Santiponce comes alive once again in Roman style. The Itálica Despierta Roman Festival celebrates its sixth edition through Sunday, October 18, and the Recreational Days—the most participatory part of the program—kick off this Friday, the 16th, following the Technical Sessions featuring experts on the archaeological site.
The Itálica That Exists Beyond Itálica
This year’s theme, “Itálica extra vrbem,” looks beyond the ruins: the heritage that left the archaeological site and is now preserved in museums, private collections, and public spaces, and the image of the city captured in 19th-century illustrations.
The Monastery of San Isidoro del Campo takes center stage. For centuries, Itálica served as a quarry for Seville and for the monastery itself, which managed the territory. Some monks, fascinated by what they were managing, studied, documented, and safeguarded the ruins.
The festival is organized by the Santiponce City Council, the Cultural Association Friends of the Monastery of San Isidoro del Campo, and the Roman Centuria of Santiponce. Collaborating partners include the Seville Provincial Council, the Regional Government of Andalusia, Cotidiana Vitae, La Revolera Teatro, and local organizations.
Friday, the 16th: monastery, writing, wine, and a Roman night
The day’s activities center on San Isidoro del Campo. There will be guided tours of the monastery and a Roman writing workshop where you’ll learn to use a stylus and make your own tabula cerata. There are also workshops featuring children’s activities.
In the evening, the “A Night in Rome” tour takes you through the city’s lesser-known corners, guided by a slave from that era.
Within the monastery walls, “La Palabra” is being performed—an intimate story about those who guarded and passed down the word for centuries. In addition, an activity on wine production in Rome includes a lecture and a tasting of three wines reconstructed through experimental archaeology.
Itálica Awakens: Schedule for Saturday, October 17
The program is spread across the monastery, the Itálica Archaeological Complex, the Roman Theater, and Cotidiana Vitae. At the Archaeological Complex, there will be a Roman burial (an *inhumatio*), a live sculpture demonstration of a bust of Emperor Hadrian, a Roman wedding, and a children’s military camp.
At noon, the Roman Theater will host short theatrical performances and reenactments featuring the Vestal Virgins, the Praetorian Guard, and domestic worship, as well as a gladiator exhibition.
In the afternoon, there will be workshops on stucco painting, clay oil lamps to take home, jewelry-making, perfume-making, and children’s activities, as well as a dramatized tour of Cotidiana Vitae to learn about daily life in a 2nd-century Roman city.
Sunday, the 18th: closing parade
The parade departs at 11:30 a.m. from the Plaza de la Constitución, winds through the streets of Santiponce, enters the Archaeological Complex, crosses the amphitheater, and ends at the Roman Theater around 1:30 p.m.
The procession will open with the release of doves, followed by free citizens, slaves, senators, city councilors, centurions, and legionnaires, accompanied by music and dance.
You can join in: just wear period clothing. Historical reenactment groups from Seville, Huelva, Linares, Ubrique, and other municipalities will participate, along with residents of Santiponce.
Activities with limited capacity require advance registration on the festival’s official website, where the full program is also available. Free-admission events are open until capacity is reached.
