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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

Via Appia: The Queen of Roads

4/1/2019

 
The Via Appia, Rome
The Via Appia

The ancient Via Appia, or Appian Way, is one of the most evocative places in Rome. 

The road was built in 312 BCE by the censor, Appius Claudius Caecus, to link Rome to Capua, a city 120 miles to the south. In time the Via Appia ran all the way to Brindisi, a port on the south-east coast of Italy.


The Romans would go on to build a huge network of paved roads throughout its empire, but the Via Appia would remain the regina viarum (queen of roads). 
​
For the first few miles the Via Appia served as a cemetery for Rome's patrician class and was lined with tombs. The best to survive is the monumental tomb of Cecilia Metella, which stands at the third milestone and was built during the reign of the emperor Augustus (r. 27 BCE-14 CE). This extremely well-preserved tomb is 100 Roman feet in diameter (29.5 m) and, for centuries, has been the most famous landmark on the Via Appia. 

The Via Appia was also used by the early Christians as a site for their underground cemeteries, or catacombs. 

In 71 BCE the Via Appia was the setting for a very gruesome event: the crucifixion of 6,000 slaves. In 73 BCE the ex-gladiator, Spartacus (c. 111-71 BCE), led a slave revolt against the Romans. Spartacus and his slaves defeated several Roman armies in a conflict that lasted two years before being defeated in 71 BCE by the Roman general, Marcus Licinius Crassus (c. 115-53 BCE).  

Tomb of Cecilia Metella, Via Appia, Rome
Tomb of Cecilia Metella
Via Appia, Rome

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    Walking Tours For Discerning Travellers

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Small-Group Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
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      • Pope Gregory XIV
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      • Pope Urban VIII
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      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
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      • Pope Clement XIII
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      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque