mansio

A mansio was a type of official lodging along Roman roads, serving as a rest stop for state functionaries and couriers as part of the cursus publicus, the imperial system for transport and communication. The term comes from Latin mansio, meaning dwelling or inn, and was used to designate both the building and the act of staying there.

A mansio provided accommodation for travellers, fresh horses, fodder, and often administrative facilities such as offices and reception areas. It functioned as a relay point to speed official dispatches and messages across the empire, with services tailored to the needs of officials, messengers, and sometimes local staff. Distances between mansiones varied with road quality and terrain, but they commonly appeared at regular intervals along major routes.

Architecturally, mansiones were typically long, courtyard-oriented complexes with a front reception or offices, sleeping quarters, and stables. Additional facilities could include granaries, kitchens, baths, and guard rooms. They were funded and managed by officials of the cursus publicus and were designed to support both administrative work and routine travel by imperial authorities.

Evidence for mansiones comes from literary sources, road itineraries, and archaeological remains across the Roman world. They are identified by layout, artifacts, inscriptions, and references in sources such as the itineraries and Peutinger table, which map relay stations along roads.

In later periods the term or concept persisted in medieval and modern scholarship as a designation for comparable road-hospitality buildings or inns, and the word remains a toponym in some places.