The roads to your closest “Rome” in the U.S.
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The phrase “All roads lead to Rome” is an expression that conveys the idea that there are many different paths or methods to reach a common goal or destination. It originates from the ancient road network of the Roman Empire, which was an extensive system of highways and roads radiating out from the city of Rome to various parts of the empire.
During the peak of the Roman Empire, Rome served as the capital and political center, and the road network was developed to facilitate trade, communication, and military movements. The roads were meticulously constructed, and they connected Rome to its provinces, allowing the Roman legions to travel swiftly and efficiently to different parts of the empire.
As a result of this well-developed road system, it became a common saying that “All roads lead to Rome.” This phrase reflects the idea that, regardless of where you were in the Roman Empire, there would always be a road network that would ultimately lead back to the capital city.
Metaphorically, the expression has come to mean that there are multiple paths or methods to achieve a particular objective or reach a common destination. It suggests that there are various ways to approach a problem or reach a desired outcome, but ultimately, they all converge toward the same result, just as the roads of the Roman Empire converged at Rome.
Benedikt Groß and his team created an interactive map that allows you to build a map of all the roads leading to Rome. And any other city can serve as “Rome”.
The map below illustrates all the roads that lead in the shortest possible way to the cities in the United States that are called Rome.
Roads to Romes (US)

On the following map, the capital of each of the American states serves as “Rome.”
Roads to Federal Capitals
