Ostia
Antica
Ostia Antica is a 20-minute
train ride from Rome, and a world away. Its 10,000 acres of excavations
reveal more details of ancient Roman life than any other single site. The
great ruins are beautifully preserved - often up to the second storey of whole
streets - and because it is impossible to glimpse any modern contrivances
and the site is almost always nearly empty, Ostia is the perfect place to
imagine what being a citizen of ancient Rome was really like.
Ostia began as a military post guarding the Tiber estuary into the
Tyrrhenian Sea in about 450 BC. As Rome grew in size and power, so
did its port, filling the surrounding meadows until it was both a
major naval base, and perhaps the most important trading centre in
the Roman Empire. When the Tiber silted up and was no longer navigable, Ostia
was simply abandoned.
At its peak, Ostia was a
flourishing commercial centre with a population of more than 100,000,
whose apartment buildings, taverns, grocery shops and baths are still
intact. The main street, Decumanus Maximus, is more than 2 km (1 miles) long
- you can drag your feet in the deep ruts left by the long-gone
four-wheeled carts that were the main means of ferrying merchandise and
baggage between Rome and the sea.
Visitors are free to wander. There are mosaics and columns everywhere,
but the highlights are such domestic details as the fishmonger's marble
slab and the communal toilets that seated 20 at a time. Behind the
3,500-seat theatre, where live performances are held in summer, is the
forum with the Temple of Ceres at its centre. In addition to temples,
public baths and grand public spaces, you can explore the houses of the
poor and the typical street plan and shops, and be a Roman for a day!
Do not miss the panoramic view from the theatre at Tuscolo. You can get
to Ostia either by rail or road from Rome.
