Temple d'August - MUHBA (Temple of Augustus)
Hidden inside a medieval courtyard in the Gothic Quarter, four towering columns from Barcelona's 1st-century Roman temple of Augustus stand as an astonishing reminder that the city was once a thriving colony of the Roman Empire.
Welcome to one of Barcelona's most extraordinary hidden treasures, where you're standing face to face with the ancient heart of Roman Barcino. These four magnificent Corinthian columns towering before you are all that remains of the Temple of Augustus, built in the first century AD when this bustling modern city was nothing more than a Roman colonial outpost perched on Mount Tàber. Look up at these weathered limestone giants, each standing over nine meters tall. Notice how their elegant Corinthian capitals, adorned with delicate acanthus leaves carved nearly two thousand years ago, seem to defy time itself. These columns once supported the temple dedicated to Emperor Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, transforming this hilltop into the sacred and civic center of ancient Barcino. You're actually standing at the highest point of the original Roman settlement, fifteen meters above sea level, where the forum once buzzed with merchants, citizens, and officials conducting the business of empire. What makes this discovery truly remarkable is how these columns survived hidden for centuries within the walls of medieval buildings. When Gothic Quarter residents built their homes during the Middle Ages, they unknowingly incorporated these Roman remnants into their structures.