View source for Ostia Antica

{{Short description|Large archaeological site of a harbour city near Rome, Italy}}
{{For|the district of Rome|Ostia Antica (district)}}
{{Expand Italian|Ostia (città antica)|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox ancient site
 | name                 = Ostia Antica
 | native_name          = 
 | alternate_name       = 
 | image                = [[File:La place des corporations (Ostia Antica) (5900530118).jpg|300px]]
 | alt                  = 
 | caption              = Market square of Ostia Antica
 | map_type             = Italy
 | map_alt              = 
 | coordinates          = {{coord|41|45|21|N|12|17|30|E|display=inline,title}}
 | mapframe             = yes
 | mapframe-caption     = Click on the map to see marker.
 | mapframe-zoom        = 11
 | mapframe-marker      = monument
 | location             = [[Ostia (Rome)|Ostia]], [[Lazio]], Italy
 | region               = 
 | type                 = Settlement
 | part_of              = 
 | length               = 
 | width                = 
 | area                 = {{convert|150|ha|km2}}<ref name="BeniCulturaliHistory">{{cite web|title=History - Ostia Antica|url=http://www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it/en/la-storia.php|website=www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it|access-date=2 September 2017|language=en|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713123347/http://www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it/en/la-storia.php|archive-date=13 July 2017}}</ref>
 | height               = 
 | builder              = 
 | material             = 
 | built                = 
 | abandoned            = 9th century AD
 | epochs               = 
 | cultures             = [[Ancient Rome]]
 | dependency_of        = 
 | occupants            = 
 | event                = 
 | excavations          = 
 | archaeologists       = 
 | condition            = 
 | ownership            = Public
 | management           = 
 | public_access        = Yes
 | website              = {{URL|http://www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it/}} 
|notes=
}}

'''Ostia Antica''' ({{literally|Ancient Ostia}}) is an [[ancient Roman]] city and the port of [[History of Rome|Rome]] located at the mouth of the [[Tiber]]. It is near modern [[Ostia (Rome)|Ostia]], {{convert|25|km|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Rome]]. Due to [[siltation|silting]] and the invasion of sand,{{clarify |What's the difference betw. silting and "invasion of sand"? |date= May 2024}} the site now lies {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=on}} from the sea.<ref>Ostia-Introduction http://www.ostia-antica.org/intro.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903173213/http://ostia-antica.org/intro.htm |date=2017-09-03 }}</ref> The name ''Ostia'' (the plural of ''ostium'') derives from Latin ''os'' 'mouth'.

Ostia is now a large [[Classical archaeology|archaeological site]] noted for the excellent preservation of its ancient buildings, magnificent [[fresco]]es and impressive [[mosaic]]s. The city's decline after antiquity led to harbor deterioration, marshy conditions, and reduced population. Sand dunes covering the site aided its preservation. Its remains provide insights into a city of commercial importance. As in [[Pompeii]], Ostia's ruins provide details about Roman [[urbanism]] that are not accessible within the city of Rome itself.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gates |first=Charles |title=Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-83057-4 |edition=2nd |location=London [u.a] |pages=367–370}}</ref>

==History==

===Origins===
Ostia may have been Rome's first ''[[colonia (Roman)|colonia]]''. According to legend, [[Ancus Marcius]], the fourth [[kings of Rome|king of Rome]],<ref>[[Livy]], ''[[Ab Urbe condita libri]]'', 1.33.</ref> was the first to destroy [[Ficana]], an ancient town that was only {{convert|17|km|abbr=on}} from Rome and had a small harbour on the [[Tiber]], and then proceeded with establishing the new colony {{convert|10|km|abbr=on|0}} further west and closer to the sea coast. An inscription seems to confirm the establishment of the old ''[[castra|castrum]]'' of Ostia in the 7th century BC.<ref>"Ancus Marcius, the fourth of the kings from Romulus after the founding of the city [Rome] founded this first colony" (''Anco Marcio regi quarto a Romulo qui [[Ab urbe condita]] primum coloniam --- deduxit'').</ref> The oldest archaeological remains so far discovered date back to only the 4th century BC.<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ostia|title=Ostia - Italy|website=britannica.com}}</ref> The most ancient buildings currently visible are from the 3rd century BC, notably the ''Castrum'' (military camp);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ostia-antica.org/intro.htm|title=Ostia - Introduction|website=www.ostia-antica.org|access-date=2006-12-05|archive-date=2017-09-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903173213/http://ostia-antica.org/intro.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> of a slightly later date is the ''Capitolium'' (temple of [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]], [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] and [[Minerva]]). The ''[[opus quadratum]]'' of the walls of the original ''castrum'' at Ostia provide important evidence for the building techniques that were employed in Roman [[urbanisation]] during the period of the [[Roman Republic|Middle Republic]].<ref name="OSMAPArchitecture">{{cite web|last1=White|first1=Michael|title=OSMAP Building Types|url=https://www.laits.utexas.edu/isac/web/OSMAP/OSMAP_Masonry2.html|website=www.laits.utexas.edu|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

