Here you will find information for professional archaeologists and historians, for students of roman archaeology and history, and for interested laypeople. It ran west 30 kilometres 19 mi from the city of rome to its important sea port of ostia antica, from which it took its name. Nowadays, ostia antica is a large archaeological site. May 16, 2017 ostiathe ancient port of rome rome ostia antica rome, italy 41 75 81. Its awesome to walk over the old streets where the ancient romans walked. Many slaves were manual labourers, others were clerks and accountants.
Once established, the port took on commercial functions associated with supplying rome with food. During the age of hadrian there were about 50,000 inhabitants. Visiting ostia is like visiting tivoli and hadrians villa. I was fortunate enough to get invited on an ostia antica tour with a. Ostia was the first harbour of rome, situated at the mouth of the river tiber. The ruins of ostia antica are a fascinating and mysterious timeless place. At the mouth of the river tiber, ostia was romes seaport, but due to silting the site now lies 3 kilometres 2 miles from the sea.
Fco to ostia antica and back rome forum tripadvisor. Ostia was a port of republican rome and a commercial centre under the empire after 27 bce. Thanks to this city born at the mouth of the tiber ostia comes from latin ostium, door took place an unceasing and invaluable trade with rome. Find out where it is and what the closest landmarks are on our interactive map. While the roman ruins in the heart of rome like the colosseum and the forum may be packed with tourists, a ride out of the city can lead you to some of the bestpreserved ruins in the area, the ancient port of ostia antica. The remains of ostia are a testament to its importance a large theatre, many baths and temples, taverns and inns, and even a lighthouse. Originally the tiber flowed into the sea precisely at the spot where the romans founded the ancient port city of ostia in the 4 th century b. Thought to be the first roman colony, ostia antica was the harbour city of ancient rome and is noted for its impressive mosaics, frescoes and wellpreserved ruins, which give a glimpse into how life was 2000 years ago.
In roman architecture, an insula latin for island, plural insulae was a kind of apartment building that housed most of the urban citizen population of ancient rome, including ordinary people of lower or middleclass status the plebs and all but the wealthiest. You have to decide, whether you want to earn money for your goods or whether you want to donate some of them to the senate. Rome, portus and the mediterranean the british school at rome. Eventually ostia would became the main harbour of rome, but this took some. The ruins are next to the medieval village ostia antica. Oct 05, 2015 nice tour to the old port city of rome. Many of ostia anticas inhabitants lived in apartment buildings. In week two we will look at the trajanic phase, or period two. Get free entry to two out of five of rome s best attractions, unlimited public transport and even a hoponhopoff bus tour. Here you will find information for professional archaeologists and historians, for students of. Romes ostiense neighborhood is located in the south part of the city, between testaccio and garbatella.
This phase covers the development of the port during the. The ruins of ostia antica are a fascinating and mysterious timeless place to fully understand the greatness of rome you must pass through here and walk among the remains of what used to be in imperial times a very important commercial and port city. Location map of the two cores, compared to the geophysical studies of heinzelmann. The port system of imperial rome simon keay introduction p ortus, the maritime port of imperial rome, was located some 30km to the southwest of rome, and just under 3km to the north of ostia at the mouth of the tiber.
Situated at the mouth, or ostium in latin, of the tiber and about 20 miles from rome, the remains of this once great port town of 60,000 still stand today. Its easy to visit the excavations on a day trip from rome. Visiting ostia antica, romes ancient seaport with context. Located just 19 miles 30 km west of rome and on the river tiber. The neighborhood is also delineated by the porta san paolo, a 3rdcentury gate in the aurelian walls, which is considered the start of via ostiense, the road that. According to roman historians the settlement was founded by the fourth king of rome, ancus marcius. It was the major portespecially significant in grain tradefor republican rome until its harbour, partly obstructed by a sandbar, became inadequate for large vessels. Among all ports of rome, the most important port of course was romes own port ostia see a harbour for rome. As the port was the entrance to rome, about 20 miles away, the city of ostia antica gained importance and grew. Serving rome as the chief naval and commercial port in italy, ostia represented both a microcosm of roman urban life as well as a community of rich diversity. Dec 14, 2016 the harbour of ancient rome, ostia antica, served as perhaps one of the most important hubs of commerce for the roman republic and later the roman empire.
