Roads and Bridges

The roads of Rome with their paved surfaces that have been excavated and preserved are rather later than the surfaces of roads utilized in the Republic. The precise chronology of road construction has for the most part to be determined from literary sources and, where they survive, milestones dating from the time of construction. Bridges are a little easier, but often there is a reliance on stylistic dating to identify a bridge as Republican; for instance, the Ponte di Nona is logically dated either to the second century or to the Sullan period. The Via Appia and Via Flaminia were seen as key routes for the development of long-distance transportation and the integration of new agricultural resources with the city of Rome.