{"id":151,"date":"2009-06-24T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2009-06-24T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=151"},"modified":"2009-06-24T08:00:49","modified_gmt":"2009-06-24T12:00:49","slug":"all-roads-lead-to-rome-%e2%80%93-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/all-roads-lead-to-rome-%e2%80%93-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"All roads lead to Rome \u2013 part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tutte le strade portano a Roma<\/strong> (all roads lead to Rome) is an expression that we use to mean that there are many different\u00a0ways to arrive somewhere or achieve something. But a couple of millennium ago this famous expression was a statement of fact. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the many great achievements of the Roman empire was its development of an astounding system of \u2018autostrade\u2019<\/strong> (\u2018motorways\u2019), although of course in those days travel was by foot or horseback, and heavy haulage was by ox and cart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Between 500\u00a0B.C. and 100 A.D. Rome grew from being a little village on the banks of the Fiume Tevere<\/strong> (River Tiber) to the heart of a vast empire stretching from\u00a0northern England to Syria. Rome’s unique form of\u00a0government and highly disciplined army allowed her to\u00a0conquer and subdue her neighbors. Vast sums of money were invested in expansion, and as soon as a new area had been conquered new roads were constructed in order to facilitate the transport of reinforcements and supplies<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditionally, the new roads were named after the person in authority who initiated their construction. Between 300 B.C. and 80 A.D. for example,\u00a0the Romans constructed the Via Aurelia<\/strong>, Via Appia<\/strong>, Via Flaminia<\/strong>, Via Flavia<\/strong> and Via Fulvia<\/strong>, all named after eminent Romans. This, however, is not an exhaustive list of all\u00a0Roman roads, just a selection to give you an idea of their extent and importance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

La\u00a0Via Appia<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Initiated by Appius Claudius<\/strong> in 312 B.C. the Via Appia<\/strong> originally ran from the ancient city gate, which is nowadays\u00a0known as\u00a0the Porta San Sebastiano<\/strong>, to the small town of Formia<\/strong>, about 90 miles to the south. Later the road was extended all the way down to Brindisi<\/strong> on the \u2018heel\u2019 of Italy, which was the main trading port between Rome and Greece. During the Roman era the Via Appia<\/strong> was\u00a0the most important road in the empire, and legend has it that the apostle Peter arrived\u00a0in Rome by travelling along its route.<\/span><\/p>\n

La\u00a0Via Aurelia<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Via Aurelia<\/strong> begins (or ends, depending on how you look at it) at Porta San Pancrazio<\/strong> in Rome. In 241 B.C. Aurelius Cotta<\/strong> ordered\u00a0a road built which would stretch from the capital, along the coast to\u00a0Livorno<\/strong> in the north. This was later extended to continue\u00a0towards Genova <\/strong>and beyond, eventually arriving in France.<\/span><\/p>\n

La\u00a0Via Flaminia<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Anyone who knows the Ligurian coast of Le Cinque Terre<\/strong> will understand why this was not a favorite route for the\u00a0Romans, who are famous for their avoidance of curves and hills. North of La Spezia<\/strong> in fact, the\u00a0mountains and sea cliffs made this stretch of the Italian peninsular a Roman road builder’s worst nightmare! Hence the Via Flaminia<\/strong>, the Roman empire\u2019s main\u00a0route between the Capital and France. The Via Flaminia<\/strong> was\u00a0initiated by the socialist Gaius Flaminius<\/strong> in 212 B.C., and followed the valley of the Fiume Tevere<\/strong> upstream towards Rimini<\/strong> on the Adriatic coast. In order to improve the flow of traffic along the road, a tunnel was constructed sometime around 70 A.D., and that tunnel is still in use today.<\/span><\/p>\n

La\u00a0Via Fulvia<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

From Rimini<\/strong> the Via Emilia<\/strong> carried\u00a0Roman traffic towards Piacenza<\/strong> where it linked with the Via Fulvia<\/strong>,\u00a0named after Quintus Fulvius<\/strong> who had it constructed in 179 B.C. The\u00a0final section of the road to France\u00a0continues on from Piacenza<\/strong> to Rivoli<\/strong>, west of Torino<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

La Via Flavia<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

in 78 A.D.\u00a0the emperor Flavius Vespasianus<\/strong> ordered the construction of a road from Aquileia<\/strong> to Pula in Croatia. Founded in 181 B.C. as a colony intended to prevent the incursion of barbarian tribes Aquileia<\/strong> was to become\u00a0the north eastern capital of the Roman Empire. Nowadays it is a UNESCO world heritage site and\u00a0home of the National Archaeological Museum (one of the most important museums\u00a0of Roman Archaeology\u00a0in the world), as well as extensive excavations of the original Roman city. Here is the official web site for Aquileia<\/strong>: <\/span>http:\/\/www.comune.aquileia.ud.it<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and this site (in English) has some information and photos relating to the museum and archeological sites: <\/span>Museo Aquileia<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I studied Aquileia<\/strong> when I was an archaeology student\u00a0at Pisa University\u00a0many years ago, but unfortunately never had the\u00a0opportunity to visit it. Oh well, as they say \u2018tutte le strade portano a Roma\u2019<\/strong> so maybe someday I\u2019ll find myself there!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tutte le strade portano a Roma (all roads lead to Rome) is an expression that we use to mean that there are many different\u00a0ways to arrive somewhere or achieve something. But a couple of millennium ago this famous expression was a statement of fact. One of the many great achievements of the Roman empire was…<\/p>\n

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