The
Via Flaminia was an ancient
Roman road leading from
Rome over the
Apennine Mountains to
Ariminum (
Rimini) on the coast of the
Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had for travel between
Etruria,
Latium and
Campania and the
Po Valley. Today the same route, still called by the same name for much of its distance, is paralleled or overlain by Strada Statale (SS) 3, also called Strada Regionale (SR) 3 in
Lazio and
Umbria, and Strada Provinciale (SP) 3 in
Marche. It leaves Rome, goes up the Val Tevere ("Valley of the
Tiber River"), strikes into the mountains at Castello delle Formiche, ascends to
Gualdo Tadino, goes over the divide at
Scheggia Pass, , to
Cagli. From there it descends the eastern slope waterways between the Tuscan-Emilian
Apennines and the Umbrian Apennines to
Fano on the coast and goes north parallel to Highway A1 to
Rimini.