Via Nomentana

The Ponte Nomentano, one of the bridges on the Via Nomentana, during the 2008 flood

Via Nomentana is an ancient road of Italy, leading North-East from Rome to Nomentum (modern Mentana), a distance of 23 km (14 mi). It originally bore the name Via Ficulensis, from the old Latin village of Ficulea, about 13 km (8.1 mi) from Rome. It was subsequently extended to Nomentum, but never became an important high road, and merged in the Via Salaria a few kilometers beyond Nomentum. It is followed as far as Nomentum by the modern state road, but some traces of its pavement still exist.

Originally starting from now-destroyed Porta Collina in the Servian Walls, in the third century emperor Aurelian build the Porta Nomentana in his new set of walls. Pope Pius IV decided to move the first stretch of the road and built the Porta Pia for this purpose.

Roman bridges

For an overview of the location of Roman bridges, see List of Roman bridges.

There are the remains of at least one Roman bridge along the road, which is the Ponte Nomentano.

References

• T. Ashby in Papers of British School at Rome, iii.38 sqq.

See also

• Roman road
• Roman bridge
• Roman engineering

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