24 Oct

All roads have led to Rome for centuries.  What were once key roads stretching into countryside, Roman roads have become mostly lost or forgotten in the web of sprawling development of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.  Yet in at least one instance, the ancient Roman roads still play an important role.  What was once Alta Semita now lies almost two meters under the current pavement of Via XX Septemeber and Via Quirinale.  Since its original construction, the road still functions as a key route connecting the center of town and the Forum Romanum to the Auralean Wall and beyond.  Under the rule of Pope Pius IV in the 16th century, the road was reactivated as Strada Pia, connecting the peak of the Quirinale Hill with the newly designed Porta Pia that lead out of the city.  Later in the 16th century, Pope Sixtus V brought the Aqueduct Felice along Strada Pia to its terminus at the Fontana dell’Aqua Felice.  Today, Strada Pia is split into two by Via delle Quatro Fontane, with Via Quirinale on the south-west half and Via XX September on the North-east.  The road was so renamed to commemorate the storming of the Auralean wall by the Italian Royal Army in 1870, completing Italian unification.

Here, history continues to act.  Once a roman thoroughfare, then a pilgrim route, then a triumphant path for a unified Italy, is now a busy, car-consumed road.  Via XX Septembre and Via Quirinale have adapted through time to act as needed.  Though there is little evidence remaining of its initial ancient origins, traces of its later use still remain.  But most importantly, it has adapted to fit the present.  Stone roads have transformed into blacktop that provides space for busy people and fast cars to move through the city.  Perhaps in the future, the road will become a flooded canal for boats entering a water-logged Rome.  Or maybe, it will act as a landing strip for personal aircraft fly overhead.  In the meantime, I’ll continue to look both ways before I cross the road.