Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica (Scavi di Ostia)

Ostia Antica preserves the streets and buildings of the port city that helped supply Rome. Apartment blocks, warehouses, baths, temples and a theatre reveal an urban history shaped by trade at the mouth of the Tiber.

Why it matters

The name Ostia derives from the Latin word for a river mouth. Ancient tradition connected its foundation with King Ancus Marcius, while the earliest surviving fortified settlement belongs to the Republican period. The city later developed into a major commercial centre of the Roman world.

What to notice

The decumanus links districts containing granaries, guild buildings and multi-storey housing. Mosaics around the Piazzale delle Corporazioni evoke merchants and shipping connections across the Mediterranean. The Forum and Capitolium express civic and religious life, while baths, shops and funerary areas broaden the picture beyond the port economy.

Context and history

Ostia expanded greatly under the empire, particularly in the second century AD. The development of the harbours at Portus changed the balance of commerce, and the ancient city gradually contracted during late antiquity. Later silting, abandonment and changes to the Tiber altered its relationship with the coast. Archaeological excavation revealed successive phases of work and daily life rather than a city sealed by a single catastrophe.