A propaganda bridge

"This bridge didn't need to be built," Joan Menchon, an archaeologist and a longtime veteran of Tarragona's heritage management, surprised me. He's the technical manager for historical heritage at Tarragona City Council. Politicians are above him.

Juan tells me things that neither books nor the information circulating on the Internet tell us, as we walk along the viaduct of the Roman bridge where the water flowed toward Tarraco. We're quite high up: the highest point is 27 meters above the ground.

The viaduct is now completely dry. Water flowed through it from the first century AD—when the bridge was built—until the Middle Ages. It was probably covered by slabs or a vault made of lime concrete.

"The bridge was built for propaganda purposes: instead of this monumental work, they could have made the water channel pass through the valley, going higher and then lower so it wouldn't lose height. Or they could have even made a siphon," Joan tells me.

The bridge had another purpose besides carrying water: to announce the arrival in Tarraco to travelers coming from the interior of Hispania Citerior. These two reasons were considered sufficient to make it large and elegant. And thus to show off.

"It's an aqueduct that has stood the test of time very well," I tell him. "Yes," he confirms. And then he says, with a smile, "It's not an aqueduct." "Oh, isn't it?" I ask curiously. "No, it's an aqueduct bridge or an arcade," he clarifies. "The aqueduct is the entire water conveyance system; it carried water from a tributary of the Francolí River to Tarraco," adds Joan, who knows every detail of the mark the Romans left on the capital of the province of Hispania Citerior, especially during its period of greatest splendor. At that time, in addition to this bridge, three buildings were built for mass entertainment: the circus (then the largest entertainment building in Tarraco, a regular venue for chariot races), the theater, and the amphitheater (the venue for gladiatorial fights, wrestling matches, or fair hunts for those condemned to death). This entire complex, along with the wall, the Scipio Tower, the Provincial Forum, the Colonial Forum, and much more, make up an exceptional cultural wealth that became part of the World Heritage List in 2000, as decided by UNESCO a little far from here, in the Australian city of Cairns.

Now, as for what he doesn't know, or isn't sure about, he prefers not to add any imagination. When I ask him where the water that flowed through this viaduct ended up, Juan shrugs and gives me a few moments of silence. Then he says: "Perhaps it was stored in one or morecastellum aquae(water tower), from where it was distributed through secondary channels throughout the city, and delivered to fountains, perhaps to the homes of wealthy people or to hot springs, even in the port, since the ships needed a lot of water." He must raise his voice because a large group of teenagers is passing by and the din made by the fan band is that the din is making the biscuit now that the mouth is now, the din made by the fan band that is now making, the din. cars, motorcycles and trucks that pass very close, on the highway (also, since in this place the highway is quite incline, the voice of the engines increases a few decibels). wind that shook the vegetation and the branches when the heat reigned.

Like the amphitheater, located by the sea, this Roman aqueduct is one of the most visited monuments in Tarragona. And the number of visitors is unknown: access is free. That's why so many people come here to walk, jog, or take their dogs for a leak. And as crowded as it is, there's no security. Only a few patrols occasionally "visit" the site. "Eleven out of ten cars open the parking lot," jokes Joan.

Even if you've already "visited" it since your school days, come back!