The Queen of Roads

Walking Tours of Rome​

Via Appia

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It is said that all roads lead to Rome. The adage was originally Mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam (A thousand roads have, for centuries, led men to Rome) and it first appears at the end of the 6th century.

The oldest, and most famous road, is the Via Appia, or Appian Way, which was built in 312 BCE by the censor, Appius Claudius Caecus, to link Rome to Capua, a city fifty or so 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 ancient Romans built a huge network of roads linking the capital to cities the length and breadth of their empire. But the via Appia would hold a special place in their hearts and be known as the regina longarum viarum (queen of the long roads) or more simply as regina viarum.

The via Appia would have been lined for miles and miles with tombs, big and small.

In 71 BCE it was the setting for a very gruesome event, the crucifixion of 6,000 rebellious slaves, who had fought under Spartacus.