The Via Laurentina is the name born by an ancient and a modern road 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 ...

, both leading southwards 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 ...

The ancient road

The question of the nomenclature of the group of roads between the Via Ardeatina and the Via Ostiensis is somewhat difficult, and much depends on the view taken as to the site of

Laurentum Laurentum was an ancient Roman city of Latium situated between Ostia and Lavinium, on the west coast of the Italian Peninsula southwest of Rome. Roman writers regarded it as the original capital of Italy, before Lavinium assumed that role after ...

. It seems probable, however, that the Via Laurentina proper is that which led out of the

Porta Ardeatina Porta Ardeatina was one of the gates of the Aurelian Walls in Rome ( Italy). The gate was built in the time of Nero. It stands at an angle in the Aurelian Walls. It was placed in a halfway point between Porta Appia and Porta San Paolo, close ...

of the Aurelian Wall and went direct to Tor Paterno, while the road branching from the Via Ostiensis at the third mile, and leading past Decimo to

Lavinium Lavinium was a port city of Latium, to the south of Rome, midway between the Tiber river at Ostia and Antium. The coastline then, as now, was a long strip of beach. Lavinium was on a hill at the southernmost edge of the ''Silva Laurentina'', ...

(Pratica), which crosses the other road at right angles not far from its destination (the Laurentina there running SW and that to Lavinium SE) may for convenience be called Lavinatis, though this name does not occur in ancient times. On this latter road, beyond Decimo, two milestones, one of

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 ...

, the other of

Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized ...

, each bearing the number II, have been found; and farther on, at Capocotta, traces of ancient buildings, and an important sepulchral inscription of a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

ruler of a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

have come to light. That the Via Laurentina was near the Via Ardeatina is clear from the fact that the same contractor was responsible for both roads. Laurentum was also accessible by a branch from the Via Ostiensis at the eighth mile (at Malafede) leading past Castel Porziano, the President of Republic estate, which is identical with the ancient ''Ager Solonius'' (in which, Festus tells us, was situated the '' Pomonal'' or

sacred grove Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...

of Pomona) and which later belonged to

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

The modern road

Roma, Laurentina - monumento caduti giuliani e dalmati

The modern road begins in Rome, in the Ostiense district, separating itself from the consular road Via Ostiense precisely under a railway bridge of the Rome–Lido railway and the Rome Metro B underground: this place, at a short distance from the

Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papa ...

, was known since the 16th century as the ''Ponticello di San Paolo'', because of a short bridge now covered by the current road that allowed the crossing of the Via Ostiense on the '' marrana'' of Grotta Perfetta, which at a short distance from there discharges into the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...

. The Via Laurentina, leading towards south, first delimits the border between the districts of Eur (to the west) and Ardeatino and Giuliano-Dalmata (to the east), then between the Fonte Ostiense area and the Giuliano-Dalmata district: it then divides the Vallerano and Castel di Decima areas from the Castel di Leva area. Leaving Rome, at the intersection with the road to Albano, it crosses Santa Procula, a hamlet of

Pomezia Pomezia () is a municipality (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio, central Italy. In 2009 it had a population of about 60,000. History The town was built entirely new near the location of ancient Lavinium on land resulting ...

, then crosses the SS148 state road ( via Pontina), which leads to Latina, and finally arrives to Ardea. After Ardea the road ends at the seaside resort of Tor San Lorenzo where it flows into the SS601 state road Ostia-

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Isl ...

(via Litoranea). Along the road, at km 14, it lies the Laurentino Cemetery. It contains a portion called the Garden of Angels, dedicated to deceased children and unborn babies.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

said the annual

Papal Mass A Papal Mass is the Solemn Pontifical High Mass celebrated by the Pope. It is celebrated on such occasions as a papal coronation, an ''ex cathedra'' pronouncement, the canonization of a saint, on Easter or Christmas or other major feast days. ...

for

All Souls Day All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and ...

in the Garden in 2018.

References

{{Authority control Laurentina, Via Rome Q. XXXII Europa Rome Q. XXXI Giuliano-Dalmata Rome Q. X Ostiense Rome Q. XX Ardeatino