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Published: April 27th 2016
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We think that the weather has finally turned permanently in our favour as the sun was streaming in when we finally woke this morning an hour later than normal because of the shift in the time zone.
We had breakfast on the terrace area in the warm morning sun and really we could have relaxed there all day.
The family from Myrtle Beach South Carolina we met yesterday afternoon after we had been to the supermarket came by and we chatted more about the travels both of us as families were doing.
Phil and Steffi home school their two daughters Hania(as in Crete) and Iona(as in Scotland)(both named after places Phil and Steffi had been and then children followed).We admire them for the way they looked at life and were giving their children one of the greatest opportunities and that is travel to broaden the mind.
They had been into Seville yesterday but late in the day and they were going back to see what they missed yesterday.
We had read about a place not too far from the apartment at Santiponce where a town from Roman days had been unearthed during the 1820’s and over
the years what was discovered expanded and in 2001 the site and what had been uncovered was clearly defined and protected.
Gina took us on run through narrow streets of 3 or 4 towns before we got to Santiponce and we walked into the site.
Had we been EU residents we would have got in for free but we had to pay the princely sum of €1.50 each and what a great find for such a paltry amount of admission fee.
A video gives you an introduction to how the town started under Roman rule in 206BC and then a description of what to look out for as you stroll around the extensive area.
A bit surprising to us was the fact that mosaic floors that had been unearthed had been left open to the atmosphere and not covered as we might have expected to extend their life under different climatic conditions today than when they were laid.
Trajan and Hadrian who both became emperors of Rome were born here and of course Hadrian went on to rule in England for a period of his reign. So for that alone the site has a very
significant historical value.
It appears as though there is much more excavation to be done and they do have a problem in that in more recent years, probably during the late 19
th or early 20
th century someone decided to put the cemetery for Santiponce on the highest point of the old Roman town. This will be an area no one will be able to excavate to see what is beneath.
Probably the most spectacular feature of the site is the amphitheatre built during Hadrian’s time and large enough to seat 25,000 people about half the size of the Colosseum in Rome yet the town only ever had a population that never exceeded 8000 people.
Although nearby Hispalis (or Seville as it is known today) was the main Roman city in the area, Italica had its importance as well with its amphitheatre.
We ended our visit after 1 ½ hours with a good understanding of the importance of the Roman occupation of Spain, to the Romans that is and just how they fitted into Spain’s long history of outsiders who came and conquered and were then driven out by the next invaders.
Back home we had
pre dinner drinks in the early evening shade of the orange trees which gave off the most exquisite scent from the flowers that seem to be opening at this time of year.
We had bought turkey skewers for dinner although in our travels on the BBA V3 we haven’t seen one turkey or anything that looks like a turkey. We were pretty sure that the translation of the packaging said the meat was turkey!
PS,struggling for a song about the Roman Empire so then remembered the words in this great Kiwi song.Enjoy it on YouTube
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