Ostia Antica

The Amphitheater at Osita Antica

We’ve been a lot of places in Europe, and we’ve seen some old stuff. Don’t get me wrong. I know there’s old like the Grand Canyon is old, and there’s old like the Gothic era paintings in the room after room of the Uffizi Gallery, but somewhere in between those two comes Osta Antica.

Storage urns for olive oil

 On the day we visited the 2300 year-old ruins of Ostia Antica, it occurred to me that every place in the world is old. Seriously, every step we take on this earth is on ground that is as old as everywhere else, right? The difference between most places and Ostia Antica is what remains.

Reportedly founded by Ancus Marcius, the fourth king of Rome, the settlement can be dated from the fourth century B.C., but the city that grew from the ancient beginnings was founded between the second and first centuries before Christ. The nearby canal, which allowed shipments from all over the Roman Empire to be transported to smaller boats for transport to Rome, was completed during the reign of Claudius (41-54 A.D.) Ostia reached its greatest prosperity under Trajan and Hadrian when massive construction projects were completed (including the Curia, the Basilica, and the Forum.) Apparently there were a number of reasons for Ostia’s steady decline and eventual collapse in the ninth century, and historians seem to agree that its downfall was prompted by the Vandal invasion in the fifth century.

Seeing the maze of foundations and partial walls alongside more complete structures such as the amphitheater was truly misleading.  Although there is no doubt that the ancient, sprawling city is Nirvana for archeologists, it was not until I saw artistic renderings of the magnificent buildings lost over time that I could better appreciate the gift of a tiny glimpse into Roman history.