The Via Popilia is the name of two different ancient Roman roads begun in the consulship of Publius Popilius Laenas . One was in southern Italy and the other was in north-eastern Italy.
58-553: The road in southern Italy ran from the Via Appia at Capua to Rhegium on the Straits of Messina . The discovery the Polla Tablet found in the church of San Pietro di Polla (Salerno) with part of its itinerarium engraved on stone brought it more fully into the light of history. It was possibly built by Publius Popilius Laenas , consul of 132 BC, who founded Forum Popilii marked on
116-508: A flat surface. The historian Procopius said that the stones fit together so securely and closely that they appeared to have grown together rather than to have been fitted together. The road was cambered in the middle (for water runoff) and had ditches on either side of the road which were protected by retaining walls. The road began in the Forum Romanum , passed through the Servian Wall at
174-554: A primarily Etruscan to a primarily Italic state. Dense populations of sovereign Samnites remained in the mountains north of Capua, which is just north of the Greek city of Neapolis . Around 343 BC, Rome and Capua attempted to form an alliance. The Samnites reacted with military force. Between Capua and Rome lay the Pontine Marshes ( Pomptinae paludes ), a swamp infested with malaria . A tortuous coastal road wound between Ostia at
232-591: A result. Pyrrhus withdrew to Greece, where he died in a street fight in Argos in 272 BC. Tarentum fell to the Romans that same year, who proceeded to consolidate their rule over all of Italy. The Romans pushed the Via Appia to the port of Brundisium in 264 BC. The itinerary from Beneventum was now Aeculanum , Forum Aemilii [ it ] , Venusia , Silvium , Tarentum, Uria and Brundisium. The Roman Republic
290-573: Is in the second mile of the road. Along or close to the part of the road closest to Rome, there are three catacombs of Roman and early Christian origin and one of Jewish origin . The construction of Rome's ring road, the Grande Raccordo Anulare or GRA, in 1951 caused the Appian Way to be cut in two. More recent improvements to the GRA have rectified this through the construction of a tunnel under
348-523: Is no surprise that, after his term as censor, Appius Claudius became consul twice, subsequently held other offices, and was a respected consultant to the state even during his later years. The road achieved its purpose. The outcome of the Second Samnite War was at last favorable to Rome. In a series of blows the Romans reversed their fortunes, bringing Etruria to the table in 311 BC, the very year of their revolt, and Samnium in 304 BC. The road
406-446: Is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic . It connected Rome to Brindisi , in southeast Italy . Its importance is indicated by its common name, recorded by Statius , of Appia longarum... regina viarum ("the Appian Way, the queen of the long roads"). The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus , the Roman censor who, during
464-694: The Corniculani and Hadriani mansiones (perhaps in Codigoro and San Basiglio in the municipality of Ariano nel Polesine respectively). It then reached the Septem Maria (Seven Seas), which is indicated in the Antonine itinerary and was probably between Donada and Contarina in the municipality of Porto di Viro, close to Adria. The fossa Clodia canal started here, at the River Tartaro, and reached today's Chioggia in
522-472: The Hadriani mansio . Here the route split into two. The older one went to Atria . The other one went through the lagoon belt of the southern Veneto and reached Altinum. The Ariminum to Ravenna tract seemed to use the coastal cliff and sandy strip. However, it seems to have later run into problems and for a stretch a more inland route, which in part followed the current via del Confine, was preferred, even though
580-661: The Lagoon of Venice . The road then turned right, further inland, to reach Atria . It is possible that in late antiquity, after Hadriani the coastal road followed a different course from that of the Popilia, which turned towards Atria but was not indicated in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The road probably decayed precociously, which explains the loss of the road name and the deterioration of the road system. Via Appia The Appian Way ( Latin and Italian : Via Appia )
638-550: The Samnite Wars , began and completed the first section as a military road to the south in 312 BC. In July 2024, the Appian Way entered the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Appian Way was a Roman road used as a main route for military supplies for its conquest of southern Italy in 312 BC and for improvements in communication. The Appian Way was the first long road built specifically to transport troops outside
