Appian Way
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How it came to be
In 312 BC, during the Samnite Wars, the Roman censor Appius Claudius Caecus began a military road south from Rome. It ran straight over the Alban Hills, crossed the Pontine Marshes on a stone causeway of about 31 km, and reached Capua. Appius also built Rome's Aqua Appia aqueduct.
The road was later extended through Beneventum and Tarentum to Brundisium, modern Brindisi. In 109 AD the emperor Trajan opened the Via Traiana, a branch from Beneventum to Brundisium along the Adriatic coast. In 71 BC, after the revolt of Spartacus was crushed, 6,000 slaves were crucified along the 200 km of road between Rome and Capua.
From the 11th century buildings along the road were turned into defences, and pilgrims and crusaders used it on their way to the Holy Land. The papacy carried out restorations in the Renaissance, and in 1784, under Pope Pius VI, a parallel Via Appia Nuova was built. In 2024, 19 component parts along more than 800 km of road were inscribed as a World Heritage site.
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