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Ostia Antica is the city that fed ancient Rome. Today only picturesque ruins remain of it
Ostia Antica are the ruins of an ancient port city. They are located about 25 kilometers southwest of Rome. To get to the Ostia Antica archaeological park, all you have to do is take the suburban train. You can take it to the station of the same name.
Ancient Ostia lay at the mouth of the Tiber River on the Mediterranean Sea. This is where its name came from. “Ostia” comes from the word “ostium,” meaning estuary. This, in turn, is derived from “wasp” — meaning mouth or maw. A port was established near the “mouth” of the Tiber in ancient times. It fed Rome during its heyday.
Today Ostia Antica is a popular tourist destination and an attraction for history and archaeology lovers. It contains a wealth of monuments from the Republican and Imperial periods: magnificent ancient buildings, a theater, streets.
However, it lacks one thing. Paradoxically — the sea. Settlements carried by the Tiber caused the sea to move away from Ostia for two thousand years. Today the ruins of the ancient city are located about 3 km from the beach.
When was Ostia founded?
This is not known exactly. Ostia is considered the first Roman colony. However, the descriptions of ancient historians — and the…