An easy train ride from rome, ostia antica is one of italys most thrilling archaeological sites. At the mouth of the river tiber, ostia was romes seaport, but due to silting. Ostia remained fairly insignificant until the 1 st century ad, when changes by julius caesar and tiberius led to the increasing importance of the town, as a growing urban area and port near rome. The development and characteristics of ancient harbours. When rome developed a navy, ostia became a naval station, and during the punic wars 264201 bce it served as the main fleet base on the west coast of italy. Now its a rich and varied archaeological site, and well worth leaving rome for a few hours to explore.
Take the train from the pyramid station to ostia, walk across the bridge and you are in this old historic site. Locate the best sights and attractions in rome using our free pdf tourist map. During ancient rome it was one of the most thriving cities in the region thanks to its status as romes harbour city. May 10, 20 ostia or ostia antica lies 15 km from the city of rome for which it served as the citys principal port and harbour throughout antiquity. The oldest remains that have been found belong to a castrum a military camp, dating to ca.
Discover the connections with the train stations in rome and with the airports. Later, around 400 bc, rome conquered ostia and made it a naval base, complete with a fort. Most of the wheat was imported from egypt and north. The name itself is derived from the latin word ostium for estuary. Port of ostia the above sesterius of nero depicts an aerial view of the port of ostia with eight ships inside the harbor. The neighbourhood was founded in 1884, near the remains of ostia antica, the port city of ancient rome. Beni culturali e ambientali, 1986 and using old maps and coastal. Portus, as the primary port of rome itself, was the cornerstone of that system. This major undertaking begun in 42 ce took about 20 years to complete, the new port finally being dedicated under nero in 64 ce but it seems to have been in use as early as 62 ce. At the mouth of the river tiber, ostia was rome s seaport, but due to silting the site now lies 3 kilometres 2 miles from the sea. Construction on the port of ostia was begun in 42 ad under claudius, by sinking one of caligulas pleasure ships that. This is the start of a mysterious and fascinating trip.
I was fortunate enough to get invited on an ostia antica tour with a guide from context travel. Ancient roman portcity ostia short history website. To avoid public unrest, the rulers of ancient rome needed to ensure the steady supply of wheat and other foodstuffs to the city. You could take a taxi immediately coming out of the airport, have a not too long visit of ostia antica, then take the romalido to lido centro around 12. View parts of ancient buildings, baths, shoppes, restaurants, and cemeteries. Get free entry to two out of five of romes best attractions, unlimited public transport and even a hoponhopoff bus tour. The senate grants victory points for the most needed goods, but no money. In ostia, a search for the secrets of romes port wsj. At the mouth of the river tiber, ostia was rome s seaport, but due to silting the. You can see the separate units if you climb the stairs inside. This website is dedicated to ostia, the harbour city of ancient rome.
Ostia antica, romes ancient port marthas italy travel guide. Map of ostia rome1 rome the history from kings to the. The road began near the forum boarium, ran between the aventine hill and the tiber river along its left eastern bank, and left the citys servian walls through the porta trigemina. Legend has it that ostia antica was founded at the mouth of the tiber in the 7th century bc by king ancus marciusto to protect rome from attacks coming via the sea. A map created by the portus project shows ostia and the port complex at portus, and many of its major features around the century a. Therefore you have to put some goods to the market, hoping that they are rarely sold there to earn enough money. The train also goes to to ostia lido or ostia stella polare if youre looking to spend some time at the beach. The name derives from os or ostium which means mouth and refers to the citys location at the mouth of the river tiber. Ostia is an economic game of trading goods and donating them to the senate of rome. The romans considered ostia their first colony and attributed its founding for the purpose of salt production to their fourth king, ancus marcius 7th century bce. Ostia antica, via dei romagnoli, 717, rome rm, lazio, italy. This place is situated in roma, lazio, italy, its geographical coordinates are 41 45 0 north, 12 18 0 east and its original name with diacritics is ostia antica. Map of ostia antica hotels and attractions on a ostia. Map of the pollen red dots and macrofossil records yellow dots of alnus along the.
