Collegium
Location
Location Description
In 206 BC Publius Cornelius Scipio settled wounded veterans of the battle of Ilipa in an existing Turdentanian town which he renamed Italica to remind the settlers and their descendants of their origins. Three centuries later, it was still a town of some 14 hectares, less than a fourth the size of Pompeii and much smaller than neighboring Hispalis (Sevilla) or Corduba. Little is known of this town archaeologically because it lies under modern Santiponce.
Italica underwent a major expansion during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, a native of the town. A new area of 30 hectares to the northwest of the old city was enclosed with walls, laid out in an orthogonal plan, and provided with aqueduct water and a well-designed sewer system. Imperial-style baths were built, and a vast and innovative monument to Hadrian's adopted father Trajan, the Traianeum, was erected. Just north of the new walls an amphitheater accommodating 25,000 spectators was constructed. Dio Cassius says (69.10.1) says that Hadrian showed his patria great honor and bestowed on it many splendid gifts. Style and construction techniques point to imperial and even eastern influence in the layout, the baths, and the Traianeum. Mileposts on a new road leading north proclaim his patronage, the aqueduct is almost surely his work, and his initials are found on some lead pipes.
Garden
Collegium
Keywords
- peristyles (Roman courtyards)AAT:300080971
- pillars (structural elements)AAT:300264605
- pilasters (wall components)AAT:300002737
Garden Description
A building just south of the public park has been identified as the seat of a Collegium because of its internal structure and size. It was previously known as 'The House of the Exedra.' It occupies an entire insula, some 4,000 square meters. In its center is a peristyle, which was surrounded by galleries roofed with cross vaulting supported by brick pillars of rectangular cross-section with abutting pilasters making them cruciform in shape. In the center of the peristyle is a pool notable for its curves. It surrounds a circular planter for a tree or flowers.
Maps
Images
Dates
unspecified
Bibliography
- Antonio Garcia y Bellido,Colonia aelia augusta Italica, Instituto Español de Arqueologia, (Madrid 1960). (worldcat)
- A. Caballos and P. León,ITALICA MMCC: Actas de las Jornadas del 2.200 Aniversario de la Fundación de Itálica, Sevilla, Consejeria de Cultura, (Sevilla 1997).(worldcat)
- A. Caballos, J. Marín and J. M. Rodríguez Hielgo, Itálica Arqueológica, Universidad de Sevilla, (Sevilla 1999). 75-76 (worldcat)
Places
- [Collegium at Italica]/test-drafts/place/hispania_baetica/italica/)
- Collegium at Italica Pleiades: 810966696
- Itálica (deserted settlement) TGN: 7007822