Torre dels Escipions

A funerary tower on the old road east out of Tarragona, raised by a family wealthy enough to advertise itself on a main approach to Tàrraco. The attribution to the Scipios is doubtful: the monument dates to the first half of the 1st century, and the 1572 Libro de las grandezas was the first printed account by anyone who had actually stood in front of it, correcting an earlier description whose author had not. The central relief shows the Phrygian deity Attis above a heavy podium. It entered the World Heritage list in 2000 as component 875-010 of the Tarraco ensemble, and a history interpretation board stands at the pull-off.

Type of Structure

Tower

Municipality

Tarragona

Built/Used

1st century

Category: Culture & History

Tags: unesco, funerary tower, roadside, roman

Coordinates: 41.1318764, 1.318903

Part of Tarraco's Roman monuments on the World Heritage list, in and around Tarragona

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