Via Latina
Roman road | |
History | |
---|---|
Builder | Roman Republic |
Periods | 3rd Century BC |
The Via Latina (
for about 200 kilometers.Route
It led from the
After their junction, the Via Latina continued to follow the valley of the Trerus (River Sacco), following a line taken by the modern railway to Naples, and passing below the Hernican hill-towns, Anagni (where it joined with the Via Praenestina), Ferentino, Frosinone, and others. At Fregellae, it crossed the Liri, and then passed through Aquino and Cassino, both comparatively low-lying towns. It then entered the interval between the
After the disorders of the civil wars, the via Latina was repaired by a group of prominent Romans, including Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus; the work was under way in 27 BC, at the time of Tibullus' elegy.[2]
In later times, however, there was in all probability a shortcut by Rufrae along the line taken by the modern highroad and railway. The two lines rejoined near the present railway station of Caianiello, and the road ran to Teanum and Cales, and so to Casilinum, where there was the crossing of the Volturno and the junction with the Via Appia. The distance from Rome to Casilinum was 129 Roman miles by the Via Appia, 135 Roman miles by the old Via Latina through Venafrum, 126 Roman miles by the shortcut past Rufrae (now Presenzano). Considerable remains of the road exist in the neighborhood of Rome; for the first 40 Roman miles, as far as Compitum Anagninum, it is not followed by any modern road; while farther on in its course it is in the main identical with the modern highroad.[1]
Tombs and Catacombs
The Tombs of Via Latina are tombs over a short stretch of the road just outside Rome. Above ground they are largely reconstructed, but the underground chambers survived. They are now in an "archaeological park". They are not to be confused with the small Christian Via Latina Catacomb, only rediscovered in 1955, with many paintings. It is unknown whether the catacombs were built as one big master plan or if it was built in stages. The catacombs consist of many separate rooms all connected by a series of corridors. To organize the excavation, each room was given a letter to symbolize where it was located and what art work was depicted inside. The excavation of the catacombs took place in four stages starting with the stairways and finishing with the 3 corridors and their adjoining rooms.[3]
Artwork of the Catacombs
Each room inside the catacombs has a different painting or subject depicted on the walls.
The photo on the right, the
See also
References
- ^ a b c public domain: Ashby, Thomas (1911). "Latina, Via". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 243–244. Ashby cites his own contribution to Papers of the British School at Rome, iv. 1 sq., v. 1 sq. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Tibullus, Book I, Elegy 7; see George McCracken, "Tibullus, Messalla and the via Latina" The American Journal of Philology 53.4 (1932), pp. 344-352.
- ^ [1], The Via Latina Catacomb: imitation and discontinuity in fourth-century Roman painting. pg.7-12.
- ^ [2], Early Christian Art, André Grabar, 1896-1990.
- ^ [3], Alcestis and Hercules in the Catacomb of via Latina, Beverly Berg, 1994.
- ^ [4], New York Times Article, 1987.
Further reading
- Berg, Beverly. 1994. "Alcestis and Hercules in the Catacomb of Via Latina." Vigiliae Christianae: A Review of Early Christian Life and Language 48, no.3: 219–34.
- Dulaey, Martine. 2011. "Imagery and the Fathers of the Church: About the Cubiculum F in the Via Latina Catacomb." Antiquité Tardive 19: 47–62.
- Ferrua, Antonio. 1991. The Unknown Catacomb: A Unique Discovery of Early Christian Art. New Lanark, Scotland: Geddes & Grosset.
- Snyder, H. Gregory. 2011. A Second-Century Christian Inscription from the Via Latina." Journal of Early Christian Studies 19, no. 2: 157–95.
- Tronzo, William. 1986. The Via Latina Catacomb: Imitation and Discontinuity in Fourth-Century Roman Painting. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.