Via Aurelia: The Roman Empire's Lost Highway

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The first-century B.C. Flavian's Bridge is one of Via Aurelia's landmarks.

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In 7 B.C., at a point along the Via Aurelia, the Romans erected a monument to the emperor Augustus.

      Clay McLachlan

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Bruno Tassan wages a tireless campaign to locate and save vestiges of ancient Rome's Via Aurelia in France. Tassan discovered Roman history in his teens: "From that point," he says, "I was hooked."

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Aqueducts near Fontvieille.

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A carving at the Museum of Arles and Ancient Provence.

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In Fréjus, one of ancient Rome's important Mediterranean ports, a first-century A.D. arena is used today for concerts.

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The Via Aurelia exists only in fragments (here, a segment between Fréjus and Cannes). The efforts of Bruno Tassan, says curator Martin, have "done much to keep [the road] alive, and to protect the little that's left."

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The remains of an aqueduct at Barbegal, Provence, France.

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Le Pont Flavien, Saint Chamas, Provence, France.

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La Trophee d'Augustine high above Monaco and the Mediterranean at La Turbie, Provence, France.

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Bruno Tassan champions ancient Gaul's principal artery (in red) in a region in souther France rich in Roman history.

      Illustration by Guilbert Gates