Art and culture
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Colours, sounds, emotions, feelings, smiles, aromas…each and every one of our senses sharpen on discovering details that make a simple stroll around these romantic streets last forever. This is an experience in sharing in the history of the place, its customs, legends and the privilege of experiencing its millenary traditions, artistic expressiveness and display of culture.
1 day. Santiponce
For a short stay, a visit to the eternal city of Itálica in Santiponce is a must. This archaeological complex is the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It dates back to the 3rd century BC, when at the end of the Second Punic War Scipio shared out some of the lands in the Betis valley among his men. A small settlement was thereby founded for his veterans that was named Itálica in memory of those first colonists’ origins.
In Itálica, one can make out the “vetus urbus” (old city) and the “nova urbus” (new city). The old city lies beneath the current town’s centre, which has been in place since the 17th century, whereas the remains of the “nova urbus”, which are still conserved, can be visited. This opulent city of paved streets was made up of six public buildings and nearly fifty houses. Some conserve mosaics of great beauty that once adorned their floors, such as the one of Birds, the one of Neptune, and the one of the Planetarium.
Two magnificent leisure buildings stand out above all In Itálica: its sensational amphitheatre and the theatre. The former was one of the biggest in the empire, with a capacity for 25,000 spectators. The latter, located in the town’s old quarter, is a limestone building decorated with multi-coloured marbles.
Before a well-earned snack, you’ll have time to visit the popular San Isidro del Campo Monastery. This was founded in 1301 by Guzmán el Bueno and his wife María Coronel in the place where Saint Isidore was buried. It was the first building to be declared a National Artistic Monument in the province of Seville in 1872.
The spectacular set of buildings is outstanding for its mudéjar architecture, the sculptures by Martínez Montañés and his wall paintings. There is also the Claustro de los Muertos (the Cloister of the Dead) the Evangelists’ Cloister, the sacristy, the chapter house (decorated in imitation of El Escorial), the refectory, the Gothic Cloister and the Baroque Tower.
It’s time to choose a place to taste the area’s specialities from out of the numerous renowned restaurants in this town: the excellent rice with chicken, the dressings, pollo entomatado (“tomatoed” chicken), charcoal-grilled meat, and the delicious sopa de picadillo (ham and egg soup). For more information on restaurants, look in the Where to eat section.
As the afternoon wears on, you can begin to prepare the last stop. Just 6 km away in the town of Valencina de la Concepción, there is one of the most important sets of dolmens in Europe, made up of the la Pastora dolmen, the Matarrubilla dolmen, and the Ontíveros dolmen. These structures involve complicated architecture. They are made up of a corridor and a circular chamber where group burials were carried out.
You can consult Where to sleep to find hotels in the Aljarafe area.
