Mérida reopens stunning Roman city to public

The Mitreus House, the theatre and amphitheatre and the circus, among other incredible structures dating back over 2,500 years and still standing strong and beautiful, this visitors' Mecca in the land-locked western region of Extremadura is probably one of the most overlooked in Europe – but as soon as inter-provincial travel is allowed again, it should feature near the top of everyone's list, whether or not they are interested in history.

Even with the legal limit of one-third of the normal safe maximum, the theatre and amphitheatre still have space for up to 800 people all at once, says the heritage conservation manager of the Mérida Monument City, Félix Palma.

Hand-sanitiser and masks are compulsory and handed out at the entrance, and extra security is on site to ensure everyone sticks to the rules, plus tickets are being sold online to avoid person-to-person contact – and visitors are strongly encouraged to buy theirs this way if they have the facilities to do so.

“We want to assure the public they are completely safe here, because we've made sure they will be, but we also want to urge the public to visit us,” Palma says.

Despite the fact people travel across continents to see other Roman ruins of equal or even lesser quality and conservation, the vast majority of those who go to Mérida are from Extremadura's neighbours, Madrid, Andalucía and Portugal.

But there are plenty of them: Last year alone, 426,000 visited this UNESCO heritage site.

Its progressive reopening is aimed at pulling in tourists to Extremadura – a region with much the same weather as the southern holiday hotspot of Andalucía but with far fewer visitors because of its not having a beach.

This said, the Roman ruins are among the many features that ensures the region gets tourists year-round, not just in summer, meaning its economy is far less seasonal than coastal areas.

Barriers have been set up to protect the public and staff at the ticket offices, frequent testing on the air-space within the complex, ongoing disinfecting, and a specifically-structured visitor route around it with arrows pointing the way and which only runs in one direction to avoid getting too close to other people are among the steps taken to guarantee safety.

In any case, the theatre, amphitheatre, alcazaba or fortress, Mitreus and Columbiarius (funerary zone), the morería or ancient lower-class neighbourhood, and the circus are all open-air spaces, meaning they can still safely let a high number of visitors in even limited to a third of the normal maximum, and are safer in virus terms than enclosed or indoor areas.

At present, the indoor parts – the Temple of the Goddess Diana and the Santa Eulalia information centre – remain closed, but are expected to open when Extremadura, currently in 'Phase 2', either enters 'Phase 3' or completes its recovery and unlocks entirely.