Ancient Ostia

Ostia was the port city of ancient Rome. Once a thriving city of around 60,000 people, today it gives an excellent look into ancient lives with docks, warehouses, apartments and mansions, shops, baths and temples. Founded around 600 BC as a source for salt to preserve meats, it was conquered by Rome in around 400 BC in order to become the city’s fortress and port at the mouth of the Tiber River.

We will see the Baths of Neptune with its mosaic, the grand Square of the Guilds, the warehouses, Via Casa di Diana (a street of apartments and taverns), and the Forum with its temple. There is also a museum housing archeological items.