Tarragona (, ;
Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the
Costa Daurada
The Costa Daurada (, es, Costa Dorada, meaning in English "Golden Coast") is an area on the coast of Catalonia, Spain, between Cunit and Alcanar on the Mediterranean Sea.
Its traditional banks are the deltas of the Foix and Ebro rivers, althoug ...
by the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the
Province of Tarragona, and part of
Tarragonès
Tarragonès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques formed in the 1936 comarcal division of Camp de Tarragona. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Baix Penedès to the northeast a ...
and
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
. Geographically, it is bordered on the north by the
Province of Barcelona
Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is . and the
Province of Lleida
The Province of Lleida (; Aranese Occitan: Lhèida ; es, Lérida ) is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It lies in north-eastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia, and is bordered by the Provinces ...
. The city has a population of 201,199 (2014).
History
Origins
One Catalan legend holds that Tarragona was named for ''Tarraho'', eldest son of
Tubal
Tubal ( he, תֻבָל, ''Ṯuḇāl'', ), in Genesis 10 (the "Table of Nations"), was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah. He is known to be the father of the Caucasian Iberians (ancestors of the Georgians) according to primary sources. ...
in c. 2407 BC; another (derived from Strabo and
Megasthenes) attributes the name to '
Tearcon the Ethiopian', a seventh-century BC pharaoh who campaigned in Spain. The real founding date of Tarragona is unknown.
The city may have begun as an Iberian town called or , named for the Iberian tribe of the region, the Cossetans, though the identification of Tarragona with Kesse is not certain.
William Smith suggests that the city was probably founded by the
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...
ns, who called it , which, according to
Samuel Bochart, means a citadel. This name was probably derived from its situation on a high rock, between above the sea; whence we find it characterised as . It was seated on the river Sulcis or Tulcis (modern
Francolí), on a bay of the Mare Internum (Mediterranean), between the Pyrenees and the river Iberus (modern
Ebro
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
).
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
mentions a ; and according to
Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; grc-gre, Ἐρατοσθένης ; – ) was a Greek polymath: a mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandr ...
it had a naval station or roads (); but
Artemidorus Ephesius says with more probability that it had none, and scarcely even an anchoring place; and Strabo himself calls it "harbourless" (). This better reflects its present condition; for though a
mole was constructed in the 15th century with the materials of the ancient
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
, and another subsequently by an Irishman named John Smith Sinnot, it still affords little protection for shipping.
Rome
Tarraco lies on the main road along the northeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...
pp. 391, 396, 399, 448, 452. During the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
, the city was fortified and much enlarged as a Roman colony by the brothers
Publius Cornelius Scipio and
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, who converted it into a fortress and arsenal against the
Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
. The city was first named
Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco and was capital of the province of
Hispania Citerior
Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...
. Subsequently, it became the capital (''
conventus iuridicus'') of the province named after it,
Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia was the ...
.
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
wintered at Tarraco after his Cantabrian campaign, and bestowed many marks of honour on the city, among which were its honorary titles of ''Colonia Victrix Togata'' and ''Colonia Julia Victrix Tarraconensis''.
According to Mela it was the richest town on the coast,
[''l. c.''] and Strabo represents its population as equal to that of Carthago Nova (now
Cartagena).
Its fertile plain and sunny shores are celebrated by
Martial and other poets; and its neighbourhood is described as producing good wine and
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
. The city also minted coins.
An inscribed stone base for a now lost statue of
Tiberius Claudius Candidus was found in Tarragona during the nineteenth century. The 24-line Latin inscription describes the governor and senator's career as an ally of the future Roman emperor
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
, who fought in the civil war following the assassination of
Commodus
Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...
in 192 AD. This important marble block was purchased by the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1994.
From the demise of the Roman empire to the Union of Spain
After the demise of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...
, the city was captured first by the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
and then by the
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...
. The
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...
's rule of Tarracona was ended by the
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also known as the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania (in the Iberian Peninsula) from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the decline of t ...
in 714. It was an important border city of the
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and part ...
between 750 and 1013. After the demise of the Caliphate, it was part of the
Taifa of Zaragoza between 1013 and 1110 and under the control of the
Almoravid dynasty between 1110 and 1117. It was taken by the
County of Barcelona
The County of Barcelona ( la, Comitatus Barcinonensis, ca, Comtat de Barcelona) was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona became progressively independent, heredi ...
in 1117. From 1129 to 1173 Tarragona was the capital of the short lived
Principality of Tarragona, under the
Norman-influence. After the dynastic union of
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...
and
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, it was part of the
Principality of Catalonia
The Principality of Catalonia ( ca, Principat de Catalunya, la, Principatus Cathaloniæ, oc, Principat de Catalonha, es, Principado de Cataluña) was a medieval and early modern state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of it ...
within the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
from 1164 to 1714. After dynastic union of
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...
and the
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...
