A walk around the Ciutadella site is a must for anyone visiting Roses. Declared a historic-artistic site in 1961, the Ciutadella brings together remains from different periods and occupations. The military fortification, with the monumental Puerta de Mar (Sea Gate), is a 131,480 m2 Renaissance-style enclosure built in 1543.
Its interior constitutes an important archaeological site that contains the remains of the Greek city of Rhode, founded in 776 BC by the Rhodians; the Hellenistic quarter, which experienced its moment of maximum prosperity in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC; the Roman villa, dated between the 2nd century BC and 6th century AD; the Romanesque-Lombard monastery of Santa Maria, from the 11th century, and finds from the 19th century.
The Ciutadella Museum offers visitors the opportunity to learn about the history of Roses: from Neolithic times to the Greek colonisation, passing through Roman times, the Visigothic period, the medieval period and up to modern times.
