All Topics  
Via Aurelia

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Via Aurelia
 
 
  Topics Via Aurelia Topic Home

The Via Aurelia was a Roman road
Roman road

The Roman roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move Military history of ancient Rome and Roman commerce goods and to communicate news....
 constructed around the year 241 BC. The project was undertaken by C. Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor. C. Aurelius Cotta had a history of building roads for Rome, as he had overseen the construction of a military road in Sicily (as consul in 252 BC, during the First Punic War
First Punic War

The First Punic War was the first of Punic Wars fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea....
) connecting Agrigentum (modern Agrigento
Agrigento

Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragras , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden age of Ancient Greece....
) and Panormus (modern Palermo
Palermo

Palermo is a historic city in southern Italy, the Capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old....
).

he middle Republic, a series of roads were built throughout Italy to serve the needs of Roman expansion.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Via Aurelia'
Start a new discussion about 'Via Aurelia'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Map of Roman Roads in Italy
The Via Aurelia was a Roman road
Roman road

The Roman roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move Military history of ancient Rome and Roman commerce goods and to communicate news....
 constructed around the year 241 BC. The project was undertaken by C. Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor. C. Aurelius Cotta had a history of building roads for Rome, as he had overseen the construction of a military road in Sicily (as consul in 252 BC, during the First Punic War
First Punic War

The First Punic War was the first of Punic Wars fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea....
) connecting Agrigentum (modern Agrigento
Agrigento

Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragras , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden age of Ancient Greece....
) and Panormus (modern Palermo
Palermo

Palermo is a historic city in southern Italy, the Capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old....
).

Background

In the middle Republic, a series of roads were built throughout Italy to serve the needs of Roman expansion. These included swift army movements and reasonably quick communication with Roman colonies spread throughout Italy; there was also the unintended (but beneficial) consequence of an increase in trade among Italian cities and with Rome. The Via Aurelia was constructed as a part of this road construction campaign, which began in 312 BC with the building of the Via Appia. Other roads included in this construction period were the Viae Amerina (ca. 241 BC), Flaminina, Clodia, Aemilia
Aemilia

Aemilia can indicate several people and places in Classical history:* Aemilia, a vestal virgin who, when the Sacred fire of Vesta was extinguished on one occasion, prayed to Vesta for assistance, and mira?culously rekindled it by throwing a piece of her garment upon the extinct embers....
, Cassia, Valeria (ca. 307 BC), and Caecilia (ca. 283 BC).

Route

The Via Aurelia crossed the Tiber River by way of the bridge Pons Aemilius, then exited Rome from its west side. After the Emperor Aurelian
Aurelian

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus , known in English as Aurelian, Roman Emperor , was the second of several highly successful "soldier-emperors" who helped the Roman Empire regain its power during the latter part of the third century and the beginning of the fourth....
 built a wall around Rome (ca. 270 -273 AD), the Via Aurelia exited from the Porta Aurelia (gates). The road then ran about 25 miles to Alsium on the Tyrrhenian coast, north along the coast to Vada Volaterrana, Cosa
Cosa

Cosa was a Latin colonia founded under Ancient Rome influence in southwestern Tuscany in 273 BC, perhaps on land confiscated from the Etruscans ....
 and Pisae (modern Pisa
Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa....
). There the original length of the Via Aurelian terminated. This was an especially important route during the early and middle Republic because it linked Rome, Cosa and Pisae. Cosa was an important colony and military outpost in Etruria, and Pisae was the only port between Genua and Rome. Consequently, it was an important naval base for the Romans in their wars against the Ligurians
Ligures

The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, which once stretched from Northern Italy into southern Gaul. According to Plutarch they called themselves Ambrones which means ?people of the water?....
, Gauls
Gauls

The Gauls were a Continental Celtic Celts people of Classical Antiquity, the inhabitants of Gaul , and speakers of the Gaulish language.Archaeologically, they were the bearers of the La T?ne culture ....
 and Carthaginians.

The Via Aurelia was later extended roughly 200 miles in 109 BC by the Via Aemilia Scaura, constructed by M. Aemilius Scaurus. This road lead to Dertona (modern Tortona
Tortona

*For the medieval scholar, see Marziano da TortonaTortona is a comune of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines....
), Placentia, Cremona
Cremona

Cremona is a city in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left shore of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments....
, Aquilea and Genua, from which one could travel to Gallia Narbonensis (southern France) by way of the Via Postumia
Via Postumia

The Via Postumia was an ancient highroad of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the consul Spurius Postumius Albinus.It ran from the coast at Genoa through the mountains to Dertona, Piacenza and Cremona, just east of the point where it crossed the Po River....
. By the time of the high Empire, one could travel from Rome by way of the Via Aurelia across the Alps via the Julian-Augustan Way to either northern France or Gades (modern Cadiz
Cádiz

C?diz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the province of C?diz, one of eight which make up the Autonomous communities of Spain of Andalusia....
, Spain).

The modern Strada Statale 1 occupies the same route, and is still referred to colloquially as La Via Aurelia.

Roman bridges

For an overview of the location of Roman bridges, see List of Roman bridges
List of Roman bridges

The Roman empire were the world's first major bridge builders. The following list constitutes an attempt to list all known Roman bridges, many of which still survive to this day....
.


There are the remains of several Roman bridge
Roman bridge

Roman bridges, built by Ancient Rome, were the first large and lasting bridges built.Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....
s along the road, including the Cloaca di Porta San Clementino, Ponte del Diavolo, Primo Ponte and the Secondo Ponte (the last three in Sta Marinella).

See also

  • Roman road
    Roman road

    The Roman roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move Military history of ancient Rome and Roman commerce goods and to communicate news....
  • Roman bridge
    Roman bridge

    Roman bridges, built by Ancient Rome, were the first large and lasting bridges built.Roman bridges were built with stone and had the arch as its basic structure....
  • Roman engineering
    Roman engineering

    The Roman Empire are generally famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments, although some of their own inventions were improvements on older ideas, concepts and inventions....


External links