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#1732845480215696-690: The Tabula Peutingeriana . A milestone found in 1952 in Capua suggests that it was Annius who built and gave his name to the road, but he may have completed it. It ran a distance of 321 miles (517 km) through southern Campania and Calabria , through the interior of the country, not along the coast. There are the remains of at least one Roman bridge along the road, the Sant' Angelo Roman bridge . The road in north-eastern Italy connected Ariminum (modern Rimini ) to Atria (modern Adria ). At Atria it joined
754-715: The Via Aemilia [ it ] , then the Via Minucia [ it ] , finally the emperor Trajan built the Via Traiana , a branch of the Via Appia from Beneventum, reaching Brundisium via Canusium and Barium rather than via Tarentum. This was commemorated by an arch at Beneventum. Travellers could cross the Adriatic Sea through the Otranto Strait towards Albania either by landing at present day Durrës through
812-555: The Via Annia which went to Patavium (modern Padua ), Altinum and Aquileia . It was an extension of the Via Flaminia which connected Rome and Ariminum . Ariminum was also at the junction with the Via Aemilia which run through the plain of the River Po. This via Popilia was not mentioned in ancient sources. It was identified through a milestone found near Adria in 1844. It indicated
870-653: The Via Egnatia or near the ancient town of Apollonia and continue towards present day Rrogozhinë in central Albania. In 73 BC, a slave revolt (known as the Third Servile War ) under the ex-gladiator of Capua, Spartacus , began against the Romans. Slaves accounted for roughly every third person in Italy. Spartacus defeated many Roman armies in a conflict that lasted for over two years. While trying to escape from Italy at Brundisium he unwittingly moved his forces into
928-575: The Via Latina . By 290 BC, the sovereignty of the Samnites had ended. The heel of Italy lay open to the Romans. The dates are somewhat uncertain and there is considerable variation in the sources, but during the Third Samnite War the Romans seem to have extended the road to Venusia , where they placed a colony of 20,000 men. After that they were at Tarentum. Roman expansion alarmed Tarentum,
986-658: The porta Capena , went through a cutting in the clivus Martis , and left the city. For this stretch of the road, the builders used the Via Latina. The building of the Aurelian Wall centuries later required the placing of another gate, the Porta Appia . Outside of Rome the new Via Appia went through well-to-do suburbs along the Via Norba, the ancient track to the Alban hills , where Norba
1044-508: The Appia, so that it is now possible to follow the Appia on foot for about 16 km (10 mi) from its beginning near the Baths of Caracalla . Many parts of the original road beyond Rome's environs have been preserved, and some are now used by cars (for example, in the area of Velletri ). The road inspires the last movement of Ottorino Respighi 's Pini di Roma . To this day the Via Appia contains
1102-499: The Appian Way in that region. In the first half of the 20th century, the professor of ancient Roman topography Giuseppe Lugli managed to discover, with the then-innovative technique of photogrammetry , what probably was the route of the Appian Way from Gravina in Puglia ( Silvium ) up to Taranto . When analysing aerophotogrammetric shots of the area, Lugli noticed a path ( Italian : tratturo ) named la Tarantina , whose direction
1160-505: The Appian Way station. More recently Luciano Piepoli, based on the distances given in the Antonine Itinerary and on newer archeological findings, has suggested that Silvium should be Santo Staso , an area very close to Gravina in Puglia , Blera should be masseria Castello , and Sublupatia should be masseria Caione . Since the latter stretch of the Appian Way turned out to be very impervious, some branches were created: first
1218-702: The Augusta canal commissioned by the emperor Augustus to connect Ravenna with the southern branch of the River Po , passing by the mansiones of Butrium and Augusta . The next mansio was Sacis ad Padum , near Spina , which was named after the Sagis branch of the Po. The road then crossed the Neronia canal and the Flavia canal and had the Neronia and Corniculani mansiones . It then reached
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#17328454802151276-582: The Romans, he won a second costly victory at the Battle of Asculum . Withdrawing from Apulia for a Sicilian interlude, he returned to Apulia in 275 BC and started for Campania up the Roman road. Supplied by that same road, the Romans successfully defended the region against Pyrrhus, crushing his army in a two-day fight at the Battle of Beneventum in 275 BC. The Romans renamed the town from "Maleventum" ("site of bad events") to Beneventum ("site of good events") as
1334-520: The Samnite Wars. The distance was 212 kilometers (132 mi). The original road had no milestones, as they were not yet in use. A few survive from later times, including a first milestone near the Porta Appia. The Third Samnite War (298–290 BC) is perhaps misnamed. It was an all-out attempt by all the neighbors of Rome: Italics, Etruscans and Gauls , to check the power of Rome. The Samnites were
