Ostia: Rome's Blackpool

In the middle of our two Rome days we decided to spend a bit of time at the mouth of the River Tiber at Ostia, the Roman port city.

Ostia, meaning mouth, got its name from its ideal trade location on the mouth of the Tiber. This quintessential Roman city so close to the heart of a continent spanning empire, maintained its importance until the 5th century. A series of pirate sackings and the decline of the city of Rome led to it's almost total abandonment by the time of the Byzantine's arrival in the mid-6th century with their intention of reconquering Italy for the Roman Empire.

A very impressive Ostian bath house, although paled in comparison to the Baths of Caracalla the following day!

Ostia's enormous and very empty Forum. Ft. the main temple in the background.

Rob doing his best Roman wine bar employee impression.

Were we to visit ancient Ostia today I'm sure these expensive boutiques would not be high up on the list of places for us to visit. But, despite the 18 euro entry fee to the site, we could just about afford to attend them 2000 years later.