Editing Appian Way (section)

=== Via Appia Antica ===
After the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], the road fell out of use; [[Pope Pius VI]] ordered its restoration. A new Appian Way was built in parallel with the old one in 1784 as far as the Alban Hills region. The new road is the Via Appia Nuova ('New Appian Way') as opposed to the old section, now known as Via Appia Antica. The old Appian Way close to Rome is now a free tourist attraction. It was extensively restored for Rome's [[Millennium]] and [[Great Jubilee]] celebrations. The first {{convert|3|mi|km|0|sp=us|order=flip}} are still heavily used by cars, buses and coaches but from then on traffic is very light and the ruins can be explored on foot in relative safety. The [[Santa Maria in Palmis|Church of Domine Quo Vadis]] is in the second mile of the road. Along or close to the part of the road closest to Rome, there are three [[catacombs]] of Roman and early [[Christians|Christian]] origin and one of [[Vigna Randanini|Jewish origin]].

The construction of Rome's ring road, the [[Grande Raccordo Anulare]] or GRA, in 1951 caused the Appian Way to be cut in two. More recent improvements to the GRA have rectified this through the construction of a tunnel under the Appia, so that it is now possible to follow the Appia on foot for about {{convert|10|mi|km|sp=us|order=flip|abbr=on}} from its beginning near the [[Baths of Caracalla]].

Many parts of the original road beyond Rome's environs have been preserved, and some are now used by cars (for example, in the area of [[Velletri]]). The road inspires the last movement of [[Ottorino Respighi]]'s ''[[Pines of Rome|Pini di Roma]]''. To this day the Via Appia contains the longest stretch of straight road in Europe,<ref>{{cite arXiv|eprint=0706.1325|title=Astronomical references in the planning of ancient roads |last1=Magli |first1=Giulio |class=physics.hist-ph |year=2007 }}</ref> totaling {{convert|62|km|0|abbr=on}}.