Ostia probably developed originally as a naval base, and in 267 BC, during the [[first Punic war]], it was the seat of the ''quaestor Ostiensis'' in charge of the fleet. During the 2nd century BC its role as a commercial port gradually became prevalent for the imports of grain for the city of Rome, and buildings began to spread outside the castrum.

===Civil wars===

Ostia was a scene of fighting during the period of civil wars in the 80s BC. In 87 BC [[Gaius Marius|Marius]] attacked the city in order to cut off the flow of trade to Rome, aided by his generals [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna|Cinna]], [[Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (consul 85 BC)|Carbo]] and [[Quintus Sertorius|Sertorius]], and captured the city and plundered it.<ref>Appian, The Civil Wars, 1.8, ed. Horace White, 1899</ref>

===Sacking by pirates===

In 68 BC, the town was sacked by [[Cilician pirates|pirates]],<ref>Cicero, On the Command of Cn. Pompeius, 33</ref> who set the port on fire, destroyed the consular war fleet, and kidnapped two prominent senators. This attack caused such panic in Rome that [[Pompey Magnus|Pompey the Great]] arranged for the [[tribune]] [[Aulus Gabinius]] to pass a law, the ''[[lex Gabinia]]'', to allow Pompey to raise an army and [[Pompey's campaign against the pirates|destroy the pirates]]. Within a year, the pirates had been defeated.<ref name="CiceroCommandPompeius">{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/To_the_citizens_on_Gnaeus_Pompeius's_command#12|title=To the citizens on Gnaeus Pompeius's command|first=Marcus Tullius |last=Cicero|via=Wikisource}}</ref>

The town was then re-built and provided with defensive walls started under [[Marcus Tullius Cicero]] according to an inscription.<ref>EDR031435, EDR031505</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ostia-antica.org/dict/topics/walls/walls.htm|title=Topographical dictionary - The city walls|website=www.ostia-antica.org}}</ref>

===Imperial Ostia===
{{See also|Portus}}
[[File:OstiaAntica-SchemaRegioni.jpg|upright=1.5|thumb|Map of Ostia Antica]]
[[File:Area archeologica di Ostia Antica - panoramio (36).jpg|thumb|View of the [[Piazzale delle Corporazioni|Forum]] from the Theatre]]
[[File:Theater (Ostia Antica).jpg|thumb|The Ancient Roman theatre]]

Ostia was further developed during the first century AD under the influence of [[Tiberius]], who ordered the building of the town's first [[Forum (Roman)|forum]].

Due to the small size of the harbour at Ostia, [[Claudius]] commissioned a new harbour at [[Portus]] on the northern mouths of the Tiber (''Fiumara Grande''). Insufficiently protected from storms, Claudius' project was later supplemented by the hexagonal harbour built by [[Trajan]] and finished in 113 AD.<ref name="EncyclopediaBritannicaOstia">{{cite web|title=Ostia - Italy|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ostia|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=1 September 2017|language=en}}</ref> Trajan also developed the harbour of [[Civitavecchia]] (''Centum Cellae''), a relatively short distance away. These ports took business away from Ostia and began its commercial decline.<ref name="EncyclopediaBritannicaOstia" />

Nevertheless, Ostia grew to a peak of some 100,000 inhabitants in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YbtxTd95IjwC&pg=PA467|title=Mediterranean Europe|first=Duncan|last=Garwood|date=24 September 2018|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=9781741048568 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

