All roads really did (and still do), lead to Rome and one of the most important was the Appian Way, leading due south from the city. Ancient Romans had to be buried outside the city walls and the ‘Appia Antica’ is still lined with tombs, many of which are extremely well-preserved. The Romans were obsessed with securing supplies of fresh water, for their many bath complexes and to supply their villas and fountains and to this end, built an ever more complex set of aqueducts, to bring water from the Alban Hills to the city. Many of these have survived and the so called Seven Aqueducts now form part of the Appia Antica Regional Park, a protected area established in 1988 by regional law.
