- Ostia Antica, also known as Ostia, is the archeological site of the ancient port of Ostia, the Port for Ancient Rome.
- The Republican Naval Fleet was based here until the 1st century BCE. Cargo Ships transferred their Goods here onto barges which travelled up the Tiber to Rome.
Roman Sites
- Ostia Antica
- Theatre
- Dolia (giant storage jars embedded in the ground)
- Baths
- Temple of the Capitoline Triad
- Via di Diana, a street with houses
- Shrine of Attis
- Via delle Tombe (Street of the Tombs)
- The Forum of the Guilds
- Each group of merchants had a shop in the Forum of the Guilds or Piazzale delle Corporazione, from which they conducted trade and business.
- In front of each shop was a black and white mosaic indicating the merchants’ port of origin.
Museums
- Ostia Archeology Museum
- Viale dei Romagnoli, 717, Ostia.
- The Museum holds a large collection of Roman Portraits, Sculptures, Statues, Sarcophagi and Reliefs excavated from Ostia Antica.
Roman Roads
- Via Ostiensis
- Ostia-Rome (19 miles or 30km) along the eastern bank of the Tiber.
History
- Because Rome was a net Importer from the East, and didn’t have the same volume of Goods to export, a Guild of Stevedores called ‘saburrarii’ existed purely to fill vessels with ballast for their return journeys to Alexandria.
- A Vexillatio of two centuries of the Vigiles Urbani was posted here during the Roman Empire.
- A Naval Base existed at Ostia for the ships of the Classis Misenensis, to transport Governors and the Roman Emperor.
- In 68 BCE, the Pirates sacked Ostia. The Republican Naval Fleet was burnt, the Port buildings set ablaze and two Roman Senators kidnapped. This changed political attitudes towards the acceptance of Piracy.
- In 67 BCE The Lex Gabinia was passed by the Roman Senate and in 66 BCE Pompey swept them from the Mediterranean.
Portus
- In 42 CE, Claudius started construction on Portus, 2.5 miles (4km) to the north of Ostia, which became the new port of Rome and could accommodate the Grain Fleet.
The Grain Fleets
- At first, the African Grain Fleet from Carthage and the Alexandrian Grain Fleet from Egypt used the port of Puteoli in the Bay of Naples.
- However, under Claudius (41-54 CE) and Trajan (98-117 CE), Ostia was expanded by the development of Portus, and the Grain Fleets were able to dock and unload in Ostia and Portus.
Ostia Antica, Italy