- UNESCO
- Free 1st Sunday
Photo: NielsF, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site
Via Salaria
Ancient Roman road in the Apennine Peninsula
- Within the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura”
At a glance
- Type
- Archaeological site
- Coordinates
- 41°53′60″ N, 12°28′59″ E
History and description
The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy.
It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to Castrum Truentinum (Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed through Reate (Rieti) and Asculum (Ascoli Piceno).
Strada statale 4 Via Salaria (SS4) is the modern state highway that maintains the old road's name and runs on the same path from Rome to the Adriatic Sea.
History
The Via Salaria owes its name to the Latin word for "salt", since it was the route by which the Sabines living nearer the Tyrrhenian Sea came to fetch salt from the marshes at the mouth of the river Tiber, the Campus Salinarum (near Portus). Peoples nearer the Adriatic Sea used it to fetch it from production sites there. It was one of many ancient salt roads in Europe, and some historians, amongst whom Francesco Palmegiani, consider the Salaria and the trade in salt to have been the origin of the settlement of Rome. Some remains still exist of the mountain sections of the road.
Roman bridges
There are the remains of several Roman bridges along the road, including the Ponte del Gran Caso, Ponte della Scutella, Ponte d'Arli, Ponte di Quintodecimo, Ponte Romano (Acquasanta), Ponte Salario and Ponte Sambuco.
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Via Salaria».
Getting there
FlaminioTrain, nearest
1.6 km as the crow flies
Via Salaria
Aeroporto di Roma-Ciampino14.4 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
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Nearby
See on the mapMore archaeological sites in Lazio
- Free 1st Sunday
- Free 1st Sunday
- UNESCO
Frequently asked questions
Where is Via Salaria?
Via Salaria is in Rome, in the province of Roma (Lazio), Italy. GPS coordinates: 41.90000, 12.48300.
What else is there to see near Via Salaria?
Nearby you’ll find: Teatro Quirino (0 m away), Galleria Sciarra (100 m away), Forum Suarium (100 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 1 photos
- Map of Roman roads in Italy — NielsF, CC BY-SA 3.0
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences