Ostia Antica: private guided tour
Follow your guide inside this ancient city and former city's harbour dating back to 640 B.C. - Ostia Antica (Ancient Ostia). Explore the beautifully preserved archaeological remains of the city, once home to more than 100,000 people. Admire Roman statues that line the walkways, ancient mosaics and frescoes and feel as though you are walking in Ancient Rome itself.
Tradition says that Ostia was founded by Ancus Marcius, the 4th king of Rome, who lived during the second half of the 7th century B.C., even if there is little archeological evidence proving such information. Ostia became a river port with the commercial function to supply Rome with food stuff, particularly wheat, even if its strategic military function as a naval base certainly prevailed. Ostia population increased and could no longer be contained in the small fortified post, so the city slowly changed: from a strategic military outpost it turned into the commercial port of Rome; this function eventually determined its new urban aspect. The city walls surrounded an urban area of about 50 hectares, divided into five regions or neighborhoods. The city was accessible through three main gates: Porta Romana, that is the Eastern gate at the end of Via Ostiense, Porta Laurentina that is the Southern gate at the end of the Cardus Maximus, and Porta Marina, that is the Western gate, facing the sea, at the end of the Decumanus Maximus.
