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Full Day
Driving tour with Chauffeur, Guide & Sedan
Private Tour
Your Hotel
A mere 45 minute ride from Rome, where the Tiber meets the Tyrennean sea lies Ostia Antica, once a flourishing port town, now an archeological park almost twice as large as Pompeii and nearly half as crowded.
Over hundreds of years, the continuous onslaught of flooding from the Tiber river covered Ostia Antica in layers of silt and mud. Luckily for us however, the site is so packed with treasures, that in the span of just one kilometre, you will encounter some of the most famous sites, such as the theater, laundromat, temples to various gods, and even a bakery. Of course stopping at the latrines on the way! When scanning the ruins of Ostia Antica, striding across the ancient paving stones, one really gets a sense for what life was like 2,000 years ago.
Once Rome’s bustling port city from as early as the 3rd century BC, Ostia Antica now offers a serene escape, inviting visitors to wander through its ancient streets. Under the shade of its many umbrella pines you can stroll amidst the remnants of this ancient city with our certified guide, a new marvel being unveiled to you at each turn. Prepare to be truly immersed in the Roman way of life!
The main attraction of Ostia Antica. It is just what it sounds like, a large outdoor theater with all the seating still intact. If you happen to have an actor in your group, be sure that they give a performance for you, because the acoustics are phenomenal!
A fantastic example of a Roman apartment building. While it is unlikely that the Roman goddess Diana actually lived here, the structure gets its name from a fresco painting of the goddess found at the entrance, dating back to 150 AD!
Since grain was such an important part of keeping all those Roman legions well fed, it stands to reason that the bakery was also an essential cog in the wheel. Ostia Antica is home to a wonderfully preserved bakery, complete with mill stones that were used to grind the grain into flour. It is a must see when visiting Ostia. If you stay long enough, you might even start to catch a whiff of freshly baked bread!
There is nothing quite like a refreshing beverage and a hot meal after a hard day of work. This was no different for the Romans. A Thermopolium was the fast food equivalent of the ancient world. Here you could stop buy for a delicious bowl of soup and a glass of fine Roman wine. These were all over the Roman world, but the one in Ostia Antica happens to be one of the finest.
As the port city of Rome, Ostia must have had quite a bit of traffic. Traders coming in from all across the Mediterranean stopped here. The hub for all these traders was the Piazza of the Corporations, where shipping companies from all around would come in to make contracts with local merchants. The highlight here are the mosaics all around the piazza–each one unique to the company that set up shop there.
It’s not everyday that a highlight of a site is its public bathrooms, but Ostia Antica is just full of surprises. These beautifully preserved latrines show that the needs of the everyday Roman were not that different from our needs today. Traces of the plumbing still remain, as well as pieces of the marble seating. When Emperor Vespasian was criticized for charging the people to use the latrines, he famously said “Unlike urine, money doesn’t stink.”
Some may point to the gladiatorial games or chariot races as the favored activities of everyday Romans, but both of these institutions fall short when confronted with the Romans' love of bathing! It is clear just how important bathing was based on the sheer number of bathhouses found throughout all ancient Roman cities. The Baths of Neptune draw their name from the stunning mosaics of swirling sea creatures that decorate the floors of the complex.
In the same way that the Romans were so concerned about bathing, they were also concerned with keeping their clothes clean, but the way they went about this seems a little strange to us today. The main cleaning agent they used was urine!
Suggested starting time: 08:30 AM; 09:00 AM; 1:30 PM; 2:00 PM - Can clients choose one of the given timings and that features in his booking form
