An ancient Roman statio (Latin for "position" or "location", pl. stationes) was a stopping place on a Roman road for travellers looking for shelter for the night and a change of horses. The name of the statio was sometimes a town or city with suitable accommodation, such as inns, and sometimes a dedicated building between larger settlements. [1] They often included thermal baths in the facilities.
They are often referred to in English as a waystation or poststation.
They were sometimes identical to, or complementary to, mansiones, maintained by the central government for those on official business whilst travelling.
Stationes are mostly known through the famous Antonine Itinerary, a register of stationes and their distances along various roads of the Roman Empire, seemingly based on official documents, possibly from a survey carried out under Augustus. [2]
Examples of stationes are:
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The Antonine Itinerary is an itinerarium, a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes the roads of the Roman Empire. Owing to the scarcity of other extant records of this type, it is a valuable historical record.
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An itinerarium was an ancient Roman travel guide in the form of a listing of cities, villages (vici) and other stops on the way, including the distances between each stop and the next. Surviving examples include the Antonine Itinerary and the Bordeaux Itinerary.
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