The scale model of Tarraco

One year after being named as a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the Tarragona Museum of history decided to fill a vacuum in relation to the interpretation of the roman city by building an important scale model that shows Tarraco in the 2^nd century A.D. The result goes beyond the confines of the urban center as it frames the city from the port to the outlying ager o countryside and the river Francolí. 

To undertake this ambitious project which took 8000 hours to complete, the model maker Elias Torres carried out a topographic study to understand how the landscape lay during the roman era, via a detailed scrutiny of archeological documentation.

It is the must-see initiation of the visits to roman Tarraco. It is housed within a large building in the plaza Pallol and the entrance is free. Furthermore, six other smaller scale models are also on display in the same space, as is a virtual reality video which superimposes the historical center of the city with the roman acropolis. The starting line, extremely useful to begin to discover hidden roman Tarragona on foot in the old quarter.

Technical details: Scale 1/500 – 18m² – 18kg of paint with a palette of 48 colors – 140 kg of clay and synthetic putty – 53kg of glue – 6kg of synthetic sponge and 1200 pieces of metal to make the trees, 500 plastic human figures.

Fun fact! In the scale model you can see a block of burned houses which give a sense of realism to the city. The roman firefighters, called vigiles in Latin, rushed quickly to prevent fires from spreading to other buildings. 

Opening Times

• Monday to Friday: from 8.00 to 21.00
• Saturdays: From 10.00 to 15.00
• Sundays and bank holidays:  from 10.00 to 14.00

*Special opening times during Easter, Christmas, New year’s eve and other holidays.