Founded around the 4th century BC as a military base between the mouth of the Tiber and the coast, Ostia soon became the commercial port of ancient Rome and for this reason was tightly connected to its history. The goods destined to the support of the capital, but also to its urban development and entertainment industry, came through here. Grain, oil, wine, precious marble, animals for the circus, arrived here from all over the Mediterranean, and were often transferred onto smaller boats that went up the river hauled by oxen on the river banks, up to the port in Rome.

The city was very well connected to Rome by the Tiber river and the ancient roads of Via Ostiense and Via Portuensis. These roads were noted as being the busiest in the Roman Empire!

It is easy to imagine Ostia as a thriving town of 80,000 people as we walk through the rather well preserved remains of the forum, the baths, temples, and residential neighborhoods that must have housed many foreigners as well.

The existence of Ostia was not interrupted suddenly as occurred in Pompeii; its decline in about the 4th century AD coincided with the invasions that destroyed Rome as the centre of the Roman Empire, and that also caused indescribable damage of the city of Ostia. This was made worst by the the gradual silting up of the port and by floods that changed the course of the Tiber, favoring the spreading of malaria.

Ostia was never inhabited again in a significant manner after that, and this allows us to follow the various phases in the evolution of an ancient city without the adding of structures from later times.

Ostia Antica can also be reached easily by the train to Ostia Lido that departs from Porta San Paolo (Ostia Antica stop).

To begin with an exploration of the secrets of the necropolis, an ancient cemetery outside the city walls where columbaria and elaborately decorated Sarcophagi held the remains of important families.

From here we follow the ancient basalt road through the city entrance where the twin colossal statues to the goddess Minerva guarded the entry gates. At the Baths of the Cart drivers we will admire the whimsical mosaics showing portraits of favorite horses.

From here we will end up at the Baths of Neptune where the customs of bathing in public will be discussed and we can note just how civilized these people were! Amazing mosaic floors showing the god Neptune along with his mermaids and other mythical sea creatures are on display here which we will view from the second storey of the bath complex.

One of the most important features of Ostia were the warehouses full of goods from all over the Roman Empire and thus it became necessary to have a guard against fires so the Emperor Augustus established a Fire Station which we will visit. We will see their important Altar to the Emperors as well as their bathroom with marble seats and coved ceilings. After passing a row of shops we will step inside the Tavern of Fortunatus to see his floor mosaic welcoming his guests with the greeting "Fortunatussays if you are thirsty drink wine from the crater" with a picture of a giant drinking goblet!

Next stop, a beautiful Roman Theatre in brick from the 1st century BC (used today for evening concerts in the summer. Here up to 4,500 people were seated and entertained with tragedies, aquatic shows, music and bawdy comedies. Behind the theatre we will explore the Square of the Corporations a rare site surrounding the Temple to Venus showing the offices of merchants with mosaics displaying each of their specialties ranging from transport of anything from wheat to live elephants.

After lunch we will continue our journey with a visit to the small museum with displays of many sculptures and frescoes found on site. Next an intriguing visit to the Thermopolium, an ancient bar and restaurant that looks like it could still be serving food today! Across the street we will see the famous House of Diana, one of the most important surviving apartment buildings from ancient roman times.

After visiting a full production bakery and seeing a field of giant pottery containers for oil and wine we will arrive at the Curia and the Forum- the civic heart of Ostia and site of the temples to Hercules and the Goddess Roma.

Along the way we will see temples to the most important gods and goddesses of the ancient world including the field for the worship of the great mother goddess Cybele, many Mithraic Temples as well as a rare Jewish Synagogue and an important Christian site. At the end of the tour we will visit the luxurious pompeii-style houses with their interior courtyards and statues and the impressive Baths of the Forum famous for their delicate design which follows the path of the sun, large corinthian columns, the hexagonal gymnasium and public men's and women's bathrooms.

After an exciting day of wondrous sites you return along the River Tiber on a river cruise to Rome.

Among the sites that deserve to be seen, are the ancient theatre, still in use today, and the Square of the Guilds, a structure consisting of 60 representative offices of the different associations of artisans and merchants who worked here.