12. Barcino’s roads and territory

The colony of Barcino consisted of the walled city centre and the territory it administered and worked between the Besòs and Llobregat rivers. Right from its foundation, the territory was organised into regular plots using a system called centuriation which made land distribution and tax collecting easier.

A network of roads connected the city centre with establishments outside the walls such as farmhouses and workshops, while a branch of the Via Augusta linked Barcino with Baetulo (Badalona), Iluro (Mataró) and the empire’s other towns and cities. Part of this network can still be made out in the topography of the present-day city.