ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURES OF MERIDA The best Roman remains stand inside the city on a small hill in a complex known as the Parque Arqueologico. One imagines that  buildings here represented a sort of Disneyland two millennia ago,  where the Romans went to relax and to be entertained. The theater, for example, which was donated to the city by the Emperor Agrippa in 24 BC, was a perfect place to see plays. The stage is beautifully decorated with marble and the acoustics are quite superb. Every one of the 6,000 spectators who fit into the semicircular theatre could hear everything that was going on and they still can, for productions continue to be staged there. Modern-day actors hardly have to alter the pitch of their delivery when they perform in this classical setting.

Roman Theater built 25 B.C Temple of Diana

The amphitheatre nearby, built in 8 BC and with a capacity of 14,000, was the setting for prize fights between gladiators and wild animals. An intricate system of water channels could flood the amphiteatre if required so that naval battles could be staged. Just behind this building are the remains of a Roman house where excellent mural paintings and mosaic pavements have been preserved. There were obviously several other such buildings around the theatres and stadiums, that served as taverns and guest houses for visitors to the games, for Mérida was certainly a top rate leisure and tourism resort. The main landmark of the whole complex must have been the Trajan Triumphal Arch which was clearly huge. What remains is a 15m-high minor part of it. The most popular public facilities was undoubtedly the circus or hipodrome, which held as many as 30,000 chariot racing fans. The modern Roman National Art Museum holds one of the finest collections of Roman artifacts anywhere in the world. New artifacts are added as excavations continue beneath the modern city.  Many of the newer buildings are suspended above Roman archeological sites preserved for humanity.

Roman Amphitheater Longest Roman Bridge in the world today