Appian Way
APPIAN WAY (ăp'ĭ-ăn). Oldest of the Roman roads, begun in 312 b.c., which originally ran from Rome to Capua and was later extended to Brundisium. Parts of the road are still in use. Paul must have traveled by it from Puteoli to Rome (Acts.28.13-Acts.28.16).
(Lat. Via Appia). The road from Rome to southern Italy. It is named after the censor Appius Claudius Caecus who built the section from Rome to Capua in 312 b.c. By 244 b.c. it had been extended to Brundisium (Brindisi), a total of 234 miles. Acts 28 tells how Paul, on his journey to Rome, landed at Puteoli and presumably from there went to join the Appian Way at Capua. He met groups of Christians on the road at the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. The section of the road from Rome to Beneventum is well preserved, but beyond there it came to be neglected because of the building of the Via Traiana. By the roadside there are many tombs-some of them of famous Romans-and some ancient pavement, bridges, and milestones. Christian monuments along this part of the Appian Way include the catacombs of St. Callistus, the burying place of most of the third-century bishops of Rome
APPIAN WAY. The Via Appia was the first of the paved roads which were the supreme engineering achievement of Rome. It was named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the censor, one of the first clear-cut personalities of Rom. history. Begun in 312 b.c., the Appian Way ran from Rome to Capua, with a later extension to Beneventum and Brundisium. The road reached the latter town in 244 b.c. when a Rom colony was founded there. The width was fifteen ft., the length 350 m. The Appian Way is still traceable for many m. S of Rome and forms a striking memorial of Rom. engineering skill. Long stretches of the paving are still intact. The first reaches of the highway were flanked with memorial structures and tombs, ruins of which survive. Christian sanctuaries which survive include the “Domine Quo Vadis?” chapel, near the junction of the road with the wall of Rome, the catacombs of St. Callixtus, and the basilica of St. Sebastian. Paul must have traversed a part of the Appian Way on his journey from Puteoli to Rome (Acts 28:13-16). Appii Forum, a market town on the Appian Way, almost forty m. S of Rome, a staging post mentioned in the same story, was also a foundation of Appius Claudius, the builder of the highway.