Ancient Ostia (Ostia Antica)
Italy /
Lazio /
Fiumicino /
World
/ Italy
/ Lazio
/ Fiumicino
World / Italy / Lazio / Roma
ancient, archaeological site, Roman Empire

Ancient Ostia; this was the harbour of Rome for centuries (the sea line was much behind, roughly where now is the ss296 street at the bottom).
The name Ostia comes means, in latin, "mouth of the river"; in fact, in ancient times the river mouth was just at the end of the city.
Ostia is belived to be founded during the IV century B.C. as a military base; from the II century B.C the town begun to gain importance as the harbour of rome, becoming a hub for mediterrenean trade routes. The city also developed a cosmpolitian environment, being one of the most important harbour in the mediterrenean.
However, the harbour was basically the mouth of a river, and its capacity was limited; emperor Trajan (106-113 A.D.) decided to build a new artificial harbour some kilometer away (it can be viewed near the Leonardo da Vinci Airport) and a new town, Portus. Ostia still kept its importance until the IV century, when the decline in sea trades resulted in the city being quickly abandoned. The area became infested with marshes and malaria, and until the 19th century only a castle and a small village remained.
Archeological excavation begun in the early 800, while the marshes were dried only toward the end of the century. A new Ostia was founded south of the old town as a sea resort, and in 1923 a railway was build. The area experienced massive urbanization after the 1960, and now is part of Rome city council
arkeonews.net/two-new-fragments-of-the-fasti-ostienses-...
The name Ostia comes means, in latin, "mouth of the river"; in fact, in ancient times the river mouth was just at the end of the city.
Ostia is belived to be founded during the IV century B.C. as a military base; from the II century B.C the town begun to gain importance as the harbour of rome, becoming a hub for mediterrenean trade routes. The city also developed a cosmpolitian environment, being one of the most important harbour in the mediterrenean.
However, the harbour was basically the mouth of a river, and its capacity was limited; emperor Trajan (106-113 A.D.) decided to build a new artificial harbour some kilometer away (it can be viewed near the Leonardo da Vinci Airport) and a new town, Portus. Ostia still kept its importance until the IV century, when the decline in sea trades resulted in the city being quickly abandoned. The area became infested with marshes and malaria, and until the 19th century only a castle and a small village remained.
Archeological excavation begun in the early 800, while the marshes were dried only toward the end of the century. A new Ostia was founded south of the old town as a sea resort, and in 1923 a railway was build. The area experienced massive urbanization after the 1960, and now is part of Rome city council
arkeonews.net/two-new-fragments-of-the-fasti-ostienses-...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostia_Antica
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 41°45'12"N 12°17'19"E
- Portus, The Harbor of Trajan 4.9 km
- Hadrian's Villa 45 km
- Tivoli 48 km
- Corfinio 135 km
- The Largest Preistoric Fortification in Europe "Conesti- Iarcuri"(1500-1000 B.C.) 854 km
- Former Luftwaffe airport 1192 km
- Former WW2 Luftwaffe airbase Beaumont le Roger 1213 km
- The Multibulks Centre 1268 km
- Deal 1343 km
- Winchelsea 1352 km
- Castrum 0.1 km
- Multisale Cineland 0.7 km
- Ostia Antica District 2.2 km
- Isola Sacra 3.1 km
- Italian Swimming Federation - Polo Natatorio of Ostia 3.6 km
- Seaport of Rome 3.9 km
- Porto 4.3 km
- River Tiber Estuary 4.7 km
- Castelfusano Pinewood 5.3 km
- Northern promenade 5.6 km