Basílica de Santa Eulalia, Mérida

The martyrial basilica of Santa Eulalia de Mérida is a religious building located in the city of Mérida. It is considered a very important nucleus of the birth of Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula.

According to researchers, it was the first Christian temple erected in Hispania after the Peace of Emperor Constantine; this church was therefore built as a martyr basilica in memory of Eulalia of Merida; therefore it became, during the early Middle Ages, a place of pilgrimages that came from Western Europe and North Africa; at the same time the news of the martyrdom of its owner spread throughout the Roman Empire and with her relics were erected numerous churches especially in Western Europe.

At the same time, the history of this temple is framed in the history of the Emeritanian Church and in its singular relationship with the Popes; this martyrium basilica was re-erected on the remains of the original one in the 13th century by the Order of Santiago as its Capitular Church, and until the end of the 19th century it was part of the Patrimoni Petri, that is to say, the Patrimony of the Holy See.

It is part of the World Heritage Site "Conjunto Arqueológico de Mérida," specifically with the identification code 664-009.