1392-420: The archeological black market . The archaeological finds from the burials of Spina were discovered with the help of aerial photography . Aside from the white reflective surfaces of the modern drainage channels there appeared in the photographs a ghostly network of dark lines and light rectangles, the former indicating richer vegetation on the sites of ancient canals . Thus the layout of the ancient trading port
1450-399: The attempted alliance and settled with Samnium . The Romans were only biding their time while they looked for a solution. The first answer was the colonia , a "cultivation" of settlers from Rome, who would maintain a permanent base of operations. The Second Samnite War (327–304 BC) erupted when Rome attempted to place a colony at Cales in 334 BC and again at Fregellae in 328 BC on
1508-543: The best of it, the Roman army turned on Greek Rhegium and effected a massacre of Pyrrhian partisans there. Rather than pursue them, Pyrrhus went straight for Rome along the Via Appia and then the Via Latina. He knew that if he continued on the Via Appia he could be trapped in the marsh. Wary of such entrapment on the Via Latina also, he withdrew without fighting after encountering opposition at Anagni . Wintering in Campania , he withdrew to Apulia in 279 BC, where, pursued by
1566-477: The coastal road at Tarracina (Terracina). However, the Romans straightened it somewhat with cuttings, which form cliffs today. From there the road swerved north to Capua, where, for the time being, it ended. The Caudine Forks were not far to the north. The itinerary was Aricia (Ariccia), Tres Tabernae , Forum Appii , Tarracina, Fundi (Fondi), Formiae (Formia), Minturnae (Minturno), Suessa , Casilinum and Capua, but some of these were colonies added after
1624-479: The coastal route continued to be used. The road must then have gone along a coastal path again and must have reached Cervia, on the coast, where archaeological ruins have been found. The Sabis mansio on the River Savio seems to have served both routes. The road then reached Ravenna. From there it followed the Augusta canal until Butrium (in today's Sant'Alberto, on the southern shore of the lagoon of Comacchio) which
1682-449: The course. The former presents a journey which was mainly through watercourses, rivers and lagoons connected to each other by a network of canals. The latter depicts a land route with staging posts ( mansiones , plural of mansio ). The Ariminum to Ravenna tract went by the Sabis mansio and the current Cervia saltworks. North of Ravenna it continued towards the lagoon of Comacchio , flanking
1740-460: The distances given in the Antonine Itinerary , Lugli also assigned the Appian Way stations Blera and Sublupatia (which also occurs on the Tabula Peutingeriana ) respectively to the areas Murgia Catena and Taverna (between masseria (estate farmhouse) S. Filippo and masseria S. Pietro). However, the toponym Murgia Catena defined too large an area, not allowing a clear localization of
1798-549: The early Roman state. He had been given the name of the founding ancestor of the gens, Appius Claudius (Attus Clausus in Sabine). He was a populist , i.e., an advocate of the common people. A man of discernment and perception, in the years of success he was said to have lost his outer vision and thus acquired the name caecus , "blind". Without waiting to be told what to do by the Senate , Appius Claudius began bold public works to address
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1856-632: The end of the 6th century BCE, on the Adriatic at the ancient mouth of the Po . The site of Spina was lost until modern times, when drainage schemes in the delta of the Po River in 1922 first officially revealed a necropolis of Etruscan Spina about four miles west of the commune of Comacchio . The fishermen of Comacchio, it soon turned out, had been the source of "Etruscan" vases (actually ancient imports from Greece) and other artifacts that had appeared for years on
1914-635: The expression, " All roads lead to Rome ". Romans had an affinity for the people of Campania , who, like themselves, traced their backgrounds to the Etruscans . The Samnite Wars were instigated by the Samnites when Rome attempted to ally itself with the city of Capua in Campania. The Italic speakers in Latium had long ago been subdued and incorporated into the Roman state. They were responsible for changing Rome from
1972-464: The extensive port known as that of Vatrenus …" Slightly further north the road reached the now extinct Po Spinetico branch of the River Po, just before ancient Spina , just to the north of Comacchio. It then followed another extinct branch of the river, the Sagis , and reached the Sacis Ad Padum mansio , where a canal which was probably commissioned by the emperor Nero started. The road went through
2030-609: The fields were infested with malarial mosquitos until the advent of DDT in the 1950s). Hoping to break a stalemate at Monte Cassino , the Allies landed on the coast of Italy at the Anzio - Nettuno area – ancient Antium – which was midway between Ostia and Terracina . They found that the place was undefended. They intended to move along the line of the Via Appia to take Rome, outflanking Monte Cassino, but they did not do so quickly enough. The Germans occupied Mounts Laziali and Lepini along
