The Old and New Converge on the Appian Way

Some of the most fearful traffic jams in Europe--and the quiet Tiber flowing to the sea, the blare of hard rock from the discos--and the eternal calm of a temple by moonlight.

That’s Rome. Not far from its busy, noisy center are more contrasts: On a placid hillside along the Old Appian Way you will see a shepherd with a flock of grazing sheep, and nearby are columns and ruined temples that go back to the era before Christianity--all within sight of skyscrapers.

Along the Old Appian Way are many luxurious mansions and estates. Gina Lollobrigida and Marcello Mastroianni have or had homes along this road. Many others in the film world (the studios of Cinecitta, Italy’s movie-making center, are close by) live here, as do many Americans.

Peace and Serenity

It is a lovely countryside. Despite its nearness to Rome, the quiet flowered meadows give off a sense of peace and serenity.

A few minutes’ drive north is the heart of the city. Here are ruined buildings, monuments to forgotten dignitaries, churches that figured in the early days of the Christian faith. A red sports car zips past, a young man at the wheel, his girl beside him with hair flying. Their backdrop is the Catacombs. Another car speeds by, its radio blaring rock, drowning out the strains of a Gregorian chant coming from an ancient church. That’s Rome.

The Appian Way began in Rome, slanted southeast along the Italian peninsula, and near Naples edged across the peninsula toward the east coast. You can drive the 360 miles of the new road to its end at Brindisi, where you can look out over the Adriatic at Albania and Greece.

The old road was one branch in the network of superb highways built by Roman engineers starting 24 centuries ago. The fact that you can still drive a car on some of the original basalt paving stones says a great deal about road-building in those ancient days.

These roads connected Rome, the great center of the sprawling Roman Republic, with outposts that reached to the corners of the known world.

The Old Appian Way--or Via Appia Antica--takes its name from Appius Claudius (an ancestor of “I, Claudius”). A governmental official, he began the road in 312 BC.

Historic and Scenic

The most historic and scenic stretch is just south of the city. From the Roman Forum go past the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine. Take the road to the right, Via San Gregorio. In a few blocks you’ll be at the Porta Capena where the Appian Way began. A mile away, past the Baths of Caracalla, is the Porta San Sebastiano.

Here begins the grandeur, the history, the scenery. The St. Sebastian gate, an opening in the old city wall, is a massive two-towered structure that looks sturdy enough to hold off an army. The wall was built by Emperor Aurelian in the 3rd Century and a gate was constructed for the Appian Way. This gate led out of Rome. Because the monuments and archeological sites start here, many people consider this the real beginning of the Appian Way.

About half a mile on, beyond a low wall on the right, is a round tower covered with ivy. It is the tomb of the wife of Domitian, emperor in AD 81.

Just where the road makes a turn to the left is a small building with a plain front, the Church of Domine Quo Vadis where St. Peter, fleeing from Rome, is said to have seen a vision of Christ and asked him: “Lord, where are you going?” ( Domine, quo vadis? ). Christ replied: “I go to Rome to be crucified again.” This strengthened Peter, and he returned to Rome, where he laid the foundations of the Christian church and was martyred by Nero.

There is something awesome in spending a few reflective minutes inside the church.

Christian Catacombs

Another kilometer takes you to the Catacombs of St. Callistus where early Christians buried their dead. You get a chill, knowing that almost 2,000 years ago worshipers walked in these eerie tunnels.

Just beyond the Catacombs of St. Sebastian are the remains of the best-preserved Roman circus in the world, built in the 4th Century by the Emperor Maxentius. Today it stands silent, but in ancient times charioteers whipped their horses down the 500-yard straightway as 18,000 spectators screamed them on.

This is a relatively quiet stretch of the Old Appian Way. Most of today’s traffic uses the new road, the Via Appia Nuova, officially SS 7. The old road here is almost as peaceful as a country lane. You can hear the buzz of insects in the fields.

You stroll past high walls of stone or poplar or cypress edging the estates. You might see a nanny playing with a child. At the end of the long flower-lined drives are the houses: sedate, imposing mansions that fit the classical surroundings.

On the way is the tomb of Cecilia Metella, bordered by homes and meadows and the towering pines of Rome. A rounded structure several stories high, with a battlemented crown, it is crumbling because throughout its 2,000 years it has been left to the weather and vandals.

Cecilia Metella was the wife of Publius Crassus, the general under Julius Caesar who conquered Spartacus and his rebelling army of slaves and crucified them for miles along the Appian Way.

Original Road Visible

Here you can see parts of the original road. The great basalt slabs are mostly covered by asphalt now, but occasionally it has peeled away and the original stones are visible.

Along here you see modern homes next to ancient monuments, with fields in between. Near the road are blocks from some antique building. You can sit on one and relax.

It is refreshing to sit here and shut out of your mind the few cars that go by. You can conjure up Roman citizens and officials on horseback riding along the Via Appia Antica on business. If you are a true romantic you will imagine a Roman legion resplendent in armor and belted swords, striding up a rise and vanishing into the haze.

At kilometer 9 you come to the Grande Raccordo Anulare, the highway that rings Rome and keeps long-distance traffic out of the city. The Old Appian Way crosses this highway--and there is no stoplight, no traffic officer, just you and your car and your courage, trying to find an opening in the four lanes of maniacal speedsters.

Across the highway are a few low funeral mounds in a weeded field, then several rows of columns. They are what is left of a temple to Hercules.

Now the road alternates--ugly/pretty, ugly/pretty. Near it is a meadow with goats grazing peacefully. Then a few abandoned cars rusting away, then another meadow.

Minor Irritants

Above, a plane roars. Several airports are not far away. If the wind drift is toward you, the growl of traffic on the Via Nuova will reach you.

Half close your eyes and peer back up the road, toward Rome. The sound you hear is not modern traffic but the tramp of the legions coming toward you. In a moment they will round the bend and you will see them and cheer them on, glad that you are a citizen of Rome, part of the mightiest nation on earth.

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A rental car costs about $200 a week. Have your agent arrange for it in the United States. You’ll pay less. Get an international driver’s license for $5 at an AAA office.

For information contact the Italian Government Travel Office, 360 Post St., Suite 801, San Francisco 94108, phone (415) 392-6206.