What does the expression “all roads lead to Rome” mean? All roads lead to Rome, proven using an interactive map What does all roads lead to Rome mean?

Origin and meaning of the expression "Rome - the eternal city"

The expression is of ancient Roman origin in Latin "Aeterna urbs". Rome was first called the “eternal city” by the ancient Roman poet Albius Tibullus, who lived in the 1st century BC. He outlined this characterization of the city in the second book of “Elegy” in a kind of hymn dedicated to the patron saint of Rome, the sun god Apollo, who, according to the plot, predicts the extraordinary flowering of the city’s power and greatness.

"Romulus has not yet laid down those walls eternal city,
Where his brother Rem could not settle with him.”

Such a majestic image did not arise by chance. The fact is that Tibullus’s life took place during the reign of Emperor Octavian Augustus (63 - 14 BC), during which the Roman Empire, and Rome itself, made an extraordinary rise in almost all directions and developed at an enormous pace. Along with successful wars, roads were built throughout the Empire and trade developed.

In Rome, old and destroyed buildings were reconstructed and restored, and new residential buildings, public buildings and cultural institutions were built. At that time, Rome was changing greatly and quickly, and in the seven centuries since its founding (753 BC) it had absorbed all the ups and downs that befell it. This was reflected in his truly majestic appearance. As the ancient Roman writer and historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (70-122) testifies in “The Divine Augustus,” Augustus really had something to be proud of, so he often used the expression that later became popular:

“I found Rome brick, but I leave it marble.”

So it is not surprising that such transformations of the city inspired Tibullus to think about the eternity of Rome. Subsequently, this theme was often used by other ancient Roman poets, writers, philosophers and orators.

For example, the Roman poet Claudius Claudian declares with full confidence that Rome "there will be no end". Or the poet of Rome Claudius Rutilius Namatianus, leaving the city, throws out the phrase: “There is no limit to your future life”. The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus says about the capital of the Roman Empire: "Rome will live as long as humanity exists".

Of course, under all these statements about the eternity of the city, the writers and thinkers of antiquity meant the political power, military superiority and economic power of Rome.

Despite the decline and collapse of the Roman Empire, the majestic epithet “eternal city” was preserved behind the city, acquired a new meaning and began to be perceived as the center of human civilization, an integral and noticeable part of its progress and development. And as one of the most ancient cities, which experienced a stunning rise and a deafening fall, but managed to preserve a rich cultural complex that absorbed the enormous historical and religious heritage of different eras, Rome fits the phrase “eternal city” perfectly.

To this day, when talking about Rome, we use the expression “eternal city”, paying tribute to this majestic city with its rich history.

The meaning and origin of the expression “all roads lead to Rome”

The expression “all roads lead to Rome” does not convey any specific information, but rather looks like an ordinary statement of a fact, the obviousness of which is beyond doubt. This is what they say when the end result is predictable and is an obvious fact regardless of the chosen path to solve a given problem.

"IN. A. Serov did not rebel against Picasso and Matisse; he, as a professional, saw that all roads lead to Rome, that a big deal was being forged in France, he was indignant at our monkey-like imitativeness, which took only the superficial style of the French modernists, only exchanging someone else’s shirts for a dirty body.”

K.S.Petrov-Vodkin (1878-1939), “Euclidean Space”, 1932

“Caesar’s Roman legions, having climbed (again, without any geographical maps) far to the north, to the Sea of Gaul, decided to return to Rome by another road to try their luck again, and arrived safely in Rome. It was probably from that time that the saying began that all roads lead to Rome. In the same way, all roads lead to České Budejovice.”

J. Hasek (1883-1923), “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik”, 1923

Perhaps for the first time the expression “all roads lead to Rome” was used by the famous French fabulist Jean La Fontaine in his fable “The Arbitrator, the Brother of Mercy and the Hermit.”

“Wanting to find the door of salvation,
Three people, all saints equally
And filled with one spirit,
We chose three different roads for this.
And since all roads lead to Rome,
Then everyone towards the goal, without anxiety,
He set off along his path.”

La Fontaine (1621-1695), “Arbitrator, brother of mercy and hermit.”

However, the expression originated a long time ago during the heyday of the Roman Empire and had a direct meaning, because all roads really led to Rome.

In connection with successful and victorious military campaigns in the 3rd-1st centuries BC, the borders of the territories controlled by Rome began to rapidly expand. Thus began the formation of the Roman Empire, which had the most powerful force in the entire Mediterranean. But to protect its borders from barbarian raids and to suppress sudden uprisings in the provinces of the empire, Rome had to quickly respond to threats from both external and internal enemies by quickly transferring troops to the source of the armed conflict. Otherwise it would be difficult to keep everything under control.

