The "touristic" map of Merida we got from the hotel is fantastic, because it allowed us to plan our afternoon walk around Merida in the afternoon, and then efficiently hit the sites we had not seen the next morning.
So, on the way back to the hotel late afternoon, we made it to the somewhat desultory remains of the city's Roman Forum and then, after a satisfying stop for gelato, the Temple of Diana.
Merida (Emerita Augusta) was the capital of the Lusitania province of the Roman Empire. It included most of Portugal, along with the central portion of the west of Spain.
Why the Romans choose the location of Merida over some part of Portugal is beyond me, but they seemed to know what they were doing, at least for many cnturies, so I'm not going to second guess their choice.
Editor: That's exactly what you were doing -- second guessing. Writer: I suppose, but I did allow that they probably made a choice that was right at the time.
I'm a bit confused about the two Roman ruins right in the center of Merida. One is considered both the Temple of Diana/Roman Forum, while the other is the Provincial Forum, built in 50 AD. (I'm NEVER going to use the politically correct CE "Common Era" phraseology, but that probably doesn't surprise my readers. Old school is often the best school, except when it's not, he says as he types out his blog on a laptop, instead of writing cursive in a diary.)
We came to the Provincial Forum first. It's not nearly as impressive or big as the Temple of Diana/Roman Forum, which was the main public area of Emerita Augusta.
Editor: It's more impressive than the Roman ruins where you live. Writer: Well, now you know why I'm so blown away by seeing Roman ruins.
My point being, you can't go walk around the Provincial Forum, visitors can only view it from the street. The Temple of Diana/Roman Forum is open to the public, even to the point of being able to go upstairs. And yes, it's on the Monumental Ticket. (If you visit Merida, buy the Monumental Ticket at the first ticketed Roman site you go to).
The Provincial Forum:
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