VIA LUCENTINA

Would you like to walk along the same path that the Romans of the 1st century AD used to walk from the Roman city of Allon? Well, in La Vila Joiosa, you can. It’s a stretch of nearly ten meters of the Via Lucentina, the road that two thousand years ago connected the important port of Allon with Lucentum, and along which we can stroll as if we were Romans.

This section of the “Via Lucentina”—the “highway” from the time of Vespasian—was preserved in perfect condition 1.5 meters below the current ground level. It has been restored stone by stone, at the level of the current street, so you can enjoy a Roman road in its original state, and in its exact position and orientation.

 

The road is 14 Roman feet wide—that is, 4.20 meters—which is enough space for two carts to travel side by side.

This road is one of those remodeled by Roman engineers in the mid-1st century A.D., following the city’s expansion after it was granted the status of a municipium. Roman engineers always sought straight lines and built roads in a manner similar to today’s methods: cutting into the ground, constructing a retaining wall on one side to prevent erosion from rain, laying a layer of compacted earth, and adding a compacted layer of stones—boulders—to provide a walkable surface.

Image gallery

VIA LUCENTINA in images

Practical Information

There is no contact information
Share: