Via Tiburtina is an ancient road of Italy leading east-northeast from Rome to Tivoli (Latin, Tibur). It was built by the Roman consul Marcus Valerius Maximus around 286 BC and later prolonged up to the territories of the Marsi and the Equi, in the Abruzzo, as Via Valeria: the total length was c. 200 km from Rome to Aternum (the modern Pescara). Its exit through the Aurelian Wall was the Porta Tiburtina and, through the Servian Wall, the Porta Esquilina. A former state road with the same name exists today, following the same path.
Historians assert that Via Tiburtina must have come into existence, as a track, at any rate, during the establishment of the Latin League. Though afterward it became an important thoroughfare, the first portion of Via Tiburtina always retained its original name Via Valeria, which applied only to the portion of the road beyond Tibur. There is, however, a difficulty in determining the last portion of the course of Via Tiburtina from the Albulae Aquae to Tibur.
[edit] Roman bridges
The Ponte Lucano, with tomb of Plautius Lucanus, c. 1840
- For an overview of the location of Roman bridges, see List of Roman bridges.
There are the remains of several Roman bridges along the road, including the Ponte Lucano and Ponte Mammolo.
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