Empúries (L’Escala, Alt Empordà)
Empúries is one of the most important archaeological sites in Catalonia, unusual in that it contains the remains of the Greek city of Emporion (which means port in Greek) and also those of the Roman city of Empúries. The first Greek settlement, founded by the Phocaeans in the 6th century BCE, was on a small island off the coast in the Gulf of Roses, which was moved to the mainland when it expanded. In 218 BCE, the Roman army used the port of Empúries as its entry point into the Iberian Peninsula during the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage. Initially, a military camp was set up there, but with the passing of time this became a prosperous Roman town, mainly serving as a port and trade centre.
On the tour of the archaeological remains, visitors can visit the Greek and Roman urban remains, the Hellenistic enclosures of Asclepius and Serapis, the salting factories, and the Greek agora. Other points of interest include several houses with mosaics from the Roman era, the public baths, the forum, the area of the tabernae, and the remains of the basilica and the curia.
The Empúries monographic museum exhibits some of the objects discovered during the archaeological excavations.