Sulle vie dell'Impero tra IV e VI secolo. Il ruolo della Chiesa nel sistema tardoantico di mobilità

Since the second half of the 4th century, the transportation system of the whole empire started to undergo transformations and adaptations. In the first phase, these changes can mainly be seen in the infrastructures of road stations and other stopping places. In most cases these consisted in creating Christian places of worship in the immediate vicinity of the complex which offered services to road traffic. Already during the same 4th century, however, a growing interest in the system of communication networks was noticeable on the part of the Church. This interest was initially implemented only in a set of recommendations for Christian travellers, with regard to increasing the number of Christian hosts to house the faithful during their pilgrimage journey. At the same time, the Church, through its representatives from the clergy, the monks, and many of the élites of the Christian community, and even of the Imperial family, started creating buildings for use in assisting the pilgrims and other kinds of travellers. In a rather short period of time, already before the mid-5th century, the Church was thought of as the institution in charge of managing the road transport system.