Overall Impact:                **** 4 stars – Italica delivers a mixed impression with a massive amphitheatre and high quality mosaics – but hard to understand as a major City.

Access                                *** 3 stars – road access to site entrance

Atmosphere                      ** 2 star – Italica is a site that is hard to make sense, although with star elements

Other                                  **** 4 stars – birth-place of 3 Emperors!

Italica should impress more, it is after all the birthplace of two of unquestionably the most important Roman Emperors – Trajan and Hadrian in the 2nd Century CE, and possibly a third Theodosius I of Great in the 4th Century.

It has the third largest amphitheatre in the Empire, and some remarkable mosaics – including a very witty Neptune with putti hunting  crocodiles and fighting cranes and a delightful one with bird pictures.  What is more when we were there after a very rainy winter day, the sewer system still appears to function.

Perhaps it’s the contrast with the altogether amazing Merida which we had just visited the day before, that seems to put Italica in the shade?  Maybe the restored walls and portico pillars that line Hadrian’s wide avenues in the New Town, are just too neatly finished?  Maybe its the worry induced by at least three world class mosaics being open to all the elements has to throw at them?

Italica was founded as far back as 206 BCE by the great general Publius Cornelius Scipio, later called Africanus after he defeated Hannibal at Zama.  His great victory over Hannibal’s brother Hasdrubal at Ilipa was just up the road and Scipio settle his veterans from Italia, in Italica to dominate the areas around the River Guadalquivir.

Scipio’s Old Town lies under the modern Santaponce.  Trajan was born in Italica on 18 September 53 CE in Italica in a non patrician family of Italian and possibly Iberian origin.  Hadrian was born in Italica on 24 January 76 CE and was the adopted heir of the childless Trajan, who was the maternal cousin of Hadrian’s father.

Hadrian expanded Italica northwards with the New City, and made it a Colonia Aelia Augusta Italica.  He added temples including a meassinve Trajaneum and built the amphitheatre that could seat 25,000 spectators – half the Colisseum itself.  This was both a bold statement and a massive financial commitment to funding Games and Spectacles by the local elite of Italica.  Large well appointed houses were built for this elite in the City.

It is therefore perhaps not surprising that Italica’s prosperity shrunk with the end of the Antonine Dynasty with which it was so closely connected.  Also the River Gaudalquivir had shifted course and silted up, which favoured Hispalis (modern Seville).

Italica carried on in a reduced state like a dowager fallen on hard times.  It was used as a stone quarry by Moors and Christian regimes alike.  Today it has some monuments like the Amphitheatre, but not much extraordinary to excite the visitor, except it’s general size and the memories of Trajan and Hadrian.

Italica in Summary

Italica is a large and sprawling site. The Amphitheatre is massive and impressive. The rest of the site has striking mosaics but how they fit in the houses is difficult to understand. The overall picture of how the City functioned is hard to fathom.