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Italica (Santiponce)
Fortuna, or the City's Luck (Museo Arqueológico, Seville)
| History | Archaeological Complex | Museum |
The site of Italica has for a substantial part been excavated. Among the oldest remains are the theater (satellite photo; cf. the decoration), which could accommodate about 3,000 people, and the Smaller Baths (satellite photo), which predate the rebuilding of the city by the emperor Hadrian. This part of the city, which may have been the quarter of the ordinary people, is now overbuilt by the village of Santiponce, and although the monuments above can be seen, the Hadrianic town is more important.
Cardo Maximus
This quarter was, of course, built on the usual gridiron map; a temple dedicated to the emperor Trajan, Hadrian's adoptive father, may have been in the center (satellite photo). The roads of this part of Italica were remarkably wide and often had porticoes along them, the foundations of which have been found. There were many splendid mansions in this quarter; the amphitheater, Italica's main monument, was directly to the north of it (satellite photo), outside the town wall.
It could accommodate 20,000-25,000 people, which is a ridiculous number, because there were probably never more than 10,000 people living in Italica (cf. Pompeii, which had about 15,000 people within its walls, and 15,000 on the land). The solution to this puzzle may be that visitors arrived from nearby Hispalis (Seville). It has also been said that gladiatorial fights and hunts were more popular in Andalusia than in Italy. (It is tempting to connect this with the popularity of bull fights in modern Spain.)
Seats in the amphitheater
The amphitheater is well-preserved. You can still recognize the stairs on the outside, which made it possible to reach the upper seats, and several structures in the center of the arena. Among these were elevators, which were used to bring wild animals into the arena. In the amphitheater, an interesting votive offering was discovered: a slab of marble with two pairs of feet -obviously the part of the body that had been cured-, dedicated to Juno Caelestis, a goddess who was originally from Carthage. It is now in Seville's Museo Arqueológico.
The mansions of the Hadrianic quarter, however, are the main delight of a visit to Italica. The excavators named them after the mosaics that they found: House of the Neptune Mosaic, House of the Birds Mosaic, and the House of the Planetarium Mosaic.
Dedication to Juno Caelestis (Museo Arqueológico, Seville)
They must have been meant for the town's elite, because all houses had access to the city's water supply. Ordinary people would have used the public fountains, which were on every crossing. Italica's aqueduct also dates back to the age of the emperor Hadrian. The "castellum", where the waters were divided (one third for the bathhouses, one third for the public fountains, one third for the private houses), is on the hill west of the town.
House of the Bird Mosaic
The House of the Neptune Mosaic is named after a black-and-white mosaic with all kinds of aquatic animals. In the center is the the god of the sea with his trident; this part is in color. The mosaic is surrounded by a wide edge that is decorated with Nilotic scenes. Here, you can see several crocodiles, a hippopotamus, a palm tree and several pygmies, fighting against ibises. This indicates that the owner was interested in Egypt; admittedly, the pygmies were no residents of the country of the Nile, but the ancients believed they were living in its upper reaches, which explains their presence in an Egyptian context.
The Bird Mosaic
An interest in all things Egyptian was not unusual in this age. Similar scenes, although of a higher quality, can be found in the Villa Selene near Lepcis Magna in Libya (more...). Many Romans were fascinated by the ancient country. Italica even had a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis. This tells something about the international culture of ancient Andalusia.
The central mosaic in the House of the Bird Mosaic (satellite photo), which is the most Italian of all houses excavated in Italica, consists of thirty-five small square mosaics that surround a larger, central scene, also square. Unfortunately, this part of badly damaged and cannot be reconstructed. The thirty-five smaller scenes represent different species of birds, all walking. An example can be seen below.
Finally, the main piece of art in the House of the Planetarium Mosaic (satellite photo), which is remarkable. Not because it is unique. On similar mosaics, the Sun is in the center, surrounded by the moon and the five planets. Here, the main celestial body is in the circle of six, and Venus is in the center. On the photo to the left, the sun is top right. Anti-clockwise, we see the Moon (top), Mars (with a helmet), Mercury, Jupiter (bottom; photo below), and Saturn (damaged).
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| Amphitheater: entrance to the arena | Amphitheater: staircase | Amphitheater: arena | Amphitheater: arena |
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| House of the Neptune Mosaic | House of the Neptune Mosaic: aquatic animals and Neptune | House of the Neptune Mosaic: crocodile | House of the Neptune Mosaic: pygmy |
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| House of Neptune: Labyrinth | House of the Planetarium: Jupiter | Meanders | House of the Birds |
| History | Archaeological Complex | Museum |
Livius.Org, 2009
Revision: 1 Jan. 2009
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