Mérida’s Roman Ruins – Remnants of Ancient Civilization
Mérida, Spain is a destination in Extremadura that far surpassed our expectations. The city itself is underwhelming—its 40,000 residents make due with their rather run-down city center. But when you imagine ancient Mérida (Augusta Emérita), the capitol of the Roman province Lusitania and one of the Roman Empire’s most important cities, you begin to understand the significance of what Mérida has to offer today.
Merida Roman Theater
Like Cáceres and Trujillo, Mérida is full of history and ancient architecture—it has more Roman monuments than any other city in Spain. I was surprised to learn this, as I had no idea that only 2 hours from Seville (my former city) and 3.5 hours from Madrid I could see such incredibly well preserved Roman ruins— rivaling the ruins in Rome in their magnificence.
AMPHITHEATRE
We started our self-guided tour at the Roman Amphitheatre. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, the Amphitheatre once hosted gladiatorial combats. I liked how half of the monument was restored, to show how it must have really looked in Roman times, while the other part was left alone.
ROMAN THEATER
Walking into Mérida’s Roman theater is incredible. It is absolutely gorgeous, extremely well-preserved, and simply immense. I am hoping to return to Mérida this summer to see a theater performance at the Mérida Roman Theater Summer Festival. As a functioning theater, it is supposedly the only Roman monument that still serves its original function today!
Overall, Mérida was a pleasant surprise, and really enforced my opinion that Extremadura (and many parts of Spain) don’t know how to market themselves! While this is great for me as a tourist (no lines, better deals, no random people in my pictures…), I think it is a shame that Spaniards are suffering a horrible recession while perhaps tourism holds an answer. I mean, if you are teaching English in Spain and have 500€ for a vacation— do you choose 2 days in Rome or a week in Extremadura? Probably Extremadura if you know it exists!
(taken from http://spanishsabores.com for academic purposes only)