All roads lead to Rome

A saying which many of us may well use at least once in our lifetime is the old classic “All roads lead to Rome". Indeed remnants of the Roman roads can be found throughout Europe, their directness being legendary. It’s something we are taught about at school with the Appian Way arguably the most iconic, with its construction started in 312 BCE with the purpose to link Rome with Brindisi in southeast Italy.

What many of us will not realise is that you can still walk from Rome’s Gate of San Sebastiano which forms parts of the Aurelian Wall onto the Appian Way and something I did one sunny March day, its lure would see me walking the first 5 miles.

Along this length, I would find Roman monuments, mausoleums, and catacombs following the Roman tradition of burying people outside the city walls. The leaflet from the Parco Regionale dell'Appia Antica visitors centre details some 54 points of interest along this 5 miles stretch.

https://www.parcoappiaantica.it/home/itinerari/appia-antica

Some 400 metres from the gate outside the Santa Maria in Palmis, a copy of a footprint can be seen which many believed belonged to Saint Peter and is supposedly where Peter met Jesus while fleeing Roman persecution.

Further along, the Catacombs of Callixtus and San Sebastiano can be visited dating from the 2nd to 4th century CE with fragments of religious wall paintings still present before you reach my personal favourite, the Circus of Maxentius.

Built between 306 and 312 CE, this is said to be the best-preserved example of a Roman circus in existence and was second only in size to the Circus Maximus in Rome itself. The central barrier was 296 metres with the chariot starting gates still visible while an obelisk which now stands in Rome's Piazza Navona once stood at its centre. With the site to myself, it was easy to imagine those heady days of chariot racing and the roaring crowds. An adjoining palace and a mausoleum were also built by Emperor Maxentius before his death in 312 CE. The site certainly gave me that “travel shiver” you get when you come across something unexpected.

Close by at the three-mile mark is the imposing Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella completed in the first century BCE. In the 14th century, the structure was incorporated into a fortified palace built by the Caetani family with the help of Pope Boniface VIII. It’s certainly worth checking out.

By now you are walking along the old surface of the road passing the baths of Capo di Bove and countless monuments with no vehicles allowed. The hustle and bustle of Rome well and truly left behind. It’s amazing how quickly you get the sense of being in the countryside.

At 5 miles you pass a gate to the Villa of the Quintilii, although in the low season this may be locked as in my case so had to walk around to the other side of the site to the main entrance. Built by the rich and cultured Quintili brothers, the property was possibly the largest and most luxurious villa in the Rome area. Later it became an Imperial property after the brothers were murdered on the orders of Emperor Commodus. You certainly can't say Rome's history is dull? Today the ruins are still very impressive particularly with the tracing out of the baths with their caldarium (hot) and frigidarium (cold) sections.

Lastly, you reach the Casal Rotondo which has been incorporated into a house and is one of the biggest tombs on the Appian Way and is thought to date from the 1st century BCE.

If you have reached this far you have done well. There are various bus options to get you back into Rome although I carried onto the park of the aqueducts so all in all covered 8 miles. Not bad considering I had run the Rome marathon the day before!

So there you have it, for the first-timer to Rome, this probably wouldn’t be on your list with so many other world-class sites to see in Rome itself. But if you are on a second or extended visit and maybe visiting the catacombs, consider walking a bit further before getting back onto the bus?

There is a real ambiance that grows as you walk further out and would be a welcomed escape from the crowds of central Rome. When you hit the traffic-free original sections of the road, sit by the road for a minute and close your eyes. Imagine the Emperor on his white charger followed by his legions leaving Rome ready to insert his military might on his foe.

Your footsteps have surely joined some of the greatest names in history by walking this section of the Appian Way.