the dark ages of road construction

 

This is the Appian Way a few miles outside of Rome.  It was built around 300 BC to move soldiers and it connected Rome to Brindisi, in south eastern Italy.

This is the road near our wwoof farm in Umbria.  It served for about 15 years and then the government decided to improve it.  That “improvement” lasted less than a year before sliding away and now they’re back at it again.  It’s easy to spot the places where the newest work has collapsed yet again.  The land to the north is covered in debris and sand and mud from all the shoddy work.