Tom`s travels: Ostia Antica (16/04/2019)

I decided to head and visit my brother in Rome for a few days and in the meantime do a few day trips in the surrounding area. My first trip of the kind was the one I took to visit the archaeological area of Ostia Antica, the ancient Roman harbor town at the mouth of the Tiber river, southwest from Rome. After leaving my brother's house I reached the metro station and took the next ride to Ostia. I got off at the intended station and walked just a short distance before reaching the entrance to the archaeological area. As it was early morning the site was still quite deserted but I started to notice large groups of school groups heading in this direction. The city was originally founded during the 7th century B.C. by the then king of Rome Ancus Marcius and expanded largely the following centuries, particularly during the imperial period. As I walked I passed through what was once the Porta Romana, the gate leading towards Rome, surrounded by the foundations of warehouses. Onwards I then came across the large complex of the Baths of Neptune, built in 139 A.D. under orders of emperor Hadrian. A nice elevated platform granted an incredible view over the whole area including the sight of the large mosaic representing the god of the seas, Neptune, which gave the name to the complex. To the north of it I then walked among the ruins of the police barracks, built during the same period of the baths. A large open square covered in typical maritime pines held a series of well preserved mosaics which depicted corporations of traders all represented by a specific type of boat. As I walked around it and admired the mosaics I then reached the beautiful theatre, originally built under the rule of emperor Augustus and enlarged two centuries later reaching a capacity of 4000 spectators. Passing then more blocks of warehouses I walked through an area filled with Domus, roman houses, that held impressive mosaics. As I approached the center of the archaeological site, the buildings started to become more lavish. Particularly, in the area close to the Capitolium, the central roman temple at the crossroads of the city's main streets the decumanus and cardus, the houses were well preserved and some still had the original walls paintings and ceilings. A fully refurbished one showed a traditional bakery with the ovens and the marbled walls. Walking to the south I then passed an area where the latrines, the public toilets, were located and next to that more warehouses leading to the southeastern gate, Porta Laurentina. A temple was built here and dedicated to Attis the consort of Cybele and representing the fruits of the earth which die in the winter and regrow again in the spring. After a bit more walking I reached the western end of the archaeological site where a series of domus, named after a particular object or mosaic were located. First the one of psyche and amor, then the one of Bacchus and Arianne, the one of castor and pollux, all the way to the sothern gate, Porta Marina. Next to it a large residential area called Garden Houses had been built in 128 A.D. under Hadrian and was supposed to be a lavish neighborhood with spacious houses and shops surrounded by gardens. At that point, I had basically covered the whole archaeological area and so I decided to walk it all back and exit from where I had originally entered. Once outside, I walked by the castle of Giulio II a 15th-century fortress built by the then cardinal Giuliano Della Rovere who then became Pope Julius II. It featured a triangular-shaped fortified building with three round towers at each corner. The entrance was closed but I then managed to see the small medieval village which had been built around it. Among the picturesque streets and houses, I then visited the Basilica di Sant'Aurea the local church built around the same period of the castle and featuring a renaissance style. At that point, as it was just around midday I decided to walk the three kilometers separating me from the sea. I crossed a main road and walked along secondary countryside roads leading to the Riserva Naturale Statale Litorale Romano a protected wooded area close to the sea. It is a huge land featuring a tight mediterranean forest to protect the coast from erosion. As I walked through it I noticed the many paths leading everywhere and used by locals for their daily run or just as a relaxing stroll. After a bit of walking, I finally managed to reach the seaside and walked all the way to the beach. The sun had started to come from the clouds here and there which made it pleasant to admire the waves. After a bit of relaxing on a bench, I finally decided to head to the nearest metro stop from where I took a ride that brought me back to Rome.