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The Via Labicana was an ancient
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...
of
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 ...
, leading east-southeast 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 ...
. It seems possible that the road at first led to
Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
, that it was then extended to
Labici Labici or Labicum or Lavicum ( la, Lăbīcī or ) was an ancient city of Latium, in what is now central Italy, lying in the territory of the modern Monte Compatri, about 20 km SE from Rome, on the northern slopes of the Alban Hills. Exact loca ...
, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have superseded the
Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...
as a route to the southeast, for, while the distance from Rome to their main junction at Ad Bivium (or to another junction at Compitum Anagninum) is practically identical, the summit level of the former is lower than that of the latter, a little to the west of the pass of
Mount Algidus The Algidus Mons, known in English as Mount Algidus, is the eastern rim of the dormant Alban Volcano in the Alban Hills, about southeast of Rome, Italy. The ridge is traversed by a narrow crevasse called ''la Cava d'Aglio''. It was the site of the ...
. After their junction it is probable that the road bore the name Via Latina rather than Via Labicana. The course of the road after the first six miles from Rome is not identical with that of any modern road, but can be clearly traced by remains of pavement and buildings along its course. Ashby cites his own contribution to ''Papers of the British School at Rome'', i .215 sqq. Via Labicana entered Rome through the Aurelian walls via the ancient monumental gate of
Porta Prenestina The Porta Maggiore ("Larger Gate"), or Porta Prenestina, is one of the eastern gates in the ancient but well-preserved 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome. Through the gate ran two ancient roads: the Via Praenestina and the Via Labicana. The Via ...
, and reached, after an internal part, 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 ...
, entering through 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 ...
, decorated with the arch of
Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...
. The section of the road near Rome is now known as the Via Casilina. The remains of the Tomb of the Haterii can be found along this road. A statue of Augustus as pontifex maximus found at a villa of
Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14. Livia was the ...
on this road is known as the " Via Labicana type" and is housed at the National Roman Museum. The Roman Emperor
Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including D ...
was buried by the fifth milestone on the Via Labicana, after being executed in 193. The ancient church of
Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano Santi is used as: People with the surname * Brenden Santi (born 1993), Australian-Italian rugby league player * Domenico Santi (1621–1694), also known as il Mengazzino, Italian painter * Emanuele Santi, Italian economist and political scientist ...
was built at the intersection with via Merulana near the catacombs where the remains of St Marcellino and St Pietro were found.


Roman bridges

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 ...
along the road, which crosses the Fosso del Giardinetto east of Rome.


See also

*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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


External links


Omnes Viae: Via Labicana on the Peutinger map
{{Authority control Labicana, Via Labicana, Via