The list of Unesco World Heritage Sites is headed by Italy. The 'Via Appia Regina Viarum' has been added to the World Heritage List, making it the 60th Italian site to be recognized, by the World Heritage Committee, which met in New Delhi for its 46th session.

The list also features the house of Ensemble Schwerin in Germany, the Niah National Park in Malaysia, the Al-Faw archeological area in Saudi Arabia, the Frontiers of the Roman Empire in Dacia, Romania, and the Târgu Jiu sculptural ensemble by Constantin Brâncuși.

Candidature of the Via Appia promoted by the Ministry of Culture

The candidature was promoted for the first time directly by the Ministry of Culture, which coordinated all the stages of the process and prepared the necessary documentation for the application.

The story of the Via Appia

About 650 kilometres long, the ancient Via Appia goes through central and southern Italy. It was the first of Rome's great roads built using innovative techniques; true masterpieces of civil engineering that complemented the natural roads and are the most enduring monuments of Roman civilisation.

The censor Appius Claudius Blind opened the route in 312 B.C. to link Capua and Rome. Later on, Benevento, Venosa, Taranto, and Brindisi were added.

Originally intended to serve military purposes, the Via Appia quickly rose to prominence as a major route for trade and the dissemination of culture. It eventually served as the template for all other Roman public roadways.

"UNESCO has grasped the exceptional universal value of an extraordinary engineering work that over the centuries has been essential for trade, social and cultural exchanges with the Mediterranean and the East," said Gennaro Sangiuliano, the minister of culture.