the part of the road closest to Rome, there are three catacombs of Roman and early Christian origin and one of Jewish origin. The construction of Rome's ring road, the Grande Raccordo Anulare or GRA, in 1951 caused the Appian Way to be cut in two. More recent improvements to the GRA have rectified this through the construction of a tunnel under the Appia, so that it is now possible to follow the Appia on foot for about from its beginning near the Baths of Caracalla. Many parts of the original road beyond Rome's environs have been preserved, and some are now used by cars (for example, in the area of Velletri). The road inspires the last movement of Ottorino Respighi's Pini di Roma. To this day the Via Appia contains the longest stretch of straight road in Europe, totaling . Monuments along the Via Appia 1st to 4th mile Porta Appia (Porta San Sebastiano), the gate of the Aurelian Walls Church of Domine Quo Vadis Tomb of Priscilla Catacomb of Callixtus Hypogeum of Vibia San Sebastiano fuori le mura Catacombs of St Sebastian Vigna Randanini Jewish catacombs Circus of Maxentius Tomb of Caecilia Metella Roman baths of Capo di Bove Tomb of Hilarus Fuscus 5th mile Mausoleum of the Orazi and Curiazi Villa dei Quintili, with nympheum, theatre, and baths Mausoleum of Casal Rotondo 6th mile and beyond Minucia tomb Torre Selce Temple of Hercules Berrettia di Prete (tomb and later church) Mausoleum of Gallienus Tres Tabernae Villa of Publius Clodius Pulcher (in the Villa Santa Caterina, owned by the Pontifical North American College), 14th mile Villa of Pompey Roman bridges along the road There are the remains of several Roman bridges along the road, including the Ponte di Tre Ponti, Ponte di Vigna Capoccio, Viadotta di Valle Ariccia, Ponte Alto and Ponte Antico. See also Appian Way Regional Park Park of the Caffarella which borders the northern side of the Appian Way Roman bridge Roman engineering Three Taverns The Pines of the Appian Way, a movement of Ottorino Respighi's tone poem Pines of Rome References Bibliography Berechman, Joseph. 2003. "Transportation––Economic Aspects of Roman Highway Development: The Case of Via Appia." Transportation Research Part A 37, no. 5: 453–78. Coarelli, Filippo. 2007. Rome and environs: An archaeological guide. Translated by James J. Clauss and Daniel P. Harmon. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press. Della Portella, Ivana. 2004. The Appian Way: