Via Appia, Route Nationale, Autobahn …

Bewegung und Begrenzung in Referenz auf Rom

Abstract

Somebody who is speeding on motorways or in high-speed trains through Europe generally will not feel in the mood to think about historical reasons for technical infrastructures like roads or tracks. In everyday life these infrastructures seem to go without saying. Even in the realm of planning there is – after a short period of lively debates – a silent consent. Therefore this essay seeks the unquestioned conditions of infrastructural planning and representation with reference to the Roman Empire. How far do modern infrastructures of mobility and demarcation refer to ancient models? In modern times translatio imperii et studii sought always to find technical solutions for the construction of nations, states and empires. paper shows, with many examples, in which way physical remains and discourses which could be traced back to Rome, took part in the moulding of European infrastructures of traffic and of boundaries.