Via Aemilia - Citizendia

Via Aemilia (It. Via Emilia) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from Ariminum (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to Placentia (Piacenza) on the river Padus (Po). The Roman Roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. Piacenza ( Placentia in Latin and old-fashioned English, Piasëinsa in the local dialect of Emiliano-Romagnolo) is a The Po ( Latin: Padus, Po Ligurian: Bo, Greek: Eridanus) is a river that flows 652 km(405 miles (682 km by considering It was completed in 187 BC. Events By place Seleucid Empire The Seleucid king Antiochus III, mounts a fresh expedition to the east of his kingdom in The Via Aemilia connected at Rimini with the Via Flaminia to Rome, which had been completed 33 years before. The Via Flaminia was a Roman road leading from Rome to Ariminum ( Rimini) and was the most important route to the north

Fig. 1: Route of Via Aemilia (in dark blue).

1 History
2 Route
3 Remains
4 Legacy
5 Notes
6 External links

History

The land today known as northern Italy (Italia settentrionale) was known to the ancient Romans during the republican period (to 44 BC) as Gallia Cisalpina (literally: Gaul on the near - i. Year 44 BC was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Cisalpine Gaul ( Latin: Gallia Cisalpina, meaning " Gaul on this side of the Alps " was the Roman name for a geographical area (later e. southern - side of the Alps). This is because it was then inhabited by Celtic tribes from Gaul, who had colonised the area in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Italia meant the area inhabited by Italic tribes: the border between Italia and Gallia Cisalpina was roughly a line between Pisae (Pisa) and Ariminum (Fig. 1).

Gallia Cisalpina contained the pianura padana (Po river plain). This vast country, by far the largest fertile plain in the mountainous peninsula, contained potentially its best agricultural land, and offered the Romans the opportunity to expand enormously their population and economic resources by mass colonisation.

The Romans subjugated the Gauls of the pianura padana in a series of hard-fought campaigns in the late 3rd century BC. The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC ^[1] By 220 BC, the Via Flaminia was complete, providing the Romans with ready access to the region. Events By place Greece Together with fellow Illyrian Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under The Via Aemilia would probably have followed within the next decade.

However, Roman expansion was delayed for some twenty years by the Second Punic War. The Second Punic War (referred to as "The War Against Hannibal" by the Romans lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western During the Carthaginian general Hannibal's invasion of Italy (218 BC-203 BC), Roman military control of the pianura padana was temporarily overthrown. Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers Hannibal (Pronounced in Phoenician: Hanniba'al means " Ba'al is my grace " or " Ba'al has given me grace " 247 BC &ndash Events By place Carthage A Carthaginian army under Hannibal attacks Rome's Spanish allies Events By place Carthage The Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio, while undertaking peace negotiations with the Carthaginians Many of the recently defeated tribes (such as the Insubres and the Boii) rebelled and joined forces with Hannibal in the hope of regaining their independence. The Insubres or Insubri were a population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy. Boii ( Latin plural singular Boius; Greek) is the Roman name of an ancient Celtic tribe, attested at various ^[2]It was not until 189 BC that the rebel tribes had been pacified sufficiently to allow work on the Via Aemilia to begin. Events By place Roman Republic Cato the Elder criticizes the Consul Marcus Fulvius Nobilior for giving awards to

The time-tested Roman method of expansion was to build a brand new road straight through the newly-conquered territory, and then establish a string of colonies, either of civilian settlers or of military veterans along its route. The settlers would be allocated fertile plots from lands confiscated from the defeated native peoples. This was the precise function of the Via Aemilia: its period of construction also saw the foundation of Roman colonies along its whole length at Bononia (Bologna) (founded 189 B. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy C. ), Mutina (Modena), Regium (Reggio Emilia) and Parma (all founded in 183 BC). Modena (ˈmɔːdena Mòdna in Modenese dialect is a city and a Comune ( Municipality) on the south side of the Po valley, in the For the city in the southern Italy See Reggio Calabria. For the basketball club "Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia" see Pallacanestro Reggiana. Parma is a City in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna near Modena famous for its Architecture and the fine countryside around it Events By place Roman Republic Roman colonies are established at Mutina (later Modena) Pisa and Parma

Route

The Via Aemilia was completed by, and named after, the Roman consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 187 BC. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (d 152 BC was a Roman Consul, Pontifex Maximus and censor. ^[3] It ran, largely in a straight line, 176 Roman miles (162 miles; 259 km) NW from Rimini to its termination at Piacenza, passing through the cities of Forli, Faenza, Bologna, Modena, Reggio, and Parma. The road ran along the southern edge of the pancake-flat pianura padana within sight of the northern foothills of Italy's Appennine mountains, crossing numerous tributary rivers of the Po, notably the Rubicone near Rimini- although it is not certain that this river is the same as the famous Rubicon crossed by Julius Caesar in 49 BC; and the river Trebbia near Piacenza, site of the first of Hannibal's three major victories over the Romans during his invasion of Italy. Rubicon ( Rubicō, Italian: Rubicone) is a 29 km long River in northern Italy. Year 49 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar. Events By place Rome Consuls Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus

Extension: At an uncertain date after its completion, the Via Aemilia was extended, by a further 49 Roman miles (45 mi; 72 km), from Piacenza to Mediolanum (Milan). Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy.

In the century following the construction of the Via Aemilia, Piacenza became the key Roman road hub in the pianura padana. In 148 BC, the Via Postumia linked Piacenza to Aquileia on the north Adriatic coast. The Via Postumia was an ancient highroad of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the Consul Spurius Postumius Albinus. Aquileia (also called Aquilegia, Friulian Acuilee/Aquilee, Slovene Oglej) is an ancient Roman city in what is In 109 BC, the consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus completed the Via Aemilia Scaura to Genua (Genoa) and Pisae (Pisa).

Image:Bologna-view.jpg

Fig. 2: Panorama of central Bologna: modern Via Emilia at centre, overlying Roman road; this scection is known as Via Rizzoli (foreground) and Via Ugo Bassi

Remains

At Rimini , the starting point of the Via Aemilia, the road's first bridge still exists, a massive structure spanning the Marecchia River, started by the Emperor Augustus and completed by his successor Tiberius. The Marecchia is a River in eastern Italy. It flows northeast through Montefeltro and Romagna and into the Adriatic Sea near It still bears its twin dedicatory inscriptions. At Bologna, milestone 78 was found in the bed of the river Rhenus (Reno). It records Augustus' reconstruction of the Aemilia, in 2 BC, from Rimini as far as the river Trebbia. Year 2 BC was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Remains of the Aemilia bridge over the Reno were found in the 1890s, consisting of parts of the parapets from each side. These were originally 38. 75 feet apart, of Veronese red marble. The bed of the river was found to have risen at least 20 feet since this bridge collapsed in the ninth century. ^[4]Ruins of some of the other ancient Roman bridges still exist. At Savignano sul Rubicone, the Roman bridge survived until it was demolished as recently as World War II. The current bridge is a reconstruction.

Legacy

The construction of the Via Aemilia launched the intensive Roman colonisation of the pianura padana. The vast agricultural potential of this region soon rendered it the most populous and economically important part of Italy, overshadowing Central Italy, Rome and the South. The area remains economically preeminent in modern Italy. By the time of the Second Triumvirate (44 BC-30 BC), Romanisation of this formerly Celtic country was so complete that the provincia of Gallia Cisalpina was abolished and its territory incorporated into the heartland provincia of Italia. Year 30 BC was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Italia, under the Roman Republic and later Empire, was the name of the Italian peninsula.

