The star attraction in town, this creatively curated museum, in a building by noted architect Rafael Moneo, is Spain’s most important repository for Roman artifacts. It holds some 30,000, all from Augusta Emerita, which had been the Roman capital of the province of Lusitania. Part of the excitement of the museum is how it connects with the actual Roman ruins of the town, incorporating a swatch of the Roman road into its design and connecting, by tunnel, with the Roman Amphitheater. Artifacts are beautifully displayed (with excellent wall text, explaining their usage) in glass cases, stacked on different levels around a massive central atrium. Among the treasures displayed here are sculptures from excavations in the Roman theater and amphitheater, pottery, coins, glassware, bronzes, and mosaics.