The Appian Way, or Via Appia as it’s known in Italian, that marvel of ancient engineering also known as the “Queen of Roads,” has been honored with a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List, a testament to its historical and cultural significance. This ancient roadway, stretching over 500 miles from Rome to Brindisi, was a cornerstone of the Roman Empire’s infrastructure, facilitating trade, military movements, and cultural exchange. Featured in classic Italian movies depicting “la dolce vita” –like Fellini’s 81/2–its long avenues of umbrella pines and palazzi are familiar not only to history buffs but to movie fans and lovers of Italian popular culture.
The first ten miles of the road remain intact within the Appia Antica archaeological park in southern Rome, offering a unique glimpse into the past with its ancient walls, baths, amphitheaters, aqueducts, and basilicas. It’s a vibrant meeting place for bikers, hikers and nature lovers.
The inclusion of the Appian Way on the UNESCO list is a recognition of the road’s universal value as an extraordinary work of engineering that has been essential for centuries for commercial, social, and cultural exchanges with the Mediterranean and the East. The road’s construction, which began in 312 B.C., showcases the advanced technical skill of Roman engineers in the construction of roads, civil engineering projects, infrastructure, and sweeping land reclamation works; in short, the enduring achievements that made the ancient Romans masters of the known world in their time.
However, the selection has led to controversy, as parts of the Appian Way have not been included in the World Heritage listing. The mayors of the excluded towns are protesting the exclusion.
The reasons for the omissions could be varied, ranging from the state of preservation of certain sections to the complexities of managing and protecting a site that stretches all the way across “the boot” from its northwestern point in Rome to the southeastern end in Brindisi. The parts left off the list may still hold significant historical value and continue to be a focus for conservation efforts, but not enough to share in the glory of the listing.
The Appian Way’s journey to UNESCO recognition has been a long one, with Italy’s Culture Ministry preparing a detailed bid that was declared successful during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi. The road’s inclusion as Italy’s 60th entry on the UNESCO list is a proud moment for the country, but it is only one ahead its closest competitor, China.
Maria Innamorato, the deputy mayor of the town of Cisterna di Latina, Italy, was overjoyed to learn that the months of effort her municipal administration had spent to craft a dossier detailing her town’s bona fides for inclusion had finally paid off. But later that same day, city officials were told that Cisterna, which is near Rome and is cut in two by the modern stretch of the ancient road, was along one of the sections of the Appia that UNESCO experts had excluded from the heritage list.
In all, three sections of the road were passed over by experts for the International Council on Monuments and Sites, which evaluates candidates for the heritage list. Some officials, like Innamorato, still don’t know why. Their disappointment is based not only on the implied cultural slight of the rebuff, but also on the failed expectations of increased tourism and their much-needed income.
Innamorato and the officials of other excluded towns are blaming Italy’s Minister of Culture and national officials for allowing it to happen. By adding the Appia, Italy managed to stay just ahead of China, which also had another site listed this year.
Gennaro Sangiuliano, Italy’s culture minister, publicly acknowledged that Italy did not object to the exclusion of some parts of the road. They feared that a delay prompted by their protest, and the time necessary for a reevaluation, would have led to the country losing its bragging rights for having the most World Heritage sites. His decision means that as things stand now, China has 59 sites to Italy’s 60, thus maintaining its supremacy in the prestigious record of the country with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Beating out China “is something all Italians can be proud of,” Minister Sangiuliano said during the celebration of the World Heritage designation last month. “This is a primacy that comes from our history, and it is something that we have to safeguard.”
The officials of the excluded towns see it differently: Sangiuliano sold them out to beat the Chinese. “We will oppose this with every means at our disposal, every means possible to vindicate our right to belong,” the mayor of Cisterna, Valentino Mantini, said.
