Appia Antica

The Appian Way was built in 312 B.C. and connected Rome with Capua (near Naples). It eventually stretched 430 miles. Due to the fact that it was unlawful to bury people within the city gates of Rome, this road became a popular burial place for Christians. There are more than 60 catacombs; 5 of which are open to the public. Today the road and landscape around it are preserved as a cultural park. It was pretty cool to walk along such an historical road. The main part of the

road is closed to motorized traffic on Sundays, so that was a bonus. There were many ruins and tombs along the way. The weather was gorgeous, so that made everything just that much more beautiful. The photograph below is of a roadside shrine that I noticed as I walked along and

took the time to snap a photo of it. I visited the Catacombs of San Callisto and took a tour of the catacombs. It was pretty fascinating to walk underground and hear the accounts those who were originally buried there. There was no photography allowed, sorry. In these particular catacombs, there were over 500,000 people buried - that's pretty amazing. Although San Callisto are arguably the largest catacombs, remember that there are over 60 of them! The burial sites were small and crowded together. There were simply too many of them that were so small that it was apparent they belonged to children or infants. The Christians also met underground here to worship during times when it was unlawful to do so in public.

As I was waiting for the bus after my visit to the Appian Way, I noticed this colorful water fountain and couldn't resist taking a snapshot and sharing it with you.

The day when rapidly downhill from there as I once again got lost while trying to get home and ended up walking about one and a half hours home..... about 45 minutes of that in the rain without protection. I knew we had a chance of showers tonight, but didn't expect it to take me more than 2 hours to get home, so I didn't have an umbrella or even a coat. I arrived home wet, cold, and hungry. However, my apartment is dry and cozy and I've just finished some pasta with chicken. I may even "force" myself to head a couple of blocks away for gelato -- if my feet stop hurting a little.