The importance of ostia as a port city increased dramatically after claudius undertook to build two great moles at portus, about 3 km northwest of ostia. The port continued to flourish under the empire, despite the development, of portus, a new port slightly to the northwest, in the 2nd century ad. Archaeologists have found on the site a fort of the mid4th century bce, but nothing older. How to get to the port of civitavecchia port mobility. At the top is a pharos surmounted by a statue of neptune, below is a reclining figure of tiber holding a rudder in his right hand and a dolphin in his left. To fully understand the greatness of rome you must pass through here and walk among the remains of what used to be in imperial times a very important commercial and port city. Find any address on the map of ostia antica or calculate your itinerary to and from ostia antica, find all the tourist attractions and michelin guide restaurants in ostia antica. The growth of ostia into a major urban centre begins at. If you prefer private transportation and a guided tour, book an ancient ostia halfday trip from rome with pick up and drop off at your rome hotel and a guided tour of ostia antica in english. A guide to exploring ostia antica, romes ancient port city. Ostia antica opening hours, tickets and how to get there rome. This ebook is an introduction to ostia in 233 pages, fully illustrated by 243 photos, maps and diagrams. Rome, portus and the mediterranean british school at rome. After a long history of excavations, today ostia is one of the largest and most interesting archaeological sites in italy.
Geoarchaeology confirms location of the ancient harbour basin of. The early years and development of ostia ostia was founded in the fourth century bc by the roman king ancus marcius, although grant attributes the founding to a later king, servius tullius. Ostia antica archeological ruins port mobility civitavecchia. A guide to ostia antica, rome tour roma experience. By ad 150, when rome controlled all the mediterranean, ostia served as its busy commercial port. A guide to exploring ostia antica, romes ancient port city share this article. After the collapse of the empire, the city fell into decadence, was eventually abandoned and remained untouched and magnificently preserved for centuries. Ostia antica, the excavations of the ancient roman port, makes a fine day trip done with a single. Ostia antica is a large archaeological site, close to the modern town of ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient rome, 15 miles southwest of rome. Apr 17, 2018 serving rome as the chief naval and commercial port in italy, ostia represented both a microcosm of roman urban life as well as a community of rich diversity.
The map shows the location of the harbour basins, the canals that. There are buses of cotral between fiumicino and the station lido centro piazzale della stazione. The ostia harbor, located on the river channel accord. Pdf ostia is one of the most extensively excavated cities of the roman period. It wasnt very crowded, so we were able to let our imaginations wander. Ostia is also the only municipio or district of rome on the tyrrhenian sea, and many romans spend the summer holidays there.
Reserve a whole day for your visit not just to relax, but also because ostia deserves it. History, facts and travel tips about ancient ostia in republican times ostia was rome s main commercial port and a military base defending the coastline and the mouth of the tiber. Aug 26, 2010 we explored the amazing ruins of ostia antica on a beautiful, late october day. Its also surprisingly quiet, given the quality of the ruins and the proximity to rome. Virtual travel to ancient ostia, italy italyguides. Ostia was the site of the death of saint monica mother of saint augustine in 387 in a house property of the diocesi of rome, on their way back to africa after augustines conversion to christianity. Ostia antica is a large archaeological site, close to the modern town of ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient rome, 15 miles 25 kilometres southwest of rome. Aug 08, 2016 ostia antica, once the bustling port town of ancient rome, fell to ruin after the harbour silted up. The tiber river delta plain and the main roman archaeological sites. Ostia antica became romes main seaport during the roman republic 509 bc 27 bc and the city was largely improved by julius caesar and tiberus, during part of the roman empire. General map showing rome, ostia, portus and centumcellae, as well as the principal roads. Map of ostia antica michelin ostia antica map viamichelin. Read more select points of interest to plot on map by type top attractions top hotels top restaurants top entertainment top nightlife top shopping. Nevertheless, the romans slowly began to depend on other ports, meaning that the commercial activity in ostia slowed down until it fell into decay during the.
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