National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona

The National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona, known as MNAT, is the museum that tells the story of Tarraco, a major city of the Roman Empire and the Roman city that was the capital of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis. It was founded in the nineteenth century, in the 1840s, and it is one of the oldest archaeological museums in Spain. Its main building stands in the Part Alta, the upper town, near the Roman tower known as the Pretori, and its collections come from excavations across the city and its surroundings. The museum has been through periods of closure for refurbishment, so check its current status before planning a visit.

The collection has a high reputation for Roman art. Among the best-known pieces is the Medusa mosaic, a second-century floor mosaic with the head of the Gorgon surrounded by geometric and floral borders, which is one of the best examples of Roman mosaic art in Spain. The museum also holds sculpture, portrait busts, inscriptions on stone, pottery, glassware, jewellery, coins and tools, which give a picture of daily life in the Roman city, from the home and workshop to the forum and the amphitheatre. Some of the objects come from the Roman villas that lay outside the walls.

MNAT also manages a group of other sites that are part of the Roman heritage of Tarragona, so its role goes beyond the main building. They include the Paleochristian Museum and Necropolis, one of the largest early Christian burial grounds in the western Roman world, and the Roman villas of Els Munts, near Altafulla, and Centcelles, where a late Roman domed room has a remarkable mosaic decoration. The Arch of Barà, is a triumphal arch beside the old Roman road, the Via Augusta, and the Tower of the Scipions is a funerary monument on the same route. The Roman Theatre and the dock building known as Tinglado 4 are among the other places linked to it. Many are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco.

Because of this wide scope, it is best to treat the museum as one part of a longer exploration of Roman Tarragona. The Roman Amphitheatre by the sea, the Roman Walls and the Roman circus complex are all within walking distance, and the cathedral and the Plaça de la Font are in the same area of the old town.

Before going, check the museum’s official page for opening dates and for the arrangements for individual sites, since some are open only on certain days or with guided tours. A visit to the main building takes about an hour and a half.