Day 15
Our final day. We decide we need to go out of the city today and after some research we decide on Ostia Antica. This ancient city that is about 2400 years old. It was at one time the major port for Rome, until the river silted in and coast line moved out.
We find a tour we can take by a company in Rome for 55 Euros each. Then Lyn checks our authority Rick Steves and finds out we can get there for 1 euro each way on the train station just down the street. That with 5 euros to get in will be the cost for the day. We figure that is a savings of 90 euros. Not bad. So off we go about 10:00 and the train is waiting for us. We hop on and away we go. The trip is about ½ an hour and we pass it speaking to a young lady who is studying Japanese, English, Spanish and two other languages we can’t remember.
You start the tour walking an ancient Roman roadway that is grooved from the wheels of the wagons that took the good away from the port. The most ancient remains date from about 330 BC on the site and it truly is city sized even though only ¼ of the city has been excavated so far. It is immediately calming and refreshing to be in such a peaceful place. We both remark on the difference between here and the bustle of Rome.
A warning to wear good walking shoes. This is no place for anyone who has difficulty with keeping their balance or wearing high heels. You will be walking on Roman roads that are very slippery and made of large sunken rocks that have tipped and tilted since the time of the Romans. And where the rocks don’t get you the tree roots will. Watch where you are going!
This city had a population of 50,000 at it’s peak. The layout is very orderly and the most streets were broad enough for a wagon to travel on. The buildings are slowly emerging from the excavation sites and efforts are being made to reduce anymore deterioration.
There is a forum that is a half circle that would seat 4000 people and the seats could be approached from the inside or outside staircases. Apparently women were seated in the top seats but I like to think of that as the sky boxes. We sit at the bottom and enjoy the view of the stage and eat our lunch we brought. With a cat begging for crumbs we have the perfect picnic. Yummy.
There are many temples, baths and homes and it flourished for 8 centuries before fading away. Water systems allow access in all neighbourhoods and we even found the communal toilet. See picture. Everyone would seat themselves and in the channel on the floor there would be a stick with a sponge attached. Use this to clean up and replace the sponge in the channel of moving water.
There are wonderful mosaic floors still in very good condition to view. Apparently no one realized they were here so they were never stolen. There are frescos and mosaics on the walls as well. As we wander we are very impressed with the amount of work that has been done here. According to the guide book most of the early was commissioned by Mussolini. I guess he was good for something.
It has been a great way to end our trip so it is back on the train home.
We keep missing a lovely store when we are shopping for dinner each night so this time we decide to go back after 5:00 and take a look. After careful conversation with the very helpful gentleman we leave with the makings of a fabulous dinner. 4 kinds of ravioli (2 of each kind) to be cooked for 4 minutes and tossed in olive oil and shaved pecorino cheese, a selection of antipastos such as buffalo mozzarella, fresh vegs in a tomato base, exotic Black Swine smoked ham, olives and 4 slices of a peasant bread. We give ourselves a lecture about exploring our neighbourhood more as there are many stores open now that we have never seen as they were closed for the afternoon and we never knew what was behind the doors. They close up with a garage door affair and there is no hint of what lays within. In this well established area the afternoons are taken off. http://www.volpetti.com/
Before we left to do our shopping we could here very loud music and had no idea where it was coming from. As we go to the end of our block we see there is a performance taking place at the piazza behind our building. A local church group is putting on a concert and all the neighbourhood is attending. Grandparents, young families with their little ones. We find a seat and enjoy the end of the concert. The sun is just setting and it is time to go home and have our feast.
Tomorrow we are up at 5:00 and our cab is coming at 6:30. We travel to Frankfurt and then on to home. It has all passed so quickly we can hardly believe it is over. Again a wonderful success. Ciao
Travel Tip:
Our final day. We decide we need to go out of the city today and after some research we decide on Ostia Antica. This ancient city that is about 2400 years old. It was at one time the major port for Rome, until the river silted in and coast line moved out.
