The Roman city of Itálica

The Roman city of Itálica was founded in the year 206 B.C. on the initiative of Publius Cornelius Scipio, known as “the African”. Under the Emperor Augustus, Itálica became a town and was granted the privilege of minting its own money. It is the birthplace of the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. Itálica enjoyed a period of splendour in which its architectural development flourished with the construction of new public buildings such as the amphitheatre, houses with floors decorated with mosaics, and broad streets which connected the various neighbourhoods. The archaeological excavations began between 1751 and 1755, and were led by Francisco de Bruna, and work has continued uninterrupted since that time to the present day. These remains were declared an Archaeological Site by a decree from the Andalusian Regional Government in 1989.