Via Mediolanum-Verbannus

The Via Mediolanum-Verbannus is the modern name given to a Roman road located in the .
Constructed between the late Republican era and the early decades of the Imperial era, it connected Mediolanum to the Verbannus Lacus and onward to the Simplon Pass, facilitating passage across the Alps.
A 19th-century theory suggests it was expanded by Emperor Septimius Severus.
Designed for terrestrial transport, this road was complemented by waterways, primarily the Olona River, enabling both land and water-based movement.
Much of its route, reused during the Middle Ages and beyond, was later adapted by Napoleon Bonaparte for the.

History

The Mediolanum-Verbannus was built following the, after the pacification of Alpine territories.
Initially, the Romans relied on water routes along the Olona River, heavily utilized from the late Republican era into the early Imperial era. The Olona, along with its many tributaries and Lombard lakes, formed an extensive network of navigable waterways.
This trade fostered the establishment of towns and villages along the route. Existing settlements also prospered, their predominantly agricultural economies experiencing growth.
To support this development, a terrestrial road network was needed to complement the waterways, enhancing connectivity among villages and small towns. Similarly, significant waterway improvements were undertaken in Milan.
Thus, a road was constructed along the Milan-Verbano axis, augmented by lateral branches linking rural settlements. However, no documentary evidence of its construction exists, leading to decades of belief that the Roman government funded no terrestrial roads in the Insubrian region. Indeed, no are found here. For years, archaeological evidence of this road was also absent.
After abandonment during the Barbarian invasions, the Mediolanum-Verbannus saw renewed use in the Middle Ages.
During this period, it became one of the pilgrimage routes, with travelers heading to Milan passing along what was then called the Via Romana.
Much of its medieval path was later repurposed by Napoleon Bonaparte for the Sempione State Road. In Legnano, both the ancient medieval road and the modern Sempione route are colloquially known as the "strada magna".

Studies

Ancient sources on Insubrian geography are scarce, mostly dating from the 2nd century BC onward.
This paucity long deterred studies of connectivity between Milan and Lake Maggiore, which began in earnest only in the early 1960s. It was then recognized that the route linking Milan, Verbano, and the Simplon Pass, active in the Middle Ages, had far older origins.
A breakthrough came in 1985 when archaeologists uncovered a Roman road segment in Somma Lombardo, near the presumed path to Lake Maggiore, with further finds in 2002. Subsequent discoveries, alongside deeper analysis of existing artifacts like milestones and epigraphic materials, confirmed its Roman-era existence.

Pavement Characteristics

Archaeological investigations in Somma Lombardo revealed that the deepest layers of the Mediolanum-Verbannus pavement consisted of gravel and river pebbles compacted into a clay substrate.
The glareated road surface featured drainage channels along its sides for rainwater. Further analysis indicates it underwent regular maintenance.

Terrestrial Route

The Mediolanum-Verbannus followed a primary southeast-to-northwest axis, with minor cart tracks branching off to connect villages and agricultural settlements.
It originated in Mediolanum, intersecting the Via Gallica, ', Via Regina, ', ', ', ', ', and near the Roman, close to the modern Castello Sforzesco.
The road then headed northwest, skirting the eastern bank of the Olona’s artificial channel, passing through modern Pero, Rho, Nerviano, Parabiago, San Vittore Olona, and Legnano. Archaeological finds between Canegrate and Castellanza suggest a branch toward Saronno.
It reached modern, a hamlet of Castellanza, crossing the Olona via a bridge to the western bank, continuing through Castellanza.
It then skirted Busto Arsizio, proceeded to Gallarate, Cardano al Campo, passed near Arsago Seprio, and arrived at Somma Lombardo, where segments were unearthed in 1985 and 2002.
South of Somma Lombardo, it intersected a Roman road linking Novara and Como via Castelseprio.
From Somma Lombardo, it continued through Sesto Calende, splitting into two endpoints: one directly to Angera along the lakeshore, the other via a hilly route through Taino. Angera, a key Roman lake port on Verbano, facilitated trade with the Val d'Ossola, Muralto, and Bellinzona, accessing Alpine passes like the Novena, Lucomagno, and San Bernardino Pass.
Among routes from Milan to Switzerland, one branched from Sesto Calende, following the right bank of the Ticino through the Val d’Ossola to cross the Alps at the Simplon Pass or Arbola Pass. These challenging paths linked Cisalpine Gaul to the Rhône Valley.
A 19th-century hypothesis of a Roman bridge over the Ticino at Sesto Calende lacks archaeological support. The river’s shifting banks likely necessitated mobile crossings like ferries or pontoon bridges.

Riverine Transport

As noted, the Mediolanum-Verbannus’ terrestrial transport was integrated with extensive water routes utilizing Lombard lakes, the Olona River, and its tributaries.
In Roman times, barges on artificial channels could haul up to 500 quintals of goods, and 300 on river barges, compared to 8–20 quintals by land carts. Pliny the Elder described Northern Italy’s lakes as "immense" for their transport capacity:
Unlike the sea, lakes offered steady, moderate winds and calm waters, aiding ancient fluvial and lacustrine transport. In the Insubrian region, key lakes included Lake Maggiore, Lake Monate, Lake Lugano, Lake Varese, Lake Orta, and Lake Comabbio. Numerous streams, notably the Olona, supported this network. The Ticino was another vital transport river. Southward, the Po connected Insubrian peoples to the Adriatic Sea and Mediterranean Sea.
The Olona was navigable from at least Legnano in Roman times. Other navigable streams included the,, and, all direct or indirect Olona affluents. To boost its capacity, the Romans redirected the Olona toward Milan and the. Originally, at, it flowed south naturally through modern Settimo Milanese, bypassing Milan by several kilometers, following the modern Olona inferiore or meridionale to join the Po at San Zenone.
The Romans diverted it at Lucernate, digging an artificial channel toward Milan alongside the Mediolanum-Verbannus. This integrated land-river system relied on draft animals towing barges upstream.
A waterway paralleling the road was deemed essential to boost trade, given barges’ superior capacity over land transport. This hydraulic feat coincided with the road’s construction in the early Common Era, spanning the late Republican era to the early Imperial era.