Italica ( es, Itálica) was a
Roman town founded by
Italic settlers in
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
; its site is close to the town of
Santiponce
Santiponce is a town located in the province of Seville, Spain. According to the 2006 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used ...
, part of the
province of Seville
The Province of Seville ( es, Sevilla) is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Málaga, Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and C ...
in modern-day
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. It was founded in 206 BC by Roman general
Scipio as a settlement for his Italic veterans and named after them. As time progressed, Italica grew attracting new settlers from the Italian peninsula and also with the children of Roman soldiers and native women of Iberia. A branch of the
Gens Ulpia
The gens Ulpia was a Roman family that rose to prominence during the first century AD. The gens is best known from the emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, who reigned from AD 98 to 117. The Thirtieth Legion took its name, ''Ulpia'', in his honor. ...
from the
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
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, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
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n city of
Tuder
Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.
I ...
(the ''Ulpi Traiani'') and a branch of the
gens Aelia from the
Picenian city of
Atri
Atri ( sa, अत्रि) or Attri is a Vedic sage, who is credited with composing numerous hymns to Agni, Indra, and other Vedic deities of Hinduism. Atri is one of the Saptarishi (seven great Vedic sages) in the Hindu tradition, and the on ...
(the ''Aelii Hadriani'') were either among the original founders of Italica or among the later Italic settlers that moved into the town (at any time between the third century BC and first century AD), as these were the respective ''stirpes'' of the Roman emperors
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
and
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
, who were born in Italica. According to some authors, Italica was also the birthplace of
Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name.
Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium
...
.
History
Foundation
Italica was the first Roman settlement in Spain and the first Roman city outside of Italy. It was founded in 206 BC by
Publius Cornelius Scipio during the
Second Carthaginian War close to a native Iberian town of the
Turdetani
The Turdetani were an ancient pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula, living in the valley of the Guadalquivir (the river that the Turdetani called by two names: ''Kertis'' and ''Rérkēs'' (Ῥέρκης); Romans would call the river by th ...
(dating back at least to the 4th c. BC) as a settlement for his Italic veterans, likely a majority of ''
socii
The ''socii'' ( in English) or ''foederati'' ( in English) were confederates of ancient Rome, Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the Roman citizens (''Cives'') and the ''Latin Rights, Latin ...
'' and a minority of
Roman citizens, and named Italica after its inhabitants. The nearby native and Roman city of
Hispalis (Seville) was and would remain a larger city, but Italica's importance derived from its illustrious origin and from the fact that it was close enough to the
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gul ...
to control the area.
The ''vetus urbs'' (original or "old" city) developed into a prosperous city and was built on a
Hippodamian
Hippodamus of Miletus (; Greek: Ἱππόδαμος ὁ Μιλήσιος, ''Hippodamos ho Milesios''; 498 – 408 BC) was an ancient Greek architect, urban planner, physician, mathematician, meteorologist and philosopher, who is considered to ...
street plan with public buildings and a
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
at the centre, linked to a busy river port. Italica thrived especially under the patronage of Hadrian, like many other cities in the empire under his influence at this time, but it was especially favoured as his birthplace. He expanded the city northwards as the ''nova urbs'' (new city) and, upon its request, elevated it to the status of ''
colonia'' as ''Colonia Aelia Augusta Italica'' even though Hadrian expressed his surprise as it already enjoyed the rights of "
Municipium
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...
". He also added temples, including the enormous and unique ''Traianeum'' in the centre of the city to venerate his predecessor and adopted father, and rebuilt public buildings.
The city started to dwindle as early as the 3rd century when a shift of the
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gul ...
River bed, probably due to
siltation
Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary or ...
, a widespread problem in
antiquity that followed
removal of the forest cover, left Italica's river port high and dry while
Hispalis
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. ...
continued to grow nearby.
Late Antiquity
The city may have been the birthplace of the emperor
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
and of his eldest son
Arcadius
Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ea ...
(born in Spain in 377 A.D., during his father's exile).
Italica was important enough in late Antiquity to have a bishop of its own, and had a garrison during the Visigothic age. The walls were restored by
Leovigildo in 583 AD during his struggles against
Hermenegildo.
