🏛️ Rome: 10 reasons to visit the Eternal City 🇮🇹

Now this is a saying that means: no matter what decision you make, it will lead to the same result. And in ancient times, the phrase was interpreted literally: all roads, indeed, led to Rome, or rather from Rome to the newly conquered cities.

But even in our time, Rome is the place where everyone wants to go. Majestic, monumental, filled with art, with more than two thousand years of history. Wherever you turn your head, on every street and every intersection, there is such beauty that your mouth won’t close!

Do you want to see the eternal city with your own eyes? Please note that you will have to apply for a visa to Italy. To get to know Rome, you can use the guide that my colleague created. And I will tell you about how Rome became so great and why all roads led here.

The Legend of the Founding of Rome

The daughter of a recently deposed king gave birth to two sons from Mars himself, the god of war. The new sovereign found out about this and ordered the girl to be killed and the kids thrown into the river. But a thunderstorm broke out and the Tiber raged – the slave who was carrying out the order got scared, abandoned the twins near the shore and ran away. The babies were rescued and nursed by a she-wolf. 

When the brothers grew up, the royal shepherd found them. He named the boys Romulus and Remus. The guys turned into brave fighters for justice, for which they gained respect and glory from the people. The former ruler of these lands became interested in the guys. The young people shared with him the story of their arrival at the shepherd’s house – and the elder realized that these were his grandchildren.

Having learned the truth, the men decided to take revenge on the current king – they rebelled and returned power to their grandfather. In gratitude, he invited Romulus and Remus to build a new city. The glaciers argued over where exactly to build it. And although the arguments of the first eventually won, the second could not accept this – a conflict ensued in which Romulus killed his brother. He built the city where he planned it, naming it in his honor – Roma (Rome). This happened approximately 750 BC. e.

From the Roman Kingdom to the Roman Empire

Step 1. Rome became not just a city, but a separate kingdom. His troops gradually captured neighboring territories. But people who moved to Rome from new lands did not have the same rights as the indigenous population.

For two centuries, discontent grew until, around 500 BC. e., the local residents did not expel the king and did not turn the Roman kingdom into the Roman Republic.

Step 2. Having resolved the issue of equality of plebeians (new residents of Rome) and patricians (indigenous), the country strengthened and began to prepare for new conquests. At first, things did not go very smoothly: one day the Gauls almost captured Rome – the city was saved by geese who woke up the inhabitants during a secret meeting in the gardens.

By the middle of the 3rd century BC. e. military affairs began to experience greater success. The Romans gained control of Central and Northern Italy – this is where they had to organize transport links with new cities.

Another 150 years later, Carthage fell under pressure from the Roman army. And things went according to plan: the Roman Republic captured Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Macedonia, Syria, Egypt, annexed all the Greek states, the territory between the Pyrenees and the Alps, almost the entire Iberian Peninsula, Armenia, Palestine, Judea…

Step 3. In the 1st century BC, although wars for new territories continued, internal confrontation occurred. Her opponent, Caesar, decided to fight with consul Pompey, a supporter of the Senate Republic. And he managed to seize power in Rome.

Over time, supporters of the republic, led by Brutus, were able to get close to the ruler and kill him. Then a new civil war began, in which Caesar’s heir, Octavian Claudius, won. He is in 30 BC. and founded the Roman Empire.

So what about the roads?

During the Roman Republic, standards for road construction and maintenance were created. But the first paved street appeared 300 BC. e. It connected Rome and Capua. The highway was named after its creator – “Appian Way” (Via Appia). This road is included in the list of legendary historical routes.

By the advent of the Roman Empire, the entire Apennine Peninsula was covered with a network of similar roads. They were also given the names of sponsors, because it was an expensive business. Or they were named based on the directions and areas through which the roads passed. 

Rome began to build transport routes in the newly conquered territories. They made it possible to keep in touch with important political and economic centers. Every 15 kilometers on such a route one could find a postal station, and after 30-50 kilometers one could find a place to shoe horses, eat and spend the night. 

The first traffic rules appeared under Caesar. At the same time, all the routes were measured and maps were drawn up. And the founder of the Roman Empire, Octavian in 20 AD. established the “Golden Milestone” – now it would be called “zero kilometer”. The names of the main cities of the Empire and the distances to them were inscribed on the gilded bronze column.

It is believed that during the heyday of the Empire, the total length of Roman roads was about 300 thousand kilometers. Anyone could use them. Thanks to such an extensive network, overland trade routes began to develop. And getting to Rome was as easy as shelling pears – at crossroads you only had to choose the widest road.

Roman roads today

When building roads, the emphasis was on the strength and durability of the surface. To do this, they used large hewn stones, which were placed on lime mortar. They tried to make the roads as level as possible, slightly higher than the ground, so that water would drain from them. Stone arched bridges spanned rivers. Nowadays they joke that in ancient times people knew how to build roads, but in modern times they did not.   

I live in the outback of Portugal and there are many cobbled streets from the times of the Roman Empire, many stone arched bridges have been preserved, some of them are still used by vehicles. In Italy, even more ancient roads have survived to this day.

Be sure to organize your holiday in Italy! Walking across a bridge that is over two thousand years old is an incredible feeling. Well, it’s simply impossible to be in Italy and not visit Rome, where all roads led! To have time to get acquainted with the sights of the eternal city and its excellent cuisine, ideally set aside 5-7 days and book excursions in Italy. I was there for five days, next time I want to fly for a week.