Tarragona and Mérida share a Roman past as capitals of Hispania Citerior and Ulterior, respectively, and now, two millennia later, they want to strengthen those ties. The mayors of Tarragona, Rubén Viñuales, and of the Extremaduran city, Antonio Rodríguez, both socialists, signed a protocol this Thursday at the Mérida Theater to collaborate and promote their Roman monuments such as the theater, amphitheater, and circus, and to share activities, professional experiences, and knowledge.
During his speech, Mayor Viñuales argued that Tárraco and Augusta Emérita, the Roman names of Tarragona and Mérida, were capitals, centers of power, culture, and knowledge that still retain the passage of that civilization in their streets. “But Rome left us more than monuments. It left us history, culture, and the responsibility to preserve the legacy and keep it alive. We want to share knowledge, research, conservation, and projects with the extraordinary Roman heritage of Mérida. And for professionals to work together, for our youth to know both cities, and for visitors going to Tarragona to be curious about Mérida and vice versa.”
The agreement was registered during the institutional visit that President Salvador Illa made to Extremadura to celebrate the Diada. Viñuales specified that the collaboration will practically mean that Tarragona could be in the future one of the stops of the internationally recognized Mérida Theater Festival. “We can learn a lot from how they manage the theater and they from how we manage the amphitheater,” explained the mayor referring to the immersive experiences carried out in the remains of the monument, located by the sea.
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The plan also includes the goal that schoolchildren get to know the reciprocal heritage and to carry out, for example, camps in Mérida. “With the camps, students can mutually learn about the Roman remains and see that these ties have existed for 2,000 years. Bringing towns and people closer is always a good idea,” said the mayor, who emphasized that the agreement goes beyond the relationship Tarragona and Mérida maintain as members of the World Heritage Cities Group. The mayor of Mérida specified that the agreement foresees actions linked to the conservation, protection, and promotion of the Roman theaters.
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