The National Museum of Roman Art was designed by the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, winner of the Pritzker Prize (considered the Nobel Prize of architecture). The museum opened in 1986 to replace an earlier institution established in 1838. Its collection includes artifacts from the Roman colony of Augusta Emerita. The museum attempts to illustrate the role of Mérida as the capital of the province of Lusitania, as well as the daily life of its residents.