Columns of the Temple of Augustus
Barcelona’s best-kept Roman secret
Walking through Plaça de Sant Jaume, following the alley behind the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, you will find one of the city’s best-kept secrets. The courtyard of a medieval building hides four columns that belonged to the Temple of Augustus, built more than 2,000 years ago on top of Mont Tàber, the hill where Barcino, the Roman settlement that gave rise to present-day Barcelona, was founded.
Barcelona Bus Turístic, on the Hola Barcelona app
Your app for visiting the city with the Barcelona Bus Turístic: routes, stops and the most iconic places. A comfortable way to carry your tickets too!
A spectacular surprise in the courtyard of a mountaineering center
The columns are located at number 10 of Carrer Paradís, inside a 15th-century building that serves as the headquarters of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya. Within this building, in a side courtyard, lie the remains of the Temple of Augustus, dated to the late 1st century BC. A millstone next to the door marks the highest point of the former Roman city, Mont Tàber, which stands just over 16 meters high.
This temple, once at the center of the Roman forum, was absorbed into several buildings during the Late Middle Ages. Only three columns were preserved, forming part of the Gothic building acquired in the 20th century by the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya. During restoration work, an inner courtyard was created to maintain the three columns.
A fourth column had been reconstructed using archaeological remains and was previously displayed at Plaça del Rei. It was not until 1956 that it was decided to return it to its original location.
How to get to the Temple of Augustus?
The Temple of Augustus is located on Carrer Paradís, behind the Barcelona Cathedral. You can reach it from the Gothic Quarter stop on the Red Route of the Barcelona Bus Turístic.
For the curious
- It was architect Domènech i Muntaner, one of the distinguished members of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, who, while renovating the medieval headquarters of the association, decided to uncover these spectacular Roman columns, which had previously been hidden and divided across multiple floors.
