The agricultural bounty had already been exploited by the Romans, who built a villa or country estate at the end of the 1st century BC. They built a building with a rectangular plan consisting of a number of rooms of different sizes, separated by a passageway that led to a portico supported by large columns, which must have separated the rooms from an open central area.
The remains recovered in Passeig de la Unió, between the beach and town, not only show rigorous internal planning but also include architectural and decorative schemes.
Some spectacular cisterns that supplied water to a thermal bath remain. The Roman cisterns can be viewed along Carretera del Sanatori.
It was the first Roman villa excavated in Catalonia for scientific purposes (1883). Puig i Cadafalch interpreted it as a village from the early 20th century.
Since 2022, the site has a new museum design to make its interpretation easier for visitors.
Pg. de la Unió, 43820 Calafell