Right here are the remains of Barcino’s Roman wall. See the rounded bases of the towers beside the old Praetoria Gate—now the Portal del Bisbe. Let’s step back to where it all began. Barcino, founded by Emperor Augustus in the late 1st century BC, sat on Mons Taber between rivers and the sea. Though just ten hectares, it controlled fertile land and was linked to the empire by the Via Augusta. Home to 2,000 settlers, it featured a Roman grid, a forum, a temple, a sewage system, and protective walls. Carefully planned and symbolically walled, Barcino embodied Roman identity and order: the foundations of what would become the city of Barcelona.