Ostia itself was provided with all the services a town of the time could require; a large theatre, many public baths (such as the Thermae Gavii Maximi, or [[Baths at Ostia]]), numerous taverns and inns and a firefighting service. The popularity of the [[Mithraism|cult of Mithras]] is evident in the discovery of eighteen [[Mithraeum|Mithraea]].<ref name="MithraismOstia">{{cite web|last1=Griffith|first1=Alison|title=Topographical dictionary - Mithraism|url=http://www.ostia-antica.org/dict/topics/mithraea/intro.htm|website=www.ostia-antica.org|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> Ostia also contained the [[Ostia Synagogue]], the earliest synagogue yet identified in Europe.<ref>L. Michael White, "Synagogue and Society in Imperial Ostia: Archaeological and Epigraphic Evidence" ''The Harvard Theological Review'' '''90'''.1 (January 1997), pp 23-58; Anders Runesson, "The Oldest Original Synagogue Building in the Diaspora: A Response to L. Michael White" ''HTR'' '''92'''.4 (October 1999), pp 409-433; L. Michael White "Reading the Ostia Synagogue: A Reply to A. Runesson", ''HTR'' '''92'''.4 (October 1999), pp 435-464.</ref>

===Late-Roman and sub-Roman Ostia===
[[File:La maison de Diane (Ostia Antica) (5900777253).jpg|thumb|Via di Diana]]

Although it used to be thought that the city entered a period of slow decline after [[Constantine the Great]] made Portus a municipality, indicated by some apartment blocks being replaced by houses of the rich, recent excavations show that the town continued to thrive.<ref>''Ostia in Late Antiquity'', [[Douglas Boin]], 2013, Cambridge University, p. 65 {{ISBN|978-1-316-60153-2}}</ref> Numerous baths are recorded as still operating in the 4th and 5th centuries with major repairs of the city's Neptune Baths in the 370s. During the 4th century, the city spilled over the southern walls to the sea south of Regions III and IV.

The poet [[Rutilius Namatianus]] reported the lack of maintenance of the city ports in 414 AD.<ref name="RutiliusNamatianus">{{cite web|title=RUTILIUS NAMATIANUS|url=http://www.ostia-antica.org/~atexts/rutilius.htm|website=www.ostia-antica.org|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>  This view has been challenged by Boin who states Namatianus' verse is a literary construct and inconsistent with the archaeological record.<ref>''Ostia in Late Antiquity'', Boin, 2013, pp. 22, 25. The poet was lamenting the lost greatness of Rome after the sack of 410.</ref>

Prosperity in the 5th century is indicated by repairs on baths (26 remained in operation during the 4th century), public buildings, church construction, street repaving, residential and business expansion beyond the perimeter of the south wall (the presence of a small harbour, the Porta Marina on the sea, is attested). A huge 4th century villa east of the Maritime baths was built. The river port on the western edge of the town was expanded with the ''navalia'', a squarish basin built in from the river. A warehouse on the east side and, behind it, a large bath complex were built.<ref>''Ostia in Late Antiquity'', Boin, 2013, pp. 21, 24, 52-53, 56, 57-65, 165, 231-236</ref>

It became an [[episcopal see]] as part of the [[Diocese of Rome]] as early as the 3rd century AD. The episcopal church sponsored by Constantine the Great is located in the south-east of the city.{{sfn|Heinzelmann|2020|p=15–120}}<ref>Feist, Sabine; et al. (2023). "Die konstantinische Bischofskirche von Ostia. Vorbericht zur ersten Grabungskampagne 2023" [The Constantinian episcopal church of Ostia. Preliminary report on the first excavation campaign in 2023]. ''Kölner und Bonner Archaeologica'' '''13''', pp. 163–181.</ref> The city was mentioned by [[Augustine of Hippo|St Augustine]] when he passed there in the late 4th century.<ref name="StAugustineOstia">{{cite web|title=St. Augustine at Ostia|url=http://celt.ucc.ie/published/E880000-004/text001.html|website=celt.ucc.ie|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> On their way back to Africa after Augustine's conversion to Christianity, Augustine's mother, [[Saint Monica]], died in 387 in Ostia.<ref>{{cite book|last = Augustine|first = E.|date = 1977|title = Confessions|location = London|publisher = Penguin|isbn = 014044114X|pages = [https://archive.org/details/confessions00augu/page/196 196]–197|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/confessions00augu}}</ref> The church (''[[titulus (Roman Catholic)|titulus]]'') of [[Santa Aurea]] in Ostia was built on her burial site.

