Italica
Rome's first city in Spain — and the birthplace of two emperors — is sitting in a field outside Seville.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Seville offline.
Scipio founded this settlement in 206 BC for his Italic veterans, making it the earliest Roman foothold on the peninsula. Trajan and Hadrian were both born here. When Hadrian became emperor, he poured resources into expanding his hometown northward, creating an entirely new district — the nova urbs — laid out alongside the original settlement.
What to look for
- The Hippodamian street grid of the vetus urbs — Rome's orthogonal city plan stamped onto the Iberian countryside
- The forum at the centre of the old city, where public buildings clustered around the civic heart
- The nova urbs to the north: Hadrian's imperial-era expansion, visibly distinct from the original veteran colony
Italica is near Santiponce, not in Seville itself — budget travel time out of the city.
Italica is one of 16 sights worth the detour in Seville, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Seville pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Seville
- Seville CathedralThe church that dethroned Hagia Sophia — and holds Columbus's bones.
- Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán StadiumTwo European finals and a World Cup semi-final on one pitch — more big-match history than almost any stadium in Spain.
- Royal Alcázar of SevilleA working royal palace — the Spanish royal family still occupies the upper floors when they visit Seville.
- GiraldaA 12th-century Almohad minaret wearing a Renaissance belfry — two faiths, one tower, centuries apart.
- Torre del OroOne anchor of a river chain that once sealed the Guadalquivir against an entire warfleet.
- Plaza de EspañaA vast semicircle of hand-painted province tiles where every Spaniard hunts for their hometown alcove.