ITÁLICA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
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Walk in the district of the city erected under Hadrian during the visit of the archaeological site in Santiponce
Founded in 206 B.C. by Scipio the African, Itálica is the oldest city in Roman Hispania and has produced two emperors, Trajan and Adrian. Its location on the Lower Guadalquivir, close to the roads leading to the Sierra Norte mining areas of Seville and Huelva, also gave Itálica a strategic economic role during the High Roman Empire, to the point of occupying an area of 52 hectares. In the middle of the 1st century BC, the town acquired municipal status, and over time, under Emperor Adrian, became a colony. In its heyday, Itálica developed its architecture, constructing new public buildings such as the amphitheatre, housing decorated with floor mosaics and wide streets linking its various districts. According to archaeologists, it was the deviation of the Guadalquivir River that led to the city's fall in Arab times, and it was in 1603 that the village of Santiponce was established on the site of the Roman ruins. Begun between 1751 and 1755, under the direction of Francisco de Bruna, archaeological excavations have not ceased to this day, and the remains were classified as an archaeological site in 1989.
To this day, little is known about the city in its period corresponding to the Roman Republic, as its remains are under Santiponce. For this reason, the visible archaeological site is mainly concerned with the extensions to Itálica built during the High Empire, under the mandate of Adrian. A period characterized by imposing buildings such as the Traianeum, the temple of imperial worship, and large houses where the city's wealthiest patrician families lived. However, the itinerary also includes a section of Santiponce's downtown area, where you can visit the theater and the minor baths. The tour is structured around 10 key points, which are listed on the document handed out at the entrance. You'll discover the following elements in particular:
The city walls. These were built in several phases, but the ones you enter date from the time of Adrian. Once past the walls, you'll discover the distinctive layout of the lanes, all at right angles to each other and forming rectangular plots, with the widest lanes measuring up to 18 meters wide.
The houses. They are often characterized by beautiful mosaics, particularly in the Exèdre house, one of the largest buildings on the site, with a surface area of 4,000m2 structured around the central patio; the Birds house, named after a mosaic featuring more than 30 species of birds, including a royal peacock, an eagle and a parrot; that of Neptune, whose marble, glass and ceramic mosaic depicts the god surrounded by a procession of sea creatures, or that of the Planetarium, depicting the 7 stars of the solar system known to the Romans.
The amphitheatre. One of the largest in the Roman Empire, with a capacity of 25,000 spectators.
Roman theater. One of the oldest buildings in the world, its entrance portico dedicated to the cult of Isis is virtually identical in size and shape to the one in Pompeii.
Major baths. These were used for bathing, but also had a solarium and a library.
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L’élément le plus intéressant du site est le colossal amphithéâtre (le troisième plus grand du monde romain, dit-on) qui laisse deviner la présence marquante de la ville romaine sur le territoire. Il est édifié au 2es par Hadrien en béton renforcé de briques ou de pierres de taille, agrémenté de marbre dans les zones plus prestigieuses de l’édifice comme l’entrée monumentale. Il est passablement ruiné mais se laisse visiter avec plaisir. Les romains profitant toujours du terrain pour faciliter la construction, cet amphithéâtre est implanté sur un étroit vallon.
On visite également la nova urbs, la ville nouvelle dont la construction commence sous l’empereur Hadrien à côté de la vetus urbs recouverte depuis longtemps par la ville moderne de Santiponce. Ça prend beaucoup d’imagination pour reconstituer la cité qu’Hadrien a voulue à l’échelle d’une ville impériale, comparable à la capitale de toute une province. Il n’en reste malheureusement que des fondations, de larges voies romaines et quelques mosaïques. Les artefacts les plus importants sont au musée d’archéologie de Séville. Il reste si peu que j’y ai surtout vu un parc où il fait bon se promener parmi les vieilles pierres.
On peut également visiter le théâtre dans la ville de Santiponce.
L’entrée est gratuite pour les ressortissants de l’Union Européenne, sinon le prix de l’entrée est plutôt symbolique.
Un gros point faible du site est le manque de documentation. Un audio-guide rendrait la visite beaucoup plus instructive et intéressante car on comprendrait ce que l’on voit. On trouve toutefois quelques panneaux explicatifs mais en espagnol seulement.