Everything about Ostia Antica District totally explained
Ostia Antica is a district in the commune of
Rome,
Italy, five kilometers away from the coast. It is distinct from
Ostia.
History
Under the Romans, Ostia Antica reached a peak of some 75,000 inhabitants in the 2nd and 3rd century AD. A slow decadence began with the time of
Constantine I, and the decaying conditions of the city were mentioned by
St. Augustine when he passed through in the late 4th century. His mother,
St. Monica, died in an inn here. The poet
Rutilius Namatianus also reported the lack of maintenance of the city in
414. Ostia became an
episcopal see as early as the 3rd century AD, with the cathedral (
titulus) of
Santa Aurea erected over the tomb of St. Monica.
As the centuries passed, Ostia fell into ruin but remained an access from the sea for visitors to Rome.
Saracen pirates were a frequent concern; the naval
Battle of Ostia was fought off the coast in
849.
Pope Gregory IV fortified the existing burgh and it was rechristened
Gregoriopolis. By this time, the shifting course of the
Tiber had landlocked the ancient port, and the town was mainly a shelter for the workers of the nearby salt mills.
In the late 15th century, the bishop
Giuliano della Rovere (later
Pope Julius II) commissioned the rebuilding of the main church and town walls under the direction of the architect
Baccio Pontelli. The Castle of Julius II, also built at this time, remains the most striking feature of modern Ostia. The castle was abandoned after a flood in 1587 flooded its moat and turned the surrounding area into a marsh.
The castle and the town were restored again in the 20th century.
Bibliography
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