The city of Emerita Augusta was founded by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 25 BC as a colony for veterans of the legions V Alaudae and X Gemina, who had been fighting in the Cantabrian Wars.
In Merida, a walled city since its founding, buildings for public gatherings like the Roman Theatre, the adjoining Amphitheatre and the Circus, played a central role while temples, hot springs, and reservoirs dotted the urban landscape and blended seamlessly into the surrounding residential buildings and public squares.
The extraordinary Roman Bridge spanning the River Guadiana, one of the longest bridges built by the Romans, was of strategic importance for trade and communications.
