Italica

Italica is the most overlooked major site near Seville. Founded in 206 BC by Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio as the first Roman colony on the Iberian Peninsula, it later became the birthplace of emperors Trajan (AD 53) and Hadrian (AD 76). The ruins are extensive, largely preserved under open sky, and 9 km from the Cathedral of Seville.

What is actually there

The site has two distinct areas:

The Roman city (Nova Urbs): the 2nd-century expansion under Hadrian, now the main archaeological area. Street grids, mosaic floors, thermal baths, and the amphitheatre are here. The mosaics of the Neptuno, Planetario, and Birds houses are well preserved — some of the best in situ Roman mosaics in Spain.

The amphitheatre: capacity estimated at 25,000 — third largest in the Roman Empire after the Colosseum and the Capua amphitheatre. The arena floor, underground passages (where animals and gladiators were held), and much of the seating structure are visible. Game of Thrones fans will recognise this as the “Dragonpit” location from Season 7.

The original Italica (Vetus Urbs, the old city) lies under the modern town of Santiponce — partially excavated but not publicly accessible.

Getting there from Seville

Bus M172 from Seville’s Plaza de Armas bus station to Santiponce. The journey takes about 30 minutes. Cost: approximately €1.80–2.10 one-way. Buses run roughly every 30 minutes on weekdays, less frequently on weekends. The ruins entrance is a 5-minute walk from the bus stop in Santiponce.

By car: 20–25 minutes via the A-8082. Parking is available near the site entrance.

Guided tour from Seville: A guided Italica tour from Seville provides historical context for the Hadrianic expansion and the significance of the mosaic types — the symbolism of the Neptuno mosaic is non-obvious without explanation.

For Game of Thrones interest specifically, the Game of Thrones and Roman Empire Italica tour covers both the filming locations and the historical background.

Entry

Free for EU citizens (bring passport or ID). Non-EU adults: €1.50. The site is managed by the Junta de Andalucía. Opening hours vary by season: generally Tuesday–Saturday 9:00–17:00/18:00/20:00 depending on the season, Sunday 9:00–15:00, closed Mondays.

The archaeological museum at the entrance has a small but good collection of Roman pieces from the site: sculpture, coins, architectural fragments.

Practical notes

The site is entirely outdoors and largely unshaded. Visiting in summer after 11:00 means walking on gravel paths under intense sun with little shade. Morning visits (9:00–11:00) are manageable. Bring water regardless of season.

The town of Santiponce has a few cafés and a decent restaurant (Restaurante Italica, Avenida de Extremadura) for a post-site lunch, though it is not remarkable.

Combining Italica with Carmona in a single day is possible with a car — Carmona is 35 km east. See /destinations/carmona/.

Game of Thrones connection

HBO used Italica’s amphitheatre as the location for the Dragonpit in Season 7 — the meeting between Daenerys’s faction and Cersei Lannister. The visual of the ruined stone cavities around the arena floor maps directly to the episode. Seville’s Alcázar gardens appeared as the Water Gardens of Dorne in Seasons 5 and 6.

The 3-hour Game of Thrones Italica tour from Seville covers the filming context in detail and also takes in the Alcázar filming locations in Seville before the drive to Italica.

Italica’s historical significance

The name Italica is not Spanish — it means “the Italian place,” reflecting the soldiers from the Italian peninsula who founded the settlement with Scipio. It was the first Roman colonia west of the Ebro and served as a model for subsequent Roman urban development in Hispania.

The city reached its peak under Emperor Hadrian (who was born here), who funded a massive expansion in the 2nd century AD. The grid of streets, the thermae (baths), and the amphitheatre were all part of Hadrian’s Nova Urbs expansion. The circular pattern of the amphitheatre, at 160 metres on the long axis, was designed to hold 25,000 spectators — proportionally enormous for a city of Italica’s size.

Trajan (born 53 AD, died 117 AD): first Roman emperor born outside Italy. Under his rule, the empire reached its maximum territorial extent — present-day Iraq in the east, Scotland in the north. A marble statue of Trajan from Italica is in the Seville Archaeological Museum.

Hadrian (born 76 AD, died 138 AD): builder of Hadrian’s Wall in Britain, the Pantheon in Rome, and the Villa Adriana near Rome. He visited Italica as a conscious act of ancestral piety and funded the Nova Urbs expansion himself.

The mosaics in detail

The mosaic floors at Italica are among the finest in situ Roman mosaics in Spain. Key examples:

Mosaico de Neptuno: in the Casas de los Pájaros thermae complex. Shows Neptune (Poseidon) surrounded by sea creatures. The tesserae (mosaic tiles) are predominantly white marble with black limestone outlines — typical of the Hadrianic period.

Mosaico Planetario: the seven planets of Roman cosmology (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn) personified as deities, arranged around a central figure. Approximately 6 metres in diameter.

Mosaico de los Pájaros (Birds mosaic): over 30 bird species accurately depicted, including flamingo, hoopoe, and stork — species still visible in Andalusia.

La casa del Patio Rodio: residential house with garden courtyard and multiple intact floor mosaics, showing the domestic (non-public) mosaic tradition.

Visiting tips

The site has no shade, which matters significantly in summer. A hat and water are essential from May to September. Morning visits (9:00–11:00) are the only comfortable option in July–August.

The bus from Seville (M172 from Plaza de Armas) runs approximately every 30 minutes on weekdays and every 60 minutes on weekends. The first bus departs around 7:00; the last return from Santiponce is around 22:00. The schedule shifts seasonally — check at the bus station or the Tussam/Damas website.

The town of Santiponce has several acceptable lunch options including Restaurante Italica (Avenida de Extremadura 2) with a solid menú del día around €12. The bar at the museum entrance serves coffee and basic snacks.

What Italica looked like at its peak

At its 2nd-century peak, Italica had a population of around 8,000 people — significant for a Roman provincial town. The Nova Urbs (Hadrian’s expansion) was planned as a showcase city: the streets were 12–18 metres wide (comparable to Rome’s best thoroughfares), the insulae (residential blocks) were large and well-appointed, and the public buildings were built with imported marble.

The amphitheatre — third largest in the empire at 170 × 137 metres — was grossly oversized for a city of this population. This was deliberate: Hadrian wanted to express imperial power through architecture that exceeded the city’s practical needs. The vaults beneath the arena floor (where animals were held in cages and gladiators waited) are still largely intact and can be walked today.

The site has never been fully excavated. Current estimates suggest that only 30–40% of the Roman city has been exposed. The remainder lies under Santiponce and surrounding agricultural land. The 2nd-century street plan is partially visible as crop marks from aerial photography.

How Italica declined

Roman Italica was gradually abandoned following the 3rd-century crisis of the Roman Empire. The population contracted, the aqueduct fell into disrepair (the city’s water supply was entirely dependent on a long aqueduct from the Sierra Norte mountains), and building stone was quarried from the ruins for use in Seville. The Visigoths used the amphitheatre as a quarry; the Moors did the same. Medieval Seville’s churches and walls contain Italica stone.

The site was first recognised as archaeologically significant in the 16th century. Systematic excavation began in the 19th century under Ferdinand VII and has continued intermittently since.

Italica and the Archivo de Indias

One of the Roman busts found at Italica — now in the Seville Archaeology Museum in María Luisa Park — is believed to be Hadrian. The museum also holds mosaics from Italica, including some not displayed at the site itself. If you are interested in the full scope of Italica’s finds, a visit to the museum (free for EU residents, €1.50 for others) completes the Italica picture. The museum is in Seville’s Parque de María Luisa, about 30 minutes from the old town on foot.