Posts Tagged ‘colonia julia augusta faventia paterna barcino’
A legend says that, about 400 years before Rome was build, Hercules founded the city of Barcelona and named it “Βαρκινών”. According to another legend, in the third century BC, a Carthaginian called Hamilcar Barca named the city “Barcino” after his family. The most credible version is the fact that in 15BC the Romans staked the city out as a military camp, or “castrum”, and named it “Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino”, with its centre being on a small hill near the modern day Plaça de Sant Jaume.
Although shadowed by its neighbour Tarraco (Tarragona), due to its excellent location and beautiful harbour, the city slowly expanded and grew in wealth, even making its own currency. In 400 years, the Visigoths came from the north-east and conquered the city, taking Barcelona as their own. 300 years later, the Moors rose up from northern Africa, and although they didn´t have the same impact on Barcelona as they had on southern Spain, they held the city for 100 years. Then came Charlemagne´s son Louis, who reconquered and instigated an Iberian Lordship status in the city as a Marca Hispanica (Spanish March), a bufferzone between the Frankish Kingdom and the Moors who occupated Al-Andalus (Andalucia).
After the 20th century dictatorship and fascist regime, Barcelona thrives and holds a status of a one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. It combines old culture, marked with ruins and thousand-year-old building remains, and modern looks. The city was also one of the first big industrial centers in Continental Europe.
Short and to the point, if you want to see for yourself what Barcelona is like, you can consider a guided tour of the city.
