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[German version] Built by the censor C. Flaminius [1] in 220 BC (Liv. Per. 20; according to Fest. 79,16, built already in 223 BC under his consulship; Str. 5,1,11 confuses it, probably, with the construction of the road from Bononia [1] to Arretium by the son C. Flaminius [2] in 187 BC). The VF led from Rome, via Narnia and Nuceria [2], to Ariminum (modern Rimini; Liv. 39,2,10; Str. 5,1,11; 5,2,10; Tab. Peut. 4,2-5). It was Rome's most important via publica ( viae publicae ) in the Padus' (modern Po) plain and as for example the silver goblets from Vicarel…

[German version] Built by M.Aemilius [I 10] Lepidus during his consulship in 187 BC (Liv. 39,2,10; CIL I2 617 ff.). It led from Ariminum to Placentia, where it was continued by the via Postumia . As an extension of the via Flaminia , the VA opened up Gallia Cisalpina. In the same year, Lepidus' fellow consul, C. Flaminius [2], built (Liv. 39,2,6) a via publica ( Viae publicae ) from Bononia [1] to Arretium, providing the VA, by way of the via Cassia, with two connective routes to Rome. For the route of the VA see It. Ant. 98,7-100,4; 126,10-127,7; 286,8-288,3; Tab. Peut. 3…

[German version] Built by the praetor T. Annius [I 15] Rufus in 131 BC as an extension of the via Appia from Capua to Regium (modern Reggio di Calabria). The naming and routing (cf. It. Ant. 109,1-111,5; 105,1- 106,4) of this via publica ( Viae publicae ) are confirmed by the Polla elogium (ILLRP 454) in connection with the Annius milestone (ILLRP 454a). A second VA ran from Bononia through Patavium to Aquileia; it was presumably built by T. Annius [I 13] Luscus in 153 BC. Rathmann, Michael (Bonn) Bibliography F. T. Hinrichs, Der römische Straßenbau zur Zeit der Gracchen, in: His…

[German version] Built presumably in 241 BC by the censor C. Aurelius [I 3] Cotta, the VA ran initially from Rome to Cosa(e) (ILLRP 1288; It. Ant. 289,3-292,1; Tab. Peut. 3,4-4,5). In 109 BC under the censor M. Aemilius [I 37] Scaurus (AE 1986, 232; Vir. ill. 72,8), the VA was extended by the via Aemilia Scauri, which, according to Str. 5,1,11, led from Pisae along the coast of Liguria through Genua to Vada Sabatia and had a branch to Dertona, where it met the via Postumia . A number of witnesses (Cic. Phil. 12,22; Cic. Cat. 2,6; SHA Pius 1,8) record that by the 1st cent. BC the name via Aemilia Sca…

[German version] ('Sacred Road'). Significant road in the city of Rome (VS in Plin. HN 19,23; Suet. Vit. 17,1, elsewhere usually called the sacra via) between the Arch of Titus (relief depiction in [1]; inscription arcus in sacra via summa) or the temple of the Lares (R. Gest. div. Aug. 19) and the sanctuary of Vesta (Mart. 1,70,4 f.). It connects the Mons Palatinus and the eastern quarter of the city with the Forum [III 8] Romanum (Plut. Cicero 22,1; Cic. Att. 4,3,3). The name can be traced to the numerous sanctuaries along the road (Ov. Trist. 3,1,28): house of the Rex Sacrorum …

[German version] Italy's most famous road (Str. 5,3,6; 6,3,7; Stat. Silv. 2,2,12; Procop. Goth. 1,14,6-11), built by the censor Appius Claudius [I 2] Caecus in 312 BC (Liv. 9,29,6; Diod. Sic. 20,36,2; Frontin. Aq. 5,1; Eutr. 2,9,2; ILS 54). It was the first via publica ( viae publicae ) to bear the name of its founder. Contrary to Vir. ill. 34,6 and Str. loc.cit., the VA extended at the beginning only from Rome to Capua (It. Ant. 107,2-109,1; It. Burd. 611,4-612,5; Tab. Peut. 4,5-5,4). As Liv. 7,39,16 suggests, the VA probably went back to a previous road…

[German version] The VS, an important trade route since the early Roman period, obtained its name from its significance to the salt trade between the Sabini lands and Rome (Fest. 436 f.; Plin. HN 31,89; cf. Str. 5,3,1). The via Ostiensis and the via Campana served as a continuation of the VS through Rome to the saltworks at the mouth of the Tiber (Liv. 1,33,9). Initially, VS was presumably the name only of the segment between Rome and Reate. Extended under Augustus [1. no. 2, 8, 46, 48], it led on through Interocrium (modern Antrodoco) a…

