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The town of Ostia gets its name from the Latin word "ostium" (mouth) because of its
location close to the mouth of the River Tiber.
Tito Livio, the roman historian and philosopher, recounts that Ostia was founded in
634 BC by the Fourth King of Rome, Anco Marzio (or Anco Marcio).
However, the ruins only date back to the IVth century BC when Rome defeated the
Veienti and Anziati who controlled this part of the coast. As a result Rome conquered this vital area for commerce and communications via the River Tiber, and gained control of the nearby salt mines.
As Rome became more powerful, Ostia became more and more important, initially as
a military town, and later as the "emporium" (store) of Rome. Ostia soon became the second city of Lazio and finally, at the end of the Republic, obtained its own government.
In the First Century, Emperor Claudio was responsible for the construction of a large
port (today hidden beneath the Leonardo da Vinci international airport). This port was later enlarged by Emperor Traiano, and the consequent commercial traffic brought Ostia great prosperity and consequent expansion, so much so that in the Second Century the population reached 50,000 inhabitants .
The importance of Ostia declined together with the economical and political crisis
suffered by the Roman Empire, and with decreasing trade the depopulation also diminished.
The city became vulnerable and due to its welth of valuable materials, it was sacked
by the Visigoti in 410 AD, and again by the Vandali in 537 AD. As a result of attacks by the Saraceni in the Ninth Century the poor remaining population was forced to leave the city and concentrate in an area around a Christian church built East of the city, where the Ostiensis martyr Saint Aurea was venerated.
Subsequently a village grew up in this area and later, because of its strategic position,
this village was modified into a fortified town by Pope Gregorio IV (824-844 AD).
The town took the name of Gregoriopoli, and had the objective of controlling and
stopping any prospective invaders who planned to sail up the Tiber and attack Rome.
However, Gregoriopoli was unable to stop Saraceni in 846 AD and they reached
Rome heavily sacking the town. In 849 AD, Ostia was the scene of the famous battle where the Christian fleet was victorious over the Saracen fleet (in fact Leone IV celebrated a mess in the church of Saint Aurea to propitiate the victory).
Over the following centuries the whole area was abandoned. The precious marbles
of the ancient city were stolen and brought to other cities, or used for new buildings.
The old Bishop's residence was unified with that of Velletri's (1150).
The locality remained neglected until the Fifteenth century when Pope Martino V
(1417-1431), built an imposing round tower and once again reasserted Ostia's important roll of military control over the mouth of the River Tiber.
Later the ostiensis Bishop Guglielmo d' Estouteville (1461-1483) began restructuring
the old town of Gregoriopoli, building the "Borgo Rinascimentale" with town walls and a new village. His successor Giuliano della Rovere (Pope Giulio II), completed these works, restoring the church of Saint Aurea and building the Castle, which is still in good condition today.
With this new burst of life and with the dominion over the river, Ostia once again
developed its commercial traffics and became prosperous.
Due to his strategic position Ostia was often involved in wars between popes and
emperors (one of the most famous incidents being the siege of the Duke of Alba in 1556).
Unfortunately in 1557 a heavy flood caused the river bed to move about one
kilometer, and once again all the activities connected to the river and the military functions suddenly failed. The place was again abandoned . The old bend of the river, and the pools where the salt was produced were transformed in a large marsh, and the area became infested by malaria and an uninhabitable site.
Many attempts were made to drain the area over the centuries, but they all failed.
However in 1884 the "Associazione Braccianti di Ravenna" one of the first workers'
co-operative society in Italy, drained and reclaimed the marshes, despite a high toll in human life, and allowed the ancient city of Ostia to be reborn.
Ostia, born more than 2,000 years ago by the sea, finally returned to the sea, thanks
especially to the engineer Paolo Orlando who worked very hard on the reconstruction of the new city.
In 1905 the "Via Ostiense" (the old roman road connecting Rome to ancient Ostia)
was extended to the coast. In the same year the first restaurants, houses, hotels, and seaside resorts began to develop.
In 1924 the Rome-Ostia railway began services, and in 1926, closed to the mouth of
River Tiber, an airport for seaplanes was inaugurated. It was from this airport that the famous pilots De Pinedo (1927) and Italo Balbo (1933) took off for their historics flights across the Atlantic ocean. With the opening of the "Rome-Ostia" (the first Italian highway) the transfomation was complete.
Ostia immediately became one of the favourite resorts for Romans and other Italians.
A famous "sponsor" of Ostia was Mussolini, who was a frequent visitor to the beach and a strong supporter for a great harbour (which was never realised), which he felt would allow the "third strength of Rome" to expand to the sea.
Completely rebuilt following the Second World War, today Ostia offers visitors many
attractions such as the archeological site of Ostia Antica (one of the biggest in the world), the harbours of Claudio and Traiano, the large natural parks of Castel Fusano and Capocotta, and its fifteen kilometers of beach.
Place to visit:
The archeological site of Ostia Antica, with its museum and famous Roman theatre.
The ship museum near Leonardo daVinci international airport.
The harbours of Claudio and Traiano and the necropolis of the "Isola Sacra", close to the airport.
The medieval village, the church of Saint Aurea and the Castle of Giulio II in Ostia Antica.
The long promenade of Ostia with some splendid houses dating from the 1920s, and the landing stage.
The large pine forest around Ostia and the Mediterranean vegetation along the coast.
The new tourist harbour of Ostia.
Cineland, the modern multi-theatre cinema complex which was recently converted from an old factory.
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2639 years of history
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This page last update, 12-12-2004
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