The Ancient Amid the Modern

One of the many things I love about Sevilla is the blending of the old and the new.  I already shared in July my first impressions of (and visit to) the Metropol Parasol and the Roman ruins that were discovered beneath.  But, I haven't mentioned my first sighting, when we were here in January, of prominent remnants of a more-than-2,000-year-old Roman aqueduct.

RUNNING DOWN THE CENTER OF THE MODERN STREET. THE MOSAIC IS A LATER ADDITION.

Portions of the aqueduct have been preserved and, as needed, reinforced right in the center of a busy street that runs through one of the more contemporary parts of the city near the neighborhood of Nervión.  The remains are on the same street as (and just one block away from) the vacation apartment we rented during the winter.

A STUDY IN CONTRASTS.

The aqueduct is known as "los caños de Carmona" (the pipes of Carmona) and runs along the modern Calle de Luis Montoto, originally a Roman road known as the East street and later as the Calzada (sidewalk) of the Pipes of Carmona.  (Carmona is a town about a half hour east of Sevilla, famous for its Roman ruins.)  The old Roman road connected Sevilla's Carmona Gate with the city of Córdoba about 142 km (88 miles) away.

AT THE NEXT CORNER, ANOTHER SECTION,  WITH CONTEMPORARY REINFORCEMENT.

The aqueduct was built between 68 and 65 BC — when Julius Caesar conquered Spain.  Most of the water channel was buried for it's 17.5 km (11 mile) length.  Amazingly, the aqueduct was still in use in the 19th century until it was mostly demolished in 1912.

OF COURSE, WITH THE ADDITION
OF A VIRGIN IN CHRISTIAN TIMES.