Ostia << AWS tee uh >> was an ancient Roman port city. It was named for its location at the mouth of the Tiber River in central Italy . In the Latin language of the ancient Romans, the word os means mouth. Roman colonists founded Ostia 16 miles (26 kilometers) downstream from Rome in the early 200’s B.C. The city grew to become Rome’s bustling port, a distinction it held for hundreds of years. Throughout the life of the Roman Empire, numerous travelers, goods, and ideas arrived in Rome by way of Ostia.
In the A.D. 100’s, at the height of the Roman Empire, Ostia probably was home to more than 30,000 people. It was a remarkably cosmopolitan city, with influences from around the world. The people generally lived in modest apartments or expensive houses. Overall, the city had a working-class character. Meat, fish, and vegetable markets supplied food to the local people and neighborhood taverns. Warehouses throughout the city stored grain before it was transported to Rome. Many streets had bakeries, and temples also were abundant. The city had a small theater for public entertainment, including comedies and tragedies.
By the 300’s, Ostia had begun to grow more socially diverse, like the Roman Empire as a whole. During this time, Ostia’s Jewish community built a synagogue, and its Christian community built several churches. Saint Augustine , a leader of the early Christian church, and his mother, Saint Monica, spent some time in Ostia in 387, during a journey from Italy to North Africa. Monica died in Ostia and was buried there. Ostia’s population decreased slightly during the 400’s and 500’s, a time of political instability across the Roman Empire. By the 800’s, Ostia was mostly deserted. A new city with new walls, Gregoriopolis, had been founded just east of Ostia, on the road to Rome. It was named after Pope Gregory IV.
Today, Ostia is a quiet historical site beneath tall pine trees on the banks of the Tiber. Because of the accumulation of river sediment over hundreds of years, Ostia now lies about 2 miles (4 kilometers) inland. Archaeologists have excavated many of Ostia’s sturdy brick ruins. These excavations have provided historians with some of the best evidence of what everyday life was like in the Roman Empire.
