Appii Forum

Appii Forum, meaning “the market-place of Appius,” was a town on the Appian Way, the great Roman road connecting Rome to Brundisium (Brindisi) in southern Italy. Situated approximately forty-three miles south of Rome, it was a busy posting station on a canal route through the Pontine Marshes, known in ancient sources as a rough town frequented by merchants and boatmen. The Roman poet Horace described it with some disdain as crowded with shopkeepers and surly boatmen.

Appii Forum is mentioned in Acts 28:15 as one of the two points where Roman Christians came out to meet Paul as he made his final journey under guard toward the capital. Seeing them, Paul “thanked God and took courage,” a brief phrase that captures both his emotional state and the providential significance of Christian fellowship. A second delegation met him at the Three Taverns, about ten miles closer to Rome. The episode illustrates the existence of a vital Christian community in Rome before Paul's arrival and the news network that had spread word of his approach.