Spain, gladiators, Romans

There is no doubt in my mind that Gladiator (the movie) helped rekindle America's infatuation with the glory of Roman Empire. Amid a flurry of books, Discovery channel shows, made-for-TV-movies, travel guides saw an opportunity as well.

While the obvious place to look for Roman artifacts/history/monuments is Italy, Frommer's wisely advises readers about a variety of places outside Italy, to include Turkey, Germany, Israel, and France. It makes perfect sense.

What doesn't make sense in my opinion is why they left out Spain, where one literally steps on Roman stones, aqueducts, roads almost everywhere. According to Wikipedia, we find out not only that Trajan, one of the most successful Roman Emperors, came from Hispania, but also that Spain was effectively under Roman rule for 7 centuries.

For example, check this Roman Route itinerary from EuropeanDestinations: Madrid - Seville - Merida - Trujillo - Ciudad Rodrigo - Zamora - Astorga - Burgos - Madrid.