hill, which no one
would imagine to be composed of the remains of streets, palaces,
temples, and market-places. The upper portion only of the amphitheatre
remains above-ground. Its form is slightly oval, nearly approaching to a
circle. The greatest diameter is three hundred and twenty-five feet. It
has twenty rows of seats, half of which are buried; each seat is two
feet and a half in depth, and two in height. Part of the Podium remains;
and enough of the entrance, to distinguish that it consisted of three
large arches. It was constructed with Roman solidity. Nothing less than
an earthquake could have toppled over the masses of masonry, which
appear in their confusion like solid rocks. A very small portion of the
ruins has been explored: and part of that, for want of being
sufficiently cleared out, is again buried in earth, and the work is
discontinued. The objects now above-ground, consist of five or six
tessalated floors, two of which have been considered of sufficient value
to be walled in, and locked up, but without being roofed.

These ruins are well worth a visit, although the road to them from
Seville, bears terrible symptoms of having been constructed before
Macadam's day; perhaps even before that of the Scipios.

At the distance of a few hundred yards from the nearest portion of the
ruined town is situated the village of Santi-ponce, in which is the
convent of S. Isidoro, of the order of St. Jerome. The church contains
the tombs of Don Alonzo Perez de Guzman, surnamed the Good, and of his
wife Dona Maria Alonzo Coronel, founders of the ducal house of Medina
Sidonia. This family obtained from Ferdinand the Fourth, a grant of
Santi-ponce and old Seville (Italica), with the district, and temporal
and spiritual jurisdiction. Don Sancho had already rewarded the services
and tried fidelity of Perez de Guzman by presenting him with the town of
Medina Sidonia. An anecdote is told of him worthy of a Roman republican.
Being governor of Tarifa under Sancho the Fourth, he had to defend the
town against the Infant, Don Juan, who had revolted against his brother.
This prince, learning that a child of Guzman was in his power, being at
nurse in the environs of the town, sent for it; and, presenting himself
before the walls, declared to the governor that he would kill the child,
if the town were not immediately surrendered. Guzman replied by drawing
his sword, and throwing it down to the prince, who had the barbarity to
order