Seville is more than 2,000 years old. The passage of the various civilizations, instrumental in its growth, has left the city a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical centre. Although it has a strong medieval, renaissance and baroque heritage, the city received heavy influences from Arabic culture.
The city was known from Roman times as Hispalis. The nearby Roman city of Italica, a mainly residential city at the time, is well-preserved and gives an impression of how Hispalis may have looked in the later Roman period, especially when taken in context with the excavation evidence from the nearby city of Carmona. Existing Roman features in Seville include the remnants of an aqueduct. Following were successive conquests of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica by the Vandals and the Visigoths during the 5th and 6th centuries.