The most famous Roman ruins in this area are those of Baelo Claudia. They belong to an ancient Roman settlement and are situated in the cove of Bolonia. Baelo Claudia was undoubtedly the most important city in the framework of Andalusian Rome, under the jurisdiction of Claudius Ceasar. It was erected at the end of the II Century BC and it was composed of the boundary walls, a public square, the law court, capitol (the temple of Juno, Jupiter and Minerva and that of the Egyptian goddess Isis), the local senate, the shops (Tabernae), the market (macellum), the baths and the theatre. The city water was supplied by way of three aqueducts.
Life in these cities reached the height of its splendour during centuries I BC and II AD. Their fall began to take place after the crisis in the year III AD and was worsened by the effects of a huge seaquake and the raids by Mauritainian hordes and dominantly Germanic pirates.
In this enclave, the flow of economy was centered on the exploitation of fisheries, the fabrication of conserved foods and salts, and the commerce between ships that crossed the straits between the Pillars of Hercules. The famous sauce Garum Gaditano also used to be prepared here. The part of the ruins just beside the beach used to be the industrial quarter.
You can reach Baelo Claudia by the road that crosses through Bolonia. This leaves the National road 340 (towards Cadiz) at km. 70.2 |