Cathedral Place

The cathedral is located at the highest point of the city, where in Roman times the place of worship of Tàrraco was located, specifically, the temple dedicated to the emperor Augustus.

It was consecrated in 1331, when Prince Joan of Aragon was Archbishop of Tarragona and Patriarch of Alexandria. It is considered, due to its grandeur and solidity, the first cathedral in Catalonia.

The Rectory House or Pia Almoina or Ca l'Ardiaca is a Medieval building with a ground floor, two floors high. It used to be the house of the senior archdeacon. It was built between the middle of the 12th century and the end of the 13th century. In the first quarter of the 14th century, it was renovated in order to ennoble the facade and between the 14th and 15th centuries, the interior spaces were remodeled. The last remodeling was carried out after the French war.

The Palau de la Cambreria or Casa Balcells is one of the few Medieval noble houses preserved in the city. It is embedded in the cathedral building and some of its annexes open into the interior of the temple with a viewpoint. The facade has reconstructed Gothic windows and others from the Renaissance period (15th and 16th centuries). In the 17th or 18th century, a porch structure opening onto the Pla de la Seu was added to the original building. The columns of the porch come from some Roman construction  and are an example of the reuse of Roman structures that was systematically carried out in the construction of buildings in the Middle Ages. The first reference dates from the 14th century. It was the residence of the chamberlain of the Seu, the second most important dignity of the cathedral chapter. From the 16th century, once the cathedral post of chamberlain was extinguished, it became the temporary residence of kings or members of the royal family. Pope Luna and Queen Joana Enríquez V stayed in this Palace. She was the wife of Joan II of Aragon and mother of Ferdinand "the Catholic",  and she actually died there during her visit to Tarragona.