Explore the ancient Spanish city where 'Game of Thrones' is shooting next season
Santiponce is a small city located near Seville. The ancient Roman city Italica, the birthplace of Roman Emperors Trajan and Hadrian, lies within its borders. (Hadrian, incidentally, was responsible for the creation of a famous wall in Britain that inspired the Wall from "Thrones.)
HBO representatives were reportedly set on filming in the ruins' amphitheater. The amphitheater was built by Hadrian in 119 A.D.
It was the third-largest amphitheater in the Roman Empire, and was able to seat 25,000 spectators — half as many as the Colosseum. The population of Italica was estimated to only have been around 8,000.
While the ruins are in good shape, they're clearly still, you know, ruins. What are they supposed to be in Westeros? They could be somewhere in Essos — maybe the show will check in on Jorah or Daario. They could also stand-in for the ruined Dragonpit of Kings Landing that once held the Targaryen's mounts until it was destroyed in the Dance of Dragons.
The most likely explanation, though, is that Italica is going to be some part of Dorne. It's in roughly the same part of Spain where previous Dorne scenes were filmed, and we do know that Dorne and Daenerys are allied, so she could very well land her fleet there.
In an interview with the Spanish publication "Los Siete Reinos," the mayor of Santiponce revealed that HBO was also considering filming in a monastery in the town, the Monasterio de San Isidoro del Campo.
However, he said they ultimately deemed it to be too modern-looking, and will not be filming there.
This week also saw confirmation that HBO would again be filming in Seville, home of the Alcázar of Seville, a gorgeous Moorish palace.
You may remember that location as the Water Gardens in Dorne's capitol, Sunspear.
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