This
Palace Was A Favourite Residence Of Peter The Cruel, Who Carefully
Repaired It Without Altering Its Moorish Character And Appearance.
It Probably Remains In Much The Same State As At The Time Of His
Death.
On the right side of the river is a large suburb, called Triana,
communicating with Seville by means of a bridge of boats; for there
is no permanent bridge across the Guadalquivir, owing to the
violent inundations to which it is subject.
This suburb is
inhabited by the dregs of the populace, and abounds with Gitanos or
Gypsies. About a league and a half to the north-west stands the
village of Santo Ponce: at the foot and on the side of some
elevated ground higher up are to be seen vestiges of ruined walls
and edifices, which once formed part of Italica, the birth-place of
Silius Italicus and Trajan, from which latter personage Triana
derives its name.
One fine morning I walked thither, and having ascended the hill, I
directed my course northward. I soon reached what had once been
bagnios, and a little farther on, in a kind of valley between two
gentle declivities, the amphitheatre. This latter object is by far
the most considerable relic of ancient Italica; it is oval in its
form, with two gateways fronting the east and west.
On all sides are to be seen the time-worn broken granite benches,
from whence myriads of human beings once gazed down on the area
below, where the gladiator shouted, and the lion and the leopard
yelled:
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