Ostia Antica archeaological site

As its name suggests (from ostium, "mouth"), the ancient city of Ostia owes its existence to the proximity of the Tiber and the sea. Indeed, before the flood of 1557, the river's course was very different from its current course, skirting the northern edge of the town, while now it only touches a short stretch to the west. The sea, too, was once closer than it is today.

According to tradition, the Roman king Ancus Marcius founded Ostia around 620 BC to exploit the salt marshes at the mouth of the Tiber. The oldest known remains, however, date to later times, dating to the second half of the 4th century BC: they are the ruins of a tuff block fortress (castrum), built by Roman colonists to defend the mouth of the Tiber and the Lazio coast. With Rome's dominance of the Mediterranean (2nd century BC), Ostia lost its military function to become, as a river port, the capital's main trading post.

By the end of the Republican era, Ostia was already a prosperous walled commercial center. In the 2nd century AD, it became increasingly prosperous and populous (some estimates put the population at 50,000), and hosted a variety of economic and commercial activities linked to the nearby Imperial Ports of Claudius and Trajan. This period saw the development of the Forum and the construction of baths, horrea (grain storage facilities), scholae (headquarters for professional associations), insulae (large rental buildings), and the Capitolium (the city's main temple). From the mid-3rd century AD, many commercial activities were transferred to Portus, and literary sources show that by the mid-6th century AD, Ostia appeared abandoned and isolated, with navigation on the river fraught with obstacles and the Via Ostiensis by then overgrown.

Address

Viale dei Romagnoli, 717

Free admission on the first Sunday of every month to all monuments, museums, galleries, parks and monumental gardens in the State.

Opening hours

For opening hours, see the individual websites. Updates and visiting hours: https://www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it/it/orari-e-tariffe

Events  https://www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it/it/eventi/

Website: https://www.coopculture.it/it/citta/ostia-antica/

Website: https://www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it/

Telephone: 06 39967950

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