Ancient Ostia or Ostia Antica as it is referred to locally, offers a lot when it comes to insights into the erstwhile Rome of yore. After all, this was essentially Rome’s first colony or colonia which is why there is a lot which you as a visitor to Ostia on your Rome private tour can easily learn. Let us look at 5 such learnings.
Ancient Ostia used to be Rome port:
Yes, there are many out there – including some private tour guides in Rome who do not know this but fact is that Ostia was Rome’s port in the ancient days of yore. It is only in more recent times that as a result of silting, the place is now located 3 kilometres inland otherwise in the past it was located directly on the sea.
Ancient Ostia was Rome’s first colony:
Apart from being Rome’s port, Ancient Ostia also happened to be Rome’s first colony, as already mentioned in the beginning of this article on your private tour in Rome. This in turn means that there were very important buildings or structures located here, discovered eventually such as the Capitolium which was the temple of Minerva, Juno and Jupiter, as well as the Castrum which was the military camp.
Ancient Ostia had its own mint:
Yes, Ancient Ostia was well recognized for the mint which it had. Among prized monetary units produced here, there is the coin of Maxentius which is particularly well recognized and coveted by collectors. See if you can try and catch a glimpse of it while on your Rome tour.
Repeated invasions contributed to decline of Ancient Ostia:
While there were many factors which eventually contributed to the decline of Ancient Ostia, which included the town no longer continuing to function as a port, it is repeated invasions by pirates, especially Arab ones, which eventually proved to be the death knell for Ancient Ostia.
Ancient Ostia has always been a part of popular culture:
Across various cultural expressions, Ancient Ostia has found mention ever so often, whether being represented in reality or at least being referred to. Listings of such creative expressions would include the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator, “The Roman Mysteries” series of historical novels, the 2005 HBO/BBC historical drama series Rome, as well as the Claudius the God and I, Claudius.
So as you can see, probably even before you embarked on your tour to Rome you gained a lot of knowledge on Ancient Ostia.
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