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30 km (19 miles) southwest of Rome.
Getting Here
The best way to get to Ostia Antica is by train. The Ostia Lido train leaves every half hour from the station adjacent to Rome’s Piramide Metro B subway station, stopping off at Ostia Antica en route. The trip takes 35 minutes. By car, take the Via del Mare that leads off from Rome’s EUR district. Be prepared for heavy traffic, especially at peak hours, on weekends, and in summer.
Exploring
Founded around the 4th century BC, Ostia served as Rome’s port city for several centuries until the Tiber changed course, leaving the town high and dry. What has been excavated here is a remarkably intact Roman town. To get the most out of a visit, fair weather and good walking shoes are essential. On hot days, be here when the gates open or go late in the afternoon. A visit to the excavations takes two to three hours, including 20 minutes for the museum. Inside the site, there’s a snack bar and a bookshop. Ostia Antica is 30 km (19 miles) southwest of Rome.
A Good Walk: Ostia Antica
The Porta Romana 1, one of the city’s three gates, is where you enter the Ostia Antica excavations. It opens onto the Decumanus Maximus, the main thoroughfare crossing the city from end to end. To your right, a staircase leads to a platform—the remains of the upper floor of the Terme di Nettuno 2 (Baths of Neptune)—from which you get a good view of the mosaic pavements showing a marine scene with Neptune and the sea goddess Amphitrite. Behind the baths are the barracks of the fire department. On the north side of the Decumanus Maximus is the beautiful Teatro 3 (Theater), built by Agrippa, remodeled by Septimius Severus in the 2nd century AD, and restored by the Rome City Council in the 20th century. In the vast Piazzale delle Corporazioni, where trade organizations had their offices, is the Tempio di Cerere 4 (Temple of Ceres)—highly appropriate for a town dealing in grain imports, Ceres being the goddess of agriculture. From there you can visit the Domus di Apuleio 5 (House of Apuleius), built in Pompeian style, lower to the ground and with fewer windows than was characteristic of Ostia. Next door, the Mithraeum 6 has balconies and a hall decorated with symbols of the cult of Mithras, whose beliefs and symbols may have been imported from Persia.
On Via Semita dei Cippi, just off Via dei Molini, the Domus della Fortuna Annonaria 7 (House of Fortuna Annonaria) is the richly decorated residence of a wealthy Ostian; one of the rooms opens onto a secluded garden. On Via dei Molini you can see a molino 8 (mill), where grain was ground with stones that are still here. Along Via di Diana you come upon a thermopolium 9 (bar) with a marble counter and a fresco depicting the foods sold here.
At the end of Via dei Dipinti is the Museo Ostiense 10 (Ostia Museum), which displays sarcophagi, massive marble columns, and large statuary. (The last entry to the museum is a half hour before the Scavi closes.) The Forum 11, on the south side of Decumanus Maximus, holds the monumental remains of the city’s most important temple, dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. It’s also the site of other ruins of baths, a basilica (which in Roman times was a hall of justice), and smaller temples.
Via Epagathiana leads toward the Tiber, where there are large horrea 12 (warehouses) erected during the 2nd century AD for the enormous amounts of grain imported into Rome during the height of the Empire. West of Via Epagathiana, the Domus di Amore e Psiche 13 (House of Cupid and Psyche), a residence, was named for a statue found here (now on display in the museum); the house’s enclosed garden is decorated with marble and mosaic motifs and has the remains of a large pool. The Casa di Serapide 14 (House of Serapis) on Via della Foce is a 2nd-century multilevel dwelling; another apartment building stands a street over on Via degli Aurighi. Nearby, the Termi dei Sette Sapienti 15 (Baths of the Seven Wise Men) are named for a group of bawdy frescoes. The Porta Marina 16 leads to what used to be the seashore and the sinagoga 17, dating from the 4th century AD.
Castello della Rovere.
Before exploring Ostia Antica’s ruins, it’s worth taking a tour through the medieval borgo (town). The distinctive Castello della Rovere, easily spotted as you come off the footbridge from the train station, was built by Pope Julius II when he was the cardinal bishop of Ostia in 1483. Its triangular form is unusual for military architecture. Inside are (badly faded) frescoes by Baldassare Peruzzi and a small museum of ancient Roman and
medieval pottery that was found on the site. | Piazza della Rocca | 00119 | 06/56358013 | www.ostiaantica.net | Free | Tues.–Sat. tours at 10 and noon; Sun. tours at 10, noon, and 3.
Fodor’s Choice | Scavi di Ostia Antica (Ostia Antica excavations). Tidal mud and windblown sand covered the ancient port town, which lay buried until the beginning of the 20th century, when it was extensively excavated. The Scavi di Ostia Antica continue to be well maintained today. A cosmopolitan population of rich businessmen, wily merchants, sailors, slaves, and their respective families once populated the city. The great warehouses were built in the 2nd century AD to handle huge shipments of grain from Africa; the insulae (forerunners of the modern apartment building) provided housing for the city’s growing population. Under the combined assaults of the barbarians and the malaria-carrying mosquito, and after the Tiber changed course, the port was eventually abandoned. | Viale dei Romagnoli 717 | 00119 | 06/56350215 | www.ostiaantica. net | €6.50 includes Museo Ostiense | Tues.–Sun. 8:30–1 hr before sunset.
Where to Eat
Cipriani.
$ | ITALIAN | Tucked away in the little medieval town under the shadow of the castle, this cozy trattoria is decorated with reproductions of fresco fragments from a Roman palace. The kitchen offers a varied menu of Roman specialties and seasonal fare. Owner Fabrizio Cipriani speaks English and will be happy to guide you in your choice of dishes—and wine from his comprehensive list. | Average cost: €30 | Via del Forno 11 | 00119 | 06/56352956 | www.ristorantecipriani.com | Closed Wed.
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