Sevilla: Day Trips

Osuna

The impressive monuments crowning the hill which overlooks this farming town hint at its past, when Osuna was the capital of a vast county whose lords rivaled the Spanish king himself in power and wealth. The most skilled craftsmen from Seville were hired to build the Collegiate in the mid-16th century. This imposing cathedral-like edifice contains some of the finest examples of the work of Jose Ribera, Il Spagnoletto, commissioned by the third Duke of Osuna. Next to the Collegiate, the spired University was founded in 1548, and functioned as a college up to 1824. Today, its hallowed halls once again welcome students, for it has been incorporated as a branch of the University of Seville.

Carmona

Located on a low hill overlooking a fertile plain, Carmona is a picturesque,small town with a magnificent 15th century tower built in imitation of Seville's Giralda. This is the first thing you see and sets an appropriate tone for the place. Not surprisingly, given its proximity, Carmona shares a similar history to Seville, and was an important Roman city which. Later Pedro the Cruel built a palace within its castle, which he used as his royal residence in the country.

Itálica

Italica was one of the earliest Roman settlements in Spain founded in 206 BC. It rose to considerable military importance in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD and throughout the middle Ages; the ruins were used as a source of stone for Seville. Things to see in this small town is the grand amphitheater, although these days it is crumbling perilously, and about twenty mosaics, including an excellent colored floor with birds, Neptune and the Seasons.

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