The Arc de Berà (sometimes erroneously written Barà) is a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

some 20 km north-east of the city of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, close to Roda de Berà. This monument is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, which was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's list of

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s in 2000. It stands on the line of what was the Via Augusta, now the N-340 road. ] Its name derives from the Bera, Count of Barcelona, count Berà. It is a triumphal arch with a single opening consisting of a central body on a podium, decorated with fluted pilasters crowned by Corinthian capitals. The upper part of the construction is an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

made up of

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

and

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. The stone used is probably from a local quarry. The monument was built as a result of the will of Lucius Licinius Sura and it was erected in the reign of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, around 13 BCE. The surviving inscription reads: “Ex testamento L(uci) Licini L(uci) f(ilii) Serg (ia tribu) Surae consa ..��. It is thought it was dedicated to Augustus or to his genius, and that it marked the limit of the district of Tarraco.

References

Ancient Roman triumphal arches

Bera Bera may refer to: Acronyms * Bioelectric recognition assay, a method in electrophysiology * Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority, an energy regulatory body in Botswana * Brainstem evoked response audiometry, a screening test to monitor for heari ...

Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Catalonia Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC Augustus {{public-art-stub