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 The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' 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 (Rome), 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 ...

. Ostia is also the only or district of Rome on the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

, 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 Kin ...

and the

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

. For Christian posterity, Ostia Antica was especially important as the site of the death of

Saint Monica Monica ( – 387) was an early North African Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, partic ...

(mother of

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

) 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 Italian nationalism is a movement which believes that the Italians are a nation with a single homogeneous identity, and therefrom seeks to promote the cultural unity of Italy as a country. From an Italian nationalist perspective, Italianness is ...

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 The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

. 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 Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, in

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

. 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 Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 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 Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scienti ...

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-bu ...

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 An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...

on 2 November 1975. In 1976, Ostia became part of the

of the ''

'' of Rome. Nowadays, due to the expansion of the city, only the Park of

Castelfusano Castelfusano is an urban park in the comune of Rome. It divides the sea quarter of Ostia and the neighborhood of Casalpalocco. The castle and the park were founded in the 17th century by the Sacchetti family. Its vegetation consists mainly in a ...

separates Ostia from the other quarters of Rome.

Geography

The town is located on the Tyrrhenian coast, close to

Acilia Acilia is a neighborhood and a ''frazione'' of Rome, Italy, located about half- way between Rome and Ostia, along the Via Ostiense. With a population 66,932 in 2008 it is the third largest Italian ''frazione'' after Ostia and Mestre. History Th ...

and separated from

by the mouth of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, 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 ...

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

Transportation

The regional

Rome–Lido railway The Roma–Lido railway is an urban railway line connecting the Porta San Paolo Station in Rome to Lido di Ostia, Rome's seaside neighborhood. The railway is long, stops at 13 stations and carries on average over 90,000 passengers per day. Hi ...

, 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 The Rome Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Roma) is a rapid transit system that operates in Rome, Italy. It started operation in 1955, making it the oldest in the country. The Metro comprises three lines – A (orange), B (blue) and C (green) � ...

, 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 the ...

. 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