There are places where the history of ancient Rome, our history, is not only visible, but palpable. You can breathe it and, with a little imagination, you can live it. The archaeological park of Ostia Antica is just one of these places.

Very similar to the archaeological excavations of Pompeii or Herculaneum, the ruins of Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli or the beautiful archaeological park of Paestum, visiting the port of ancient Ostia will take you back in time 2000 years.

You may not have been aware of it but ancient Ostia was founded in the fourth century BC as a colony of Rome. In fact, the city expanded only in the imperial era thanks to its port where goods arrived from every corner of the empire.

I know it will seem strange to you, but it was precisely at this point that the Tiber flowed in ancient times, even if it seems far-fetched given the current distance of the archaeological area from the sea.

Today the park of Ostia Antica is one of the most beautiful and famous in the world because it preserves some of the most interesting elements to discover the Roman civilization, the urban planning of the cities and how they have evolved over time.

To discover it better, I recommend taking a guided tour, which will allow you to get to know all the curiosities and the most interesting monuments, without getting lost in the many narrow streets. Yes, because Ostia Antica is a real city, with streets, houses, theatres and even toilets. To tour it all I assure you that it would take you much more than a day.

To book the tour you can see directly at this link.

But now enough with the preambles and let’s find out what are the things to see in Ostia Antica.

Construction of Ostia Antica

Entering the archaeological park of Ostia Antica, you will immediately find yourself catapulted into a completely different world.

The road you will walk at the entrance is the so-called decumanus maximus. You may not have known it, but the Romans were particularly meticulous and schematic when it came to founding a new city. The urban planning was in fact always structured in the same way with two streets, the decumanus maximus and the cardo maximus, which crossed at the point where the forum stood and divided the city into 4 quadrants.

In this way there were 2 main streets that crossed the city from east to west and from south to north, with 4 entrance gates. Examples of this type of system are present in almost all of Europe but, among the cities I have visited, I point out Rimini, where Roman ingenuity is particularly evident.

And in Ostia Antica?

Well, in Osti Antica you will find exactly this type of urban planning, with the walls of the houses, the columns of the temples or baths, the statues of public figures, inscriptions and mosaics, which will accompany you to every corner of the city.

In short, the archaeological park of Ostia is really huge and inside you will find all sorts of buildings: the most evocative is definitely the theater with its bare steps, with three masks carved in the background, which remind us of how sacred and fun the play was in classical times.

Now I’ll tell you about it.

The theatre of ancient Ostia

The theatre of Ostia Antica was built in the Augustan era (12 BC) and has been restored and expanded several times, until it reached a capacity of about 4000 people. It was once enriched with sculptures, epigraphs and marble slabs and hosted comic and tragic representations but also water games. Imagine that the theatre had a whole system of pipes that brought water to the cavea, literally flooding it.

I was lucky enough to stop for a break just as a school group, of about thirty Indian boys, performed choral dances and songs, with Latin, English and Indian music.

The emotion was indescribable!

This is how children from the other side of the world, simply with their voices, with their gestures, can give new life to a place forgotten by the centuries.

After two thousand years, the acoustics inside the theatre of Ostia Antica are still perfect, the sensations so overwhelming that they moved me. Who knows if those who built it could ever have thought that, two thousand years later, they would dance on those stones to the rhythm of Jennifer Lopez and Gregorian chants!

An interesting thing to know is that the theatre was certainly not so bare.

The steps were in fact covered with precious marbles while the actors recited in Latin, their voices amplified by masks, their clothes were bright. If you use a little imagination you will still be able to imagine it… and you will get a great nostalgia.

But all is not lost!

From the beginning of the 20th century, when it was brought to light, the theatre of Ostia Antica was used for various classical performances on summer evenings. I really hope to be able to attend one of these evenings, as soon as summer begins, and to be able to listen (perhaps in Latin) to the still very nice lines of Plautus’ comedies.

Roman houses

Walking through the ancient domus of Ostia Antica will be like going back in time.

The domus can not only be observed from the outside but you can enter, look out of the windows and, with a little imagination, observe what world is lost and yet still so close and current.

Like the modern cities of Europe, Ostia Antica was also divided into districts. Walking along the streets of basoliti you can pass through the popular neighborhoods of the city, characterized by the remains of the ancient insulae. These were in fact the “popular” houses of the time of which today, unfortunately, we only retain the ground floor.

But that’s not all!

In addition to the houses, in Ostia Antica there are still clearly visible 2000-year-old commercial premises, the spaces occupied by the workshops of the artisans and even the grooves of their carts, made indelible on the road surface.

In Ostia Antica you will be able to enter the public buildings such as the ancient Roman baths, the beautiful amphitheater and the gyms where the ancient Romans already took care of their bodies. In short, a cross-section of humanity so close to our way of life and yet so far away in time as to seem far-fetched.

In the alleys of the city you can even find public latrines as a testimony to how socially advanced Roman civilization was already

In short, the idea I have is that it hasn’t really changed that much in the last 2000 years.

What not to miss

Among the most important buildings in Ostia Antica, in addition to the magnificent theater, you absolutely cannot miss the beautiful Baths of Neptune. This structure still houses beautiful mosaics and the spaces intended for body care and physical activity are still clearly recognizable.

Like any large city, Ostia Antica was also at risk of fire. That’s why the ancient Romans thought it best to build a fire station. Today this building can still be visited even if only the ground floor remains. However, the large courtyard and the fountains that were used as a water supply but also for ablutions and baths are still recognizable.

Finally, I point out the Thermopolium of Via Diana.

If you think pubs are a modern invention, you’re very wrong. The ancient Romans loved public life very much and for this reason they had already provided structures that could have the function of social gatherings. The Thermopolium can be considered as a real inn of the time. The building is very well preserved and makes us understand how our lifestyle has not changed so much in the last 2000 years.

 

Neglect in ancient Ostia

Unfortunately, given the enormity of the architectural heritage that has been left to us, I found some areas of ancient Ostia in a state of semi-abandonment.

I felt really dejected when I came face to face with a mosaic covered with weeds or in front of a fresco left to the elements. In addition, the explanatory panels are small, many are faded or removed. I have not seen any kind of surveillance and the frescoes are poorly “protected” by canopies dating back to who knows how many years ago.

We should do more to protect and preserve this and all the other archaeological sites that are part not only of our artistic heritage but of our historical memory.