After the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]] in 476, Ostia fell slowly into decay as the population of Rome, 700–800,000 in AD 400 contracted to 200,000 or less in 500 AD. A naval battle, the [[Battle of Ostia]], was fought there in 849 between [[Christians]] and [[Saracens]]; the remaining inhabitants moved to [[Gregoriopolis]] a short distance away.<ref name="EncyclopediaBritannicaOstia" />

==Surroundings==
[[File:Map of Roman villas between Ostia and Laurentum.png|thumb|Map of Roman villas between Ostia and Laurentum (Lanciani 1903)]]

South of Ostia many rich villa-estates were developed from the Republican era along the coast road to [[Laurentum]].<ref>Carta degli insediamenti del litorale laurentino da Lanciani 1903, cit. a nota 5, tav. XIII, fig. 3.</ref> Pliny described the route towards his villa there: “There are two different roads to it: if you go by that of Laurentum, you must turn off at the fourteenth mile-stone; if by that of Ostia, at the eleventh. Both of them are sandy in places, which makes it a little heavier and longer by carriage, but short and easy on horseback. The landscape affords plenty of variety, the view in some places being closed in by woods, in others extending over broad meadows, where numerous flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, which the severity of the winter has driven from the mountains, fatten in the spring warmth, and on the rich pasturage”.

Today several well-preserved Roman villas south of Ostia have been excavated in the area of Castel Fusano, including the [[Villa della Palombara]] excavated in 1989–2008.

==Excavations==
[[File:Follis-Maxentius-s3776.jpg|thumb|Ostia housed a late imperial mint; this coin of [[Maxentius]] was struck there.]]
The remains were used over the centuries as a quarry for [[marble]] for the ''[[palazzo|palazzi]]'' built in Rome.<ref>Angelo PELLEGRINO, Ostia Antica: Guide to the Excavations Paperback, 2000 {{ISBN|978-8870470918}}</ref>

The [[Papacy]] started organising its own digs for sculptures with [[Pope Pius VII]].{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Under [[Benito Mussolini]] massive excavations were undertaken from 1939 to 1942<ref name="britannica.com"/> during which several remains, particularly from [[Roman Republic|the Republican Period]], were brought to light. These were interrupted when Italy became a major battlefield of World War II.

In the post-war period, the first volume of the official series ''Scavi di Ostia'' appeared in 1954; it was devoted to a topography of the town by [[Italo Gismondi]] and after a hiatus the research still continues today. Though untouched areas adjacent to the original excavations were left undisturbed awaiting a more precise dating of Roman pottery types, the "Baths of the Swimmer", named for the mosaic figure in the ''[[apodyterium]]'', were meticulously excavated, in 1966–70 and 1974–75, in part as a training ground for young archaeologists and in part to establish a laboratory of well-understood finds as a teaching aid.

It has been estimated that two-thirds of the ancient town are as yet unexcavated.

In 2014, a [[geophysical]] survey using [[magnetometry]], among other techniques, revealed the existence of a boundary wall on the north side of the Tiber enclosing an unexcavated area of the city containing three massive warehouses.<ref>{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Emily|title=Archaeologists Unearth New Areas Of Ancient Roman City|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/17/roman-port-city-ostia-archaeology-_n_5167948.html|access-date=4 May 2014|newspaper=huffingtonpost.com|date=17–19 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Earl|first=Graeme|title=New city wall discovered at Ostia|date=16 April 2014 |url=http://www.portusproject.org/blog/2014/04/new-city-wall-discovered-ostia/|publisher=University of Southampton|access-date=4 May 2014}}</ref>

In 2025, excavations at Ostia Antica uncovered what may be the oldest [[Mikveh|Jewish ritual bath]] (''mikveh'') found outside [[Israel]], dating to the late 4th or early 5th century. Located within a large Roman house, the bath features a deep immersion pool and an [[oil lamp]] with a [[Temple menorah|menorah]] symbol, supporting its Jewish identification.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Povoledo |first=Elisabetta |date=2025-03-11 |title=Archaeologists Unearth Oldest Jewish Ritual Bath Found in Europe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/world/europe/ancient-rome-port-excavation-jewish-ritual-bath.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Modern day==
The site of Ostia Antica is open to the public. Finds from the excavation are housed onsite in the Museo Ostiense.

