The Appian Way (Via Appia Antica)
Just outside the gates of ancient Rome, the Via Appia Antica is probably the best-known ancient road in Rome.
The Via Appia Antica begins at the Porta San Sebastiano, in the south-east of Rome, and can be followed for several kilometres among the pines and cypresses.
The ideal is to take the bus (line 118 or 218) or a taxi to the catacombs of San Callisto to avoid the first stretch of the road, which is open to traffic.
Getting there : By bus, lines 118 or 218
Address : Via Appia Antica
For the catacombs of San Callisto:
Opening hours : open every day except Wednesday from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00. Closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday and 25 December. Closed for one month at variable dates between January and February.
Ticket prices: €10 full price, €7 reduced (ages 7 to 16) and free for under-6s. Guided tour compulsory.
Booking compulsory: Official website
Construction of the Via Appia Antica dates back to the 4th century BC, with the aim of linking Rome to Capua and then Brindisi. It is 4.10 metres wide and was paved with large basalt slabs, cambered and bordered by dirt paths for pedestrians. It is also on this road that Christ appeared to St Peter as he was fleeing Rome.
The Via Appia Antica is lined with ancient funerary monuments; it was forbidden to bury the dead inside the city.
You can begin the walk at the catacombs of San Callisto, where the first Christians and the first popes were buried.
Continuing along the road, moving away from Rome, you will find the church of San Sebastiano, one of the seven pilgrimage churches, founded in the 4th century.
The basilica is open every day:
From April to September from 8:15 to 19:00
From October to March from 8:15 to 18:00.
The present building dates from the 17th century and houses an interesting carved wooden ceiling dedicated to the saint, shown pierced with arrows among soldiers.
Palms of martyrdom also adorn the ceiling.
Beside the church you will find the catacombs of the same name.
Continue along the road, still moving away from Rome, to discover a succession of monuments of greater or lesser importance, often funerary, as well as many fine residences.
You will first pass near the remains of the Circus of Maxentius, on your left, which was devoted to chariot races and of which one can still see the central spine separating the track and two towers. The complex also included a palace of the emperor Maxentius and a funerary monument, built in honour of his son, surmounted by a dome more than 30 metres in diameter!
Further along the Appian Way you can visit the tomb of Caecilia Metella, a vast cylindrical building constructed in memory of the daughter of a high dignitary of the Empire and daughter-in-law of Crassus, one of the members of the Triumvirate formed with Caesar and Pompey.
It was later converted into a fortress by the Caetani family in the 14th century.
Nearly 30 metres in diameter, it retains part of its ancient decoration, such as the marble frieze carved with floral motifs and bulls' heads.
The interior can be visited and presents various funerary elements.
It is in this area that you will find fine stretches of ancient paving. It is also here that you will find a bus stop that will take you back towards a metro station to reach the city centre.