On to the Romans

Leaving Christianity behind for a blog post or two to consider other ways of being. Just north of Seville, we visited some incredible Roman ruins at a site that was originally the town of Italica, population 8000 in the early ADs. Trajan and nephew Hadrian both lived here, so it was a happening place in its heyday.

Its most remarkable feature is a largely intact ampitheatre, a magical space to enjoy executions, hunts, and gladiator fights. I say magical because, while we were there, a tour guide sang a little Spanish song--perfect acoustics in an arena would have seated 25000. Not nice to imagine what a gladiator fight might have sounded like. Trivia bit: Game of Thrones used the site as a filming location in 2016.

Even though the ampitheatre was huge, the biggest building on the excavation site was the baths area. The pool alone seemed more than Olympic-sized. And the houses--full of amazing tiled floors, fit for the very wealthy. This one is of the seven days of the week.

Amazing that so much is almost perfectly intact, eighteen centuries later.

Note the beauty of a day as well--more lovely and more temperate than even a summer's day. The site is on high ground, overlooking the city of Seville and the Guadalquivir River--ideal real estate for Roman aristocracy and a 21st century ham and cheese picnic.