approx. 675 years Romans
After the "Battle of Ilipa" in 206 BC, the Roman conquerors established a settlement as a military post for wounded soldiers, which they called Italica. The first two emperors to be born outside Rome (Trajan and Hadrian) came from Italica. The ruins are located around ten kilometers north of Seville on the Guadalquivir River on our Seville route.
The Romans divided the country into two provinces, Hispania citerior and Hispania ulterior, transferred their administrative system, expanded the Roman road network and created impressive buildings and irrigation systems. Roman administration and Roman law replaced the old order. In addition to Italica, they expanded Corduba (Córdoba) and Hispalis (Seville) and introduced a common language, Latin, to the population. Numerous temples, thermal baths, aqueducts, villas, mosaics and amphitheaters have been preserved and are located on our routes.
In Roman times, agriculture was mainly practiced on large estates, which were farmed by slaves. The majority of the population was subject to powerful landlords and Roman officials. The province of Hispania ulterior was later divided again. The province of Hispania baetica was created with the capital Corduba (Córdoba), which roughly corresponded to today's Andalusia. Among other things, we visit the Roman bridge (pictured below) in Córdoba on our Córdoba route and the ruined city of Baelo Claudia (pictured above) on the Costa de la Luz on our Seville route.
One of the largest surviving Roman structures in Andalusia is the Roman bridge of Córdoba over the Guadalquivir, which rests on 16 stone arches. It leads directly to the old town of Judería and the Mezquita. The bridge with its wedge stone vault is a historically and architecturally significant structure that was probably built under Emperor Augustus in the 1st century.