== Media ==
*Ostia was featured in the novels ''[[I, Claudius]]'' and ''[[Claudius the God]]'', both written by [[Great Britain|British]] novelist [[Robert Graves]]. The novels include scenes set at Ostia spanning from the reign of [[Augustus]] to the reign of [[Claudius]], including the departure of [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa|Agrippa]] to [[Syria]] and Claudius's reconstruction of the harbour. In the [[I, Claudius (TV series)|1976 television series]], Ostia was frequently mentioned but never actually seen.
*Ostia features in ''A War Within: The Gladiator'' by Nathan D. Maki. After an assassination attempt on Emperor [[Commodus]] the protagonists Antonius and Theudas escape by clinging to a barge on the Tiber, reaching Ostia, and stowing away on a trireme heading north to Ravenna.
*Ostia appears briefly towards the end of the ''Roman Empire'' section of the [[1981 in film|1981]] comedy film ''[[History of the World, Part I]]'', where the main characters board a galleon (bearing the [[El Al]] logo) bound for [[Iudaea Province|Judaea]]. In the film, however, Ostia is only ever referred to as simply "the port".
*Ostia's beach and port serves as the location for the 1993 music video of the song "[[La solitudine]]" by [[Laura Pausini]].
*Ostia is mentioned several times in the 2005 [[HBO]]/[[BBC]] historical drama series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]''.
*Ostia is mentioned in the 2000 film ''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]'', when the protagonist, Maximus, learns that his army is camped at Ostia and awaiting orders.
*One of the wonders buildable in the "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" mod for Sid Meier's ''[[Civilization III]]'' is called the "Portus Ostiae".
*Ostia is one of the inspirations for the setting of ''[[The Talos Principle]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archaeogaming.com/2017/04/17/the-archaeology-of-the-talos-principle/|title=The Archaeology of The Talos Principle|website=archaeogaming.com|access-date=June 17, 2024}}</ref>
*Ostia is the name of the Magic World's lost kingdom and the location of the gladiatorial games in the manga series ''[[Negima! Magister Negi Magi]]''.
*Ostia is the name of the most important city of the Lycian Alliance in the ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series.
*Ostia is mentioned in several novels in [[Lindsey Davis]]' [[Marcus Didius Falco]] series.
*Ostia is featured in the film ''[[Rome Adventure]]'' from 1962.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056424/locations|title=Rome Adventure, Filming Locations|website=IMDB.com|publisher=IMDB|access-date=January 25, 2017}}</ref>
*Ostia is a central location in the children's novel series ''[[The Roman Mysteries]]'' by [[Caroline Lawrence]], and its [[Roman Mysteries (TV series)|television adaption]].

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed>
File:Street and Dwellings, Ostia Antica (7966414348).jpg|Street and dwellings
File:Area archeologica di Ostia Antica - panoramio (52).jpg|Temple of the [[Capitoline Triad]]: Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva
File:Ostia gate.jpg|The inscription originally placed on the main gate
File:Ostia Antica (46761317782).jpg|Theatrical masks, part of the architectural decoration of the Theatre (regio II, insula VII)
File:Magazzino dei Doli Ostia Antica 2006-09-08.jpg|[[Dolium|Dolia]] embedded in the ground at Caseggiato dei dolii 
File:Frigidarium Terme del Foro Ostia Antica 2006-09-08.jpg|[[Baths at Ostia#Forum Baths|Forum Baths]] (frigidarium)
File:Domus di Amore e Psiche Ostia Antica 2006-09-08 n4.jpg|Floor pavement. Room C of the House of Cupid and Psyche (regio I, insula XIV)
File:Statue of a reclining Attis at the Shrine of Attis 1.jpg|Statue of [[Attis]] in the [[Criobolium|Shrine of Attis]]
File:Area archeologica di Ostia Antica - panoramio (62).jpg|View of the archaeological site
File:Ostia Antica - Via Delle Tombe.jpg|Via delle TombeV
File:Ostia Antica - House of the Painted Vaults - room 5 - west and south wall - 2.jpg|Room 5 of the House of the Painted Vaults. A wall painting of an erotic scene is on the south wall. 250 CE
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Museo Archeologico Ostiense]]
* [[Temple of Bellona, Ostia]]
* [[Via Ostiensis]]

