Appian Way (Via Appia) near Rome, wood engraving, published 1876 - stock illustration

The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) was one of the earliest and strategically most important roads of the Roman Empire. The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman censor who began and completed the first section as a military road to the south in 312 BC during the Samnite Wars. Even today, parts are preserved with the ancient paving. Woodcut engraving from my archive, published in 1876.