Tarragona (, ; ) is a

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

al city and municipality in

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 ...

). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the

Camp de Tarragona Camp de Tarragona () is a Natural region, natural and historical region, as well as one of the nine Vegueries of Catalonia, regions (''vegueries'') of Catalonia. It is the third most populated region, with 536,453 inhabitants as of 2022. The re ...

region and the

province of Tarragona Tarragona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lleida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's po ...

. Geographically, it is located on the

Costa Daurada The Costa Daurada (; ; meaning in English language, 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 (river), Foix and Ebro ...

area on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

shore. During the period of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, it was one of the most prominent cities of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

, as the capital, successively, of the Roman provinces 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 ...

and

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 North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...

. The Archaeological Complex of Tàrraco is a

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 ...

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 ...

History

Punic Etymology

Ta-Aragona name in Phoenician means the Aragona, which is the native Iberian term for the Ebro Vallay.

Mythical Origins

One Catalan legend holds that Tarragona was named for ''Tarraho'', eldest son of

Tubal Tubal (, ''Tuḇāl''), in Genesis 10 (the "Table of Nations"), was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah. Modern scholarship has identified him with Tabal. Traditionally, he is considered to be the father of the Caucasian Iberians (ancesto ...

in c. 2407 BC; another (derived from Strabo and

Megasthenes Megasthenes ( ; , died 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, indologist, diplomat, ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but has been partially reconstructe ...

) attributes the name to ' Tearcon the Ethiopian', a seventh-century BC pharaoh who campaigned in Spain. The real founding date of Tarragona is unknown.

Theories of Origin

The city's origins trace back to a possible Iberian settlement known as Kesse or Kosse, named after the local Iberian tribe, the Cossetans. However, the exact connection of Tarragona to Kesse remains uncertain. Scholars such as William Smith suggest that the city may have been established by the

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

ns, who referred to it as . According to Samuel Bochart, signifies a citadel. The moniker likely stemmed from its location atop a high rock, approximately above sea level; earning it the epithet . 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 The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

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 i ...

mentions a ; and according to

Eratosthenes Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; ; – ) was an Ancient Greek polymath: a Greek mathematics, mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theory, music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of A ...

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 refers to it as "harbourless" ().

Rome

Tarraco lies on the main road along the northeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

pp. 391, 396, 399, 448, 452. During the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, the city was fortified and much enlarged as a Roman colony by the brothers Publius Cornelius Scipio and

Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus (died 211 BC) was a Roman general and statesman during the third century BC. He played a major part in the Second Punic War, establishing Roman rule in the east of the Iberian peninsula and tying up several Carthagin ...

, who converted it into a fortress and arsenal against the

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

. The city was first named Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco and was capital of the province of

. Subsequently, it became the capital ('' conventus iuridicus'') of the province named after it,

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 ...

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 Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

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. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

. The city also minted coins. An inscribed stone base for a now lost statue of

Tiberius Claudius Candidus Tiberius Claudius Candidus (died c. 198 CE) was a Roman Empire, Roman general and Senate of the Roman Empire, senator. He played an important role supporting Septimius Severus in the Year of the Five Emperors, struggle for succession following t ...

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 cursus honorum, the ...

, who fought in the civil war following the assassination of

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

in 192 AD. This important marble block was purchased by the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

in 1994.

From the demise of the Roman empire to the Union of Spain

After the demise of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, the city was captured by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

and the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

. The

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...

's rule of Tarracona was ended by the

Umayyad conquest of Hispania The Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (; 711–720s), also known as the Arab conquest of Spain, was the Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the early 8th century. The conquest re ...

in 714. It was an important border city of the

Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

between 750 and 1013. After the demise of the Caliphate, it was part of the

Taifa of Zaragoza The taifa of Zaragoza () was an independent Arab Muslim state in the east of Al-Andalus (present-day Spain) with its capital in Saraqusta (Zaragoza) city. It was established in the early 11th century as one of the many Taifa kingdoms that foll ...

between 1013 and 1110 and under the control of the

Almoravid dynasty The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...

between 1110 and 1117. It was taken by the

County of Barcelona The County of Barcelona (, ) was a polity in northeastern Iberian Peninsula, originally located in the southern frontier region of the Carolingian Empire. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona progressively achieved independence from F ...

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 ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 (; ; ; ) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was in dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, constituting together ...

within the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

from 1164 to 1714. After dynastic union of

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 Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

, it remained a part of the Crown of Aragon until the foundation of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

in 1516. During the

Reapers' War The Reapers' War (, ; , ), also known as the Catalan Revolt or Catalan Revolution, was a conflict that affected the Principality of Catalonia between 1640 and 1659, in the context of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Franco-Spanish War of 1 ...

, 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 fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

and remained in their hands until the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

in 1713. During the war, the Catalans supported the unsuccessful claim of

Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the younger brother of ...

against the victorious Bourbon Duke of Anjou, who became

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, 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 (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

. He signed the

Nueva Planta decrees The Nueva Planta decrees (, , ) were a number of decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V of Spain, Philip V, the first House of Bourbon, Bourbon Monarchy of Spain, King of Spain, during and shortly after the end of the War of the Spani ...

, which abolished the

, as well as the Catalan institutions and prohibited the administrative use of Catalan language on 16 January 1716.

