MERIDA (Augusta Emerita), a town of Spain, in the province of Estremadura, and about 35 miles from the city of Badajoz, is situated on a small eminence on the right of the Guadiana. It is tolerably well built; contains two parish churches, two hospitals, four schools of primary instruction, three ex-convents, and two nunneries. Of the two churches, that of Sta. Maria is a clumsy quasi-Gothic edifice, partly built of the innumerable Roman remains; that of Sta. Olalla (Eulalia) is said to date from the fourth century, and is dedicated to one of the earliest martyrs of Spain. Her name is also borne by a convent on the
Madrid road, and by a statue and chapel in the space called Campo de San Juan; the latter, called El Hornito (Oven) de Sta. Olalla, now in ruins. Merida is remarkable for its Roman remains, in the number and magnitude of which it may be almost said to vie with Rome itself. The Guadiana is crossed by a bridge 2575 feet long, and consisting of 81 arches wholly of granite, erected by Trajan. Some of the arches were destroyed in 1812 to impede the advance of Marmont upon Badajoz. Of the colossal wall that formerly surrounded the town, there only remains the part defending the Roman castle called El Conventual. In the town are still some relics of the temples of Mars, Diana, Fortune, and others, and of a triumphal arch (De Santiago) 43 feet high, built by Trajan, and now stripped of its marble casing. Of an ancient aqueduct from Lake Albuera thirty-seven enormous pillars are still standing, and ten arches, in three tiers, built of brick and granite. To the east, and crossing the Madrid road, are three pillars of another aqueduct, the materials of which were employed in the construction of that which at present supplies the town with water. Farther east is the circus, 1356 feet by 335, well preserved, and capable of containing on its eighteen tiers of seats the whole present population of Estremadura. East of the circus is the amphitheatre, called the Siete Sillas, from its seven rows of seats, still almost entire, as are the vomitories. Before the French invasion it was used as a Plaza de Toros. Near it is the Naumachia, vulgarly called the Roman Baths, of which the oval form, 400 feet in length, is barely traceable. Augusta Emerita was built in 25 B.C. by the emeriti of the fifth and tenth legions, who had served in the Cantabrian war under Augustus. It rose to great splendour and importance as the capital of the province of Lusitania, was taken by Musa in 715, and reconquered by Alonzo in 1228.
The population is mostly agricultural; the surrounding country producing wheat, oats, legumes, oil, and wine. Large herds of swine are reared, with sheep, goats, and horses. There are manufactures of white soap in the town. Pop. 3780.