[German version] Built as a via publica ( viae publicae ) in 148 BC by consul Sp. Postumius [I 11] Albinus Magnus of Genua (CIL I2 624; 584,8 and 11 f.), going via Dertona, Placentia, Verona to Aquilia [1]. The VP and the via Aemilia were the most important axes of traffic in Gallia Cisalpina. Roads [V A] (with map: Italy, s. appendix) Rathmann, Michael (Bonn) Bibliography G. Cera, La via Postumia da Genova a Cremona, 2000 G. Radke, s. v. Viae publicae Romanae, RE Suppl. 13, 1417-1686, here 1601-1606 Tesori della Postumia. Archeologia e storia intorno a una grande strada roman…

[German version] Two Latin milestones (CIL V 8002; 8003 = XVII 4,1 no. 1) relate that in AD 46/7 Claudius [III 1] built the VCA, "which his father Drusus had had constructed after the military opening up of the Alps" ( quam Drusus pater Alpibus bello patefactis derexserat). This connection mentioned in the inscription from Upper Italy over the Resia/Reschen and Fern passes to Augusta [7] Vindelicum (modern Augsburg) certainly existed before Nero Claudius [II 24] Drusus' war with the Raeti (in 15 BC). With Altinum on the Adriatic (CIL V 80…

[German version] (ἡ Ἐγνατία ὁδός/ hē Egnatía hodós). Via publica ( Viae publicae ; AE 1973, 492; 1992, 1532) established by Cn. Egnatius [I 2] in c. 143 BC (MRR 3,84 f.). With Dyrrhachium and Apollonia [1], the VE had two starting points on the Adriatic and led through Heraclea [2], Thessalonica [1] and Amphipolis to Cypsela on the Hebrus (Str. 7,7,4 refers to Polybius; variant in Str. 7a,1,10). No later than towards the end of the Republic, the name was extended to the stretch to Byzantium (Cic. Prov. cons. 4; It. Ant. …

I. Italy [German version] A. Definition VP or 'public roads' are clearly defined by Ulpianus (Dig. 43,8,2,20-24; cf. Isid. Orig. 15,16,1-7) and Siculus Flaccus (103-107 Clavel-Lévêque): a via publica ran on public soil ( solum publicum), served public transport, was built or established by magistrates in possession of imperium (consuls, praetors), was financed from the public purse and lay outside urban settlements. The few known testimonies to the building of a VP by an aedile (CIL I2 21; 22; 829) date from the earliest phase of Roman road-building. Alongside VP, an equivalent term ite…

[German version] A. Function and Form As indicators of distance, milestones were a characteristic feature of Roman imperial roads. Erecting milestones as indicators of distance on significant inter-regional roads was known even before the Romans, e.g. in Assyria, in the Persian Empire and at various places in Greece. The term milestones (Latin miliarium) is first attested in 132 BC (CIL I2 638). As a special form of building inscriptions, the mostly cylindrical columns were termed miliarium (ThlL VIII, Sp. 946-949) in antiquity, often also simply as lapis (‘stone’, ThlL VII, Sp. …

[German version] One of the oldest roads outside Rome (It. Ant. 305,7 ff.; Tab. Peut. 4,5-5,1) of pre-Roman origin. The name is unclear; it is traced either generally to the region of Latium (Latini), which it crosses, or to the temple of Iuppiter Latiaris (Fest. 212,22) on Mons Albanus, probably the oldest destination of the road. Since, in contrast to numerous Italian viae publicae , the VL does not bear the name of its constructor, it must be dated earlier than the via Appia (312 BC). During the 3rd cent. BC, as Liv. 10,36,16 records for the year 294 BC,…

[English version] A. Funktion und Form M. waren als Distanzanzeiger ein charakteristisches Merkmal röm. Reichsstraßen. Das Aufstellen von Distanzanzeigern an überregional bedeutsamen Straßen war bereits vor den Römern, u.a. in Assyrien, im Perserreich und vereinzelt in Griechenland bekannt. Der Begriff M. (lat. miliarium) ist erstmals 132 v.Chr. belegt (CIL I2 638). Als eine Sonderform der Bauinschriften wurden die meist zylindrischen Säulen in der Ant. als miliarium (ThlL VIII, Sp. 946-949), oft auch schlicht als lapis (“Stein”, ThlL VII, Sp. 951f.) bezeichnet. Die …

[German version] I. General The construction of a network of roads and ways and the creation of long-distance roads always correlates with settlement construction and structure. A mixed settlement structure comprises compact settlements and dispersed homesteads in large number and is in evidence across wide areas of the ancient world for the most varied epochs. Such a settlement structure produces an especially dense network of traffic routes. Ancient roads were staked out on the principle of creati…