Via Popilia
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__NOTOC__ The Via Popilia is the name of two different ancient
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 ...
s begun in the
consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
of
Publius Popilius Laenas :''See also Popilius (disambiguation)'' Publius Popillius Laenas was consul in 132 BC, and builder of the Via Popilia. When consul he incurred the hatred of the populares by his harsh measures as head of a special commission appointed to take me ...
. One was in southern Italy and the other was in north-eastern Italy.


Road in southern Italy

The road in southern Italy ran from 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 ...
at
Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
to
Rhegium Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popula ...
on the
Straits of Messina The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...
. An archaeological discovery of part of its
itinerarium An ''itinerarium'' (plural: ''itineraria'') was an ancient Roman travel guide in the form of a listing of cities, villages ( ''vici'') and other stops on the way, including the distances between each stop and the next. Surviving examples include ...
on an engraved on stone (The Polla Tablet) brought it more fully into the light of history. It ran a distance of through southern
Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
and
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, through the interior of the country, not along the coast. There are the remains of at least one
Roman bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ke ...
along the road, the Ponte sul Savuto.


Road in north-eastern Italy

The road in north-eastern Italy connected ''Ariminum'' (modern
Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
) to Atria (modern
Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...
). At Atria it joined the
Via Annia The Via Annia was the Roman road in Venetia in north-eastern Italy. It run on the low plains of the lower River Po and of the lower Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, an area which had many rivers and large marsh areas and bordered the coas ...
which went to ''Patavium'' (modern
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
),
Altinum Altinum (in Altino, a ''frazione'' of Quarto d'Altino) was an ancient town of the Veneti 15 km SE of modern Treviso, close to the mainland shore of the Lagoon of Venice. It was also close to the mouths of the rivers Dese, Zero and Sile. A ...
and
Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...
. It was an extension of the Via Flaminia which connected Rome and ''Ariminum''. ''Ariminum'' was also at the junction with the
Via Aemilia The ( it, Via Emilia; en, Aemilian Way) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the river ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The ' ...
which run through the plain of the River Po. This via Popilia was not mentioned in ancient sources. It was identified through a milestone found near Adria in 1844. It indicated the name of the man who had it built, Pulius Popilius, and that the origin of the road was 81 miles further south. This information, together with that provided by two Roman
itineraries A travel itinerary is a schedule of events relating to planned travel, generally including destinations to be visited at specified times and means of transportation to move between those destinations. For example, both the plan of a business trip ...
, the
Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti,  "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...
and the
Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the ''cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The m ...
, has led to the identification of this road as having been built by the consul Publius Popilius Laenas, who was consul in 132 BCE and having had ''Ariminum'' as its starting point. The two itineraries indicated ''Ariminum'' as the starting point but did not mention Atria and have it ending in Altinum through different routes.Emilia-Romagna Region Institute for Artistic, Cultural and Natural Heritage
/ref>Istituto per i Beni Artistici, Culturali e Naturali della Regione Emilia-Romagna, Per vie Antiche, Guida al Oarco Archeologico dell'Alto Adriatico, Editrice Compositori, Bologna, 2014
/ref> The idea that the older course of the Via Popilia reached ''Atria'' finds possible support through the proposed reconstructions of the Via Annia which have it starting at ''Atria''. This gives a picture of carefully planned and continuous route which follows the Italian regions on the upper
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
. The two mentioned itineraries differ in their depiction of the course. The former presents a journey which was mainly through watercourses, rivers and lagoons connected to each other by a network of canals. The latter depicts a land route with staging posts (''mansiones'', plural of ''mansio''). The ''Ariminum'' to Ravenna tract went by the ''Sabis mansio'' and the current
Cervia Cervia ( rgn, Zirvia) is a seaside resort town in the province of Ravenna, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Cervia is a major seaside resort in Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Its population was 28,700 at the 2018 census. ...
saltworks. North of Ravenna it continued towards the lagoon of
Comacchio Comacchio (; egl, label= Comacchiese, Cmâc' ) is a town and ''comune'' of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, from the provincial capital Ferrara. It was founded about two thousand years ago; across its history it was first govern ...
flanking the Augusta canal commissioned by the emperor
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
to connect Ravenna with the southern branch of the River Po, passing by the ''mansiones'' of ''Butrium'' and ''Augusta''. The next ''mansio'' was ''Sacis ad Padum'', near
Spina Spina was an Etruscan port city, established by the end of the 6th century BCE, on the Adriatic at the ancient mouth of the Po. Discovery The site of Spina was lost until modern times, when drainage schemes in the delta of the Po River in 1922 ...
, which was named after the ''Sagis'' branch of the Po. The road then crossed the ''Neronia'' canal and the ''Flavia'' canal and had the ''Neronia'' and ''Corniculani mansiones''. It then reached the ''Hadriani mansio''. Here the route split into two. The older one went to ''Atria''. The other one went through the lagoon belt of the southern Veneto and reached Altinum. The ''Ariminum'' to Ravenna tract seemed to use the coastal cliff and sandy strip. However, it seems to have later run into problems and for a stretch a more inland route, which in part followed the current via del Confine, was preferred, even though the coastal route continued to be used. The road must then have gone along a coastal path again and must have reached Cervia, on the coast, where archaeological ruins have been found. The ''Sabis mansio'' on the River Savio seems to have served both routes. The road then reached Ravenna. From there it followed the Augusta canal until ''Butrium'' (in today's Sant’Alberto, on the southern shore of the lagoon of Comacchio) which was on the now extinct Po di Primaro branch of the River Po and skirted the mentioned lagoon. Perhaps there was a port there. It then followed the ''Augusta'' embankment where there was the ''Augusta mansio'' of the ''Tabula Peutingeriana''. It then crossed ''Valtrenus''. It was thus described by Pliny the Elder, "By the Augustan canal the Padus ois carried to Ravenna, at which place it is called the Padusa … The nearest mouth to this spot forms the extensive port known as that of Vatrenus …” Slightly further north the road reached the now extinct Po Spinetico branch of the River Po, just before ancient
Spina Spina was an Etruscan port city, established by the end of the 6th century BCE, on the Adriatic at the ancient mouth of the Po. Discovery The site of Spina was lost until modern times, when drainage schemes in the delta of the Po River in 1922 ...
, just to the north of Comacchio. It then followed another extinct branch of the river, the ''Sagis'', and reached the ''Sacis Ad Padum mansio'', where a canal which was probably commissioned by the emperor Nero started. The road went through the ''Corniculani'' and ''Hadriani mansiones'' (perhaps in Codigoro and San Basiglio in the municipality of
Ariano nel Polesine Ariano nel Polesine Ariano nel Polesine is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about southeast of Rovigo. Geography Ariano nel Polesine borders the following ...
respectively). It then reached the ''Septem Maria'' (Seven Seas),Septem Maria William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854)
/ref> which is indicated in the Antonine itinerary and was probably between Donada and Contarina in the municipality of Porto di Viro, close to Adria. The ''fossa Clodia'' canal started here, at the River Tartaro, and reached today's
Chioggia Chioggia (; vec, Cióxa , locally ; la, Clodia) is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the L ...
in the Lagoon of Venice. The road then turned right, further inland, to reach ''Atria''. It seems that in late antiquity after Hadriani the coastal road followed a different course from that of the Popilia, which turned towards Atria but was not indicated in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The road probably decayed precociously, which explains the loss of its name of the road was lost and the deterioration of the road system.


