Tarragona

Tarragona, a seaport of Spain, chief city of the modern province of Tarragona, situated on the Mediterranean shore, at the mouth of the Francoli, 60 miles W. of Barcelona by rail. The upper and older town is irregular and dirty, and is girdled with ramparts; the lower is regular and open, and defended by two forts. The Gothic cathedral dates from about 1120. The industries are spinning and weaving (chiefly in silk, also in jute), felt and lace making. But of much greater importance is the shipping and transport trade. The annual tonnage of ships that enter reaches half a million, and the imports and exports reach over thirty million pesetas respectively. Pop. (1887) 27,225. Tarragona, the Roman Tarraco, was the capital of the Roman province of Tarraconensis. Among the Roman antiquities are the remains of an amphitheatre, which has been used as a quarry; a magnificent aqueduct, still used, 96 feet high and 700 feet long; and near the town the Tower of the Scipios, much decayed. Tarragona was taken by storm by the French under Suchet in 1811, but in August 1813 its fortifications were blown up by him when unable longer to hold out against the English.