Editing Roman roads (section)

===Way stations and traveler inns===
{{See also|Mansio}}
[[File:Letocetum Mansio 1.jpg|thumb|Remains of the ''[[mansio]]'' at [[Letocetum]], Wall, Staffordshire, England]]
For non-military officials and people on official business who had no legion at their service, the government maintained way stations, or ''[[mansio]]nes'' ("staying places"), for their use. [[Passports]] were required for identification. ''Mansiones'' were located about {{convert|25|to|30|km}} apart. There the official traveller found a complete ''[[villa]]'' dedicated to his use. Often a permanent military camp or a town grew up around the ''mansio''. For non-official travelers in need of refreshment, a private system of "inns" or ''cauponae'' were placed near the ''mansiones''. They performed the same functions but were somewhat disreputable, as they were frequented by thieves and prostitutes. Graffiti decorate the walls of the few whose ruins have been found.

Genteel travelers needed something better than ''cauponae''. In the early days of the ''viae'', when little unofficial provision existed, houses placed near the road were required by law to offer hospitality on demand. Frequented houses no doubt became the first ''tabernae'', which were [[Hostel|hostels]], rather than the "taverns" we know today. As Rome grew, so did its ''tabernae'', becoming more luxurious and acquiring good or bad reputations as the case might be. An example is the ''Tabernae Caediciae'' at [[Sinuessa]] on the Via Appia. It had a large storage room containing barrels of wine, cheese and ham. Many cities of today grew up around a ''taberna'' complex, such as [[Rheinzabern]] in the Rhineland, and [[Saverne]] in [[Alsace]].

A third system of way stations serviced vehicles and animals: the ''mutationes'' ("changing stations"). They were located every {{convert|20|to|30|km}}. In these complexes, the driver could purchase the services of wheelwrights, cartwrights, and ''equarii medici'', or veterinarians. Using these stations as chariot relays, Tiberius hastened {{convert|296|km}} in 24 hours to join his brother, [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus Germanicus]],<ref>[http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Naturalis_Historia/Liber_VII Naturalis Historia] by Gaius Plinius Secundus, Liber VII, 84.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=pW9bAAAAQAAJ The General History of the Highways] by Nicolas Bergier, page 156.</ref> who was dying of gangrene as a result of a fall from a horse.