Via Appia. Regina Viarum

Romans called it the queen of roads. Begun in 312 BC and extended over the following seven centuries, the Via Appia eventually ran more than 800 kilometres from Rome toward the ports of the south-east, carrying legions, merchants and pilgrims. Nineteen sections and ensembles — basalt paving, bridges, aqueducts, tombs and triumphal monuments — trace the route's engineering genius. UNESCO inscribed the Via Appia in 2024, Italy's testament to the road-building mastery that knitted an empire together.