==Notes==
<!--This article uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add references to this article, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php -->
{{reflist}}

==References==
;Archaeological reports
*{{cite book |last1=Bigi |first1=Daniele |title=Scavi di Ostia XVIII: Il Caseggiato del Serapide |date=2024 |publisher=L'Erma di Bretschneider |isbn=9788891328298}}
* {{cite book |last=Heinzelmann |first=Michael |date=2020 |lang=de |title=Forma urbis Ostiae. Untersuchungen zur Entwicklung der Hafenstadt Roms von der Zeit der Republik bis ins frühe Mittelalter |trans-title=Forma urbis Ostiae. Studies on the development of the harbour city of Rome from the time of the Republic to the early Middle Ages |publisher=Harrassowitz | location=Wiesbaden |isbn=978-3-447-11534-6}}

;Discussions
* Boatwright, Mary Taliaferro. ''The Romans: From Village to Empire''. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP (2012): 248
* Danner, Marcel (2017). ''Wohnkultur im spätantiken Ostia'' [Housing culture in late antique Ostia]. Kölner Schriften zur Archäologie, volume 1. Wiesbaden: Reichert, {{ISBN|978-3-95490-128-9}}.
* Heinzelmann, Michael (2004). ''[https://www.academia.edu/49363817 Die Nekropolen von Ostia. Untersuchungen zu den Gräberstraßen vor der Porta Romana und an der Via Laurentia]'' [The necropolises of Ostia. Investigations into the necropolis streets in front of the Porta Romana and on the Via Laurentia]. Studien zur antiken Stadt, volume 6. München: Pfeil, {{ISBN|3-931516-85-7}} ([https://www.academia.edu/45438482 link to the supplement plans]).
*Hermansen, Gustav 1982. ''Ostia: Aspects of Roman City Life.'' Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.
* Karivieri, Arja (2020). ''Life and death in a multicultural harbour city. Ostia antica from the Republic through late antiquity.'' Rome: Institutum Romanum Finlandiae, {{ISBN|978-88-5491-104-8}}.
*Meiggs, R. (1960) 1973. ''Roman Ostia'' 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press) The standard overview.
*Packer, James E. 1971 ''The Insulae of Imperial Ostia" ''M.Am.Acad. Rome'' '''31'''
*Pavolini, C. ''Ostia: Guida Archeologica Laterza.'' Rome: Laterza (Italian)
*Priester, S. ''Vielgeschossige Wohnbauten außerhalb der Tibermetropole,'' in: ''Ad summas tegulas. Untersuchungen zu vielgeschossigen Gebäudeblöcken mit Wohneinheiten und insulae im kaiserzeitlichen Rom'', L'Erma Di Bretschneider, Roma 2002, pp.&nbsp;217 ff.
* Rieger, Anna-Katharina (2004). ''Heiligtümer in Ostia'' [Sanctuaries in Ostia]. München: Pfeil, {{ISBN|3-89937-042-2}}.
* Lorenzatti Sandro, ''Ostia. Storia Ambiente Itinerari.'' Roma 2007.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://digitalmapsoftheancientworld.com/photography/ancient-sites/ostia/ Photographs of Ostia at DigitalMapsoftheAncientWorld] ''retrieved August 13, 2022''
{{Landmarks of Lazio}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome]]
[[Category:Archaeological parks]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Lazio]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Italy]]
[[Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy]]
[[Category:Mithraea]]
[[Category:Ostia (ancient city)| ]]
[[Category:Ostia (Rome)]]
[[Category:Roman harbors in Italy]]
[[Category:Roman sites in Lazio]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Italy]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Rome]]