2088-578: The goods imported through Spina were destined for the bigger Etruscan city of Felsina (ancient name of Bologna ). The city was at the southern end of the ancient Amber Road from the Baltic Sea. This trade was done through the Veneti , whose cities were to the north. They also traded in horses, for which the Veneti were famous. Etruscan hydraulic engineers managed to confine the wide Po river at Spina to its bed, by
2146-516: The historic trap at Apulia in Calabria . The Romans were well acquainted with the region. Legions were brought home from abroad and Spartacus was pinned between armies. The ex-slave army was defeated at the Siler River by Marcus Licinius Crassus . Pompey 's armies captured and killed several thousand rebels that escaped from the battle and Crassus captured several thousand more. The Romans judged that
2204-473: The leading city of the Greek presence (Magna Graecia) in southern Italy. They hired the mercenary King Pyrrhus of Epirus in neighboring Greece to fight the Romans on their behalf. In 280 BC the Romans suffered a defeat at the hands of Pyrrhus at the Battle of Heraclea on the coast west of Tarentum . The battle was costly for both sides, prompting Pyrrhus to remark "One more such victory and I am lost." Making
2262-593: The leading people of the conspiracy. Rome dealt the northerners a crushing blow at the Battle of Sentinum in Umbria in 295. The Samnites fought on alone. Rome now placed 13 colonies in Campania and Samnium. It must have been during this time that they extended the Via Appia 35 miles beyond Capua past the Caudine Forks to a place the Samnites called Maloenton, "passage of the flocks". The itinerary added Calatia , Caudium and Beneventum (not yet called that). Here also ended
2320-497: The longest stretch of straight road in Europe, totaling 62 km (39 mi). There are the remains of several Roman bridges along the road, including the Ponte di Tre Ponti, Ponte di Vigna Capoccio, Viadotta di Valle Ariccia, Ponte Alto and Ponte Antico. [REDACTED] Media related to Via Appia at Wikimedia Commons Spina Spina was an Etruscan port city, established by
2378-616: The mouth of the Tiber and Neapolis . The Via Latina followed its ancient and scarcely more accessible path along the foothills of Monti Laziali and Monti Lepini , which are visible towering over the former marsh. In the First Samnite War (343–341 BC) the Romans found they could not support or resupply troops in the field against the Samnites across the marsh. A revolt of the Latin League drained their resources further. They gave up
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2436-467: The name of the man who had it built, Pulius Popilius, and that the origin of the road was 81 miles further south. This information, together with that provided by two Roman itineraries , the Antonine Itinerary and the Tabula Peutingeriana , has led to the identification of this road as having been built by the consul Publius Popilius Laenas, who was consul in 132 BCE and having had Ariminum as its starting point. The two itineraries indicated Ariminum as
2494-610: The north of Florence . For the 1960 Summer Olympics , it served as part of the men's marathon course that was won by Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the road fell out of use; Pope Pius VI ordered its restoration. A new Appian Way was built in parallel with the old one in 1784 as far as the Alban Hills region. The new road is the Via Appia Nuova ("New Appian Way") as opposed to
2552-414: The old section, now known as Via Appia Antica. The old Appian Way close to Rome is now a free tourist attraction. It was extensively restored for Rome's Millennium and Great Jubilee celebrations. The first 5 kilometers (3 mi) are still heavily used by cars, buses and coaches but from then on traffic is very light and the ruins can be explored on foot in relative safety. The Church of Domine Quo Vadis
2610-505: The other side of the marshes. The Samnites, now a major power after defeating the Greeks of Tarentum , occupied Neapolis to try to ensure its loyalty. The Neapolitans appealed to Rome, which sent an army and expelled the Samnites from Neapolis. In 312 BC, Appius Claudius Caecus became censor at Rome. He was of the gens Claudia , who were patricians descended from the Sabines taken into
2668-401: The sea by sand dunes. Appius Claudius planned to drain the marsh, taking up earlier attempts, but he failed. The causeway and its bridges subsequently needed constant repair. In 162 BC, Marcus Cornelius Cathegus had a canal constructed along the road to relieve the traffic and provide an alternative when the road was being repaired. Romans preferred using the canal. The Via Appia picked up
2726-555: The slaves had forfeited their right to live. In 71 BC, 6,000 slaves were crucified along the 200-kilometer (120 mi) Via Appia from Rome to Capua. In 1943, during World War II , the Allies fell into the same trap Pyrrhus had retreated to avoid, in the Pomptine fields , the successor to the Pontine Marshes . The marsh remained, despite many efforts to drain it, until engineers working for Benito Mussolini finally succeeded (even so,
