<Dd> Appia longarum...regina viarum </Dd> <Dd> "the Appian Way the queen of the long roads" </Dd> <P> The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman censor who began and completed the first section as a military road to the south in 312 BC during the Samnite Wars . </P> <P> The Appian Way was used as a main route for military supplies since its construction for that purpose in 312 B.C. </P>

When did the romans start building the via apia