Ostia Antica

The Roman city of Ostia originally sat at the mouth (Ostia is Latin for “mouth”) of the Tiber River but the shoreline silted in and it now sits 3km (2 miles) from the beach.  Ostia Antica was the working Port of Rome over 2,000 years ago.

We headed out this morning from Porto Di Roma where we are keeping Jay Sea Dee for the month of August.  You can take the #1 or the #62 bus from the neighborhood to the Southeast of the marina.  They will take you to the Train Station Lido where you catch the train (in the direction of Rome) and ride it to the Ostia Antica stop (two stops).  The bus/train ticket is only 1 Euro each way so it is a great deal.  Once you exit the train station in Ostia, go over the pedestrian bridge and walk straight ahead to the ticket office.  The entrance fee was only 6.50 Euros.  We had downloaded Rick Steve’s free audio guide from I-tunes so we didn’t buy the guidebook.  I had also downloaded the map from the internet for free.

  As you enter you are surrounded by the Necropolis (City of the Dead).  Ostia was a Pagan city and did not believe in an after-life so in the early years you would be buried along the road with a sign stating your name and occupation.  Then you get to the main Gate – Porta Romana built in the first century BC:

 

As you pass through the main Gate you are walking on basalt paver stones that create the main road called Decumanus Maximus.  Along this road are Warehouses (Magazzini Repubblicani) where grain, spices, etc. would be housed before getting moved to Rome.

We then came to the Baths of Neptune.  This is where ancient romans came to bath, workout, and socialize.  On the floor is a huge mosaic of Neptune riding four horses through the sea.

Next we entered the Theater.  The men got to sit in the lower sections while the women had to sit up in the higher sections.  This was part of the gender division in Roman times.  The theater holds about 4,000 people.  It is still used today for entertainment.  It is surrounded by a commercial square with many intact mosaics introducing the shops services.

 

One of my favorite stops was the Mill or the Bakery from 120 AD.  The lava stones were used to grind grain.  You can see where wooden poles would be inserted near the top of the millstone.  They would be attached to slaves or mules to turn the mill and the powdered flour would come out of the bottom bowl.

Via Case Di Diana.  On this street we found an old tavern.  The bar can still be seen.  Also a fresco advertising food, drinks and music.  John is ordering five drinks at the bar…in Roman talk…haha.  There are also many typical five-story apartment buildings used by the middle class.  You can climb up and down and all around. 

  

The Forum is the center of Ostia.  On one side was another bathing area…The Forum Baths.  These were the largest in the city.  The baths were heated.  The Romans were great with radiant floor heating.  Slaves would keep the water heated by stoking the wood fire furnace underneath the floor.  The water was then piped into the bath area. (see last photo)  What a hot job that would have been.  People used a lot of olive oil in the baths so they had to be skimmed by the slaves as well.  Opposite the baths is a large public latrine with twenty “marble” seats.  The cutout was to accommodate the sponge on a stick which was used instead of toilet paper.  Rushing water below each seat did the flushing and cleaning.  John had to try the Roman “thrones”.

    

We saw many other ruins that were very well kept but don’t want to bore you any further.  I just couldn’t believe how you can touch and feel everything and walk on the mosaics.  Visiting Ostia Antica really gave you the feel of what it might have been like in its hay day.  This is a must for any visit to Rome.  The ruins are well marked in English and the crowds were minimal compared to the Forum.