It is only seventeen years since the true point of commencement of the
Appian Way was discovered. For a long time the Porta Capena by which
it left Rome was supposed to be situated outside of the present walls,
in the valley of the Almo. But Dr. Parker, at the period indicated,
making some excavations in the narrowest part of the valley between
the Coelian and Aventine hills, came upon some massive remains of the
original wall of Servius Tullius, and in these he found the true site
of the Porta Capena. This discovery, confirming the supposition of
Ampère and others, cleared up much that was inexplicable in the
topography of this part of Rome, and enabled antiquarians to fix the
relative position of all the historical spots. The Via Appia is thus
shown to have extended upwards of three-quarters of a mile within the
present area of the city, over the space between the wall of Servius
Tullius and the wall of Aurelian. And this is still further confirmed
by the discovery, three hundred years ago, of the first milestone of
the Appian Way in a vineyard, a short distance beyond the modern gate
of St. Sebastian, marking exactly a Roman mile from that point to the
site of Dr. Parker's discovery. This milestone now forms one of the
ornaments on the balustrade at the head of the stairs of the Capitol.

The Appian Way shared in the vicissitudes of the city. After the fall
of the Western Empire, about the beginning of the sixth century, when
it was finally repaired by Theodoric, it fell into desuetude. The
people, owing to the unsettled state of the country, were afraid to
move from home. A grievous apathy took possession of all classes;
agriculture was neglected, and the drains being stopped up, the line
of route was inundated, and the road, especially on the low levels,
became quite impassable. For centuries it continued in this state,
until it was overgrown with a marshy vegetation in the wet places, and
covered with turf in the dry. About a hundred years ago Pope Pius VI.