Nodes. New Perspectives on Road- and River-Stations and Communication Networks in Roman Italy

After more than a decade of stasis, following the publication of important works that dwelled in different ways on the organisation of the Roman transportation system (e.g. Di Paola 1999, Corsi 2000, Kolb 2000), a new season of research has focused on the matter of Roman road-stations. However, in spite of the huge amount of archaeological data that has been collected in the past fifteen years the scientific questionnaire has not been radically renewed. Most frustrating is the fact that the interpretation process has not been able to overcome the impasse caused by the inescapable link to the cursus publicus. Here, we will try to disclose new perspectives on the nodes, the hubs where land- and waterways overlapped, reviewing some of the most interesting case studies in Roman Italy. The new evidence will be confronted with original theoretical frameworks, which challenge the traditional vision of the uneven relationship between overland and sea transport, in order to revitalise a research agenda that bares crucial importance for the study of the Roman economy and connectivity.