140 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 
The Via Appia, the queen of roads, as Statius calls it, was built as far 
as Capua in 312 B.c., and later on prolonged to Venusia (291 B.c.), 
Tarentum, and Brundusium (244 B.c.). It runs in a practically straight 
line from Rome to the Alban Hills. There it finds its first serious obstacle 
in the small extinct volcanic crater below Aricia, where Horace spent the 
night hospitio modico, not in the high-lying town, but at the post station 
below ; and on the steep ascent from this post station it has, on the lower 
side of it, a massive embankment wall, about 200 yards in length. This, 
there is little doubt, is the Pons Aricinus, of which Juvenal speaks as being 
infested by beggars—like many another steep hill. The road soon reaches 
its summit level at Genzano, and descends once more in a straight line 
along the south-eastern slopes of the Alban Hills, passing at one point of 
its course over a smaller embankment, almost unknown to archeologists, 
and then, still perfectly straight, through the Pomptine Marshes. 
In Horace’s day there were nineteen miles of canal, which were traversed 
by night, whether to gain time or because the road was out of repair is 
uncertain. A milestone of about 250 B.c., found in the middle of this 
stretch, shows that the canal was not in use from the first. Horace’s 
description is too well known to be repeated here. In any case, Nerva 
and Trajan repaired this stretch, called from its length the Decennovium, 
and the ancient bridges on it are probably all their work. 
Thence we arrive at Terracina. Above the town is the mountain, 
crowned by a temple of Jupiter Anxur, behind which the old road ran, 
keeping high above the sea, and descending again several miles further on, 
Trajan is in all probability the author of the cutting at the foot of the 
isolated dolomitic mass of rock at the lowest extremity of the promontory, 
by which the road was enabled to pass round on the level. The height 
of the cutting is marked in splendid Roman numerals in swallow-tail 
tablets at frequent intervals. 
After the two roads have rejoined, there is a flat stretch for some 
miles, with a number of ancient culverts and bridges, still used by the 
modern road; and then beyond Fondi the road enters the picturesque 
gorge of 8. Andrea, where it is supported by massive embankment walls, 
well seen from the modern road, which has here abandoned the ancient 
line. 
On the descent, in the modern village of Itri, we see the ‘ Cyclopean ’ 
wall to which I have already called attention, and shortly afterwards 
reach the Bay of Gaeta and Formiae, where Cicero had his villa. From 
this point onwards the road proceeded on the level, first along the coast 
as far as Sinuessa (Mondragone), and then across the Campanian plain as 
far as the Volturnus. Just before the fine bridge over this river, which 
lies in sight of the modern railway bridge, it joined up with the Via Latina 
Labicana (which the modern railway follows more or less), and crossed to 
Casilinum, the modern Capua. Shortly after the ancient Capua the road 
enters the mountains once more, and after passing through the famous 
defile of the Caudine Forks, we find three finely preserved ancient bridges, 
of which the modern road still makes use. They are probably assignable 
to the period of Trajan. 
We soon reach Beneventum, beyond which the course of the ancient 
Via Appia is so doubtful that there is no question of there being any 
remains of great interest. And we shall, therefore, do well to follow 
