Lugo boasts a complete set of Roman walls. The ancient Lucus Augusti, founded by the Emperor Augustus in the 1st century BC, was an important bastion during the Roman Empire, with the walled site being built at the end of the 2nd century AD.
10 gates, 71 towers and more than 2200 metres of intact perimeter walls make the Roman Walls of Lugo a treasure, earning its UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2000.
The various modifications do not interrupt the basic lines along which Roman engineer Vitruvius laid out this granite and slab structure, clearly designed for defence.
The 4 original gates would become 10. Of the 85 towers, 71 have been preserved, although only A Mosqueira Tower retains its original structure: several storeys high and topped with a double semi-circular arch forming windows.
The wide walls, measuring between 4 and 7 metres thick, provide space for a long path which also serves as a continuous elevated viewpoint overlooking the city. Within the walls there is a complete catalogue of urban, architectural and artistic features with many places to visit: the monumental Praza Maior, cosy Praza do Campo, the Provincial Museum located in the Monastery of San Francisco and the Cathedral.
The view of Santa María Cathedral from the wall near Santiago Gate is truly fabulous. The Neoclassical façade exists side-by-side with the building’s Romanesque core, as well as Gothic and Baroque elements, demonstrating a historical evolution which can be compared to the transformation of the city.