Appian Traian Way

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Stazio, a renowned Latin poet, hailed the Appian Way as "Queen of roads" due to its majestic burial monuments, stately patrician residences in the suburban district, and picturesque landscape that crisscrossed its path. Where the Celio Hill met the Aventino stood the once-mighty Capena Gate, now vanished from sight, marking the starting point of Rome's most impressive consular roads – the storied Appian Way. Unveiled by censor Appio Claudius in 312 b.c., during the tumultuous Sannite Wars, this monumental thoroughfare was designed to forge a vital link between Rome, "caput mundi," and the southern provinces of the Italian peninsula, Africa, and the distant East. The Appian Way unfolded like a straight arrow after its initial stretch, following an existing road that led to the Alban Hills before converging with the Agro Pontino. As it traversed the landscape, the Appian Way intersected the bustling Appio Forum, eventually reaching the charming city of Terracina.