← Back to the mapRuins of the Roman theatre at Italica, near Seville, Spain
Modern photograph of the Roman theatre at Italica, Spain · Wikimedia Commons

Italica

Baetica · Roman province·Spain·Founded 206 BCE by Scipio

Home town of Trajan and Hadrian. In 117 CE it was still the old veteran colony — Hadrian's new quarter, which would double the city, was still to come.

An uninhabited archaeological park near Santiponce, Spain, just outside Seville; birthplace of Trajan and Hadrian, with its older quarter still lying under the modern village.

Excavation history

1751-1755
Francisco de Bruna — The first organized excavations at Italica were carried out under Francisco de Bruna, beginning the modern archaeological recovery of the site.
1989
Regional Government of Andalusia — The remains of Italica were formally declared an Archaeological Site by Andalusian regional decree, formalizing its protected status.

Notable finds

Colossal Statue of Trajan
Dug out of Italica's own soil in 1788, this heroic nude statue copies the pose of the figure that once crowned Trajan's Column in Rome, though the statue itself was actually raised a few years later under his successor Hadrian.
Archaeological Museum of Seville
Diana of Italica
Carved from Parian marble and standing 2.25 meters tall in full hunting dress — boots, chiton, diadem — this Diana was pulled from the upper seating of Italica's own theatre.
Archaeological Museum of Seville
Bird Mosaic, House of the Birds
Archaeologist Andres Parlade uncovered this floor between 1930 and 1932, its checkerboard grid holding 33 individually identifiable birds — peacock, eagle, heron, parrot — around a central panel, the fullest aviary any Roman mosaic has left behind.
in situ, House of the Birds, Italica
Open Italica on the interactive map →

Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →