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!
A friend and I went to the Flora Sur (flower show) one Sunday afternoon. The boys didn’t feel that they would like to embark on this journey with me (wonder why)?!
