Via Tiburtina is an ancient road in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

leading east-northeast from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to Tivoli (Latin,

Tibur Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna. History Gaius Julius Solinu ...

) and then, with the

via Valeria The Via Valeria was an ancient Roman road of Italy, the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina from Tibur. It probably owed its origin to Marcus Valerius Messalla, censor in 154 BC. The route It ran first up the Anio valley past ...

, on to

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

(Latin, Aternum).

Historical road

It was probably built by the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

censor Marcus Valerius Maximus in 307 BCPiraino C. 2004: "The via Valeria and the centuriation", in Lapenna s. (ed.), The Aequi between Abruzzo and Lazio, Chieti, 115-118. at the time of the conquest of the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early hist ...

territory and later lengthened probably in about 154 BC by Marcus Valerius Messalla to the territories of the

Marsi The Marsi were an Italic people of ancient Italy, whose chief centre was Marruvium, on the eastern shore of Lake Fucinus (which was drained for agricultural land in the late 19th century). The area in which they lived is now called Marsica. ...

and the

in the

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

, as

Via Valeria The Via Valeria was an ancient Roman road of Italy, the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina from Tibur. It probably owed its origin to Marcus Valerius Messalla, censor in 154 BC. The route It ran first up the Anio valley past ...

. Its total length was approximately 200 km from Rome to Aternum (the modern

). It exited Rome through the Aurelian Wall at the

Porta Tiburtina Porta Tiburtina or Porta San Lorenzo is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy, through which the Via Tiburtina exits the city. History The gate originally was an arch, built under Augustus, in the point in which three aqueducts (Aqua M ...

, and through the

Servian Wall The Servian Wall ( la, Murus Servii Tullii; it, Mura Serviane) was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was built of volcanic tuff and was up to in height in places, wide ...

at the

Porta Esquilina The Porta Esquilina (or Esquiline Gate) was a gate in the Servian Wall,Platner, S.B. and Ashby, T. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome''. London: Humphrey Milford Oxford University, Press. 1929 of which the Arch of Gallienus is extant tod ...

. Historians assert that the Via Tiburtina must have come into existence as a

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

during the establishment of the

Latin League The Latin League (c. 7th century BC – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of World History'', Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient ...

. It is difficult to determine the part of the course from

Albulae Aquae Albulae Aquae ("White Waters") is a group of springs located west of Tivoli, Italy. Its Latin name derives from the ancient Roman settlement here. The spring water is bluish, strongly impregnated with sulphur and carbonate of lime, and rises a ...

to Tibur. Ashby cites his own contribution to ''Papers of the British School at Rome'', iii. 84 sqq. Though afterward it became an important thoroughfare, the extension of the Via Tiburtina beyond Tibur always retained its original name of

Roman bridges

There are the remains of several Roman bridges along the road, including the

Ponte Lucano The Lucano bridge (in Italian: ''ponte Lucano'') is a Roman stone bridge over the Aniene river in the Province of Rome, Italy, on the via Tiburtina. Coming from the direction of Rome, the bridge is found after Tivoli Terme and before Hadr ...

and Ponte Mammolo.

Contemporary road

A former state road with the same name exists today and follows the same path.

References

External links

Omnes Viae: Via Tiburtina on the Peutinger map
Tiburtina, Via Transport in Abruzzo Rome Q. VI Tiburtino Rome Q. V Nomentano Rome Q. XXI Pietralata Rome Q. XXII Collatino Rome Q. XXIX Ponte Mammolo Rome Q. XXX San Basilio {{Italy-road-stub

Historical road

Roman bridges

Contemporary road

See also

References

External links