Carmona Description
Situated in the fertile mid-valley of the Guadalquivir, just 15
minutes Seville airport and 20 minutes from Seville's AVE (High
Speed Train) station on the E-5 motorway, Carmona is one of Andalusia's
most colorful towns and also one of the Iberian Peninsula's oldest
population centres.
The town stands on rise some 250 m high, and its miradors and
numerous bell towers provide sweeping views of the surrounding
countryside, while the town itself, with its host of towers and
alcazars, is visible from miles around. Already a prominent settlement
for the Iberians and Tartessians, who left us a legacy of pots
and utensiles - it may have been from here that the campanulate
vase originated - its importance increased under the Romans. The
Roman Carmo, representing almost half a millennium of history,
left behind gates, such as the Puerta de Córdoba, the arches
and vestiges of fortress, such as the Puerta de Sevilla Alcazar,
and above all the Necropolis, which was discovered just over a
century ago by George Bonsor and which is one of the most complete
of its kind that can be visited. The monumental tombs include
Sevilla's Tomb and the Elephant Tomb. An acclaimed museum, the
remains of a large amphitheatre, a bridge across the one that
today graces the floor of the Town Hall form part of this outstanding
Roman legacy and justify the location in the Roman Bética
Route.