OSTIA

From Roma or Civitavecchia 4 hours or 8 hours -  Ancent Port of Rome

 The beautifully preserved ruins of Ostia lie twenty miles from Rome. It was founded, probably in the 4th century BC, as a military colony to guard the river mouth against seaborne invasions. Later, all imports reached the Capital via the Tiber. By the 2nd century AD, it had become a flourishing commercial center inhabited by upwards of 100,000 people, whose apartment buildings, taverns, and grocery shops are still intact.

No modern houses, roads or telephone wires are visible on the horizon.

Once inside the Roman Gate, you visit the Baths of Neptune.

The laundry shop is next to the public baths. They would choose a combination of hot, cold, warm or steam baths.

Ostia's amphitheater was erected in 12 BC, it is a quiet, wonderfully preserved series of steep semicircular stone bleachers that hold 3500 spectators.

Beyond the baths is a cluster of three and four-story apartment buildings. Many of them still have the groundfloor shops and dark, stuffy mezzanines where merchants and the lower classes lived. Climb the marble stairs to see the comfortable multi-room apartments that were inhabited by middle-class families.