Las Piedras Que Hablan (Stones that Speak)

If you want to feel like an archaeologist, this new initiative from the Tarragona Ministry of Tourism is a great start. Tarragona was the first major Roman settlement outside of Rome so its historical significance is enormous. In fact, it actually became the most important city on the Iberian Peninsula. The inhabitants of Tarragona prospered and since many of them newly rich, they wanted to leave something for posterity. The decided to built small pedestals and statues with personal inscriptions. While only a few are still standing today, it's extraordinary how much information you can get from a simple inscription.

When I signed up for the "Stones that Speak" tour, I had no idea that it would end up being so interesting. I was amazed at the amount of historical information they had. It was nice to get a better understanding of Roman society in ancient Tarraco and they really brought things to life. By visiting almost 30 inscribed pedestals, the "Stones that Speak" tour lets you get an idea of the different types of inhabitants in the city at the time. I'd definitely do it again.

This is a route through the Latin inscriptions which remain in the old city. Our guide was Magí Seritjol, director of the Tarraco Viva festival, a special event where gladiators come all the way from Rome to perfectly reenact the ancient Roman spectacles. Magí showed us some of the ancient inscriptions around the city and gave us an idea of who the people were, their function in society, the values and mentality of the time, and much, much more. It's incredible just how much information is contained in these little inscriptions. The whole route was great and the guide really did a great job of explaining.