Day 3: Rome - Ostia 29 April 2016

Copyright Noel.moore@gmail.com

The fabulous site of Ostia Antica was once the hub for Rome's trade links with the rest of the world. We have seen it presented in a number of documentaries with many favourable comparisons of its importance with Pompeii!

It was certainly a very different town to Pompeii; no luxury villas for the rich and "holiday homes" here. Ostia Antica was very much a working town and an essential one. With over a million inhabitants in Rome the social contract between rich and poor required free food from Rome's warehouses. That required vast quantities of grain, olive oil, wine etc imported from Rome's provinces; Egypt, Tunisia, Crete, Spain.

The day started with a taxi ride to Porta San Paolo regional rail station now co-site with Piramide Metro. On the edge of Centro, commuters can now come off the regional train and take the metro to a limited number of locations. So Rome's transport is definitely on the improve.

The pyramid was built about 12 BC as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, and straddles ancient fortifications. It has recently been cleaned and looks pristine. We soon met our guide and headed for the regional train; graffiti covered! Well, it is an Itialian word.

Ostia started life as a fortification at the mouth of the Tiber, protecting Rome. It's first major expansion as a port was under Emperor Claudius. I well remember the scenes from the BBC's 'I Claudius' of the crippled emperor outsmarting the gain importers!

Naturally a theatre is essential for a Roman town, but plays only. No gladiators and animals here. On the three sides of the plazza behind the theatre were 'kiosk areas' (my words) with black and white mosaic floors (example above) indicating the various guilds that controlled the work in the town; e.g. Ship repair, wagon cartage etc.

Two religious sites. Ostia was a pagan town through its history but our guide pointed out two sites related to other religions.

A sarcophagus was uncovered at this location, inscribed:

"Quiriacus dormit in pace" (Quiriacus sleeps in peace). He was a bishop of Ostia who was martyred in the town with 17 converted soldiers in the year 269.

Mithras-worship in the Roman Empire was characterized by images of the god slaughtering a bull as depicted in the photo below! It's peak was between the 1st and 4th centuries. Our guide, like some academics, described some similarities with Christanity. I say many more conflicts including their grotesque initiatation ceremonies.

Our wonderful guide, Fransesca, brought her lucky umbrella! And it worked. No rain. She was also a wealth of knowledge and fielded every question we threw at her.

To the left is a photo of one of the 6 or more grain grinders in a 'factory'. The top section is concave and was turned by blindfolded donkeys (note key-way for wood pole). The top piece rotates on the cone base stone. Grain is poured in the top and falls out the bottom!

The bottom photo is a large terra cotta container for oil or wine sunk into the floor for temperature stability.

The Trevi Fountain is still a Mecca for tourists. Again we threw a coin into the fountain; it has worked every time to date! Gelato shops continue to do a great trade, so again we did not 'break the trend'! Similar to Paris' Sacre Coeur, it is a favourite place for staged wedding photos! In contrast to the above, the popularity for horse carriage rides appears to have fallen.