Europe teems with archeological wonders, from the impressive ruins of the Acropolis in Greece to England’s mysterious Stonehenge. Such sites captivate visitors with their historical importance and architectural and engineering marvels.
Among such gems is Italica, the first Roman city established on the Iberian Peninsula. Located a mere twenty minutes from Seville, the capital of the Andalusia region of Spain, this archeological site was founded in 206 BCE by Publio Cornelio Scipio, a Roman general and statesman. It was intended to be a place for wounded troops to recover and a home for war veterans.
The site later became a town under the Emperor Augustus and enjoyed a period of splendor where architectural development flourished. Buildings such as an amphitheater, homes for the nobility and wide streets connecting a series of neighborhoods were constructed, along with large thermal baths, a drainage system and more. Italica soon became one of the most advanced cities in the Roman world at the time.
As someone who has an interest in ancient history and culture, visiting Italica was on my agenda during a recent visit to this area of Spain. I was excited to walk in the footsteps of emperors, nobility and gladiators, and was delighted to discover the quality of the preserved ruins, as well as the magnitude of the area.
Among the notable sites is the amphitheater, which is considered one of the biggest of the Roman Empire with a capacity for 25,000 spectators. Though the estimated population of Italica was around 7,000 to 10,000 people, it’s thought that during the games, the amphitheater accommodated people from nearby cities.
The most important games were the ever-popular and brutal gladiator fights. The majority of the gladiators were slaves, prisoners sentenced to death, or former slaves given a chance to buy or win their freedom.
The games began with a parade of the gladiators, who circled the amphitheater, making sure to salute the sponsor(s) of the event – typically aristocratic politicians.
The audience sat in the stands according to their social class. The patricians (high ranking men) were in the front rows, the plebeians in the middle section, and slaves at the top tier. In the center of the arena was the pit, where wild animals were caged awaiting their release.
The gladiator fights were of two types: man-to-man combat or man-to-beast. These brutal contests, equal parts bloodsport and elaborate public spectacle, would either result in death or a concession of defeat. And they captivated Roman audiences for centuries.
Though the tiers of seating went further back and much higher than you can see now, what remains gives you a good idea of the setting. To enhance the experience, walk up to various points within the seating areas for optimal views of the entire amphitheater.
Over the years, the games began to increase in price until Marcus Aurelius passed the Gladiator Law, ordering maximum spending limits. A copy of this law, inscribed on a bronze plaque, was discovered in the late 1800s in the forum of Italica. You can see a copy attached to the inside wall surrounding the amphitheater.
At one of the entrances to the arena, there’s a sanctuary dedicated to two goddesses, Dea Caelestis and Nemesis Augusta (the latter was considered to be the patron of gladiators). Marble plaques are embedded into the ground with representations of feet. I read that Romans deposited these types of things as gifts to the deities. Another idea suggested is that the footprints were actually of the deities themselves.
Italica’s main thermal baths are also of note. These facilities were not only used for bathing, but for massage and other spa-like treatments. They had a library and solarium and were considered prime meeting areas for men and women of all social classes.
Within the ruins, you can see where a large pool would be. It led to a room without heating, containing a pair of baths, and then another room which was heated by ovens to provide hot baths. Surplus water went down the channels, which are easy to detect.
Various buildings of interest include Exedra, Neptune, House of the Birds and House of the Planetarium. All contain impressive mosaics, which were a popular and commonly admired décor in the Roman world. If you wished to display your wealth, you would hire a craftsman to create colorful mosaics for the floors or walls of your home. The more mosaics, the richer the Roman.
At 43,000 square feet, Exedra is one of the largest buildings. It served as a meeting and banquet facility, and also had an adjacent arena or sports field. Additionally, there were thermal baths and a communal latrine. The latter is decorated with mosaics of pygmy figures. I found it amusing that such expensive décor was found in a latrine!
The Neptune building is even bigger than Exedra and only a quarter of it has been excavated. So far, archeologists have found a thermal area with remains of hot and cold rooms. The cold room is paved with a mosaic of Neptune, the god of the sea, accompanied by an assortment of animals and other sea creatures. Pygmy figures are also used here, this time as a surrounding border. I sense a pattern here and I need to delve into this obsession with pygmies.
In the House of the Birds, one of the rooms contains the mosaic of the birds, giving the house its name. There are more than thirty species of birds that have been identified. I spotted a peacock, an eagle a rooster, a dove, heron and parrot. The condition of this mosaic was remarkable considering its ancient age.
Some of the most notable mosaics are located in the House of the Planetarium. You can see the seven stars of the solar system known to the Romans. And each planet is personified by a god, who actually symbolizes a day of the week. Another floor offers a mosaic representing the god Baco embracing Ariadna. I learned that Ariadna helped Theseus escape from the Minotaur’s labyrinth. She was subsequently abandoned by her lover. Enter Baco, who is spellbound by her beauty and takes her as his wife.
Italica even has a lake, though it is a manmade one, created in the 1970s when a dam was constructed to prevent the amphitheater from flooding. Researchers are certain the Romans found a similar solution to this issue. Knowing their engineering prowess, I don’t doubt it.
Allow time to fully explore this incredible site, as there’s much to see and read from the various informational plaques. It’s fun to imagine life in this wealthy enclave at the height of its prosperity, with lavish homes, greenspaces, shops, storages for food, religious centers, thermal baths and of course, an entertainment arena to rival the Coliseum in Rome. What a place it must have been!
