Italy's Ancient Roman Appian Way Included in UNESCO World Heritage List

A man jogs on the ancient roman Appian Way in Rome, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (AP)
A man jogs on the ancient roman Appian Way in Rome, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (AP)
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Italy's Ancient Roman Appian Way Included in UNESCO World Heritage List

A man jogs on the ancient roman Appian Way in Rome, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (AP)
A man jogs on the ancient roman Appian Way in Rome, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (AP)

Italy’s ancient Roman Appian Way was admitted to the UNESCO World Heritage List on Saturday, becoming the country’s 60th entry on the list.

At more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) long, the Appian Way, known as the “Queen of Roads,” is the oldest and most important of the great roads built by the Ancient Romans from 312 B.C.

The Appian Way marked a revolution in road construction, quickly becoming the most important roadway connecting Rome with the southern part of the peninsula.

This strategic corridor ensured access in all weather conditions and allowed Roman legions swift and unchallenged conquests.

The bid for its inclusion in the UNESCO heritage list, prepared by Italy’s Culture ministry, was declared successful during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, taking place in New Delhi.

“It was originally conceived as a strategic road for military conquest, advancing towards the East and Asia Minor,” UNESCO said. “The Via Appia later enabled the cities it connected to grow and new settlements emerged, facilitating agricultural production and trade.”

The road, composed of 22 parts, is an ensemble of engineering works, illustrating “the advanced technical skill of Roman engineers in the construction of roads, civil engineering projects, infrastructure and sweeping land reclamation works, as well as a vast series of monumental structures,” UNESCO added.

Nowadays, the ancient Appian Way is not only a big open-air museum started in the 1800s, but also an immense green area, a place where Romans and tourists go for leisure time, biking, hiking and visiting monuments. The whole area is a protected archaeological park.



Viking Ship Navigating Seafarers’ Ancient Routes Berths in Adriatic 

A full-size archaeological reconstruction of a 10th-century Viking knarr "Saga Farmann" on its years-long expedition through European rivers, channels and seas, is berthed in Port of Bar, Montenegro, July 20, 2024. (Reuters)
A full-size archaeological reconstruction of a 10th-century Viking knarr "Saga Farmann" on its years-long expedition through European rivers, channels and seas, is berthed in Port of Bar, Montenegro, July 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Viking Ship Navigating Seafarers’ Ancient Routes Berths in Adriatic 

A full-size archaeological reconstruction of a 10th-century Viking knarr "Saga Farmann" on its years-long expedition through European rivers, channels and seas, is berthed in Port of Bar, Montenegro, July 20, 2024. (Reuters)
A full-size archaeological reconstruction of a 10th-century Viking knarr "Saga Farmann" on its years-long expedition through European rivers, channels and seas, is berthed in Port of Bar, Montenegro, July 20, 2024. (Reuters)

A replica Viking ship has berthed in Montenegro's Adriatic port of Bar on a years-long trip through European waters inspired by the Norse seafarers who set out from Scandinavia to explore, trade and conquer a millennium ago.

The ship, Saga Farmann, is a full-size archaeological reconstruction of a 10th-century Viking cargo vessel, or knarr, made from oak and pine, which was found in Norway as early as 1893 but only excavated in the 1970s.

"This is the type of ship that would travel to Iceland, or Greenland, even North America," said Linda Sten Vagnes, one of the journey's leaders.

The trip, set to end in 2026, was originally planned to follow the Norwegian coast into the White Sea off northern Russia and the Volga River, but it was rerouted to follow the rivers of Europe from West to East.

"We had to the change the route because of the war (in Ukraine)," Sten Vagnes said.

The Viking age, spanning the 8th to 11th centuries AD, saw Norsemen journey from Scandinavia aboard timber longships to stage raids, trade and settle across a wide region, including North America, using their mastery of maritime technology.

The Saga Farman's journey, which started in 2023, was inspired by the sagas about Vikings who travelled to Constantinople, capital of the-then Byzantine empire.

It took years of hard work by enthusiasts, with the support of the governments of Denmark and Norway, to make an exact copy of a knarr. The vessel was launched in 2018, said Axel Hubert Persvik, a ship builder.

"It takes a long time because most of craft we do is by hand, ... it takes many hours to build it."

At the latest leg of the trip, the 21 meters (69 ft)-long and five meters (16 ft)-wide ship sailed from the Aegean Sea into the Adriatic, said Zander Simpson, the ship's captain.

"The next stage of the trip is around Italy, Sicily ... to stay in Rome this winter, before next year's stage which will take her up the Italian coast, the French Riviera ... to Paris."

In addition to sails and oars, the Saga Farmann has four electric motors to propel it upwind and upstream. More than three tons of batteries are stored onboard where they serve for propulsion and as ballast.