The stage of the Vía de la Plata Route we are about to travel begins on the main avenue in Santiponce. Aspiring only to enjoy the walk, we take the Roman road that ran north-south linking Itálica to Emerita Augusta (Mérida). 

A visit must be made to the Archaeological Site of Itálica. Founded in 206 BC. and home to Emperor Trajan, the ruins and amphitheater of this Roman city designate the first Roman landmark on the Vía de la Plata Route. 

Continuing on towards Guillena, we travel for a little over a kilometer along the A-8079, a secondary road with no hard shoulder, and then towards La Algaba, passing under the A-66 highway. We then walk along a service road that runs next to the old Cala railway, parallel to a potable water pipeline, continuing on this endless straight road between cotton fields. 

Usually we can easily cross the Los Molinos dry creek, although at times we may have to wade across, in order to join up with the “Vereda de Salteras” livestock trail. 

With Guillena already on the horizon, we continue walking straight along the path, crossing fields of farmland until we go over the bridge at the Galapagar Stream, entering Guillena from the west through some welcoming orange groves.