A final lost, and a final won
The Via Domitia was the first of the vast network of roads in Gaul (France) built by the Romans, crossing southern France to link Italy and Spain. It was planned by and named after the proconsul, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus in 118 BC, originally for military purposes. Domitius chose the same route that had been taken one hundred years before, in the opposite direction, by Hannibal and like his illustrious predecessor, he rode an elephant.
Arriving in Roussillon, the Via Domitia splits up into two routes, the coastal route, passing through Elne, Saint-Cyprien, Argelès , Collioure, Port-Vendres and Banyuls and the inland route passing through Montescot, Le Boulou, Les Cluses and Le Perthus (Pannissars)
