Santiponce Itálica

Heritage

An immense legacy waiting to be discovered

Archaeological Site of Italica

8300
1

The Roman city of Italica is found in the Lower Guadalquivir, halfway between Seville (Hispalis) and Alcalá del Río (Ilipa), in what is now Santiponce, very close to the routes that communicated with the mining area of the Seville’s Sierra Morena and Huelva. It played an important strategic role during the High Roman Empire in both the political-military and economic spheres. Proof of this is that it came to occupy an area of approximately 52 hectares.

The origins of the Archaeological Site of Italica date back to 206 B.C., when General Publius Cornelius Scipio defeated the Carthaginians in the Battle of Ilipa in the Second Punic War and established a detachment of legionaries on the Cerro de San Antonio, a place where there had already been a Turdetan population since the 4th century B.C. Although at first both communities lived together in this area near the Guadalquivir, the Romans soon imposed their social and political ways. In the second half of the first century B.C. the city acquired the status of municipality and, subsequently, during the government of the emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.), that of a colony, which made it equivalent to a metropolis in administrative terms.

It was the cradle of the emperors Trajan and Hadrian, and the source of many of the senators of the time. Currently, the Archaeological Site of Italica offers the visitor the sight of a splendid Roman amphitheater and the possibility of walking through the layout of what were once its streets, as well as learning about the houses, public buildings, works of art and everyday utensils used by its inhabitants.

The visit to the Archaeological Site includes the amphitheatre, the theatre, the baths, the domus, the temple and the walls.

Opening times

From March 21 to June 20

  • Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 09:00 to 18:00;
  • Friday, Saturday from 09:00 to 21:00.
  • Sundays, holidays and Monday eve of holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Closed Mondays (except the eve of public holidays).

From June 21 to September 20

  • Tuesday to Saturday from 09:00 to 15:00.
  • Sundays, holidays and Monday eve of holidays, from 09:00 to 15:00.
  • Closed Monday (except the eve of a holiday).

From September 21 to March 20

  • Tuesday to Saturday from 09:00 to 18:00.
  • Sundays, holidays and Monday eve of holidays, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Closed Mondays (except the eve of public holidays).

OPENING HOLIDAYS: February 28 / April 6 / April 7 / August 15 / October 12 / November 1 / December 6 / December 8 / 2 days of local holidays
OPENING MONDAY FOR BEING A HOLIDAY OR HOLIDAY EVE: February 27 / August 14 / January 2
CLOSING HOLIDAYS: January 1 / January 6 / May 1 / December 24 / December 25 / December 31.
The ticket office ends thirty minutes before the complex closes.

Price: Citizens of the European Union: Free. Other countries: €1.50

0 comments

New comment

The comments are moderated, so it takes a while to appear. If they contain offensive language they will not be published.