Art and culture
Rabo de Buey Aqueduct
Mérida was supplied with water by three main aqueducts in Roman times. One of them was the one called Rabo de Buey, or also San Lázaro.
- Explore
- Rabo de Buey Aqueduct
Bringing water to Roman Mérida
Location and Contact:
- Contact person: Oficina de Turismo de Mérida
- Tel.:+34 924 38 01 00
- Email: promocion@turismomerida.org
- Website address: www.turismomerida.org/
-
Mérida was supplied with water by three main aqueducts in Roman times. One of them was the one called Rabo de Buey, or also San Lázaro.
One of the most important aqueducts in the city of Mérida is that of Rabo de Buey, of which only three columns remain today of the many that made up this construction that was over a kilometre long.
Its subsequent name was on account of the hermitage dedicated to San Lázaro, which was pulled down mid-20th century. Historians and intellectuals do not agree on the date this monument was built. It is only known that it was of vital importance during Roman times.
The visitor can see that the three columns that remain are of different proportions and have a buttress on the front, and are joined together by semi-circular arches. The aqueduct continued to the city of Mérida, where some remains of the channel have been found, from where it is believed that it took two different directions: one towards the area of the theatre and amphitheatres and the other towards the centre of the town.
During the 16th century, a new aqueduct was built over the ruins of the old one, which has been preserved entirely and reformed for recreational use, walks or bicycle rides. Near the San Lázaro aqueduct, we find the ruins of some Roman thermal baths. -
- Construction:
-
- Aqueduct
- Art period:
-
- Romanisation
Gallery:
More suggestions
-
National Roman Art Museum in Mérida
The National Roman Art Museum (MNAR) shows the visitor different sides of daily life in the province of Hispania.
-
Extremadura Geology Museum
Its collection has made this museum one of the most important of its kind.
-
Museum of Visigoth Art and Culture
The collection of Visigoth pieces in this museum brings together relics from Mérida from the 4th-8th centuries, as the capital of the Diocesis Hispaniarum and as the metropolitan capital of the province of Lusitania
-
Museum of Mérida
The Museum of the Town of Mérida houses a collection on the Mérida-born sculptor and other pieces that take one on a route through the town's history.
-
Roman Circus
Discover one of the most magnificent circuses in the Roman Empire and one of the best preserved.
-
Basilica of Santa Eulalia
A space included in the archaeological complex of Mérida, and a showcase within the regional capital as it contains the town's patron.
-
Roman bridge on the Albarregas River
Built when the Roman city of Emerita Augusta was founded, the bridge on the Albarregas River is still in perfect condition and includes some of its original features.
-
Roman bridge on the Guadiana River
In the city of Mérida, on one of the most shallow sections of the Guadiana River, we find a bridge built in the 1st century, at the same time as the foundation of Emerita Augusta. Thanks to its large size and features it is one of the most important Roman bridges in the Peninsula.
-
Remains of Roman thermae in Mérida
Without a doubt the capital of Extremadura is one of the region's enclaves with the most thermal bath constructions.
-
Remains of the Temple of Mars
The basilica of Santa Eulalia in Mérida contains the remains of the Roman temple of Mars in its atrium, known as "el hornito".