With the coming of the Romans, Catalonia entered urban society.

With the exception of Tarraco, the Roman towns in Catalonia were small. From the period of Augustus, Tarraco was the capital of a large part of the Iberian Peninsula and the residence of citizens who held important political and military posts.

It had many important monuments, as well as three large buildings for public performances: the theatre, amphitheatre and circus.

In the upper part, surrounded by the city walls, there was a large area used for the Imperial cult and a Provincial Forum.

We know that the collegium fabrum, an association of construction workers, was already operating in Tàrraco at the beginning of the 2nd century AD.

During the High Empire there was much building in the city. The materials used were mainly concrete and stone from local quarries (El Mèdol, Calafell, Tortosa, etc.). Much of the marble used for decoration was imported from Italy.

Dwellings occupied the lower part of the city, down to the port.

The expansion of Tarragona during the last century brought with it the construction of modern buildings on top of those of Roman origin, and led to the loss of most of the remaining Roman domestic architecture.