To speed up the process of transporting troops to the desired destination, the Romans began to lay and build roads, which significantly saved time. At first, roads only connected the major cities of the Roman Empire and the main cities of the provinces under Roman influence.

Initially, the construction of roads was conceived only for military purposes, the main purpose of which was the mobility of the Roman army, but soon roads began to play a significant role in the economic development of the empire, because trade caravans followed them, and courier communications were established. Realizing the enormous benefits in the development of road infrastructure, the Roman Empire actively began building roads and by the 2nd century they reached a length, according to various sources, from 100 to 300 thousand kilometers, most of them with a hard surface. Thus, not only large cities were connected with each other, but also almost all settlements that were more or less significant in terms of trade.

A striking example of the development of land communications can be seen during the reign of the founder of the Roman Empire, Octavian Augustus (63-14 BC), when road construction reached its maximum level. It was during his reign that Rome, which was already called the “eternal city,” began to look like a center of world significance, or at least of the Mediterranean region, most of Europe and Western Asia.

It was here that merchants hurried with the hope of selling goods with the greatest profit and making successful deals. Important meetings were held there, political decisions were made and agreements were signed.

If you look at a map of the Roman Empire of that time, the junction would resemble the sun, where Rome was in the center, and the main and important roads converged towards it in the form of straight rays, because then roads were built as straight as possible along the shortest path. That is why the expression involuntarily arose that “all roads lead to Rome.”

This is confirmed by the fact that in the center of the Palatine Hill, which, by the way, is located in the very center of Rome, where the main forum of the capital was located, where popular assemblies and meetings of the Senate were held, there stood the Milliarium Aureum column, erected by order of Augustus. On this column, which acts as a kind of “zero kilometer,” the distances from Rome to all significant cities of the Roman Empire were marked. This once again proves that, as they say in Italy “tutte to vie conducano a Roma”, “all roads lead to Rome”.

Actually, in any state, all roads lead to its capital, as the great Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) mentioned in his immortal work “War and Peace” (1863-1869), where in response to Napoleon’s question about the road , leading to Moscow, the ambassador of Emperor Alexander I of Russia, Alexander Dmitrievich Balashov, replied:

“Just as every road, according to the proverb, leads to Rome, so all roads lead to Moscow.”

There is so much greatness, dignity, and solemnity in this word. But this great city really deserves all these words.

We begin to hear about Rome from school. We study its origins and the kings who ruled thousands of years ago. Each person has his own opinion about this city, but those attractions that have survived to this day are truly worthy of attention and a must-see.

I dreamed of Italy since childhood. After all, in Italy they cook my favorite dish - pasta.

And now I'm flying to Rome. Rome greeted me with warmth, which was very important for me, because I am allergic to cold.

At the end of April the air temperature was about 27 degrees.

We started our trip in Rome from Fiumicino Airport. There was a long line at passport control, but our daughter helped us, as always. They let us through without a queue. The entire process of going through security, receiving luggage and getting to the bus stop took no more than 40 minutes.

The bus fare from the airport to Termini station is 7 euros per adult. Children under 4 years old are free, but no one checked the documents to determine how old the child was. There were only 10 seats occupied on the bus. We took comfortable seats, further away from people, and began to look at the outskirts of Rome.

Like many cities, the outskirts are unremarkable. The only thing that caught my eye was the garbage bins filled to the top and mini landfills around the bins.

The bus drove quite quickly, we got to the center in 20 minutes and drove along the central streets for another 20 minutes. On the left hand I flashed the Colosseum, which I liked from the first second.

Termini Station is no different from other stations in any way. There are a lot of people there, because this station transports more than 150 million people. Near it there are various shops, McDonald's and several other eateries. There are several large boards that clearly show the train number, where the train is coming from and to, where it makes stops, the track number, and the time of delay if this happens. Usually, information about an arriving train is provided within 10 minutes. The way we are used to arriving at the station in 30-40 minutes is not accepted by the Italians. Also, the station is not clean; there are many homeless and dirty people walking around it.

We lived three blocks from the station. The street was in the shadows, there were few people on it. The house is quite old, with an old elevator, where the door had to be opened and closed by hand. For my daughter it was an attraction every time.

After checking in, drinking coffee and taking a shower after the flight, we went for a walk through the streets of Rome. The closest attraction was the Colosseum.

He's immediately impressive. This is not just a landmark, it can be called a little less a wonder of the world than the pyramids in Egypt. It is amazing that it was built almost 2000 years ago. And construction did not last long at all - 8 years. Construction began in 72, completed in 80. This place is a must visit. But many people don’t go inside, but for me it was mandatory. And now for me Rome = Colosseum.

Colosseum opening hours:

— From 08.30 to 17.30: from 16 to the last Saturday in March

The cost of the Colosseum for adults is 12 euros. Under 18 years of age admission is free. There is also a preferential rate of 7 euros for teachers and citizens of the European Union. You can pre-purchase tickets on the official website www.coopculture.it but you will still have to pay 2 euros for this.

