Rome to Terracina

The Via Appia Antica starts on the southeast side of the Circus Maximus and Palatine Hill, at the crossroads of Viale Terme di Caracalle and Piazza di Porta Capena. The path leads first through the Parco di Porta Capena, across the busy intersection at Piazzale Numa Pompilio and onto the Via di Porta San Sebastiano. This somewhat busy road (but with plenty of room to walk) leads out through the city walls. 

The road passes through the Porta Appia, also known as Porta San Sebastiano. With its two round towers, it is still being used by foot and wheeled traffic. A bit further is the first milestone of the Appian Way, the Tomb of Horace and the Tomb of Priscilla (one of the earliest converts to Christianity in Rome). The Romans did not allow burial within the city, so tombs line the Via Appia.    

At the church Domine Quo Vadis the Via Appia Antica goes to the left. In a kilometer, at the Catacombs of St. Callisto, begins the longest stretch of straight road in Europe. There are some narrow spots along the way, and traffic. The Church of San Sebastian will be on the right and the Jewish catacombs on the left. The Appia Antica Cafe is just ahead on the left, probably the only place for lunch after the walls of Rome. Without double checking we would have been overcharged here. From here the path calms down and passes the Mausoleum of Romulus and Circus Maxentius, Casal Rotondo and the Mausoleum of Gallienus. The way becomes park like until past the Ciampino Airport. 

At the end of the airport, (barely visible) just before the Via Campane di Marino, a short section was under construction. A newly maintained section begins at the Via Campane di Marino. This is a pleasant stretch to walk. After Viale della Repubblica the road decreases even more, into a single track, barely wide enough for a bike to keep its balance. At the Via Palaverta, path meets a parking lot and then immediately blooms into the Via Appia Nuova, a major city highway the straightness of which betrays its ancient foundation.