In the municipality of Santiponce, Sevilla, we find one of the best Roman ruins of the Iberian Peninsula: Itálica. If you like history and archeology, you have a great opportunity to dive into the past, without leaving Spain.
Today in Actualidad Viajes we will tour these fantastic archaeological remains, so I invite you to take a visit to the Romanesque ruins of Itálica.
The Romans in Spain
There was a time when the Roman Empire expanded so much that arrived in the Iberian Peninsula. Journalist Jorge Méndez was between 218 BC and the beginning of the XNUMXth century. Just over six centuries of Roman presence, which caused a great transformation of the territory and culture, a profound romanization that would change her forever.
The Romans initially arrived towards the end of the 3rd century BC, in their fight against the Carthaginians, during the Second Punic War. What began as a simple military strategy eventually transformed into a much more extensive conquest, despite the tough resistance of some local peoples such as the Cantabrians or the Lusitanians. Finally, the Romans prevailed and only with the entry of the first barbarians would their presence begin to weaken.
The Romans arrived and their lifestyle, their economy, their laws, their culture, their entire worldview arrived. Cities and roads were built, immigrants arrived and land was given to them. All in an intense process that lasted centuries.
Then the weakening of the empire would take place and the Barbarian Invasions, and the entire process that would finally lead to the Visigothic Hispania and the following chapters in the history of the territory that would end up being Spain.
Italica
This Roman city It was founded in 206 BC and it became a very important place without holding great titles. Was the first city founded in Hispania and the first to be founded outside of Italian territory. After the end of the Second Punic War (Rome versus Carthage), some wounded soldiers, mostly from the Italian peninsula, were settled in an existing Turdetan city, although today its original name is unknown.
Between the end of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century, Italica had its moment of greatest glory. Both Trajan and Hadrian were emperors born here, so the connection was heavy and they were undoubtedly generous to their city of birth, but It was Hadrian who turned it into a colony and then embellished it with more public works.
The urban growth of Itálica, which has been identified as the Nova urbs, bears Hadrian's signature and is what is known today as the Archaeological Site of Italica. The oldest part, the Old urbs, is today under the urban area of the town of Santiponce, but few Roman ruins remain there.
Visit the Romanesque ruins of Itálica
The archaeological ruins of Itálica They are very close to Seville, just 7 kilometers away, so it is one of the best tourist visits you can do from that city. There are, however, several ways to approach the visit: public visits and private visits.
What are the most important sites of the ruins? Every tour, whether public or private, will take you to see the amphitheater first. The Roman amphitheater was built around 138 AD, during the time of Emperor Hadrian which promoted new and better and more modern infrastructure works in the city.
This amphitheater It had capacity for about 25 thousand spectators, in its three-level stands and with the underground pit in the middle. Obviously, the famous gladiator fights, representations of military confrontations or wild animal hunts took place here. It is really a beautiful place and being there you can't help but remember movies like Gladiator or Ben-Hur.
The amphitheater is followed by Roman theater, the oldest civil engineering work in the complex. It is in the heart of the urban area of Santiponce, so it is different from the rest of the ruins because it is not exactly with them.
It was built a little earlier, between the 1st centuries BC and XNUMX AD, in the times no longer of Hadrian but of Augustus. The stands were only discovered in the '40s of the 2011th century and from then on many excavations and restorations took place to ensure that in XNUMX the old place will be part, as a more headquarters, Itálica International Dance Festival. So if you go in summer, between June and July, you can see flamenco shows, classical dance, urban dance and more here.
A Roman city wouldn't be such if it didn't have baths, right? So, in the visit to the Romanesque ruins of Itálica you will see two sets of public baths: the Major Baths and the Minor Baths. The latter are in the old city, while the Greater ones are in the new part of the city. The Minor Baths are still partially excavated today, in an area of 1.500 square meters in which the structures of the frigidarium, the caldarium and the tepidarium.
The Major Baths are much larger and they are an area of about 32 thousand square meters. Here, in addition to the swimming pools, you can already distinguish the structures of the shroud, the underground ovens, the sauna, the changing rooms, the gym and the massage room, for example.
But beyond the amphitheater and the hot springs what one can see are private houses and buildings, which allows us to imagine what life was like here so many centuries ago. Houses, buildings and paved streets under our feet. The houses are mostly large and luxurious, belonging to patrician families, nobles or wealthy war veterans. Thus, they distinguish the House of the Exedra, the House of Hylas, the House of Neptune or the House of Birds, true palaces decorated with elegant columns, marble sculptures and beautiful mosaics.
Speaking of mosaics… roman mosaics They are always of great beauty and in the case of Italica mosaics They are not left behind. Here they are made up of small marble tesserae of multiple colors. They appear on the floors of the noblest houses, for example we have the Planetarium house mosaic: It is a mosaic with a design of seven medallions, one for Cronus, another for Uranus, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Gaia, Ares and Hermes.
Another well-known Italica mosaic is the Labyrinth Mosaic, which has the figure of Theseus in the center, inside the House of Neptune; or the Birds Mosaic in the acsa of the same name, which beautifully represents 33 species of birds.
A good time to make a visit to the Romantic ruins of Itálica It's Christmas. Yes, the Christmas It has also been celebrated here so if you missed it this year, you have to pay attention to the upcoming festivals. In 2023 there was Dramatized guided tours with emphasis on the Saturnalia, the festivals in honor of Saturn, coinciding with the winter solstice. The visit included the presence of street vendors who had Roman items for sale that were given away at these ancient festivals. It was with reservation.
There were also Christmas workshops for the family in which they were manufactured tintinabula, wind chimes that were hung in the gardens and porches of the domus and shops to ward off evil spirits.
Practical information for visiting the ruins of Itálica:
- Address: Avenida de Extremadura 2, 41970 Santiponce, Seville.
- Opening hours: from March 21 to June 20, open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 am to 6 pm. Fridays and Saturdays from 9 am to 9 pm. Sundays, holidays and Mondays before holidays open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is closed on Mondays, except on the eve of a holiday. From June 21 to September 20 it opens from Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm and the rest from 9 am to 3 pm. From September 21 to March 20, open Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm. Sundays, holidays and Monday the day before from 9 am to 3 pm. The holidays that are open are February 28, March 28, March 29, August 15, October 12, November 1, December 6, and December 8. Closed January 1 and 6, May 1, December 24, 25 and 31.
- Home: If you are an EU citizen you enter for free, otherwise you pay 1 euros. The guided tour costs 50 euros per person without transportation and 20 with transportation.
- Information brochures are delivered in English and Spanish.
- How to go: You can go by bus from Rotonda Pañoleta. You take line 1720 in the direction of Santiponce. By car on the SE-30/E-803 road in the same direction.
- You must calculate a 2 hour visit.