We find a tour we can take by a company in Rome for 55 Euros each. Then Lyn checks our authority Rick Steves and finds out we can get there for 1 euro each way on the train station just down the street. That with 5 euros to get in will be the cost for the day. We figure that is a savings of 90 euros. Not bad. So off we go about 10:00 and the train is waiting for us. We hop on and away we go. The trip is about ½ an hour and we pass it speaking to a young lady who is studying Japanese, English, Spanish and two other languages we can’t remember.
You start the tour walking an ancient Roman roadway that is grooved from the wheels of the wagons that took the good away from the port. The most ancient remains date from about 330 BC on the site and it truly is city sized even though only ¼ of the city has been excavated so far. It is immediately calming and refreshing to be in such a peaceful place. We both remark on the difference between here and the bustle of Rome.
A warning to wear good walking shoes. This is no place for anyone who has difficulty with keeping their balance or wearing high heels. You will be walking on Roman roads that are very slippery and made of large sunken rocks that have tipped and tilted since the time of the Romans. And where the rocks don’t get you the tree roots will. Watch where you are going!
This city had a population of 50,000 at it’s peak. The layout is very orderly and the most streets were broad enough for a wagon to travel on. The buildings are slowly emerging from the excavation sites and efforts are being made to reduce anymore deterioration.
There is a forum that is a half circle that would seat 4000 people and the seats could be approached from the inside or outside staircases. Apparently women were seated in the top seats but I like to think of that as the sky boxes. We sit at the bottom and enjoy the view of the stage and eat our lunch we brought. With a cat begging for crumbs we have the perfect picnic. Yummy.
There are many temples, baths and homes and it flourished for 8 centuries before fading away. Water systems allow access in all neighbourhoods and we even found the communal toilet. See picture. Everyone would seat themselves and in the channel on the floor there would be a stick with a sponge attached. Use this to clean up and replace the sponge in the channel of moving water.
There are wonderful mosaic floors still in very good condition to view. Apparently no one realized they were here so they were never stolen. There are frescos and mosaics on the walls as well. As we wander we are very impressed with the amount of work that has been done here. According to the guide book most of the early was commissioned by Mussolini. I guess he was good for something.
It has been a great way to end our trip so it is back on the train home.
We keep missing a lovely store when we are shopping for dinner each night so this time we decide to go back after 5:00 and take a look. After careful conversation with the very helpful gentleman we leave with the makings of a fabulous dinner. 4 kinds of ravioli (2 of each kind) to be cooked for 4 minutes and tossed in olive oil and shaved pecorino cheese, a selection of antipastos such as buffalo mozzarella, fresh vegs in a tomato base, exotic Black Swine smoked ham, olives and 4 slices of a peasant bread. We give ourselves a lecture about exploring our neighbourhood more as there are many stores open now that we have never seen as they were closed for the afternoon and we never knew what was behind the doors. They close up with a garage door affair and there is no hint of what lays within. In this well established area the afternoons are taken off. http://www.volpetti.com/
Before we left to do our shopping we could here very loud music and had no idea where it was coming from. As we go to the end of our block we see there is a performance taking place at the piazza behind our building. A local church group is putting on a concert and all the neighbourhood is attending. Grandparents, young families with their little ones. We find a seat and enjoy the end of the concert. The sun is just setting and it is time to go home and have our feast.
Tomorrow we are up at 5:00 and our cab is coming at 6:30. We travel to Frankfurt and then on to home. It has all passed so quickly we can hardly believe it is over. Again a wonderful success. Ciao
Travel Tip:
The wonderful thing about Ostia Antica is that it is a very easy day trip. Take the metro to Pyramide stop, then cross platforms to the Ostia Lido train...Ostia Antica is the 2nd to last stop....when you get there...cross the pedestrian bridge and follow the signs for a short 5/10 minute walk. Make sure you take a picnic.
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