Roman Walls of Lugo
Encyclopedia
The Roman Walls
of Lugo
(Spanish, Galician: Muralla Romana de Lugo) were constructed in the 3rd Century and are still largely intact today, stretching over 2 kilometers around the historic centre of Lugo in Galicia (Spain). The fortifications were inscribed on UNESCO
's World Heritage List in late 2000 as "the finest example of late Roman
fortifications in western Europe." The walls have also held Spanish monument status (Bien de Interés Cultural
) since 1921. In 2007, the walls were twinned with the Great Wall of China
during a ceremony attended by China's then-ambassador to Spain, Qiu Xiaoqi.
A walkway over the walls now allows visitors to stroll along the entire length. The town also has a visitor's centre dedicated to the walls, the Centro de Interpretación de la Muralla. Since the inscription of the walls on the World Heritage List in 2000, Lugo holds a popular festival called Arde Lucus
each year to celebrate its Roman past.
The city walls were built between 263 and 276 A.D. to defend the Roman town of Lucus Augusti (present-day Lugo) against local tribesmen and Germanic invaders. The walls formed part of a complex of fortifications which also included a moat and an intervallum (the clearing between the walls and the city). The entire length of the walls is around 2,120 m, enclosing an area of 34.4 hectares. Not all of the town was enclosed by walls: much of the southeastern part of the town remained unprotected, while in other places unused areas were enclosed by walls.
The width of the walls is around 4.2 m and the height of the walls varies between 8 and 12 m. The walls consist of internal and external stone facing with a core of earth mixes with gravel, pebbles and worked Roman stone recycled from demolished buildings, cemented with water.
There are 10 gates in the walls: five dating to Roman times and five added after 1853 to accommodate the expanding town population. The best preserved of the five original gates are the Porta Falsa and the Porta Miña, the latter of which still has the original vaulted arch set between two towers. Five stairways and a ramp provide access to the parapet
walk over the walls. Within the walls, a number of double staircases provide access to the towers from the parapet walk.
Of the original towers, 49 are still intact, and another 39 have partially survived. The towers were built at irregular intervals along the walls. They consist of two stories and are mostly semicircular; a few are rectangular. The gaps in the wall for the towers vary in length from 5.35 m to 12.80 m. Different materials were used for the construction of the towers. Often the base of the tower was constructed of dressed granite
, with the remainder in slate
.
During the Middle Ages
, pilgrim
s passed through the gates of the Lugo walls, particularly Porta Miña, on their way to Santiago de Compostela
.
Roman walls
The term Roman walls or Roman wall may refer to ancient walls built around Rome, Italy, or to walls built elsewhere in the Roman Empire, and particularly among English speakers, to those built in England...
of Lugo
Lugo
Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:...
(Spanish, Galician: Muralla Romana de Lugo) were constructed in the 3rd Century and are still largely intact today, stretching over 2 kilometers around the historic centre of Lugo in Galicia (Spain). The fortifications were inscribed on UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
's World Heritage List in late 2000 as "the finest example of late Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
fortifications in western Europe." The walls have also held Spanish monument status (Bien de Interés Cultural
Bien de Interés Cultural
A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the Spanish heritage register. This category dates from 1985 when it replaced the former heritage category of Monumento nacional in order to extend protection to a wider range of cultural property...
) since 1921. In 2007, the walls were twinned with the Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
during a ceremony attended by China's then-ambassador to Spain, Qiu Xiaoqi.
A walkway over the walls now allows visitors to stroll along the entire length. The town also has a visitor's centre dedicated to the walls, the Centro de Interpretación de la Muralla. Since the inscription of the walls on the World Heritage List in 2000, Lugo holds a popular festival called Arde Lucus
Arde lucus
Arde Lucus is a festival celebrated in Lugo in the last weeks of June which revives the Roman and castro past of the city, and which emerged to commemorate the declaration of the city's Roman wall as a World Heritage Site in 2000...
each year to celebrate its Roman past.
The city walls were built between 263 and 276 A.D. to defend the Roman town of Lucus Augusti (present-day Lugo) against local tribesmen and Germanic invaders. The walls formed part of a complex of fortifications which also included a moat and an intervallum (the clearing between the walls and the city). The entire length of the walls is around 2,120 m, enclosing an area of 34.4 hectares. Not all of the town was enclosed by walls: much of the southeastern part of the town remained unprotected, while in other places unused areas were enclosed by walls.
The width of the walls is around 4.2 m and the height of the walls varies between 8 and 12 m. The walls consist of internal and external stone facing with a core of earth mixes with gravel, pebbles and worked Roman stone recycled from demolished buildings, cemented with water.
There are 10 gates in the walls: five dating to Roman times and five added after 1853 to accommodate the expanding town population. The best preserved of the five original gates are the Porta Falsa and the Porta Miña, the latter of which still has the original vaulted arch set between two towers. Five stairways and a ramp provide access to the parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
walk over the walls. Within the walls, a number of double staircases provide access to the towers from the parapet walk.
Of the original towers, 49 are still intact, and another 39 have partially survived. The towers were built at irregular intervals along the walls. They consist of two stories and are mostly semicircular; a few are rectangular. The gaps in the wall for the towers vary in length from 5.35 m to 12.80 m. Different materials were used for the construction of the towers. Often the base of the tower was constructed of dressed granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, with the remainder in slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
.
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s passed through the gates of the Lugo walls, particularly Porta Miña, on their way to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
.
See also
- List of Roman sites in Spain
- London WallLondon WallLondon Wall was the defensive wall first built by the Romans around Londinium, their strategically important port town on the River Thames in what is now the United Kingdom, and subsequently maintained until the 18th century. It is now the name of a road in the City of London running along part of...
- Aurelian WallsAurelian WallsThe Aurelian Walls is a line of city walls built between 271 and 275 in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperors Aurelian and Probus....
- Servian WallServian WallThe Servian Wall was a defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was up to 10 metres in height in places, 3.6 metres wide at its base, 11 km long, and is believed to had 16 main gates, though many of these are mentioned only from...