For all the importance and Roman influence on Cordoba or Corduba is known, as it was said at that time. The etymological meaning of Corduba is not yet clear to researchers and there are several theories. It is started to be named after its Roman foundation near an Iberian settlement in the 2nd century BC. by the Roman consul Marco Claudio Marcelo. But it will not be until the first century BC. when the children of Pompeyo grant the city the colonial status and begin to be officially called Corduba Colonia Patricia. But where does that name come from? It has been given a possible Semitic origin due to the Phoenician influence on the area. Therefore for some it could be Qorteba, oil mill, or Qart-tuba, good city.
But what remains of Roman remains in Cordoba today? We will list them in the following lines.
One of the most famous and, above all, representative of the city is the Roman bridge of Cordoba. Built in the 1st century BC It was crossed by the Via Augusta and has undergone many renovations throughout history, but in 2008 it had its last reform that tried to return as far as possible its original appearance.
Another identifying symbol of the Roman Cordoba is the Roman temple located on Claudio Marcelo street. This temple was made in the last third of the first century AD. and it was dedicated to the imperial cult. It was of great dimensions and was located in front of a podium and in front of its entrance was the altar. For this summer visits to the Roman temple are planned after its restoration through walkways in different heights. Many of his remains are in the Archaeological Museum.
As we mentioned in the previous paragraph, in the Archaeological Museum there are numerous remains from the Roman era. It is located in the Renaissance palace of the Páez de Castillejo. Since the beginning of 2011 the museum has a new exhibition space annexed to the previous one. Thanks to this extension, it is now possible to contemplate the remains of the Roman theater in the basement of the new building. Between the main works that are in the museum emphasizes the sculpture of Aphrodite crouched, Roman copy of a work of Doidalsas de Bitinia, and that must have been part of the decoration of a source or a thermae; the sculpture of Mitra, found inside a fountain in the Villa del Mitreo de Cabra; or the mosaics of the Bacchic Courtship and the Four Seasons. If you want to visit the Archaeological Museum of Córdoba this is your schedule: 9: 00-21: 00 hours, Tuesday-Sunday until June 30. July and August from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Its price is free for members of the EU and for the rest 1.50 euros.
There are also funerary vestiges, two mausoleums, in the Puerta de Gallegos, in Paseo de la Victoria, built in the 1st century AD. on the road that connected Corduba with Hispalis and, as was common with the necropolises, outside the walls of the city. These remains have an unusual shape in the Iberian Peninsula due to their cylindrical shape, so it is most likely that they were made by italics. Also in the Puerta de Sevilla you can see a funeral monument of the same period or the tomb of the Palacio de la Merced.
In the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos we must go to the Sala de los Mosaicos where we can see some extraordinary mosaics discovered in the Plaza de la Corredera, from a Roman domus: Polyphemus and Galatea, The Cyclops, Eros and Psyche or The Ocean Mask . If you want to visit it, this is your schedule: Tuesday-Saturday from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm and Sundays from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. This schedule is until September 15.
Another remains is the Roman amphitheater. It was found in 2002 under the current rectorate of the University of Córdoba with a capacity of about 30,000 spectators. It is considering its exhibition through an archaeological park.
And, to finish this review of the Roman ruins of Cordoba, we find the Archaeological Site of Cercadilla that was discovered in 1991 for the construction of the AVE. The visitable space represents a third of the total, since part of the complex was destroyed due to the aforementioned works. This imperial palace is unique, there being no other building of the same characteristics throughout the Roman Empire. It was the seat of the imperial tetrarch Maximiano Hercúleo during his stay in Hispania in 296-297 AD. The palatium was presided over by a large basilica room, an imperial representation room, where audiences were held. Immediately north of it, a small thermal complex, possibly reserved for the emperor and his guests. On both sides of the large imperial representation classroom two banquet halls -triclinia-, with completely different architectural floors, allowed the celebration of this type of events. Two other basilical classrooms, smaller than the central one, served as courtrooms for important positions of the imperial court or for officials related to the administration in Hispania. The poliabsidadas rooms located in the ends of the semicircular portico, closed the layout of the same one and served, like the smaller basilicales classrooms, of welcome for the civil employees of the court. To the west of the North polyabsidated classroom, a double-sided apse building was built, probably a nymphaeum. The imperial apartments are the buildings that close the whole. They are located in the area furthest from the public rooms and are organized in rooms of small dimensions for the residence and rest of the owner of this great work. From the 6th century AD Several of the palace buildings were used as places of Christian worship and necropolis.
If you want to enjoy and know more about the Roman Cordoba, visit Córdoba with us and book our free tours through www.cordobafreetour.es
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