Jewish History

The

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community in Tarragona was established during the Roman era, making it one of the most ancient Jewish communities in Spain. A ''laver'', possibly used by the Jews for

ritual purification Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ...

found in Tarragona bears the inscription "peace over Israel, over ourselves, and our children." Coins with

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

inscriptions have also been found, dating to the Visigoth period. During Muslim rule, Jews in Tarragona prospered;

Muhammad al-Idrisi Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi (; ; 1100–1165), was an Arab Muslim geographer and cartographer who served in the court of King Roger II at Palermo, Sicily. Muhammad al-Idrisi was born in C ...

nicknamed Tarragona "the city of the Jews." After the Christian reconquest, the Jews of Tarragona faced institutional persecution and anti-semitic restrictions until the community's destruction in 1492, during the expulsion of the Jews.

Peninsular War

During the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, in the first siege of Tarragona from 5 May to 29 June 1811, Louis-Gabriel Suchet's Army of Aragon of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

laid siege to a Spanish garrison led by Lieutenant General Juan 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 failed to wrest Tarragona from a small Franco-Italian garrison led by Brigadier general 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 () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, Tarragona was in the hands of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

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

. Part of the bases of large

Cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of masonry, stonework found in Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal Engineering tolerance, clearance between adjacent stones and with clay ...

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 near the seashore was extensively used as a quarry after the fall of the

, 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 spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, 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 The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Or ...

, 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. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

, the parish church of the port *The former convent of ''Sant Francesc'' *The

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

college was turned into barracks; their church, however, has been restored to them *The convent of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

, 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 The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

. 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, and was the first to comply with the decrees of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), 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 at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. 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 (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

raised this to the rank of a pontifical university. north of the city is Poblet Monastery, founded in 1151 by

Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV (; c. 1114 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called ''the Saint'', was the count of Barcelona and the consort of Aragon who brought about the union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of ...

, which was used for sepultures of the kings.

Economy

Tarragona is home to one of the largest

ports Ports collections (or ports trees, or just ports) are the sets of makefiles and Patch (Unix), patches provided by the BSD-based operating systems, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD, as a simple method of installing software or creating binary packages. T ...

in Spain, which is an export hub for the Spanish car industry. Much of its economic activity comes from a number of chemical industries located west of the city. One quarter of all the chemical production in Spain is found in Tarragona. In 2025 this industry employed some 5,800 people. The industrial park is home to, amongst others, Ercros. Rovira i Virgili University is here. The most significant living heritage is the Popular Retinue, a great parade of dances, bestiary and spoken dances, as well as the building of human towers called castells. These cultural traditional are especially visible during the Santa Tecla Festival, and are so popular in Tarragona that they have their own home called the "Casa de la Festa", Festivities House, which can be visited 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 aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

Salou Salou () is a municipality of the ''comarca'' of Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The city is approximately 10 km from Tarragona and Reus on the Costa Daurada and 112 km from Barcelona. Founded by the Gre ...

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 5.3 million visitors per year, making it ...

( PortAventura Park, the most visited theme park in Spain, Ferrari Land and also the PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park). The city is served by Camp de Tarragona high-speed railway station, and is located a few kilometres away from Reus Airport, which offers low-cost charter-flights (over a million passengers per year).

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...

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 Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...

was born. The city hosted the

2018 Mediterranean Games The 2018 Mediterranean Games (, ), officially known as the XVIII Mediterranean Games (, ) and commonly known as Tarragona 2018, was an international multi-sport event held from 22 June to 1 July 2018 in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Tarragona was ...

, 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 main 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, a distance of , whilst stage 26 links southwards to Cambrils, a distance of .

Cuisine

Building_of_historical_Chartreuse_factory_in_Tarragona

Tarragona contains a number of small bars, restaurants, and cafes serving tapas and sandwiches, and local seafood and Catalan dishes like " pa amb tomàquet" 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 neighborhood of El Serrallo, at the harbour, specialises in seafood cuisine. Chartreuse liqueur is a famous 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 Chartreuse liqueur made by the French Carthusian Monks 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.

Climate

The climate of Tarragona can be described as a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Csa'') bordering on a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa''). Despite its location in the Mediterranean region, August tends to have more precipitation than February, which is unusual for the Mediterranean climate. Winters are mildly cool and summers are warm and sultry, while the wettest seasons are spring and autumn, which receive around in May and September.

Events

*The

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

* 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 from 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 (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

, Tarragona has had four democratically elected mayors: *Josep Maria Recasens ( PSC): 1979–1989 *Joan Miquel Nadal ( CiU): 1989–2007 *Josep Fèlix Ballesteros ( PSC): 2007–2019 *Pau Ricomà ( ERC): 2019–2023 *Rubén Viñuales ( PSC): 2023–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 Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively vote for only political parties as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some in ...

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

and 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.

Twin towns and sister cities

Tarragona is twinned with: Tarragona had partnerships with: * Voiron, France

Notable people

* Domènec Batet (1872–1937), military general * Alejandro Cao de Benós (born 1974), political activist

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

Tarragona's Official Tourist WebsiteGovernment 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

History

Punic Etymology

Mythical Origins

Theories of Origin

Rome

From the demise of the Roman empire to the Union of Spain

Jewish History

Peninsular War

Spanish Civil War

Main sights

Ancient remains

Religious buildings

Economy

Tourism

Cuisine

Climate

Events

Politics

Twin towns and sister cities

Notable people

See also

References

External links