Hello! Today the Roman Engineers focused on infrastructure engineering. We started the day with a lesson and presentation on how they built the Appian Way, the first Roman road that led to and from Rome. After we gained some background knowledge on some of the first infrastructure work done by the Romans, we had an activity focused on the lessons we’ve learned from our experience and how we will apply it to our future engineering careers!

Then we hopped on a bus for our tour of the day. We drove through Rome towards the Appia Antica (original/first Appian Way) with our tour guide, who pointed out important sights along the way. Once we left the old city walls, we saw the first mile markers that were ever used on a road. When we got to the Appian Way, we walked along it for a while looking at the ruins and villas along the road. Many parts of the road are still in use today, although it is made of large basalt stones that probably aren’t good for the cars.

After exploring the road, we stopped at an old mafia villa that the government seized and excavated. The grounds included the ruins of a private thermal bath. The class enjoyed the wild rosemary that was growing near the villa, as well as the four cats. On the way back to the bus, we stopped at the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella, which is the third largest mausoleum in Rome and acted as a castle during the Middle Ages.

Continuing our tour, we drove to Aqueduct Park. Though Rome had 11 aqueducts, this park is special because five of them pass through its boundaries. In one place, three aqueducts were stacked on top of each other. Another area of the park included a classic aqueduct that used arcades to transport it over the ground.

The class took a group picture and then it was time to head back. We are preparing for our last few days in Rome, and there is still plenty to do before we leave.

Ciao!

Elise