19. Praetorium and Circus
Part of the circus enclosure and the provincial forum representation square, which later became a castle, then a military barracks and a prison.
The Archaeological Promenade, the site of the Praetorium and Circus, and the Amphitheatre make up the ‘Capitoline Triad’ of Tarragona’s Roman heritage. All three are nowadays managed and maintained by the History Museum of Tarragona. Although these three spaces are all well known, perhaps the most outstanding is the Pretori-Circ enclosure. This is partly due to the fact that it is the only one of the three that is not only a monument, but also a museum.
However, the highlight of the enclosure is what makes it unique in the world: the fact that the venue is not only one of the few Roman circuses to be located within the city walls, but it also boasts a spectacular state of preservation. The enclosure, protected by the medieval wall, has been made available so that anyone who wants to can live an experience similar to the one lived by the thousands of Roman inhabitants of Tarraco when they entered the Circus: walking inside the vaults, climbing the stands or making their way to the provincial forum representation square.
If we follow the steps of our Roman ancestors, we’ll eventually reach the tower of the Praetorium. In ancient times, this tower housed one of the two monumental stairways that allowed people to move between the terrace of the Circus and that of the provincial forum representation square. In medieval times, this tower was fortified and turned into the castle of the Princes of Tarragona, and later the city’s royal residence. Despite having undergone many modifications, it is still impossible not to notice the Roman origin of the building beneath all the renovations that were carried out in medieval and modern times. With a visit to the Praetorium, you can learn everything you need to know about Roman Tarraco and medieval Tarragona!
The site of the Praetorium and Circus can be accessed at Rambla Vella, 1.
What we see today in this venue is a small part of the monumental Provincial Forum complex, which includes part of the Forum itself and part of the Roman Circus. It presents two very different states of conservation. On one hand, the Circus enjoys a good state of preservation and mostly comprises elements dating back to Roman times. The enclosure also contains some elements from other periods, such as the medieval wall and the Torre de les Monges (Tower of the Nuns), which both date back to the 14th century. The lack of any more modern architecture on top of the circus is due to the actions that were carried out on the area during the latter part of the 20th century: the demolition and removal of the buildings and street that had been built on the site, and the preservation and rehabilitation of the remains below.
On the other hand, the Praetorium presents a wide variety of architectural styles, owing to the adaptation of the building for different purposes throughout history. The origin of the tower and most of its structure on the first two floors dates back to Roman times. Note the use of bossaged ashlars arranged with the technique of opus quadratum to form the interior and exterior walls and the upper part of the interior vaults, which support the upper floors and are made with the opus caementicium technique. Instead of Roman architecture, the upper parts of the building and other annexed areas present Romanesque and Gothic style construction — due to the adaptation of the building as a castle in medieval times — and traces of early modern architecture — due to its activity as military barracks in the Modern era. Also noteworthy is the repurposing as a prison after the partial destruction of the building perpetrated by French troops during the Napoleonic wars, when they left the city in 1813. The use of the tower as a prison was extended and the space was further modified until, during the late Franco era (1939-1975), it was decided to restore the building to its purported medieval image. Finally, in the later years of the 20th century, the tower was further modified in order to be used as a museum, and construction works were carried out to improve its access points and the internal layout of the space.
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Part of the circus enclosure and the provincial forum representation square, which later became a castle, then a military barracks and a prison.41.1157876 1.2565845