, it remained a part of the Crown of Aragon until the foundation of the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in 1516.
During the
Reapers' War, Tarragona was captured by Catalan insurgents with French support in 1641, but it was retaken by Spanish troops in 1644. It was captured by allied Portuguese, Dutch, and British troops in 1705 during the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
and remained in their hands until the
Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. During the war, the Catalans supported the unsuccessful claim of
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
against the victorious
Bourbon Duke of Anjou, who became
Philip V of Spain
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mo ...
. He signed the
Nueva Planta decrees
The Nueva Planta decrees ( es, link=no, Decretos de Nueva Planta, ca, Decrets de Nova Planta, en, link=no, "Decrees of the New Plant") were a number of decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V, the first Bourbon King of Spain, durin ...
, which abolished the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
, as well as the Catalan institutions and prohibited the administrative use of Catalan language on 16 January 1716.
Peninsular War
During the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...
, in the first
siege of Tarragona from 5 May to 29 June 1811,
Louis-Gabriel Suchet
Louis-Gabriel Suchet (2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), Duke of Albufera (french: Duc d'Albuféra), was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarde ...
's Army of Aragon of the
First French Empire
The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...
laid siege to a Spanish garrison led by
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...
Juan Senen de Contreras. A British naval squadron commanded by Admiral
Edward Codrington harassed the French besiegers with cannon fire and transported large numbers of reinforcements into the city by sea. Nevertheless, Suchet's troops stormed into the defences and killed or captured almost all the defenders. It became a subprefecture centre in
Bouches-de-l'Èbre department of French empire.
In the second
siege of Tarragona (3–11 June 1813), an overwhelming Anglo-Spanish force under the command of Lieutenant General
John Murray, 8th Baronet
General Sir John Murray, 8th Baronet, (''c.'' 1768 – 15 October 1827) was a British Army officer who led a brigade under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, in the Peninsular War. Later in the war, he commanded an independent force that o ...
failed to wrest Tarragona from a small Franco-Italian garrison led by
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
Antoine Marc Augustin Bertoletti. Murray was subsequently removed from command for his indecisive and contradictory leadership. The Anglo-Spanish forces finally captured Tarragona on 19 August.
Spanish Civil War
During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
, Tarragona was in the hands of the
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...
until captured by
Franco's Nationalist troops on 15 January 1939 during the
Catalonia Offensive.
Main sights
Ancient remains
The Roman ruins of Tarraco have been designated a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
.
Part of the bases of large
Cyclopean
Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...
walls near the Cuartel de Pilatos are thought to pre-date the Romans. The building just mentioned, a prison in the 19th century, is said to have been the palace of Augustus. The second century
Tarragona Amphitheatre
Tarragona Amphitheatre is a Roman amphitheatre in the city of Tarraco, now Tarragona, in the Catalonia region of north-east Spain. It was built in the 2nd century AD, sited close to the forum of this provincial capital.The public structures o ...
near the seashore was extensively used as a quarry after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...
, and but few vestiges of it now remain. A circus c. long, was built over in the area now called ''Plaça de la Font'', though portions of it are still to be traced. Throughout the town
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
, and even apparently
Phoenician, inscriptions on the stones of the houses mark the material used for buildings in the town.
Two ancient monuments, at some little distance from the town, have, however, fared rather better. The first of these is
Les Ferreres Aqueduct, which spans a valley about north of the city. It is in length, and the loftiest arches, of which there are two tiers, are high. There is a monument about along the coast road east of the city, commonly called the "Tower of the Scipios"; but there is no authority for assuming that they were buried here.
Other Roman buildings include:
*
The Roman walls
*The capitol, or citadel
*The Amphitheatre
*The Roman circus
*The Pretorium – Tower
*The
Provincial and
Colonial fora
*The Necropolis
*The palace of Augustus, called the house of Pilate
*The so-called tower, or sepulchre, of the Scipios
*Arch of Sura, or of Bara
*The Aurelian Way.
The city is also home to the
National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona.
Religious buildings
* The
Tarragona Cathedral, dating to the 12th–13th centuries, combining Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements.
* The convent of the
Poor Clares, near the walls
* The convent of ''Santa Teresa''
* The church of the
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...
, the parish church of the port
* The former convent of ''Sant Francesc''
* The
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
college was turned into barracks; their church, however, has been restored to them
* The convent of the
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...
, now the town hall
* The archiepiscopal palace, situated on the site of the ancient capitol, one tower of which still remains. It was rebuilt in the 19th century.
