Listed 4 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for destination: "BARCELONA Town CATALONIA".
Barcino (Barcelona) Barcelona, Spain.
Town in Tarraconensis whose name, known from many inscriptions, was Colonia Iulia
Augusta Paterna Faventia Barcino, indicating that it was founded by Augustus.
Barcino appears to be the native name of an oppidum of the Laietani who minted
silver drachmae at the end of the 3d c. B.C., imitating those of Emporion and
bearing the iberian legend Barkenos. An allusion by Ausonius (Ep. 37.68) is the
basis for the claim that it was founded by the Carthaginians (the family of the
Barcidae). This is unacceptable, however; the name appears in Avienus (OM. 5.520)
in its pure Iberian form, Barcilo.
The Augustan colony spread over a small height, Mons Tabar (18 m above
sea level), between two mountain streams, the San Juan to the N and La Rambla
to the S. its fields probably extended from the Baetulo river (Besos) to the Rubricatus
(Llobregat). During the Late Empire it had large monuments, temples, baths, and
two aqueducts, but it was burned and razed in A.D. 265 during the invasion of
the Franks and the Alamanni. it was subsequently rebuilt and its perimeter reduced.
The colony had been surrounded by a strong defensive wall with over 60 circular
or polygonal towers which were mostly incorporated later into mediaeval structures.
The extraordinary fortification of Barcino and the excellence of its port increased
its importance during the Early Empire. At the beginning of the 5th c. A.D. it
was occupied by the Visigoths as allies of the Romans, and King Ataulfo was assassinated
there in 414. it had an active Christian community, including St. Paciano, and
there are remains of a 6th c. basilica.
The Roman wall has been restored and the subsoil excavated, uncovering
a large amount of reused architectural material, statues, funerary and honorific
stones, and mosaics, from the destruction of the town in the 3d c. it is now possible
to visit more than 200 m of the Roman town under the Gothic cathedral and the
public buildings dating from the Middle Ages. The finds are in the museum on the
site and the Barcelona Archaeological Museum.
J. Maluquer De Motes, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Jan 2006 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!
