The Via Flaminia was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to Ariminum (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had for travel between Etruria, Latium and Campania and the Po Valley. Today the same route, still called by the same name for much of its distance, is paralleled or overlain by Strada Statale (SS) 3, also called Strada Regionale (SR) 3 in Lazio and Umbria, and Strada Provinciale (SP) 3 in Marche. It leaves Rome, goes up the Val Tevere ("Valley of the Tiber River"), strikes into the mountains at Castello delle Formiche, ascends to Gualdo Tadino, goes over the divide at Scheggia Pass, 575 m (1,886 ft), to Cagli. From there it descends the eastern slope waterways between the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Umbrian Apennines to Fano on the coast and goes north parallel to Highway A1 to Rimini.

This route, convenient to ancients, is now far from it due to heavy modern traffic between north Italy and the capital. It remains a country road, while the traffic crosses by railway and autostrada through dozens of tunnels between Florence and Bologna, a shorter, more direct route under the ridges and nearly inaccessible passes.