After a great night's sleep in our very comfortable accomodation we were up and out by 10 am. I read that the Roman city of Italica was only a forty minute bus ride away from Seville. Being a huge fan of both the emperors Trajan and his adopted son Hadrian I was determined to see it. Good old crispy loves a bit of Roman rubble and like me was keen to visit it.
We caught bus M170a from the bus station and within 40 minutes were at the ancient city. Entrance for members of the European union was free but since Brexit we were obliged to pay Euro1.50 for the privilege of entry.
Italica was the first Roman settlement outside of Rome to be granted Provincial city status and is famous for two main reasons.
1. It is the home of the biggest amphitheatre of the Roman world and
2. It was the birthplace of the Emperor Trajan and his adopted. Son Hadrian.
As I have mentioned previously I am a huge fan of both Trajun and Hadrian so was really keen to walk the ground that they too would have walked. Trajun is widely accepted as the greatest Emperor of the Roman Empire both for his military expansion and general philanthropy. In fact he was awarded the title Optimus Primus by the senate. ( One of our favourite spots is Trajun,s column in Rome where his remains are supposedly entombed ( as a bonus there is a fantastic little bar next door with great views over his market.))
Still, enough of the history malarchi, Crispy is already yawning and she's not even read this yet. Suffice to say I found it amazing to be there. Crispy said she liked the rubble "a lot".
After a couple of hours of me walking about and Crispy sat under a tree we reluctantly left Italica and headed back to Seville for lunch.
We aimed to be showered and near the bull ring by 4 in readiness for the Corrida del Torres. I had to purchase a pair of dress trousers and hat for the occasion because of the dress code and we got these on our way back to the accomodation. (Crispy very cleverly suggested we get them from H&M so she can take them back for a refund when we get home to Blighty). As mentioned before there is a strict protocol for visiting the bull ring. It's a special occasion for the Spanish and we didn't want to upset anyone. The atmosphere is akin to Ascot or the races. People dressed in their finery outside the arena partaking of pre show drinks and tapas. People arriving in Horse drawn carriages. Groups of well dressed young men and elegant ladies in traditional attire. It is nothing like we imagined and we are glad that we went last night to gain some idea of what it is all about otherwise we would have felt awkward. It was busy but we managed to find abar with outside seating for a couple of drinks before making our way to the doorway we found yesterday. Up the steps and to our seats. Being circular in form the seats are not priced according to position in the arena but according to the sun. If you are going to go be aware that it's worth paying a little more for a seat in the shade. Although a 6.30 start the sun was still strong. I had purchased our seats in "sol alto" top terrace which was high in the arena and protected by a roof canopy to take off most of the sun. It would have been uncomfortable without the shade. The arena was at capacity and the atmosphere electric. It must be similar to what the games in the arena of Ancient Rome must have felt like. At 6.30 prompt a trumpet sounded and the "Torero' or bullfighters enter the ring accompanied by their teams. A traditional "Corrida" has three Torero fighting six bulls. 2 bulls each with the least experienced going first.
There is a lot of pomp and ceremony and I suggest you Google for a more detailed explanation. Eventually the Torero' take up position and the bull is released.
Don't read any further if you are of a gentle disposition.
The fight takes the same format for each round. First the bull is released and several Torero taunt it with their capes to get a measure of how fast, aggressive or skilled the bull is. The Matador who is eventually going to face it single handedly watches to guage his opponent.
Then the trumpet sounds and guys on heavily armoured horses enter the ring armed with long lances. They challenge the bull to attack them. This is really quite brutal. Their job is to severe some of the neck muscles of the beast with their lances to weaken it and stop it raising it's head too high.
The bulls try to gore the horses but the horse are blindfolded so don't panic. Eventually the bull is distracted from the horses by the Torero'.
A trumpet sounds again and the horses retire from the arena. Now comes the turn of the picadors. Guys with colourful darts that challenge the bull and run towards it. On passing the bull they thrust the darts into it's neck. The beast is now bloodied and tired by this point.
Now the Matador takes centre stage and shows his prowess by making the exhausted animal circle around him with his cape. The term Matador only applies to the Torero' that is going to dispatch the animal. It is only at this point that the iconic red cape is used. The cape is only red to avoid showing the blood. Prior to this it is purple and pink. The red flag to a bull theory is nonsense as bulls are colour blind. By now the bull is fading and when it is completely spent will the Matador change swords to a broader blade and attempt to push the blade through it's shoulder and pierce it's heart.
The bull does not die instantly but attempts to keep fighting before collapsing to its knees. If the bull does not fall within minutes the Matador is deemed to have lost. Not that this is any consolation for the now dying bull. If the beast does not die quickly another Toreos severs it's spinal cord with a dagger.
The crowd applaud or stay silent dependent on the final death blow.
There's a lot more to the fight and protocol but I've written enough. We have very mixed feelings about the entire performance and it's relevance today. On one hand it is an old tradition that belongs to another culture and as a visitor I don't feel justified to criticise. On the other from what we saw it is in no way a painless death for the animal. Of the six shows we saw only 4 died quickly in the final round. 2 had to be dispatched brutally and obviously suffered. My overriding opinion was that the fight is weighted very heavily in favour of the Toreos and the bull is exhausted and near death from blood loss by the time the Matador makes his final "fight".
Are we glad we witnessed it? Yes. The atmosphere and experience was interesting and exciting. I don't think this tradition will continue much longer as opposition is rising. Would we go again? I'm not sure.....
Here are some pics of the early part of the fight. I did not take any of the more gruesome end stages out of respect for the bull. I am not qualified to recommend this evening's "entertainment" to anyone. It would purely be a personal choice if you decide to witness it or not. Most of us like a nice piece of steak and I suppose the end result for the bull is the same. It's just the manner in which it is despatched that varies.
Bare and Crispy. Signing off Seville, Andalucia, Espana
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