Travelling first class? Emperors, dignitaries and intellectuals on the roads of the Roman Empire

Ancient sources are very generous in telling us about journeys undertaken by several categories of people, from emperors to the poorest fellows. During these trips, all travelers made use of infrastructures for accommodation and refreshment for themselves and their animals, stopping over at inns, hostels, sometimes at private houses or in public institutions, or even “camping” along the road. In this paper we will survey part of this rich catalogue of people of all walks of life, focusing on those who travelled for ‘state’ or ‘diplomatic’ reasons. We will try to understand if their modalities of travel differed from those of common people, besides the fact that many high officers, magistrates and even some intellectuals were provided with the diploma, the pass that awarded the right to make free use of certain facilities offered at road stations. Therefore, we will investigate if any archaeological evidence can support the existence of different ranks of accommodation spread along the roads of the Empire.