ITALICA

We are in our last week and everyone is nervous because they want to make the most of the experience exploring every corner of Seville. One thing we were surprised to discover was Italica. It was an ancient Roman village 20 minutes away from the city. It is amazing how many different cultures have influenced the Andalusian culture and how it is still alive in some aspects of today's daily life. First, we watched a video that recreated how the city of Italica would have been at the time and how important it was for the Roman Empire. It was the hometown of the well-known Roman emperor Hadrian. Apparently, Italica was even bigger than what you can see but Santiponce, the village next to it, was built on the remains of the Roman city. 

The main structure of the city was the amphitheater which has nothing to do with the theatre and where gladiators fought against each other. We could go down the little corridors to experience how they felt before going into battle, and then upstairs to get the whole panoramic of the place where the TV series Game of Thrones was also filmed!! Later, we had a walk around the different streets and visited the houses that were still preserved. The most surprising fact was how they were able to keep the huge mosaic that decorated the houses. The most important was dedicated to the mythological gods who gave their names to the days of the week. Spain has inherited lots of things from Roman culture, and the most important is their language. It was a very cultural and interesting morning.