Via delle Gallie, the Roman consular road to Gaul built by Emperor Augustus. Here, at Donnas, Aosta Valley, Italy, Roman civil engineers cut an arch through a rocky spur that barred their progress. In medieval times, the road was used by Christian pilgrims following the Via Francigena from Northern Europe to Rome and the road’s surface is rutted by grooves worn by both Roman and medieval cartwheels.
Donnas, Valle d’Aosta, Italy: a well-preserved 200 m (656 ft) stretch of the ancient Roman consular road to Gaul built by the emperor Augustus, the Via delle Gallie or Strada delle Gallie, survives above the River Dora Baltea and beside the modern main road through the Aosta Valley. The surface is still rutted by grooves worn by ancient and medieval cart wheels. Other sights include an arch cut through a rocky spur by skilled Roman engineers and a round milestone (left, against rockface) displaying the number of Roman miles (36) from Donnas to the city of Augusta Praetoria Salassorum, now the Italian regional capital of Aosta. In medieval times, the road was used by pilgrims following the Via Francigena from Northern Europe to Rome.
Size: 2634px × 3945px
Location: Via delle Gallie, Donnas, Aosta Valley, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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