The road gave its name to that part of Gallia Cisalpina through which it ran. This area was, before the Roman conquest, the territory of the Gallic tribes Boii (who gave their name to the city of Bologna) and Senones. Boii ( Latin plural singular Boius; Greek) is the Roman name of an ancient Celtic tribe, attested at various The Senones were a Gallic people of Gallia Celtica, who in the time of Julius Caesar inhabited the district which now includes the departments of It was already commonly referred to as Aemilia by the time the Emperor Augustus assumed sole power. In around 7 BC, when Augustus divided the provincia of Italia into 11 regiones (administrative districts), the area became the eighth regio. Year 7 BC was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. ^[5]This initially had the official name of Padus, but was later changed to Aemilia.

The western part of this area is still known as Emilia today. The boundaries of the Roman VIII regio roughly corresponded to those of the modern Italian administrative regione of Emilia-Romagna (Fig. Emilia-Romagna is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The capital is Bologna. 3). Its inhabitants are today known as Emiliani. The modern Italian trunk road strada statale 9 is still today popularly called the Via Emilia and follows the Roman route over much of its length. Indeed, the modern road in many parts lies directly above the Roman road (see fig. 2).

Fig. 3: Modern Italian regione of Emilia-Romagna.

Notes

^ Polybius Histories II 20-34
^ Polybius Histories III 61-71
^ Livy Ab Urbe Condita XXXIX 1; Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum 617
^ E. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories Titus Livius (traditionally 59 BC &ndash AD 17 known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome Brixio Notizie degli scavi (1896) and (1897)
^ Pliny the Elder Naturalis Historia III 20

External links

LacusCurtius - Via Aemilia (1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica Entry)

Roman Empire | Roman roads

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Roman Roads were essential for the growth of the Roman Empire, by enabling the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate news The Via Aemilia Scauri was an ancient Roman road built by the censor Marcus Aemilius Scaurus around 107 BCE The Via Cassia was an important Roman road striking out of the Via Flaminia near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and passing The Appian Way ( Latin and Italian: Via Appia) was the most important ancient Roman road. The Via Aquitania was a Roman road created in 118 BC in the Roman province of Gaul. Via Augusta (also known as Via Herculea or Via Exterior) was a Roman road crossing all the Hispania Province from Cádiz in the southern The Via Aurelia was a Roman road constructed around the year 241 BC. The Via Cassia was an important Roman road striking out of the Via Flaminia near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and passing The Via Claudia Augusta was an ancient Roman road, which linked the valley of the Po River with Rhaetia (modern Austria across the Alps Via Augusta (also known as Via Herculea or Via Exterior) was a Roman road crossing all the Hispania Province from Cádiz in the southern Via Clodia was an ancient high-road of Italy. Its course for the first 11 miles was the same as that of the Via Cassia; it then diverged to the north in a northwest The Vía de La Plata ( English: Silver Way or Ruta de la Plata ( English: Silver Route is an old commercial path that crosses the west of Spain The Via Devana was a Roman Road in England that ran from Colchester in the south-east to Chester in the north-west The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is The Via Egnatia ( Greek:) was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. The Via Flaminia was a Roman road leading from Rome to Ariminum ( Rimini) and was the most important route to the north The Via Gallica was an ancient road of northern Italy which connected the Roman municipia of the Pianura Padana. The Via Julia Augusta is the name given to the Roman road formed by the merging of the Via Aemilia Scauri with the Via Postumia, running from Placentia The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east southeast from Rome. The Via Latina, or the " Latin Way " was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about. Via Militaris or Via Diagonalis was an ancient Roman road, starting from Sigindunum (today Serbian capital Belgrade) passing through Naissus The Via Ostiensis ( via Ostiense) was an important road in Ancient Rome. Via Pontica was an ancient Roman road in Thrace along the Black Sea, starting from Byzantium and passing through Mesambria, Apollonia The Via Popilia is either of two different ancient Roman roads begun in the consulship of Publius Popilius Laenas, who was better known for his attack on the Gracchi The Via Postumia was an ancient highroad of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the Consul Spurius Postumius Albinus. The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls The Via Traiana Nova (previously known as the King's Highway) was rebuilt by Trajan. The Via Valeria was an ancient Roman road of Italy, the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina.

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