* Near the sea, in the Roman amphitheatre, are the remains of a church called ''Santa Maria del Miracle'' (Holy Mary of the Miracle), which belonged to the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
. It was afterwards used by the
Trinitarian Order and was later converted into a penitentiary. It was demolished around 1915.
The seminary of Sant Pau and Santa Tecla was founded in 1570 by the cardinal archbishop,
Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta
Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta ( Trujillo, 1511However, in the Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana, it is stated that he was born in 1512. – Tarragona, 17 October 1575) was a Spanish cardinal of the 16th century. He was a relative of the famous Spanish writ ...
, and was the first to comply with the decrees of the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
. In 1858 Archbishop
José Domingo Costa y Borrás built a fourth wing.
Benito Villamitjana built a new seminary behind the cathedral in 1886, in the courtyard of which stands the old chapel of Sant Pau.
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...
raised this to the rank of a pontifical university.
north of the city is
Poblet Monastery
Poblet Abbey, otherwise the Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet ( ca, Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet), is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the foot of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in ...
, founded in 1151 by
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, which was used for sepultures of the
kings
Kings or King's may refer to:
*Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings
*One of several works known as the "Book of Kings":
**The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts
**The ''Shahnameh'' ...
.
Modern Tarragona
Tarragona is home to a large
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
and the
Rovira i Virgili University. Much of its economic activity comes from a large number of chemical industries located south of the city.
The main living heritage is the Popular Retinue, a great parade of dances, bestiary and spoken dances, and the
human towers. They specially participate in
Santa Tecla Festival. They are so popular in Tarragona and also in all Catalonia that they have got their own home. It is called "Casa de la Festa", Festivities House, where you can visit them all year.
A number of beaches, some awarded a
Blue Flag designation, line the Mediterranean coast near the city.
Tarragona is located near the
resort
A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...
of
Salou and the
PortAventura World
PortAventura World is an entertainment resort in Salou and Vila-seca, Tarragona, on the Costa Daurada in Catalonia, Spain. It was built around the PortAventura Park theme park, which attracts around 3.5 million visitors per year, making it ...
(
PortAventura Park, the most visited theme park in Spain,
Ferrari Land
PortAventura World is an entertainment resort in Salou and Vila-seca, Tarragona, on the Costa Daurada in Catalonia, Spain. It was built around the PortAventura Park theme park, which attracts around 3.5 million visitors per year, making it t ...
and also the
PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park
PortAventura World is an entertainment resort in Salou and Vila-seca, Tarragona, on the Costa Daurada in Catalonia, Spain. It was built around the PortAventura Park theme park, which attracts around 3.5 million visitors per year, making it ...
).
The city is served by
Camp de Tarragona railway station
Camp de Tarragona is a railway station, opened on 19 December 2006, on the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed rail line between Madrid and Barcelona. Located between the municipalities of La Secuita and Perafort,Reus Airport
Reus Airport is located by the beaches of Costa Daurada, equidistant in relation to the town of Constantí and the city of Reus and approximately from the city centre of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The airport receives a large amount of tour ...
, which has many low-cost destinations and charter-flights (over a million passengers per year). The port is an export hub for the Spanish car industry.
Reus is the second city of the Tarragona area (101,767 inhabitants in 2006), known by its commercial activity and for being the place where the architect
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect from Spain known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, ''sui generis'' style. Most are located in Bar ...
was born.
The city hosted the
2018 Mediterranean Games, one year later than planned, because of political and economical instability.
Tourism
Tarragona is one of the World Heritage Journeys in the European Union. Tourism is focused on the key sites of Mercat Central de Tarragona (Central Market of Tarragona), La Rambla Nova (the main shopping street), El Serrallo fishing village, the surrounding beaches of the golden coast, the key plazas (Plaça de la Font, Plaça del Fòrum, Plaça del Rei), Balcó del Mediterrani, Praetorium and Roman Circus, Roman Amphitheatre, Model of Roman Tarraco, and the cathedral.
The
GR 92 long distance footpath, which roughly follows the length of the Mediterranean coast of Spain, has a staging point at Tarragona. Stage 25 links northwards to
Torredembarra
Torredembarra (), normally called La Torre by its inhabitants, is a town in the ''comarca'' of the Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa Daurada, it faces Altafulla to the west, La Pobla de Monto ...
, a distance of , whilst stage 26 links southwards to
Cambrils, a distance of .
Food and drink
Tarragona contains a number of small bars, restaurants, and cafes serving tapas and sandwiches, and local seafood and Catalan dishes like "
pa amb tomàquet
''Pa amb tomàquet'' () ("Bread with tomato"), is a traditional food of Catalan, Aragonese and Balearic cuisine . ''Pa amb tomàquet'' is considered a staple of Catalan cuisine and identity. While considered a signature toast dish in the Catalan ...
