The port of ancient Rome, with houses, shops and a theatre
At the mouth of the Tiber, about thirty kilometres from the centre of Rome, Ostia was the port of the capital, through which grain, oil and goods from the whole empire arrived. Abandoned in late antiquity and gradually buried by sand and mud, it has preserved a whole city, more intact in some ways than Pompeii, because it shows everyday life in a large commercial town.
Along the Decumanus Maximus you walk among warehouses, multi-storey apartment blocks (insulae), taverns with counters, public latrines with marble seats, baths with black and white mosaics of sea creatures, temples and a theatre still used for summer performances. The Piazzale delle Corporazioni, surrounded by the offices of shipping companies, has mosaics with ships and symbols of their home ports.
Tip: it is easily reached by the Roma-Lido train from Piramide; bring food and water, as the site is large and shady only in parts.
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