Originally published on January 7, 2025 (Episode 390)
Introduction
Listeners to this podcast are certainly aware of the saying that “all roads lead to Rome”; and, given this audience, you might even be aware that this probably derived from the observation “mīlle viae dūcunt hominēs per saecula Rōmam”, made by the 12th century theologian and poet Alain de Lille. But what is the history of the Roman roads, or rather, what is the history of how people imagined and related to the Roman Roads? And how has that imaginary influenced the ways that we think of Rome, the classical world, roads, travel, and perhaps even the powers of the state?
That Roman roads actually have produced a social imaginary should perhaps be a little more mysterious to us. After all, as my guest writes: “Many roads do go without saying. They’re not aesthetically exciting. They’re functional and mundane. We notice roads when they have problems – a traffic jam or accident. When the journey is smooth they’re not worthy of comment. (I noted, while researching, how rarely the word ‘road’ is indexed.) And yet for centuries the Roman roads have been a source of fascination.”
About the Guest
Catherine Fletcher, Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University, and author most recently of The Roads to Rome: A History of Imperial Expansion. This is her second appearance on the podcast.
For Further Investigation
Catherine Fletcher, The Roads to Rome: A History of Imperial Expansion (Pegasus, 2024)
—, The Beauty and the Terror: The Italian Renaissance and the Rise of the West (OUP, 2020)
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Listen & Discuss
Have Roman roads been one of the things that you imagine, whenever you think about the Roman Empire once a day? Share your thoughts in the comments; and share the conversation with someone looking for new roads to travel in the imagination.