But you shouldn’t buy tickets in advance, and it’s best to come after 18:00. Even if there was no line on the May holidays, I’m sure there won’t be any on other days. It will be hot during the day, with the possible exception of winter and cloudy days, and in the evening it can be seen in the setting rays of the sun, when the Colosseum takes on a golden hue.

The Colosseum offers a very beautiful view of the triumphal Arch of Constantine

which was built in 315 after Constantine’s victory over Maxentius in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The arch stands out because there are no other tall buildings nearby.

And in general, it’s very beautiful next to the Colosseum.

Lots of greenery, beautiful buildings. A place we returned to several times. And our evening walks also began with the Colosseum.

and on the other the Forum of Augustus and Trajan. This street is my favorite place in Rome.

The square got its name from the Venice Palace, which was built in the 15th century. On the square there is a huge monument to the first king of United Italy, Vittorio Emmanuele.

In half a day we saw the most beautiful places. But the next day was more eventful.

We wanted to start our day in Piazza di Spagna. It was not very far from our hotel to the square, only 2.5 km. But we decided to save our energy and drive 3 stops from Termini metro station to Spagna station.

The cost of travel in Rome, a one-time trip will cost 1.5 euros. Children under 10 years old travel free of charge. Some stations have ticket offices, I don’t know if they sell tickets, but you can find out the exact information. We only used automatic machines. The machines have English everywhere and you can buy tickets without any problems. You can also purchase a ticket for all types of transport for 24 hours - it costs 7 euros and 48 hours - 12.5 euros, but we found out about this later when late in the evening we could not travel by bus because we had to buy a ticket on the bus itself you can’t or you just can’t pay for travel. They will tell you to go and buy a ticket at special places (kiosks), but do you think such kiosks will be open after 21:00? - No, of course, this is Italy. Italians are very afraid of overworking.

So, having bought a ticket for the metro, we, of course, went down with the stroller to the platform we needed. Or rather, we never made it to the platform. We went down the escalator and stopped at a small fork between two platforms. Because there were a lot of people, the platform in the direction we wanted was completely packed. While we were standing so that the first train, which runs every 5-7 minutes, would arrive and take away some of the people so that we could move on, more and more people arrived. At one point, people simply stood on the escalator and could not go down at all. This is a train station, 70% of people are with suitcases and travel bags. When the first train arrived, people simply could not get out of the carriage. It was getting very stuffy, there was a real crush at the station. Realizing that now I would begin to lose consciousness, because there was no air at all, I suggested to my husband that we go to another station and drive one stop back because this was the only way to get out of this pandemonium. At this moment we regretted that we decided to save time and did not take a walk on a warm, sunny spring day along the streets of Rome.

Having reached the España metro station, we walked down a narrow street to the well-known Spanish Steps. This is one of those places where there are a lot of people.

The beauty of the staircase, decorated with flowers, is hidden by people and it is impossible to see and enjoy this staircase. Of course, it was worth going up to one of the beautiful observation points located at the top. But after the crush in the subway, I just wanted to take a walk along the shady streets. This is probably one of the places I regret not going up and seeing. But climbing the steps with a stroller is not easy, even if the child is walking next to you.

So we slowly reached Piazza del Popolo - Popolo Square or People's Square. The square is very elegant, in the center there is one of the Egyptian obelisks 24 meters high.

Santa Maria dei Miracoli (Santa Maria dei Miracoli, built in 1678) and Santa Maria in Montesanto (Santa Maria in Montesanto, built a little earlier in 1675). No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fit two into the frame at once.

Afterwards our route lay across the Tiber River to the Supreme Court of Italy.

A very beautiful building, there is a lot of greenery around, grass, palm trees.

But we had the Vatican scheduled for the next day. We passed by, only horrified by the number of people who were there.

On this day we have passed

near the Castle of Sant'Angelo, which is located on the banks of the Tiber River, the Eliev Bridge, built in 134-139, goes to it. Emperor Hadrian. In 1450, the bridge collapsed due to the large number of pilgrims who came to St. Peter's Basilica. And after the restoration of the bridge, statues of the apostles Petri and Paul, as well as 10 other statues of angels, were installed on it. We did not visit this place, because it is impossible to see Rome and visit all the cathedrals and castles in 2.5 days. But we learned useful information in advance.

