. It's celebrated between 10th and 20th May.

• Tarragona International Fireworks Displays Competition.

The most important fireworks contest in the Mediterranean area is held every first week of July in Tarragona, in a wonderful bay -Punta del Miracle-, a place praised by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí. The competition selects six international pyrotechnic companies every year. Official website1

Official website 2

• Sant Magí Festival in Tarragona

The second traditional religious festival in Tarragona, between 15th and 19th August. Official website

• Santa Tecla Festival in Tarragona

One of the most important Mediterranean traditional festivals, between 15th and 24th September. It has been celebrated since 1321 and it has been considered of national touristic interest by the state are some of the main activities. Official website

• U2 Vertigo Music Video

The Music Video for the hit single of U2's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" was filmed here in September of 2005

• Avignon, France (1968)
• Alghero, Sardinia (Italy) (1972)
• Orleans, France (1978)
• Stafford, England (1992)
• Klagenfurt, Austria (1996)
• Pompei, Italy (2006)

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1857).

• Archdiocese of Tarragona.

• (Catalan) Official Website of Tarragona
• (Catalan) Virtual visit to Tarragona
• (Catalan) More images of Tarragona
• Pictures of Tarragona
• Activities of interest in Tarragona
• Bloc Tarragona 2016, about the city
• Tarragona travel guide from Wikitravel
• Connexions-From Tarragona,the Tondo Rotondo's blog
• (Catalan) xagatarragona.cat culture and history of Tarragona
• Club Gimnastic

v • d • e Municipalities of Tarragonès
Altafulla · El Catllar · Constantí · Creixell · El Morell · La Nou de Gaià · Els Pallaresos · Perafort · La Pobla de Mafumet · La Pobla de Montornès · Renau · La Riera de Gaià · Roda de Barà · Salomó · Salou · La Secuita · Tarragona · Torredembarra · Vespella de Gaià · Vila-seca · Vilallonga del Camp

• http://www.innovatecno.com/Tarraco3DCas.php

v • d • e World Heritage Sites in Spain

Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada · Altamira Cave · Aranjuez Cultural Landscape · Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida · Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco (Tarragona) · Archaeological Site of Atapuerca · Ávila with its Extra-mural Churches · Burgos Cathedral · Cáceres · Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí · Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias, Seville · Cordoba · Cuenca · Doñana · El Escorial · Garajonay · Ibiza (Biodiversity and Culture) · Las Médulas · Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon · Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of the Asturias · Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona · Palmeral of Elche · Poblet Monastery · Pyrénées - Mont Perdu (with France) · Renaissance Monuments of Úbeda and Baeza · Rock-Art on the Iberian Peninsula · Roman Walls of Lugo · Route of Santiago de Compostela · Salamanca · San Cristóbal de La Laguna · San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries · Santa María de Guadalupe · Santiago de Compostela · Segovia and its Aqueduct · Silk Exchange in Valencia · Teide National Park · Toledo · University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares · Vizcaya Bridge · Works of Antoni Gaudí