Itálica Roman City

Seville's story does not begin with the Moors. Long before Ishbiliya there was Hispalis, and just outside it, on a low hill above the Guadalquivir at what is now Santiponce, was Itálica, the first Roman city founded in Hispania. It was established in 206 BC, when the general Publius Cornelius Scipio, victorious over the Carthaginians at the Battle of Ilipa during the Second Punic War, settled his wounded legionaries here beside an existing Turdetanian settlement. The town grew in wealth and importance, and the families of two of Rome's greatest emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, came from Itálica, along with many senators of the period. Hadrian, whose family came from the city and who remained fond of it, raised it to the rank of colony in the second century and endowed it with a new monumental quarter, the nova urbs, laid out on a grand scale with broad paved streets, public buildings and luxurious houses. That quarter is what you walk through today. The highlight is the amphitheatre, one of the largest in the Roman Empire, which could seat a crowd of many thousands; you can walk into the arena, look down into the pit beneath it where animals and machinery were kept, and climb into the tiered stands. Television fans may recognise it as a filming location for Game of Thrones. Beyond it, the streets of the new city are lined with the foundations of mansions, many with fine mosaic floors still in place, including the House of the Birds, with its panels of different species, and the House of the Planetarium, whose mosaic shows the deities of the days of the week. The site is spacious, peaceful and atmospheric, with cypresses and wildflowers in spring, and you will often have whole streets to yourself.

Practicalities: Itálica is managed by the Junta de Andalucía. Entry is free for citizens of the European Union and costs a token fee for visitors from other countries. The site is closed on Mondays and on a few holidays, and its hours change with the seasons: it opens in the morning from Tuesday to Sunday, with longer afternoon hours from Tuesday to Saturday for most of the year, but in high summer it closes in the early afternoon, so in July and August you need to come early. The ticket office closes half an hour before the site. Allow about two hours. There is very little shade, so bring water, a hat and sun cream in any season but winter, and wear comfortable shoes for the uneven Roman paving.

Getting there: the site is on the edge of the village of Santiponce, about twenty minutes by car from central Seville. Regular buses run from the Plaza de Armas bus station in the city to Santiponce and stop near the entrance, which makes it an easy half-day trip without a car. Organised tours also combine Itálica with a city visit. In Santiponce itself, the remains of the Roman theatre, in the older part of the city, can be seen in the village, and the nearby monastery of San Isidoro del Campo, founded in the fourteenth century, is another worthwhile stop if you have time.

Why go: Itálica is the best Roman site in Andalusia within easy reach of Seville, and it adds a deeper layer of history to a trip that otherwise focuses on the Moorish and Christian city. Families like the scale of the amphitheatre and the treasure-hunt feel of finding mosaics among the ruins; couples and history lovers enjoy the quiet. Many of the finest statues and mosaics found at Itálica are displayed in Seville's Archaeological Museum and in the Casa de Pilatos and the Palacio de Lebrija, so seeing the site first gives those collections context. Combine it with the Museo de Bellas Artes or the Casa de Pilatos for a classical day.