2784-487: The smaller region of greater Rome (this was essential to the Romans). The few roads outside the early city were Etruscan and went mainly to Etruria . By the late Republic , the Romans had expanded over most of Italy and were masters of road construction. Their roads began at Rome, where the master itinerarium , or list of destinations along the roads, was located, and extended to the borders of their domain – hence
2842-671: The starting point but did not mention Atria and have it ending in Altinum through different routes. The idea that the older course of the Via Popilia reached Atria finds possible support through the proposed reconstructions of the Via Annia which have it starting at Atria . This gives a picture of carefully planned and continuous route which follows the Italian regions on the upper Adriatic Sea . The two mentioned itineraries differ in their depiction of
2900-426: The supply problem. An aqueduct (the Aqua Appia ) secured the water supply of the city of Rome. By far the best known project was the road, which ran across the Pontine Marshes to the coast northwest of Naples , where it turned north to Capua. On it, any number of fresh troops could be sped to the theatre of operations, and supplies could be moved en masse to Roman bases without hindrance by either enemy or terrain. It
2958-474: The track of the old Via Latina, from which they rained down shells on Anzio. Even though the Allies expanded into all the Pomptine region, they gained no ground. The Germans counterattacked down the via Appia from the Alban hills in a front four miles wide, but could not retake Anzio. The battle lasted for four months, one side being supplied by sea, the other by land through Rome. In May 1944, the Allies broke out of Anzio and took Rome . The German forces escaped to
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#17328454802153016-445: Was on the now extinct Po di Primaro branch of the River Po and skirted the mentioned lagoon. Perhaps there was a port there. It then followed the Augusta embankment where there was the Augusta mansio of the Tabula Peutingeriana . It then crossed Valtrenus . It was thus described by Pliny the Elder, "By the Augustan canal the Padus [Po] is carried to Ravenna, at which place it is called the Padusa … The nearest mouth to this spot forms
3074-401: Was revealed, now miles from the sea, due to the sedimentation of the Po delta. Spina was founded around 525 BC, soon after Adria . Despite the Greek foundation story mentioned by Pliny the Elder , it had a predominantly Etruscan population, but also a significant Greek presence. The population of Spina became significantly Hellenised . The city built a treasury in Delphi . Many of
3132-509: Was said to have been so smooth that you could not distinguish the joints. The Roman section still exists and is lined with monuments of all periods, although the cement has eroded out of the joints, leaving a very rough surface. The road concedes nothing to the Alban hills , but goes straight through them over cuts and fills. The gradients are steep. Then it enters the former Pontine Marshes. A stone causeway of about 31 kilometers (19 mi) led across stagnant and foul-smelling pools blocked from
3190-422: Was situated. The road at the time was a via glarea, a gravel road. The Romans built a high-quality road, with layers of cemented stone over a layer of small stones, cambered, drainage ditches on either side, low retaining walls on sunken portions, and dirt pathways for sidewalks. The Via Appia is believed to have been the first Roman road to feature the use of lime cement. The materials were volcanic rock. The surface
3248-399: Was still largely influenced by the centuriation ; this, according to Lugli, was the path of the Appian Way. This path, as well as the part located in today's Apulia region, was still in use in the Middle Ages . A further piece of evidence for Lugli's proposed path is the presence of a number of archaeological remains in that region, among them the ancient settlement of Jesce. By studying
3306-425: Was the government of Italy, for the time being. Appius Claudius died in 273, but in extending the road a number of times, no one has tried to displace his name upon it. The Appian Way's path across today's regions Lazio and Campania has always been well known, but the exact position of the part located in Apulia (the original one, not the extension by Trajan) was long unknown, since there were no visible remains of
3364-440: Was the main factor that allowed them to concentrate their forces with sufficient rapidity and to keep them adequately supplied, whereafter they became a formidable opponent. The main part of the Appian Way was started and finished in 312 BC. The road began as a leveled dirt road upon which small stones and mortar were laid. Gravel was laid upon this, which was finally topped with tight fitting, interlocking stones to provide
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