Archive for the 'camera' Category

Roman Ruins in Italica, Spain

Saturday, July 21st, 2007

* NOT FOUND *One of your must see places in Southern Spain is Italica located in the present-day town of Santiponce.
Italica was founded by Publius Cornelius Scipio as a city for the wounded soldiers to live in 206 BC. During the reign of Emperor Augustus at the end of the 1st century BC it was one of the important cities in the Andalusia province and by the 2nd century AD the city achieved its period of greatest splendor. It was the birthplace of the emperors, Marcus Ulpius Traianus (Trajan) 52-117AD and of his successor, Publius Aelius Hadrianus (Hadrian) 76-138 AD.
Italica is divided into two sections, the “Nova Urbs”, or new city and the “Vetus Urbs”, the old city. The “Nova Urbs” were the home of large public buildings, luxurious houses and wide streets. The “Vetus Urbs” lie beneath the village of Santiponce which was developed in the 17th century.

We were able to see
*the town walls
*The “House of the Exedra”- contained an exercise area
*The “House of Neptune”-extremely large and luxurious house, many private baths, and mosaics throughout
* The “House of the Rhodian Courtyard”
*“The House of the Hylas”
* The “House of the Birds” contains a mosaic depicting thirty-three different species of birds and also has the remains of a bakery oven
* The “House of the Planetarium” which contains the mosaic that consists of a circle inside which are seven medallions. These medallions represent the faces of the seven planetary gods that gave the Romans the names of the days of the week
*The “Great Baths”
*The Ampitheatre- one of the largest in the Roman Empire with a capacity to hold 25,000 spectators. There were originally three tiers of seats, but only the two lower levels remain. In the center of the arena there is a sunken room and passages which were covered by a wooden floor. This was used as a service area for the spectacles held- the combats between gladiators or involving wild animals.

The amphitheater was by far the most amazing site to behold as we walked through the ancient tunnels where the gladiators once walked. There are several areas that are still being excavated- the entirety of the town will probably never be uncovered. All in all it was a great day to see a fragment of our history as we walked down the streets of Italica!

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Torre Tavira-Camera Obscura

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007

torre_tavira-cadiz.jpgWe had the opportunity to visit one of the most interesting watchtowers in Cadiz. This baroque style watchtower was originally part of the palace of the Marquis of Rencano. The first watchman, Antonio Tavira, whose job it was to record the ships entering and leaving the port of Cadiz, gave it its name. In 1778 this tower was appointed as the official watchtower for the town as it was the highest lookout point in the area.

In the early 1990s the watchtower was refurbished as a tourist attraction and it acts as a gallery and museum. In the top of the tower a camera obscura was installed, which consists of a darkened room with a white viewing dish, and a periscope which projects the images of the city onto the dish. Small groups can enter the room and are given a talk on the city sights. It was amazing as we could see the panoramic view of the city as well as the smallest details- laundry drying in the breeze or the birds as they flew by. See here to find out more on how the camera works. (more…)

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