Via Portuensis

Via Portuensis

Via Portuensis was an ancient Roman road, leading to the Portus constructed by Claudius on the right bank of the Tiber, at its mouth. It started from the Pons Aemilius, and the first part of its course is identical with that of the Via Campana. The Porta Portuensis of the Aurelian Walls had a double arch, probably owing to the amount of traffic it had to carry, but the divergence occurred a good deal further on, probably a mile from the gate. The Via Portuensis went to the right into hilly country, while the Via Campana kept to the valley of the Tiber. The roads rejoined at the modern Ponte Galeria.

With the growth of importance of the Via Portuensis from the time of Constantine onwards, that of the Via Ostiensis correspondingly decreased. It is to be noted that Procopius, who tells us how barges were dragged up the river by teams of oxen moving along it, must be describing the towpath, and not either the Via Portuensis or even the Via Campana, which is in many places at quite a considerable distance from the winding course of the river.

Due to its large amounts of traffic, the road was eventually reconstructed with two parallel roads -- one for traffic going one direction, and the other for traffic going the other. This was considered to be the world's first dual carriageway.

Today Rome's Via Portuense follows a similar path. The road starts today from the Porta Portese and, after Ponte Galeria, ends in the "comune" of Fiumicino.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Via Ostiensis — The Via Ostiensis (Italian: via Ostiense) was an important road in ancient Rome. It ran west 30 km from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran… …   Wikipedia

  • Via Domitia — Route of the Via Domitia …   Wikipedia

  • Vía Ostiensis — La Vía Ostiensis (en italiano: Via Ostiense) fue una importante carretera de la Antigua Roma. Comunicaba la ciudad con el puerto de Ostia Antica, a 30 kilómetros. La vía se iniciaba cerca del Foro Boario, pasaba entre el Aventino y el Tíber por… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Via Ostiense — La Via Ostiensis (en italien : via Ostiense) est un élément important dans le réseau routier de la Rome antique. Elle reliait sur 30 km la ville de Rome vers l important port maritime d Ostie, d où son nom. La route commençait près du Forum… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Via — (lat.), 1) Straße, Weg; daher Viae servĭtus, der Wegservitut, s.u. Servitut S. 903. Viae receptae actio (V. rejectae actio), Klage eines Grundstückbesitzers gegen seinen Nachbar, welcher den, zwischen beider Grundstücken hingehenden Weg auf des… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • PORTUENSIS Via — quae ab urbe ad Ostiam ducebat, vel tu Ferrarius, ad Portum Romanum …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Porta Portuensis — Gravure de Giuseppe Vasi en 1743 Lieu de construction Au sud de Rome Date de construction 271 275 Type de bâtiment …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Porta Portuensis — Die Porta Portuensis in einem Stich mit der Inschrift des Honorius. Die Porta Portuensis war ein Tor in der zwischen 271 und 275 n. Chr. erbauten Aurelianischen Mauer in Rom und befand sich an der Stelle, an der die Via Portuense ihren Ausgang… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • PORTACRA — Tauricae Chersonesi urbs, Ptolem. PORTAE URBIS ROMAE: Agenensis quae et Collina, et Quirinalis, postremo Salaria, Porta Salara. Unde via Salaria incipit. Aurelia, apud molem Hadriani, sed hodie non exstat. Inde via Aurelia per Hetruriam Centum… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Roman Catacombs — • The subject is covered under the headings: I. Position; II. History; III. Inscriptions; IV. Paintings; V. Sarcophagi; VI. Small Objects Found in the Catacombs; and VII. Catacombs outside Rome Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Roman… …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”