Bus Tours of Rome: Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica

Highlights

• Necropolis
• Piazzale della Vittoria
• Baths of Neptune
• Diana's House
• Synagogue

Itinerary

The present-day town of Ostia is a seaside town thirty minutes from downtown Rome: the tour passes the Colosseum, Tiber Island, and the Roman Synagogue before leaving the city for the coast. Ancient Ostia was the port city of Rome, founded in the fourth century B.C. Ostia was powerful not only as Rome's naval base, but also as the "Emporium of Rome," home to a great deal of trade. All of the important representatives of cultural and political life of the period passed through Ostia.

As the Roman Empire declined, so did Ostia. Repeated sackings of the town led to its abandonement; at around the same time, the Tiber changed its course, moving away from the city, and there was no longer any strategic value to be gained from occupying Ostia. The abandoned city largely withstood the ravages of time, and has been remarkably preserved to this day.

Excavations of Ostia, started at the beginning of the nineteenth century, made apparent the preservation of the city, in some ways better preserved than Rome itself. A visit to Ostia provides a window into the everyday life that went on in a town of the Roman Empire. Our tour examines the two main streets of the ruins; we also visit the Necropolis, the Piazzale della Vittoria, the baths of Neptune with their wonderful mosaics, the headquarters of the Ostian fire brigade, the Theatre of Agrippa, Via deiMulini and the House of Diana. In the center of Ostia is the city's Forum, with the Capitolium, the Temple of Rome and Augustus, the Forum Baths, the Basilica, and the Round Temple. Outside the city is the Synagogue, the ancient seat of Judaism in the western world.

Time

Four hours.

Price Tours

€ 50,00 per person.

Schedule

April 1 to October 31: Tuesday and Friday mornings. Departs from Vastours Terminal at 8:30am; free pickup service at hotels from 7:45 to 8:15am.