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We love history – especially “history” where we can walk around, see, touch, and experience live. Ostia Antica has been on our travel bucket list since 2009! But every time we visited Rome, we either didn’t have enough days, or the day we planned to go there – it rained. Keeping an eye on the weather, we went on a spectacular day, sunny and warm, and not too many tourists. It is an easy day trip from Rome, as it is less than 20 miles from Rome and is its ancient seaport. A train from the Pyramide metro station gets you there in about 30 minutes. (As an aside: If you tap onto Rome’s transit system – bus, subway, train, or tram – with a credit card, you can travel on all of these systems, and transfer freely, for €1.50 for 100 minutes. That was our total price for the trip!) The system is very easy, with no standing in line for tickets. With the transports arriving often, there is no need to be at a stop at a certain time.
Ostia Antica was named for its location at the mouth (ostia meaning mouth) of the Tiber River. It is now a large archaeological site, with building frames preserved and a large collection of intact floor mosaics. We were astounded by the floors! The oldest archaeological remains date back to the 4th century BC, with most buildings currently visible being 100 years younger than that. Most likely, the city was first founded as a naval base, then gradually expanded as a commercial port.
The city is somewhat reminiscent of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but walking around here, there isn’t the sense of tragedy that you feel in those cities, when people experienced a sudden volcanic eruption that they couldn’t outrun. Ostia Antica just faded over time, with its harbor silting up (rendering it unusable), commercial activity shifting to newer ports, pirate attacks, and general economic decline. The silting of the port has led to the city now being a full two miles from the sea, but the sand dunes also preserved a lot of the city.
One enjoyable aspect of visiting here is that you can wander wherever you want. There are ropes where excavations are taking place, and where it might be dangerous. But overall, you can walk anywhere and explore anything. There are no security guards looking forbiddingly – nobody to tell you to “get off” or “don’t go there.” Of course, the floor mosaics are also off-limits, which means they are preserved and fun to look at. We found info and translations for some of the mosaics, but not all – so it is up to our – and your – interpretation. Have fun in Ostia Antica!
This is the amphitheater of Ostia Antica.
It was a bit disappointing to see that the amphitheater has been renovated for use as a concert and special event venue, with modern stairs and entrances (as we couldn’t see it as it was in ancient times). After several decades, summer of 2025 saw the concerts resume as the “Teatro Ostia Antica Festival.” We could hear the sounds of wood and stone being cut behind the barriers as we walked around it, as the renovation continues.
The main street is on the left in this overview of the city – the parts of buildings that survived for over 2,000 years.
The owners of this house decorated with a red-and-grey brick pattern.
Every ancient city had a “Decumanus Maximus” – the principal east-west thoroughfare. At its intersection with the north-south Cardo Maximus, the local Forum could be found.
This is part of a fullery, where cloth (wool, in particular) was compacted, cleaned, and finished. It was also sometimes just a laundry.
It is amazing that some slender columns survived.
Looking down a side street.
The remains of an ancient fountain.
So pretty! Seeing ancient handiwork survive centuries is so interesting.
Some surviving windows.
It has been determined that this fountain took the form of a basin decorated with a screen.
Most all of Ostia Antica’s homes’ floors are now covered with flowers.
These pillars denote the entrance to the Macellum (meat market), although more recent studies suggest that there were counters here to sell fish and marble basins.
You can see some second-story construction here.
The Capitolium is the largest temple in Ostia Antica, built in 120 AD by Hadrian. It occupied the north side of the Forum.
Most of the statues are only partially intact.
The Temple of Ceres, originally with 11 steps, benches along the sides, marble flooring, and a depiction of an elephant scratched into the steps.
A small fireplace in a home?
After the construction of the aqueduct in the first century AD, water distribution fountains (fontanas) of different sizes and shapes were installed around the city where residents could obtain fresh water. In more public areas, they were decorative, often with statuary. This is one on a small residential street, constructed to be simply functional.
This is the inside of the fontana.
One of the more complete structures in the city.
Another view of the area surrounding the amphitheater.
Another side street with some well-constructed buildings.
A doorway from one room into another.
Inside a house.
The house’s oven.
Holes in parallel walls matching each other.
Are the long bricks supporting the structure or are they just decorative?
A close-up of the stones that pave the Decumanus Maximus. They are very hard to walk on, being uneven and slippery. We wonder how horses and carts fared on them?
It survived!
And an actual free-standing arch survives!
One of the more intact statues on-site.
This was the first floor mosaic we saw, part of a public bath complex whose size is impossible to determine.
This floor mosaic shows Amphitrite, Neptune’s wife, riding a sea horse.
This, and the following photos, are the “Squares of the Corporations,” floors of companies that emanate from the amphitheater.The depictions are allusions to what the company was trading. Most people didn’t read, so pictures were a must.
“Shippers from Misua here.” Misua was in Tunisia.
“Shippers from Gummi at their own expense.” Gummi was also a city in Tunisia.
“Shippers and Traders from Caralis.” Caralis is now Cagliari in Sardinia.
“Shippers from Syllecthum,” in Tunisia.
No inscription. The oven could be depicting a bakery, or purveyors of wheat.
No idea what this is – we just like its wildness.
Another navigation scene.
…and, of course, if you want to buy an elephant…
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