" or "neules i torrons". Many such outlets are found in the historic centre, including those at the Plaça de la Font, Plaça del Rei and Plaça del Fòrum. The neighbourhood of El Serrallo, at the harbour, specialises in seafood cuisine.
Chartreuse is the local drink of Tarragona. Originally created in 1605, it was considered by monks to be an “elixir for long life”. It is produced in yellow, with an alcohol content of 40º, as well as green, with a content of 55º. Between 1903 and 1989, the French liqueur made by the
Carthusian Monks,
Chartreuse, was distilled in Tarragona, following the monks' expulsion from France. Chartreuse is now a key part of the Feast of Santa Tecla. This Traditional Festival of national interest celebrates the patroness saint of the city
Tarragona is home to two Michelin Guide recommended restaurants: El Terrat and Barquet. In addition, El Terrat and AQ were awarded one "Sol" each in the 2022 Guía Repsol.
Climate
The climate of Tarragona can be described as a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(
Köppen ''Cfa''). Despite its location in the Mediterranean region, it does not have a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
since August has more rainfall than winter months, which receive near or less than . Winters are mildly cool and summers are hot and sultry, while the rainiest seasons are autumn and spring.
Events
*The
Carnival
*
Tarragona International Dixieland Festival. Houses 25 bands and 100 concerts and activities the week before Holy Week.
*''Tarraco Viva''. An international cultural festival dedicated to the history of the Roman period, with musical concerts, exhibitions, workshops and conferences.
*
Tarragona International Fireworks Displays Competition. The competition selects six international pyrotechnic companies every year
Official website1*''Sant Magí'' Festival, held between 15 and 19 August.
*
Santa Tecla Festival, held between 15 and 24 September. It has been celebrated since 1321 and it is considered of national touristic interest by the state.
*
Tarragona 2018 XVIII Mediterranean Games, an international multi-sport event held from 22 June to 1 July 2018.
Tarragona was also a candidate to be the Spanish representative as European Capital of Culture in 2016.
Politics
The local Mayor is elected by the members of the plenary among its members the day the new municipal corporation is formed after the local election. The officeholder has a mandate for the 4-year duration of the elected body. If the Mayor leaves office ahead of time a new voting may take place among the plenary members in order to invest a new mayor (meanwhile, another local councillor, conventionally the first deputy mayor, may act as acting Mayor). Since 15 June 2019 the Mayor is
Pau Ricomà.
The opening session in which the Mayor is invested is traditionally held at the ''Saló de Plens''.
;List of mayors
Since the first democratic election after the
Francoist dictatorship
Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spa ...
, Tarragona has had 4 democratically elected mayors:
*Josep Maria Recasens (
PSC): 1979–1989
*Joan Miquel Nadal (
CiU): 1989–2007
*Josep Fèlix Ballesteros (
PSC): 2007–2019
*Pau Ricomà (
ERC): 2019–present
The local is the body formed by the elected councillors of the ''Ajuntament''. The plenary meetings (''Ple'') are held at the "Saló de Plens". It is formed by the municipal councillors, elected through
closed party list proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. 27 councillors are currently elected on the basis of the population of the municipality. Councillors are grouped in Municipal Groups on the basis of their political filiation. It has a Government Commission (''Comissió de Govern''; also ''Junta de Govern'' or ''Junta de Gobierno'') is formed by the Mayor, the Deputy Mayors, and a number of appointed councillors.
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
Tarragona is
twinned with:
Tarragona had partnerships with:
*
Voiron
Voiron (; frp, Vouèron) is a commune (French municipality) in the ninth district of the Isère department in southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole since 2010. Voiron i ...
, France
Notable people
*
Domènec Batet
Domènec Batet i Mestres ( es, Domingo Batet Mestres; Tarragona, August 30, 1872 – Burgos, February 18, 1937) was a Spanish military man who became general of the Spanish Army.
Starting as a lieutenant, Batet quickly escalated ranks during t ...
(1872–1937), military general
*
Alejandro Cao de Benós (born 1974), political activist
See also
*
Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco
*
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tarragona
The Archdiocese of Tarragona (Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesi ...
*
Royal Tarragona Yacht Club
References
;Notes
;Sources
* This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:
Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857)
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography London: John Murray.
External links
*
Official Website of Tarragona
Government data pages
{{Authority control
Archaeological sites in Spain
Phoenician colonies in Spain
Mediterranean port cities and towns in Spain
Coloniae (Roman)
Roman sites in Spain
Tourism in Spain
Populated places in Tarragonès
Populated coastal places in Spain