@andrea_frazzetta

Online today the digital version of my project on the Appian Way for National Geographic. The Appian Way is the most famous Roman road still in existence and, according to modern criteria, the first road that was ever built. This wonder, dating to 312 BC., meanders out of the eternal city and across Italy’s southern regions until it reaches the port city of Brindisi, covering a distance of 360 miles. The Appia is the reason we say “All roads lead to Rome,” and in Italy, it is still reverentially called Regina Viarum, “the Queen of Roads”. But its legacy has been largely neglected, and its stones buried under millennia of history. After centuries of abandon, a two-year revitalization is underway with the aim to re-establish the route and save the immense archaeological heritage spread along its path. To realize this project I traveled for seven weeks to eventually find myself in my grandfather's town, just a few kilometers from where I myself was born, in the far southeast of Italy. This sense of distance from the heart of the country and closeness to an east beyond the sea is something that is strongly rooted in our identity. The Appia in some way represents for me an ideal line that can sew up the soul of a territory. At the end of my journey, I rediscovered my country as I never imagined I would. I was amazed by the beauty and outraged by the ugliness of the road’s current state of disrepair. Centuries of population growth and periods of lawless development have left this archeological and cultural treasure in private hands or completely neglected. Protection is now well underway, but without visitors, the Appia could be forgotten again. “Walking, is the most political act one can do to change the landscape.” Riccardo Carnovalini, walker and explorer of the Appian Way. @natgeo #italy #theappianway #lastrada #viaappia #documentaryphotography #nationalgeographic