Roman Sites in Portugal

Teatro Romano (Roman Theatre)

This museum shows Lisbon during the time of the Roman Empire. The theater was built in the first century BC by Emperor Augustus, then renovated in the time of Emperor Nero, 57 AD , such as to accommodate some 5,000 spectators.
Founded: c. 27 BC | Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Ponte de Lima Roman Bridge

One of the oldest towns in Portugal (founded in 1125), Ponte de Lima was historically significant as a Roman settlement on the road from Braga to Santiago de Compostela and Lugo, and the first place in Portugal getting a municipal charter. The main symbol of Ponte de Lima, that together with the river names the town, is its bridge. In reality, it’s a composite formed by two bridges: a medieval part, which is bigger, st ...
Founded: 1st century AD | Location: Ponte de Lima, Portugal

Ponte da Cava da Velha

The Bridge of Cava da Velha (Ponte da Cava da Velha) is a Roman bridge, situated in the civil parish of Castro Laboreiro e Lamas de Mouro, in the municipality of Melgaço. The name Ponte Nova indicates the existence of another structure constructed in the same local (or nearby) at one time anteceding the current bridge. This may actually be the nearby Ponte de São Brás or Ponta da Assureira. The bridge linked the Rom ...
Founded: 1st century AD | Location: Melgaço, Portugal

Ponte de Rubiães

The Ponte de Rubiães is a Roman bridge in the civil parish of Rubiães, Paredes de Coura municipality. It crosses the small river Coura. It is part of the Portuguese Way of St. James. The bridge was constructed in the 2nd century.
Founded: 2nd century AD | Location: Paredes de Coura, Portugal

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights
Photo from Flickr, copyright Mr Phil Price

Historic Site of the week

Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre

Built around AD 90 to entertain the legionaries stationed at the fort of Caerleon (Isca), the impressive amphitheatre was the Roman equivalent of today’s multiplex cinema. Wooden benches provided seating for up to 6,000 spectators, who would gather to watch bloodthirsty displays featuring gladiatorial combat and exotic wild animals.

Long after the Romans left, the amphitheatre took on a new life in Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the somewhat imaginative 12th-century scholar, wrote in his History of the Kings of Britain that Arthur was crowned in Caerleon and that the ruined amphitheatre was actually the remains of King Arthur’s Round Table.

Today it is the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain.

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