The queen of roads, the Romans called it: the Via Appia, begun in 312 BC by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, ran from Rome to Capua and later on to Brindisi, the gateway to Greece and the East. Near Formia, the old road comes down from the hills of Itri to the coast of the Gulf of Gaeta, and a stretch of it, with its paving stones and roadside monuments, survives in the countryside. In 2024, UNESCO listed the Via Appia as a whole, and this section between the eighty-third mile from Rome and the ancient town of Formiae is one of its pieces.
Formia was a favourite resort of the Roman elite, who built villas along the coast. Cicero had one here, and it was near Formia that he was murdered in 43 BC on the orders of Mark Antony. A large tower tomb by the road is traditionally called the Tomb of Cicero, though the attribution is uncertain. The town itself is busy and modern, rebuilt after heavy damage in the Second World War, when the Gustav Line ran close by. Gaeta, across the gulf, has a fine medieval quarter, a fortress, and the Montagna Spaccata, a mountain split by a deep cleft in the rock, with a sanctuary built into it.
The riding here mixes busy and beautiful. The modern Via Appia, the SS7, is a main road with traffic, but the coastal road toward Sperlonga, the Via Flacca, is a delight, with tunnels, cliffs and views of the sea. Inland, the Aurunci mountains rise steeply, and the roads climbing to villages like Maranola and Campodimele are narrow, twisty and nearly empty. Summer brings heat and holiday traffic, especially on weekends; spring and autumn are better. Watch for Italian drivers' enthusiasm for overtaking on bends.
Formia sorts out fuel and lunch, and Gaeta has a lovely old centre. Local food includes Gaeta olives, small and dark, the tiella, a pie filled with octopus or vegetables, and fresh seafood. The village of Itri, inland, is known for olive oil and for the bandit Fra Diavolo, who was born there. Walk a stretch of the ancient road if you can find it, and feel the paving stones under your boots; they carried legions, merchants and poets, and now a motorcyclist taking a break.