Merida - Basílica de Santa Eulalia

In the Roman Empire, the city was known as "Emerita Augusta", the capital of the province of Lusitania. It was founded in 25 BC by Emperor Augustus as a colony for the veteran soldiers ("emeritus") of the Roman legions. The city was very important in Roman Hispania. It was endowed with all the comforts of a large Roman city and served as the capital of the Roman province of Lusitania. For centuries, until the fall of the Roman Empire, Mérida was an important economic, military, and cultural center.

Following invasions from the Visigoths, Mérida remained an important city of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the 6th century. In 713, the Arabs conquered the city and devastated it. Even under Islamic rule, Mérida remained a bishop's seat until it was moved to Santiago de Compostela in 1119.

In 1230 the Christian troops under Alfonso IX conquered Mérida during the Reconquista.

The church was built in the 4th century outside the city walls over the burial mound of Santa Eulalia. The remains of the early Christian Visigothic basilica and the surrounding necropolis are accessible as a crypt. The current church was built in the 13th century after the reconquest of Mérida by Alfonso IX. It was given the same floor plan as the original basilica, the apse and some materials were reused.

Excavations were underway in 2024