Take Me Home, Roman Roads

Join me as I travel in the footsteps of ancient Roman migrants, medieval pilgrims, and my ancestors.

TAKE ME HOME, ROMAN ROADS explores the complicated history that shaped Europe following the Sack of Rome in 410 CE and resulting migrations north. I plan to follow the Roman Limes (its limits, aka frontiers), towards the borderland towns in Germany, France, and other places that my ancestors once called home.

In this series, we will travel from Rome to Amsterdam and lots of points in between, including Milan, Mainz, Köln, and Aachen—all cities that link Rome with the present day in ways chronological and cultural. I will use family history to guide me to state archives and abandoned villages.

I welcome your help in connecting me to people and locations along the way.

More than just a travel guide, TAKE ME HOME, ROMAN ROADS explores cultural connections. Come along with me as I explore Charlemagne’s former domain in search of family files and folk-rock festivals.

Inspired by the universality of John Denver’s timeless hit “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” this series will also focus on music, genealogy, and finding new ways to understand how the world is connected.

I’m not yet sure where TAKE ME HOME, ROMAN ROADS will lead, but one goal is to be in Osnabrück on 25 October 2026—Friedenstag—to see how the city of my exchange year in Germany commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia. (I know I’m late to the 375th anniversary, but I’d like to make it there before the 380th in 2028.)

I also want to speak to experts who can help this American learn why my ancestors migrated west across the Atlantic to an unknown land. What times did they leave behind? What stories did they hide?

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Roman Roads: The Prequel

Related articles at the intersection of Rome, roads, and cultural migration

The Roman Spring of Tennessee Williams

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