2024-07-27 17:15:50
The ancient Roman road Via Appia Antica, connecting Rome with the Adriatic port city of Brindisi in southern Italy, has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is the 60th Italian website recognized by the United Nations Cultural Organization, which announced the decision on the social platform X on Saturday.
Italy’s Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said it recognized “the universal value of a special building that, for centuries, was vital for commercial, social and cultural exchanges with the Mediterranean and the East.”
Known as the “Queen of Roman Roads”, this ancient transportation axis was the prototype of the entire Roman road system, with a total length of 120,000 kilometers, and it still forms the backbone of the structured road network in the Mediterranean region. The approximately 540 km long Via Appia was one of the most important trade routes of the Roman Empire. It leads from Rome to Brindisi, which in antiquity was the most important port for Greece and the most important transshipment point for goods and slaves from the East.
74 municipalities, 15 parks, 12 cities, 4 regions and 25 universities work together to protect, enhance and promote the Appian Way. The Ministry of Culture plans to invest heavily in the next few years to repair and upgrade a number of archaeological sites along the route. Centuries of neglect nearly destroyed the ancient Roman roads. 2,330 years after construction began, this “lost road” may have a future as a European hiking route.
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