The ''Via Flacca'' was a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

along the western coast of

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

, Italy. It was built under censor

Lucius Valerius Flaccus Lucius Valerius Flaccus may refer to: * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 261 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 195 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 131 BC), Flamen Martialis * Lucius Valerius Flaccus (consul 100 BC) * Lucius Valerius Flacc ...

around 184 BC. Parts of it have recently been renovated as a trekking route. It was probably built to serve the town of

Formiae Formia is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio, Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. It has a population of 38,095. Istat 2017 History ...

which had been elevated to a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

, and which the road linked to the towns of

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

and

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

. It was a side branch of the

via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, rec ...

, the much more famous Roman consular road, which it rejoined after Formiae near the Rialto bridge, and provided an alternative route to avoid the

Aurunci mountains The Monti Aurunci (or Aurunci Mountains) is a mountain range of southern Lazio, in central Italy. It is part of the Antiappennini, a group running from the Apennines chain to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where it forms the promontory of Gaeta. It is bound ...

. The areas along the coast of Formiae and Caietae were popular resorts and sites of seaside villas of many important rich patricians of Rome, notably the grandiose villa of the emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

Sperlonga Sperlonga (locally ) is a coastal town in the province of Latina, Italy, about halfway between Rome and Naples. It is best known for the ancient Roman sea grotto discovered in the grounds of the Villa of Tiberius containing the important and spect ...

. The road was a difficult and dangerous project as the coastline is mountainous in many places.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

says: "Flaccus separately built a dam at the Neptunian spring that the people might have a footpath there, and a road over the hill at Formiae..." At the cliffs at Formia, it passes at an altitude of 30–40 m, and is supported by terraces in double polygonal walls with ''

opus caementicium Roman concrete, also called , is a material that was used in construction in ancient Rome. Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement. It is durable due to its incorporation of pozzolanic ash, which prevents cracks from spreading. B ...

'' (concrete) to anchor them to the rock. In the section below Sperlonga wheel ruts in the surface of steep sections of a wheelbase of 0.8 m can be seen.Quilici, L. Praetorium Speluncae. Ricerche sui confini della proprietà imperiale. Atlante Temat. Di Topogr. Antica 2009, 19, 201–325

Remains

The modern road has been built upon the Roman road on most of its route, but from Sant'Agostino beach towards Sperlonga is a track of the old road. At Punta Cetarola, south of Sperlonga, the track is supported by a wall of square and polygonal stone and passes through a natural cave, the Antro di Punta Cetarola, then further north leads to the Torre Capovento.

References

{{List of Roman roads F