| The via Appia |
Under the Vatican rule
The decline of the via Appia was slow at first, then precipitous. In the ninth and tenth century there were large estates belonging to the Church around the road, like Santa Maria Nova.
The monuments were under constant attack by the weather and man; the Appia became a quarry for reusable building blocks and stone for making lime.
From the eleventh century on St. Peter's began to hand out these properties to the families of the Roman barons and counts. The Tuscolo counts turned the sepulchre of Cecilia Metella into a fortress.
In 1300 Bonifacio VIII Caetani gave this castle to his family: around it grew up a fortified township that spread over the road and cut it off.
The Caetani imposed heavy tolls on goods and travellers, so an alternative route was used: the via Appia Nuova, from Porta San Giovanni.
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