Tourist office Nals
Rathausplatz 1/A
39010 Nals (BZ)
South Tyrol / Italy
Tel. +39 0471 678619
Fax +39 0471 678141
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Via Claudia Augusta
The only emperor road across the Alps
The antique Roman road Via Claudia Augusta, which leads from the plain around the river Po and the Adriatic Sea to the river Danube, still exists today. After 2,000 years of history, it is now experiencing a new era as cycle track. With the end of the conflicts and a Europe, which finally was united, the Via Claudia Augusta became a bridge between cultures, habitats and emotions. The road is a symbol of landscapes and traditions, artful master pieces and eno-gastronomic specialities from various nations, as well as a sign of human, young and environmentally friendly tourism. The road, which runs right through the village of Nals with its vineyards and orchards, invites you to leave your watch at home. Discover new places and landscapes in a new way, with all their varied colours, fine nuances and fragrances, while still touching the history of years gone by.
This is how it all began...
It was 15 B.C. when the Roman general Drusus the Older, who was adopted by Augustus, decided to open an Alpine pass due to difficulties in military campaigns in Ratia-Vindelizia and the Norikum (today’s Austria). This immense work was only finished by his son, Cesar Claudius (41 - 54 A.D.) about 60 years later. The road connected peoples along the Adriatic Sea and the Po region to others along the river Danube in the north of the Roman Empire … and it facilitated the exchange of trade.
The only evidence regarding the Via Claudia Augusta is held in two military milestones. One of them was found in Rabland near Meran and the other in Cesiomaggiore in the province of Belluno. These two most important witnesses have presented historians with a complicated question: even though the given place of destination along the roads of both stones is identical (namely the famous centre Augusta Vindelicorum), today’s Augsburg has a different starting point. The mile stone in Rabland speaks about the area of today’s Ostiglia near the Po river, while the mile stone in Cesiomaggiore speaks about the marine area of Altino near Venice. Even though there are still many unanswered questions, historians are of one accord regarding the way the Via Claudia Augusta was directed: from Tridentum (Trent), it lead along the river Etsch to Pons Drusi (near Bozen), then to Maia (near Meran) and to the Reschen Pass, along the Inn Valley and the river Lech, where it ends near Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), a town situated at the river Danube, near the place where you find Donauwörth today. The part of the road, which led to Tridentum, the important Roman trade centre, had two different parts in itself. The one on the left at vicus Hostilia went to Tridentum via Verona, where it crossed another important trade centre at the Via Postumia. The other, which is not totally accepted by all historians, leads to the harbour of Altinum (Altino) at the Adriatic Sea, passing the town of Feltria (Feltre) and running then through the Sugana Valley to Tridentum.
Under the Emperor Claudius, a kind of civil development took place along the Via Claudia Augusta, which Drusus meant to be a road for conquerors and also for the country’s defence. Stations were built where the coaches could change horses. These stations were also used as fortresses. This type of development continued during the following decades and is confirmed by numerous archaeological findings along the Via Claudia Augusta, which was for a long time the only road network between the Ratian regions and those along the Adriatic Sea.
During 2nd Century A.D., some parts of the road were made into modern roads. The Brenner Pass could now be used, although the invasions of the Barbarians, which led to the fall of the Roman Empire did not better the situation at all. Despite the changes and developments, this monumental Roman road network kept its importance throughout several centuries and, today, is still an important road for traffic and trade between Southern and Northern Europe.
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