Roman walls of Lugo

The Roman wall of Lugo surrounds the historic center of the Galician city of Lugo in the province of the same name in Spain. The ancient Roman city of Lucus Augusti, founded by Paulo Fabio Máximo on behalf of Emperor Augustus in 13 BC with the purpose of annexing, definitively, the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula to the Roman Empire it was endowed in the Low Empire of a defense wall. Lugo's wall is the best preserved of the Roman walls located in the Iberian Peninsula. The modifications that it has undergone throughout its more than 17 centuries of existence have not substantially altered its original appearance, which follows the guidelines of the Roman engineer Vitruvius. The dating of the Lugo wall, based on construction materials and archaeological findings, places it in the second half of the 3rd century. Its construction coincides with the perception of the barbarian threat by the authorities of the Empire. The wall, with a length of 2266 meters, crowned by 85 powerful towers, delimits the historic center of the Galician city and has gone from being an obstacle for its evolution and growth to being a monument integrated into the urban structure and a source of tourist wealth. . Built as a separation and defense, it has become an integrating element between the ancient Lucus and the one that has developed around it. Its ten gates carry out the function of linking one part of the city with the other and its walkway, adarve, has become one more street that is traveled by local pedestrians and visitors. The Roman wall of Lugo was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000 on November 30 and has been twinned since October 6, 2007 with the Great Wall of China of Qinhuangdao.