Italica- Roman Ruins

Over the weekend we went to Italica, a historical site right outside of Sevilla featuring Roman ruins. It was awesome. Italica was founded in 206 BC as a home for wounded soldiers and became an important military outpost for the Romans in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The ruins feature incredible mosaics, baths and an amazing amphitheater complete with tunnels you can walk through that were once used by gladiators. It was incredible. The amphitheater is extremely well intact and you can wander throughout the whole thing. You can even stand where the lions were once caged. We were pretty impressed.

The streets are fairly well intact too. You can still see the original cobble stones and gutters. You can also see the foundations and some walls of all the original structures which included houses, town squares, public buildings and more. The mosaic floors which have been uncovered are gorgeous. We're wondering how to get some in our own home someday. The baths were also neat to see. They were used for washing (obviously), social gatherings and exercise. Mike and I were wondering what kind of exercise they did there though. Did they lift weights? Do jumping jacks? It seems like just living in that time period would be a workout enough. The area is huge. Apparently they have been excavating since 1781 and haven't stopped yet. It is estimated that the city is so large they will never be able to finish uncovering it. Amazing! Once again, it was very cool to see part of history from thousands of years ago.