Trippin' to Ostia Antica From Rome; It Sure Beats Pompeii

April 22, 2009 at 3:16 PM | by JetSetCD | Comments (2)

Are you sitting down? Yes? Okay good, because we are about to burst a travel bubble: Pompeii isn't all that great. If you're still planning on making an Italian pilgrimage this spring or summer and want to get the usual ration of ancient ruins, then please let us suggest taking a day trip to the less crowded but no less impressive Ostia Antica, the old port city for Rome.

Only some twenty miles outside of downtown Rome and accessible by extra-urban train lines (yay, no bus tours!), Ostia Antica is a playground of multi-story Roman ruins just waiting for you to run amok down its cobblestone streets and in its amphitheaters—after paying the �6.50 entrance fee, of course. Like Pompeii, the place is an active archaeological site packed with mosaics and frescos. Unlike Pompeii, Ostia wasn't destroyed by a flippin' volcano, meaning that most of the city is as intact as possible for a place that's been booming since the 3rd century BC.

Because of Ostia's lower tourist numbers and larger number of accessible buildings, visitors will be surprised to tour second floors of houses and take the usual kitschy tourist pictures: in one of a few ruins of bars, on the ancient toilets, and behind headless statues. Ostia Antica may be a day trip from Rome, but do plan on spending the entire day losing yourself in the maze of streets and enjoying picnics around the corner from the Baths of Neptune. If only they still functioned; we'd totally opt for an old-fashioned Roman rubdown.

Getting to Ostia Antica from Rome: Take Rome's good old 2-line Metro network to the Piramide stop on Line B. Here, hold onto your 1 subway ticket and board the Extra-urban train marked "Roma-Lido." Hop off at Ostia Antica, which comes before Ostia-Lido, otherwise you're bound for a day at the beach. From the Ostia Antica station, cross the blue footbridge and follow the signs to walk to the ruins (in Italian: gli Scavi) entrance. Total travel time: 45 minutes from Rome. Beware that the ruins are closed on Mondays!

Related Stories:
· Ostia Antica [Official Site]
· When in Rome: Treasure-Free Treasure Hunts for Tourists [Jaunted]
· Ancient History Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: dblackadder]

Comments (2)

Return to » Trippin' to Ostia Antica From Rome; It Sure Beats Pompeii

sounds to me like someone who's never been to pompeii... the beauty of the volcano was that it preserved everything in the exact condition you would have found it in 79 AD. the excavated ruins have had 2,000 fewer years to decay or be vandalized. in addition, pompeii was, in its time, far larger and more populated, allowing for more ornate ampitheatres and bath houses. as someone who has been to both, pompeii wins out, especially with the majestic views of vesuvius.

Oh, I've definitely been to both. Pompeii twice, actually. While it's true the volcano did preserve things like the shapes of the people who died, and the lower levels of buildings, it still did some massive damage to the area while Ostia Antica was pretty much abandoned intact.

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