All roads lead to Rome

All roads lead to Rome
A proverb from the early Middle Ages.
This expression became widespread thanks to the French fabulist Jean La Fontaine (62 -1695), after the appearance of his fable “The Arbitrator, the Brother of Mercy and the Hermit.”
But it arose much earlier, back in Ancient Rome, when the Romans actively expanded their territories through conquest. And in order to retain their new acquisitions, they were forced to build new, good roads, thanks to which taxes could be delivered to the capital on time, and courier communications would work properly, and military detachments could quickly be transferred to the barbarian provinces in the event of a rebellion. Thus, this expression at that time had a literal meaning - all roads built by the Romans led, naturally, only to Rome. In other words, it was simply a statement of an obvious fact. In any empire, a strictly centralized state, roads cannot but lead to the capital. It is no coincidence that in L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” Emperor Alexander Balashov’s ambassador, when asked by Napoleon which road leads to Moscow, replies: “As every road, according to the proverb, leads to Rome, so all roads lead to Moscow.” .
Previously, the phrase “all roads lead to Rome” was attributed to the Italian writer Dal Ongaro (1808-1873), in whose collection of poems Political Riturnelli it appears. Therefore, it was sometimes quoted in Italian: Tutte to vie conducano a Roma.

Encyclopedic dictionary of popular words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

All roads lead to Rome

A medieval proverb that has entered our literary speech, probably from the fable of La Fontaine (1621-1695) “The arbitrator, the brother of mercy and the hermit.”

Dictionary of catch words. Plutex. 2004.

See what “All roads lead to Rome” is in other dictionaries:

All roads lead to Rome- wing. sl. A medieval proverb that has entered our literary speech, probably from La Fontaine’s fable (1621-1695) “Arbitrator, brother of mercy and hermit”... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

- (foreign language) achieve the goal by different (paths) means Wed. You absolutely delighted me... if not the whole idea, then the beginning of it... But your plan is higher than mine. All roads lead to Rome... why give up your identity? Boborykin. Vasily Terkin. 3, 22. Wed... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

All paths lead to Rome (foreign language) with different (paths) means reaching the goal. Wed. You absolutely delighted me... if not the whole idea, then the beginning of it... But your plan is higher than mine. “All roads lead to Rome... why give up your personality?”... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Capital of Italy. The city is located on the river. Tiber, the ancient name of which Rumo or Rumon served as the basis for the formation of the name Rome (Italian: Roma). It is assumed that the name of the river is associated with the name of one of the ancient Etruscan tribes... ... Geographical encyclopedia

The capital of Italy, the administrative center of the Lazio region and the Roman province, the residence of the supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Also known as the eternal city to which all roads lead. Rome is almost as ancient as Western Europe itself... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Contents: I. R. Modern; II. History of the city of R.; III. Roman history before the fall of the Western Roman Empire; IV. Roman law. I. Rome (Roma) the capital of the Italian kingdom, on the Tiber River, in the so-called Roman Campania, at 41°53 54 north... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

For the Roman road, see Via Romea Appian Way (Via Appia Antica) ... Wikipedia

Appian Way (Via Appia Antica) Contents 1 History 1.1 The first strategic roads ... Wikipedia

View of the Appian Way The Appian Way (lat. Via Appia) is the most significant of the ancient public ... Wikipedia

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- achieve goals by different means Wed. You absolutely delighted me... if not the whole idea, then the beginning of it... But your plan is higher than mine. - “All roads lead to Rome... why give up your personality?” Boborykin...
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- All paths lead to Rome; different means reach the goal. Wed. You absolutely delighted me... if not the whole idea, then the beginning of it... But your plan is higher than mine. “All roads lead to Rome.....
- Half measures lead to nothing at all. Wed. The important matter of education, which Pirogov understood so broadly, was decided in a tone of half measures, which Pirogov feared most of all... Leskov. Stories by the way. 2, 5...
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All roads lead to Rome

A proverb from the early Middle Ages.

This expression became widespread thanks to the French fabulist Jean Lafontaine (1621 - 1695), after the appearance of his fable “The Arbitrator, the Brother of Mercy and the Hermit.”

But it arose much earlier, back in Ancient Rome, when the Romans actively expanded their territories through conquest. And in order to retain their new acquisitions, they were forced to build new, good roads, thanks to which taxes could be delivered to the capital on time, and courier communications would work properly, and military detachments could quickly be transferred to the barbarian provinces in the event of a rebellion. Thus, this expression at that time had a literal meaning - all roads built by the Romans led, naturally, only to Rome. In other words, it was simply a statement of an obvious fact. In any empire, a strictly centralized state, roads cannot but lead to the capital. It is no coincidence that in L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” Emperor Alexander Balashov’s ambassador, when asked by Napoleon which road leads to Moscow, replies: “As every road, according to the proverb, leads to Rome, so all roads lead to Moscow.” .

Previously, the phrase “all roads lead to Rome” was attributed to the Italian writer Dal Ongaro (1808-1873), in whose collection of poems Political Riturnelli it appears. Therefore, it was sometimes quoted in Italian: Tutte le vie conducano a Roma.