Ostia (, ; officially Lido di Ostia) is a large neighbourhood in the

X Municipio The city of Rome, Italy is divided into first-level administrative subdivisions. There are 15 ''municipi'' (singular: ''municipio'') in the city; each ''municipio'' is governed by a president and a council who are elected directly by its reside ...

of the '' comune'' of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, near the ancient port of Rome, which is now a major archaeological site known as

Ostia Antica Ostia Antica ("Ancient Ostia") is a large archaeological site, close to the modern town of Ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, 25 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Rome. "Ostia" (plur. of "ostium") is a derivation ...

. Ostia is also the only or district of Rome on the Tyrrhenian Sea, and many Romans spend the summer holidays there.

History

had been the port city of ancient Rome, and is often referenced in writings from the times of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

and the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. For Christian posterity, Ostia Antica was especially important as the site of the death of Saint Monica (mother of Saint Augustine) in 387 in a house property of the Diocesi of Rome, on their way back to Africa after Augustine's conversion to Christianity. An important stand in Italian nationalism of the 19th century was a veneration for the glories of the Roman past, manifested in a wish to revive or recreate various places and institutions connected with Ancient Rome. In 1871, the city of Rome became the capital of the new Kingdom of Italy. A recreation of Ostia was an obvious additional step. The modern neighbourhood of Ostia was founded in 1884, near the remains of Ostia Antica. This was possible after reclamation of the nearby marshland, which was infested by malarial mosquitos. The first inhabitants were peasants coming from Ravenna, in Romagna. Due to the opening of the urban Roma–Ostia railway in 1924, the new village soon became the favourite sea resort of the Romans, while many Art Nouveau houses were built on the waterfront. The new village was connected to central

through the new Via Ostiense, which was opened in 1907. During the Fascist period, the government massively expanded the neighbourhood, which got its ultimate architectural character due to many new buildings in Stile Littorio. New infrastructure, such as a second road to Rome (Via del Mare'), the promenade, and a water airport, were all built during this period. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, many bathing establishments were built on the seaside, and Ostia experienced a tourist boom. The new Cristoforo Colombo Avenue connected Ostia with the

EUR district The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . T ...

in Rome. Sea pollution, which became apparent during the 1970s, lowered the popularity of Ostia as a sea resort. The building of the Leonardo da Vinci Airport in

Fiumicino Fiumicino () is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 80,500 (2019). It is known for being the site of Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, the busiest airport in Italy and the eleventh-b ...

in 1956 made Ostia an attractive district for airport and airline workers. Italian intellectual, film director and poet

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

was assassinated near the water aerodrome on 2 November 1975. In 1976, Ostia became part of the

of the '' comune'' of Rome. Nowadays, due to the expansion of the city, only the Park of Castelfusano separates Ostia from the other quarters of Rome.

Geography

The town is located on the Tyrrhenian coast, close to Acilia and separated from

by the mouth of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...

. Located on the coast, Ostia enjoys warmer winters and cooler summers than central Rome.

Transportation

The regional Rome–Lido railway, which carries over 90,000 passengers a day, connects Ostia to the centre of Rome, providing up to 12 journeys per hour during rush hour. The full length of the line is . It has 13 stops, and the journey time is roughly 37 minutes. The Roman terminal is at Roma Porta San Paolo station, very close to the Piramide stop ( Rome Metro, Line B) and close to

Roma Ostiense railway station Roma Ostiense is a railway station in Piazza dei Partigiani serving the Ostiense district of Rome, Italy, a short distance from the Porta San Paolo. It is run by the Rete Ferroviaria Italiana arm of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane group and t ...

. Rail stops in Ostia are Ostia Antica, Ostia Lido Nord, Ostia Lido Centro, Ostia Stella Polare, Ostia Castel Fusano and Ostia Cristoforo Colombo.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostia Coastal towns in Lazio Subdivisions of Rome