Rediscovery and excavations
In recent centuries, the ruins became the subject of visits, admiration and despair by many foreign travellers who wrote about and sometimes illustrated their impressions. Italica's prestige, history and fame were not enough, however, to save it from being the subject of continued looting, and a permanent quarry for materials from Ancient times to modern ones. In 1740 the city of Seville ordered demolition of the walls of the amphitheatre to build a dam on the Guadalquivir, and in 1796 the ''vetus urbs'' was used to build the new Camino Real of Extremadura. The first law of protection for the site took effect in 1810 under the Napoleonic occupation, reinstating its old name of Italica, and allocating an annual budget for regular excavation.
One of the first excavators was the British
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
merchant and Seville resident Nathan Wetherell, who uncovered nearly ten Roman inscriptions in the vicinity of Italica in the 1820s that were later donated to the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. Regular excavation, however, did not materialise until 1839–1840. By Royal Order of 1912 Italica was declared a National Monument, but it was not until 2001 that the archaeological site of Italica and the areas of protection were clearly defined.
The site
As no modern city covered many of Italica's buildings of the ''nova urbs'', the result is an unusually well-preserved Roman city with cobbled Roman streets and mosaic floors still ''in situ''. Many rich finds can also be seen in the
Seville Archaeological Museum, with its famous marble statue of Trajan.
The archaeological site of Italica encompasses mainly the ''nova urbs'' with its many fine buildings from the Hadrianic period. The original ''vetus urbs'' (old town) lies under the present town of Santiponce.
Extensive excavation and renovation of the site has been done recently and is continuing.
The small baths and the Theatre are some of the oldest visible remains, both built before Hadrian.
Italica’s amphitheatre was the third largest in the Roman Empire at the time, being slightly larger than the
Tours Amphitheatre in France. It seated 25,000 spectators, about half as many as the
Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...
in Rome. The size is surprising given that the city's population at the time is estimated to have been only 8,000, and shows that the local elite demonstrated status that extended far beyond Italica itself through the games and theatrical performances they funded as magistrates and public officials.
From the same period is the elite quarter with several beautiful (and expensive) houses decorated with splendid mosaics visible today, particularly the:
*House of the Exedra
*House of the Neptune Mosaic
*House of the Birds Mosaic
*House of the Planetarium Mosaic
*House of Hylas
*House of the Rhodian Patio.
The Traianeum
The Traianeum was a large, imposing temple in honour of the Emperor Trajan, built by his adopted son and successor, Hadrian. It occupies a central double ''
insula'' at the highest point of ''nova urbs''. It measures 108 x 80 m and is surrounded by a large porticoed square with alternating rectangular and semicircular
exedra
An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
around its exterior housing sculptures. The temple precinct was decorated with over a hundred columns of expensive
Cipollino marble from
Euboea
Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...
, and various fountains.
Aqueduct
The aqueduct of 37 km total length was first built in the 1st c. AD and extended under Hadrian to add a more distant source for supplying the expanded city. It fed a huge cistern at the edge of the city which remains intact.
[M. Pellicer, "Excavaciones en Italica (1978-79). Muralla, cloacas y cisterna", ''Itálica, Santiponce (Sevilla)'', E.A.E. nr. 121, Madrid, 205-224]
The reconstruction
/ref> Some of the piers of the arches are still visible near the city.
Gallery
File:House of the Planetarium, Italica, Hispania Baetica, Spain (31295879142).jpg, House of the Planetarium
File:Ancient Roman theatre in Itálica 02.jpg, Ancient Roman theatre
Image:Anfiteatro de las ruinas romanas de Itálica, Santiponce, Sevilla, España, 2015-12-06, DD 08.JPG, A vault in the amphitheatre
File:Patio de la Domus de los Pájaros, Itálica.jpg, Domus of the Birds
File:The Cardo Maximus, Italica, Spain (31270760842).jpg, The Cardo Maximus
File:Edificio de la Exedra en Itálica (32804310242).jpg, The Exedra building
File:Opus sectile, Itálica.jpg, Mosaic in the Exedra
See also
* Romanization of Hispania The Romanization of Hispania is the process by which Roman or Latin culture was introduced into the Iberian Peninsula during the period of Roman rule.
Throughout the centuries of Roman rule over the provinces of Hispania, Roman customs, religion, la ...
References
External links
Italica homepage
from the Andalusian Council
from Livius.org
Italica City Ruins details
Exprilo
{{Authority control
Roman sites in Spain
Roman towns and cities in Spain
Coloniae (Roman)
206 BC
200s BC establishments
Buildings and structures in the Province of Seville
Former populated places in Spain
Cities founded by Rome
Archaeological sites in Andalusia
Populated places established in the 3rd century BC