Appia

The gens Appia was a plebeian family at Rome. Its nomen, Appius, is a patronymic surname based on the praenomen Appius. The gens does not appear to have been very large, and none of its members achieved great importance. The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. 1) Saint Appiano is considered the first evangelizer of the Valdelsa and is the holder of the parish church dedicated to him. Sant’ Appiano is a local saint, not belonging to the Universal Calendar of the Church. 2) The Appiano is a noble family of Pisa originally from Piano o Appiano, formerly known by the toponym of Terra Valda o Terra Walda (from the Lombard “wald,” meaning “forest”) and later changed to Travalda. 3) Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek origin who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. 4) Appius Claudius Sabinus Inregillensis or Regillensis (~500 BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman gens Claudia.