The Via Aurelia (Latin for “Aurelian Way”) is a an ancient consular Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta. He had a history of building roads for Rome, as he had overseen the construction of a military road in Sicily (as consul in 252 BC, during the First Punic War connecting Agrigentum (modern Agrigento) and Panormus (modern Palermo). 

Today’s Strada statale 1 Via Aurelia is one of the most important state highways in Italy and derives from the Via Aurelia. It connects Rome with France following the coast of Tyrrhenian Sea and Ligurian Sea and touching nine provincial capitals as well as important tourist locations.