See also

*
Roman roads 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 ...
*
Roman bridges The Ancient Rome, ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan civilization, Etruscan Immigration, immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, deve ...
*
Roman engineering The ancient Romans were famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, but transformed by the Romans into a technology inconceivable in Greece. The architecture ...


References


Bibliography

* Bosio L., La via Popilia-Annia, in Aquileia e l’arco adriatico, Udine 1990, pp. 43–60 *Dall'Aglio P.L., Di Cocco I., La linea e la rete. Formazione storica del sistema stradale in Emilia-Romagna, Milano 2006, pp. 202–212, 333-335 *Donati A., Verso il Nordest, in I Miliari. Lungo le strade dell'impero, Atti del Convegno (Isola della Scala, 28 novembre 2010), Cierre Edizioni, 2011, pp. 29–33; *F. Lenzi F., (a cura di), Regio VIII. Luoghi, uomini, percorsi dell'età romana in Emilia-Romagna, Bologna 2006, pp. 576–584 *Patitucci Uggeri S., Il sistema fluvio-lagunare, l’insediamento e le difese del territorio ravennate settentrionale (V-VIII secolo), in Ravenna da capitale imperiale a capitale esarcale, Atti del XVII congresso internazionale di studio sull'alto Medioevo (Ravenna, 6-12 giugno 2004), Fondazione CISAM, 2005, pp. 280–295, 340–341, 346–347;


External links


The Polla TabletOmnes Viae: Via Popilia on the Peutinger MapRhetorics of land and power in the Polla inscription

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