Touring Tuesday - On Hannibal's Trail

Crossing the Trebbia River with bicycles instead of elephants

The Wood brothers from Australia, came up with the idea of following Hannibal's route from Spain through the Alps into Italy while making a documentary. The documentary would simultaneously tell the story of Hannibal's march and their bicycle ride. Two years later they started filming for the BBC.

Hannibal's father fought in the First Punic War. His attack would start the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome. To get into Italy, Hannibal had to cross the Alps with an army that consisted of thousands of infantry and cavalry, and 37 war elephants. Despite having a smaller army, he inflicted three major defeats on the Romans in the first three years of the war. The third one, the Battle of Cannae, is considered his masterpiece. Using his superiority in cavalry, he surrounded and annihilated a much larger Roman army.

During their tour, the Wood brothers visit the battlefields, along with other relevant sites. At the starting point of their journey (Cartagena, Spain) they visit the Punic Wall Museum, which shows the ancient fortifications around the city. It should be noted that there is no agreement by scholars on Hannibal's exact route. This topic was discussed in a recent issue of National Geographic. Here's a short video about the Wood brothers' documentary: