TARRACO: ROMANS AND CASTELLERS WORLD HERITAGE

Tina in the Roman Amphitheater in Tarragona

Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona in Catalonia. It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula, founded during the Second Punic War by Scipio Calvus, and became capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior, and of Hispania Tarraconensis during the Roman Empire.

The municipality was inhabited in pre-Roman times by Iberians who had commercial contacts with the Greeks and Phoenicians who settled on the coast. The Iberian colonies were mainly located in the Ebro Valley. Evidence of Iberian colonies in the municipality of Tarragona has been dated to the 5th century BC.

During the Roman Republic, the legal status of Tarraco is not entirely clear. It was probably organized as conventus civium Romanorum during the Republic, with two magistri at its head. Gaius Porcius Cato, consul in the year 114 BC, chose Tarraco as the place of his exile in the year 108, indicating that Tarraco was a free city or perhaps an ally at that time.

More information: National Museum of Archaeology of Catalonia

Tina in the aqueduct of Les Ferreres, Tarragona

In 68 AD Galba, who lived in Tarraco for eight years, was proclaimed emperor in Clunia Sulpicia. The territory, which since ancient times consisted of urban areas and a land divided by tribal organizations, was transformed into areas organized around urban centers, whether in colonies or municipalities, thereby facilitating tax collection. A rapid increase in construction took place, possibly due to the reorganization of the province. The amphitheater, the temple area and the provincial forum at the top of the city were probably built during this period. Most of the statues at these locations were probably placed there between 70 and 180 AD.

In 476, following the collapse of Roman defenses along the Rhine, Tarraco was occupied by the Visigoths and King Euric. There is no evidence of destruction and apparently the capture of the city was relatively quiet. The Visigoths probably took over existing structures by establishing a small group of nobles, which the existence of Christian tombs in this period seems to confirm. The end of the ancient history of the city came with the arrival of the Muslims in 713 or 714.

More information: UNESCO

In 2000, the archaeological ensemble of Tarraco was declared a World heritage site by UNESCO because they meet two criteria:

I. The Roman remains of Tarraco are of exceptional importance in the Roman development of planning and urban design and served as model for provincial capitals elsewhere in the world.

II. Tarraco provides an eloquent and unparalleled testimony in the history of the Mediterranean lands in the Ancient times.

Tarraco urbs est en his oris maritimarum opulentissima - Pomponius Mela

CASTELLERS: FORCE, STRENGTH, BALANCE & COMMON SENSE

Castells, an ancient tradition

A castell is a human tower built traditionally in festivals at many locations within Catalonia. At these festivals, several colles castelleres, group of people who do these towers, often succeed in building and dismantling a tower's structure.

The tradition of building castells originated in the Ball dels Valencians in Valls, near the city of Tarragona, first documented in 1712. Over the course of the 18th century, they spread to other towns and cities in the area, including Vilafranca del Penedès and Tarragona, though it wasn't until the last 50 years that the practice of building castells began to spread to the rest of Catalonia.

A castell is considered a success when stages of its assembling and disassembling, can be done in complete succession. The assembly is complete once all castellers have climbed into their designated places, and the enxaneta, the smallest child, climbs into place at the top and raises one hand with four fingers erect, in a gesture said to symbolize the stripes of the Catalan flag. The enxaneta then climbs down the other side of the castell, after which the remaining levels of castellers descend in highest-to-lowest order until all have reached safety.

More information: Coordinadora de Colles Castelleres de Catalunya

Aside from the people who climb to form the upper parts of the tower, others are needed to form the pinya, or bottom base of the castell, to sustain its weight. Members of the also act as a safety net if the tower structure collapses, cushioning the fall of people from the upper levels.

The castell is built in two phases. First, the pinya, the base of the tower, is formed. People forming higher levels of the tower move to a position from which they can easily get to their place in the tower. This is done slowly and carefully, and as subsequent base levels are completed the castellers in the pinya determine if their base is solid enough for construction to continue. Then, when the signal to proceed is given, bands begin to play the traditional Toc de Castells music as a hush comes over spectators of the event. The upper layers of the tower are built as quickly as possible in order to put minimal strain on the lower castellers, who bear most of the weight of the castell. The disassembly of the castell, done amidst the cheering of the crowd, is often the most treacherous stage of the event.

Castellers de Vilafranca in Tower Bridge, London

There is a form of the Castell, generally referred to as rising, in which each successive layer is added from the bottom by lifting the castell into the air, stage by stage. It is held that this form takes even more skill and strength and a great deal of practice.

The sash, faixa, is the most important part of their outfit, since it supports the lower back and is used by other castellers in the team as a foothold or handhold when climbing up the tower. This tasselled piece of cloth varies in length and width and depends on the casteller's position inside the tower and also on choice. The length of the sash ranges from 1.5 to 12 m, and usually is shorter for those higher up in the castell. Performing castellers usually go barefoot as to minimise injuries upon each other as they climb to their position and also for sensitivity when balancing and to have better feel and hold each other.

The arrangement of castellers can be into a multi-tiered structure and the highest has a height spanning of nine or ten people from ground up.

The motto of Castellers is Força, equilibri, valor i seny  (Strength, balance, courage and common sense).

Castellers in front of Big Ben

Strength: A casteller is usually a stocky person. The first castellers were peasants that were accustomed to holding great weights and were under much physical exertion.

Courage: The most important characteristic for castellers, especially for young children forming the highest levels of the castell.

Balance: For supporting other above in the castell while relying on those below for support requires a strong sense of balance and trust.

Common sense: Rehearsing and performing requires a great deal of planning and reasoning. Any error can cause the structure to fail and break apart.

Nowadays, there are more than 100 colles castelleres, some of them are placed out of Catalonia: London (UK), Andorra, París (France), Montreal (Canada), Hangzhou (China) or Santiago (Chile).

More information: UNESCO

On November 16, 2010, castells were declared by UNESCO to be amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity with these criteria:

I. Human towers are recognized by Catalan people as an integral part of their cultural identity, transmitted from generation from generation and providing community members a sense of continuity, social cohesion and solidarity.

II. Their inscription on the Representative List could promote intangible cultural heritage as a means of reinforcing social cohesion, while encouraging respect for cultural dialogue and human creativity.

When a tradition gathers enough strength to go on for centuries, 

you don't just turn it off one day. 

 Chinua Achebe