When the Romans are drawn to the countryside, they often end up in the south-east of their city: where flocks of sheep find endless pastures, cycle paths and hiking trails lead over 2,000-year-old basalt blocks and an unbridled variety of plant life stalks Christian tombs, pagan temples and Roman villas.
On the 4,580 hectares of Europe's largest urban regional park, archaeology and nature come together in the shade of cedars, cypresses and umbrella pines to form the unique "Via Appia Antica".
If everything goes according to plan, the 16-kilometre-long "open-air museum", which has stretched as far as the heel of Italy's boot as the "Queen of Roads" since pre-Christian times, will soon be added to the Unesco World Heritage List: as number 60 for Italy, which would further extend the country's leading position with the most sites worthy of protection.
The decision is due to be made around 26 July at the meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which will convene in New Delhi from Sunday (21 July).
Trade route for goods from the Orient - and slaves
The "regina viarum" has a controversial history. Begun in 312 BC under the eponymous consul Appius Claudius Caecus, it guaranteed a direct connection from Rome to Brindisi in Apulia for centuries.
The Roman Empire received important goods from the Orient along the 540 kilometre long trade route - including slaves.
6,000 of them were crucified along the Via Appia in 71 BC following the Roman victory over the slave army of Spartacus.
The perpetrator of this cruel act was Marcus Licinius Crassus, father-in-law of Caecilia Metella, whose mighty tomb can still be seen today on the Via Appia; just one of the many testimonies to different eras that begin a few kilometres from the Colosseum and extend into the vast landscape of the Roman Campagna, where Goethe once had his portrait painted.
Traces of the early Christians
A must for pilgrims in particular are the churches and tombs of the early Christians, who were still persecuted by the state at the time: the Catacombs of Callixtus and Sebastian with the basilica of the same name and the Domitilla Catacomb with Rome's only semi-underground basilica.
The church of San Nicola is the only example of Cistercian Gothic architecture in Rome.
After the villa and the Mausoleum of Maxentius, the long straight section of the Roman road begins, which is exceptionally well preserved. The Via Appia was a revolution in terms of road construction: with its closely spaced slabs of hewn basalt, it was passable in all weathers.
The ancient paving is still preserved in many places today, marked by the traces of carts and sometimes lined with the old pavements, the so-called crepidines.
Some sections of the road are closed to all motorised traffic - but far too few, according to critics.
The regional park is easily accessible for visitors: The Appia Antica Service Centre offers accommodation as well as maps, programme tips for lectures and concerts, bike hire and guided tours on foot, by bike or minicar.
A new multimedia exhibition, also designed with a view to the hoped-for World Heritage status, sends visitors on a virtual journey through the history of the "regina viarum".
After the villa of the Quintilians and the imposing circular tomb "Casal Rotondo" from the 1st century BC, the return journey via the Caffarella Valley is a good idea. Here, old Roman aqueducts criss-cross the vast landscape and offer views as far as the mountains.
Nobel Prize for Literature and film epic "Quo Vadis"
Literature and cinema fans know the Via Appia from the 1951 Hollywood epic "Quo Vadis", which is still an integral part of the TV programme at Easter and Christmas.
Based on the novel of the same name by Nobel Prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916), it tells the story of the Roman general Marcus Vinicius, who embraces the fledgling faith out of love for the Christian Lygia.
At the heart of the 1895 novel is the legend of the small "Domine Quo Vadis" church at the beginning of the Via Appia: this is where Jesus is said to have appeared to Peter, who was fleeing from Emperor Nero. "Domine, quo vadis?" - "Lord, where are you going?", the apostle is said to have asked. "I am going to Rome to be crucified a second time," was the reply. Peter then returned to Rome in shame to stand by the young Christian community - and to be crucified himself.
Today's visitors to the small church stand in amazement in front of a white marble slab on which footprints can be seen: According to legend, these were left by Jesus himself - one of the many miracles of the Via Appia Antica.