Via Egnazia, prosecuzione Appia e Brindisi...

## PRESS RELEASE

# The Via Egnatia: The Continuation of the Via Appia, the Route Connecting West and East

### A journey through history with Franco Lovato

**August 21, 2026 – 9:00 p.m.**
**Atrium of Mesagne Castle**

The Rotary Club Brindisi Appia Antica, led by its President, Daniela Monittola, will inaugurate the new 2026–2027 Rotary year with an event of significant historical, cultural, and civic importance dedicated to one of the most important communication routes of the ancient world: the Via Egnatia.

For travelers, merchants, imperial officials, and the armies of ancient Rome, the journey did not end on the shores of the Adriatic. After crossing Italy along the Via Appia as far as Brindisi, the route continued across the sea along the Via Egnatia.

It was from Brindisi that this extraordinary Roman artery began, connecting the city to Dyrrachium—modern-day Durrës—and, crossing present-day Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and Thrace, continuing as far as Byzantium, today’s Istanbul. For centuries, this route encouraged the exchange of people, ideas, cultures, religions, and trade, becoming one of the most important bridges between Europe and the East and contributing to the spread of Roman civilization throughout the eastern Mediterranean.

Under the title **“The Via Egnatia – Continuation of the Via Appia and Brindisi: Gateway to the East,”** the initiative aims to draw public attention once again to the strategic role Brindisi has played in the history of the Mediterranean as a natural bridge between two worlds.

The evening’s guest will be **Franco Lovato**, one of the leading scholars and communicators on the Via Egnatia. He will take the audience on a fascinating journey supported by images, historical accounts, ancient maps, and reconstructions of the great Roman route. His presentation will offer an engaging interpretation of the road that, for more than two thousand years, has represented one of the main channels of European civilization.

The event will be moderated by **Angelo Sconosciuto**, while audio-video direction will be handled by **Agostino Marco Basile**, with an immersive production designed to accompany spectators along the ancient Roman route.

This event is the first in a series of cultural initiatives promoted by Rotary Brindisi Appia Antica, which has chosen to include the appreciation and promotion of the area’s historical and cultural heritage among its service priorities for the Rotary year, strengthening the connection between memory, identity, and development.

The evening fully reflects the mission of Rotary International, which promotes dialogue among peoples, mutual understanding, and the appreciation of cultural heritage as instruments of peace and cooperation. To recount the Via Egnatia today is to remember that the great roads of antiquity transported not only goods and armies, but above all ideas, knowledge, innovation, and encounters between different civilizations.

The event is open to citizens, scholars, institutions, cultural associations, tourism professionals, and anyone interested in history, archaeology, and the Mediterranean. It offers a unique opportunity to rediscover Brindisi’s central role in the network of ancient Roman consular roads and its deep ties with the Balkan and eastern worlds.

The initiative also seeks to encourage reflection on the contemporary value of Europe’s ancient cultural routes, which are increasingly recognized as tools for sustainable development, cultural tourism, and international cooperation.

## Event Details

### THE VIA EGNATIA
**Continuation of the Via Appia and Brindisi: Gateway to the East**

**Speaker:** Franco Lovato
**Moderator:** Angelo Sconosciuto
**Audio/Video Direction:** Agostino Marco Basile

📍 **Castle Atrium – Mesagne**
📅 **August 21, 2026**
🕣 **9:00 p.m.**

Admission is free while places remain available.

> “Roman roads did not merely connect cities and territories: they built bridges between civilizations. The Via Egnatia continues to remind us today that dialogue, travel, and knowledge are the foundations of a shared future.”