The first important via publica, or highway as it would be called today, was the Via Appia, or Appian Way. Known as the queen of roads, it linked Rome with Brundisium (now called Brindisi), the port city that was the gateway to the East. This road took its name from Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman official who started building it about 312 B.C.E.

About 900 years after the Appian Way was built, Byzantine historian Procopius described it as “marvelous.” Concerning the slabs that formed its surface, he wrote: “Despite the great amount of time that has elapsed and the many carriages that have passed over them day after day, their composure has not in any way been disturbed, nor have they lost their smooth finish.”

Paul traveled along the Appian Way to Rome and met fellow believers at the busy Appii Forum, or Marketplace of Appius, 46 miles [74 km] southeast of Rome. Others awaited him nine miles [14 km] closer to Rome at the rest area of Three Taverns. (Acts 28:13-15)

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Via Appia on the outskirts of Rome

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Ruins of tombs on the Via Appia outside Rome

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Paul met fellow believers at the busy Appii Forum, or Marketplace of Appius