Via Appia ''(white)'' and Via Traiana ''(red)'' The Via Traiana was an 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 ...

. It was built by the emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

as an extension of 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, ...

from Beneventum, reaching

Brundisium Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

(Brindisi) by a shorter route (i.e. via Canusium, Butuntum and

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

um rather than via

Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...

). This was commemorated by an arch at Beneventum.

Background

Via Traiana was constructed in 109 AD by Emperor Trajan at his own expense. It was built during a period of relative freedom from military campaigns. Thus the

, from which Via Traiana was constructed as an extension, lost its original importance as a military highroad that connected

Venosa Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervas ...

(Venusia) and

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label=Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important comme ...

(Tarentum). Furthermore, the maintenance of direct military communications between Venusia, the military colony of 291 BC, and Rome, was no longer needed except in times of civil war, and the Via Appia simply became a means of reaching

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

Route

Strabo indicates correctly that traveling to Beneventum from Brundisium via the route of the later Via Traiana was a good day shorter than the old Republican road, Via Appia. Although the actual measurement shows Via Appia to be and Via Traiana from Brundisium to Beneventum, the difference lies in their topography. There are a number of severe hills and difficult terrain along Via Appia until it reaches Venusia which is about away from Beneventum. In contrast, although Via Traiana does encounter equally demanding passages as well in the first from Beneventum, there is not another serious hill all the way to Brundisium.The Via Traiana. "Papers of the British School at Rome," Vol. VIII, No.5; pages 104-171. London: Macmillan & Co., Limited, 1916.

Roman bridges

There are the remains of several Roman bridges along the road, including the Ponte dei Ladroni, Ponte delle Chianche, Ponte Pietra, Ponte Rotto (across Carapelle river), Ponte Rotto (across

Cervaro Cervaro is a town and '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio. It is located in the Liri valley, about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. Cervaro borders the following municipalities ...

river), Ponte sul Ofanto and Ponte Valentino.

References

Sources

*Via Traiana. "The Oxford Classical Dictionary." 3rd ed. 2003. *Strabo. "Geography: Books 6-7." Trans. Horace Leonard Jones. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995. *The Via Traiana. "Papers of the British School at Rome," Vol. VIII, No.5; pages 104-171. London: Macmillan & Co., Limited, 1916. {{Authority control Traiana, Via Trajan 2nd-century establishments in Italy 109 establishments 100s establishments in the Roman Empire