Paul's Journey to Rome Map

Journey 59-60 A.D. - House arrest ca. 60-67 A.D.

Paul's Fourth Journey to Rome is recorded in Acts 27 and 28.

The circumstances of Paul's Voyage to Rome were far different from his earlier travels. Before, he was a free man; this time, he was a prisoner of the Romans.

The Journey to Rome began in early fall of 59 A.D. and ended the following spring of 60 A.D. after a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea near Malta.

After Paul's arrival in Jerusalem at the end of his Third Missionary Journey, he went up to the Temple where some "Asian Jews" stirred up a riot against him and he became involved in a serious conflict with them, but a Roman officer arrested him and took him to safety saving his life.

The conflict eventually led to Paul being detained by the Romans and imprisoned in Caesarea for two years.

From that moment on, Paul remained in custody, until he invoked his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to Caesar himself. So the governor arranged for Paul to be taken by ship to Rome under escort and as a prisoner on charges of sedition and causing serious unrest in Jerusalem.

Paul, along with some other prisoners, was delivered to a centurion of the Augustan Regiment named Julius and boarded a ship of Adramyttium.

The winter season was approaching, but this did not prevent it from setting sail from Caesarea; the route skirted Sidon and the island of Cyprus, Cilicia and Pamphylia, with transshipment on an Alexandrian ship at Myra in Lycia (modern day Turkey).

Along the way, they stopped at the southern coast of Crete, off Salmone, for safe harbor. The centurion and the owner of the ship chose not to wait out the weather at Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea, as they should have, and headed for the port of Phoenix, a harbor on the island of Crete. Paul warned them that the journey was going to end in catastrophe.

Acts 27:10 - "Paul advised them, saying: 'Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives'."

However, the centurion did not listen to Paul, he chose to listen to the owner of the ship and the helmsman instead and the ship set sail.

Shortly after, a catastrophic storm took control of the ship and after about fourteen days tossed at sea, losing the entire cargo, the ship was driven to wreck in Malta. There they swam to land and Paul, the crew, the soldiers and all the prisoners on board, two hundred and seventy-six people total, were all saved miraculously.

In Malta, they stayed for three months until the arrival of spring, so Paul had a chance to spread the Gospel message there, as well, and healed many of their sicknesses and diseases.

Finally, the following spring, Paul sailed from Malta in an Alexandrian ship to Italy after the shipwreck.

From there, in a relatively short time, after stopping in Syracuse for three days and Rhegium, the apostle finally reached Puteoli (= modern day Pozzuoli), where he found "brothers in the faith" and stayed with them for seven days.

From the city port of Puteoli, Paul continued on foot the long journey that would take him to Rome, where he was to stand trial before Caesar for his alleged crimes of sedition, traveling along the Appian Way.

Along the way, the Apostle was welcomed at Appii Forum, a settlement located at mile XLIII of the Appian Way near today's Borgo Fàiti.

The settlement of Appii Forum is mentioned in Horace's V satire, where the poet, during his journey from Rome to Brindisi in 37 B.C., described the night he spent at the mercy of a lazy boatman who was supposed to take him in a short time to Terracina by walking along the ancient canal that ran along the Regina Viarum.

Appii Forum was in fact equipped with a river port, but unfortunately, it is not possible to establish with certainty whether in Paul's case the stretch from Terracina up to Appii Forum was covered on foot or by boat.

In the Book of Acts of the Apostles, we find another settlement mentioned, identified at the XXXIII mile of the Appian Way, where Paul would find a group of "brothers in the faith" that comforted and encouraged him.

It is the site of the Tres Tabernae (Three Inns), an ancient "mansus" rediscovered along the state highway, a few kilometers before reaching the town of Cisterna di Latina, which also appears in the famous Tabula Peutingeriana (= The Peutinger Map), an illustrated ancient Roman road map showing the layout of the road network of the Roman Empire (= cursus publicus).

A "mansus" was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via Romana, maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business while travelling.

Numerous public and private buildings, a small bathhouse and a series of splendid mosaics have come to light in the archaeological area of Tres Tabernae, just waiting to be properly enhanced.

When Paul arrived in Rome, the centurion delivered all the prisoners, him included, to the captain of the guard.

Paul was allowed to dwell on his own under house arrest, enjoying the regime of custodia militaris (= military custody) awaiting his trial before Caesar.

According to the Book of Acts Paul preached in Rome for two years while awaiting trial, but nobody can say for sure how long after that the sentencing was carried out.

A few years later, in what was then the capital of the Roman Empire, Paul would find death by beheading probably at Ad Aquas Salvias and be buried at the site of what is now Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, according to tradition, although no-one can say for certainty if these alleged sites of the beheading and burial of Paul are the places where those events actually took place.

The Paul's Voyage to Rome Map outlines his Final Journey.

CAN YOU VISIT THE BIBLE LANDS OF ITALY WHERE PAUL JOURNEYED TO ROME ON THE APPIAN WAY?

Many Christians travel to Rome every year to explore the roots of their faith and walk in the footsteps of the apostle Paul and visit the region at the center of Paul's last journey to Italy where he stayed while awaiting his trial before Caesar.

On-line you can find many options for traveling there, including many guided tours of Rome, departing from major U.S. and Canada airports.

Faith based travels will make the Bible come alive and help you retrace the steps of Christian history by reliving Paul's journey and walking where he walked in his efforts to bring the Gospel message to the Gentile nations.