Changes

While Appius was still a relatively young man and holding the important title of censor, he came up with the idea of a road that would connect Rome to its new colonies in the south. When construction began on the Appian Way in 312 BC, Appius, as well as other leading men in the Roman Republic, saw it as a economic and political boon for their city. Essentially, Appius saw the road as a way to change Rome’s agrarian based economy to one in which commerce played a bigger role. <ref> Stavely, p. 419</ref> The Romans particularly coveted the fertile lands just to the south of Rome around the city of Capua. The first century BC Greek geographer, Strabo, noted that the region was a prime location for wine production:

Bringing more wine and other agricultural commodities quicker and easier to Rome was certainly one of the reasons why the Appian Way was built, but political considerations were an equally important factor in its creation.