Via Portuensis

Via Portuensis was an ancient Roman road, leading to the Portus constructed by Claudius on the right bank of the Tiber, at its mouth. It started from the Pons Aemilius, and the first part of its course is identical with that of the Via Campana. The Porta Portuensis of the Aurelian Walls had a double arch, probably owing to the amount of traffic it had to carry, but the divergence occurred a good deal further on, probably a mile from the gate. The Via Portuensis went to the right into hilly country, while the Via Campana kept to the valley of the Tiber. The roads rejoined at the modern Ponte Galeria.

With the growth of importance of the Via Portuensis from the time of Constantine onwards, that of the Via Ostiensis correspondingly decreased. It is to be noted that Procopius, who tells us how barges were dragged up the river by teams of oxen moving along it, must be describing the towpath, and not either the Via Portuensis or even the Via Campana, which is in many places at quite a considerable distance from the winding course of the river.

Due to its large amounts of traffic, the road was eventually reconstructed with two parallel roads — one for traffic going one direction, and the other for traffic going the other. This was considered to be the world's first dual carriageway.

Today Rome's Via Portuense follows a similar path. The road starts today from the Porta Portese and, after Ponte Galeria, ends in the comune of Fiumicino.

Via Aemilia – Via Aemilia Scauri – Via Agrippa – Via Amerina – Via Anicia – Via Appia – Via Aquillia – Via Aquitania – Via Asturica Burdigalam – Via Augusta – Via Augusta Pretoria – Via Aurelia – Via Bracara Asturicam – Via Campana – Via Cassia – Via Claudia Augusta – Via Claudia Nova – Via Clodia – Via Confluentana – Via Corsica – Via Decia – Via Delapidata – Via Devana – Strata Diocletiana – Via Domitia – Via Domiziana – Via Egnatia – Via Fenollentis – Via Flaminia – Via Flavia – Via Gallica – Via Gemina – Via Hadriana – Via Julia Augusta – Via Labicana – Via Latina – Via Laurentina – Via Lusitanorum – Via Mala – Via Maris – Via Militaris – Via Nomentana – Via Ostiensis – Via Pontica – Via Popilia – Via Portuensis – Via Praenestina – Via Postumia – Via Salaria – Via Severiana – Via Sublacensis – Via Traiana – Via Traiana Nova – Via Valeria – Via Vallespiri