Centro de Interpretación del Templo de Diana

Visiting the Temple of Diana is to travel to Mérida as it was twenty centuries ago and discover the history and uses of a building devoted to worshipping the Roman emperor.

The Temple of Diana Interpretation Centre, located in the Palacio de los Corbos, enables visitors to discover the history and uses of the best-preserved Roman temple in Spain, built in the 1st century b.C. Thanks to a virtual reality system and with the help of interpretive panels, images, audio-visual, original pieces and replicas, it is possible to admire the building as it was in its heyday, when it was devoted to worshipping the Roman emperor and was located in the middle of a great square as it was the forum of  Augusta Emerita

As explained in the visit to the Interpretation Centre, the forum was the city’s political and commercial hub, the centre of administration of justice and the place where sacrifices to the gods were made. The temple was located at the head of the square, on sacred ground called temenos, where open air religious ceremonies were held. There was a public gallery overlooking the square from which authorities addressed the people.

Although from the 17th century it has been popularly known as the Temple of Diana, it was never dedicated to the Roman goddess but to Rome and the emperor.

This Interpretation Centre opened in June 2018 and occupied the two stages of the Palacio de los Corbos, a palace built at the end of the 15th century by Alonso de Mexía, a knight of the Order of St. James of the Sword, on the remains of the ancient Roman temple. The main façade of the Renaissance palace has survived to today, in whose interior Roman, Visigoth and Arab columns and chapels still stand, among other important heritage elements. It was used as a dwelling until 1972, when it was bought by the State.

The Interpretation Centre can be visited in groups of 25 every day of the week, at 10.30, 12 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm and 7 pm.

Admission is 3 euros (it is free for Mérida residents, but they must collect their tickets at the ticket office of the Consorcio de la Ciudad de Mérida in order to be counted in when forming the groups).

The conversion of the Palacio de los Corbos in an Interpretation Centre has been possible thanks to the contribution of the Patron Programme of the Consorcio de Mérida, which has the purpose of conducting an upgrading every year of a monument of the city, using the financing obtained from the participants in the Patron Programme.

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