The Via Ostiensis ( it, via Ostiense) was an important road in
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
. It ran west from the city 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 ...
to its important sea port of
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 ...
, from which it took its name. The road began near the
Forum Boarium
The Forum Boarium (, it, Foro Boario) was the cattle ''forum venalium'' of ancient Rome. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. As the site of the original docks of Rome ...
, ran between the
Aventine Hill
The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome.
Location and boundaries
The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
and the
Tiber River
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 the Riv ...
along its left (eastern) bank, and left the city's
Servian Walls
The Servian Wall ( la, Murus Servii Tullii; it, Mura Serviane) was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was built of volcanic tuff and was up to in height in places, wide ...
through the
Porta Trigemina
The Porta Trigemina was one of the main gates in the ancient 4th century Servian Wall of Rome, Italy. The gate no longer exists, but it is frequently mentioned by ancient authors as standing between the north end of the Aventine Hill and the Tiber ...
. When the later
Aurelian Walls were built, the road left the city through the Porta Ostiensis (
Porta San Paolo
The Porta San Paolo (English: Saint Paul Gate) is one of the southern gates in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. The Via Ostiense Museum (') is housed within the gatehouse.
It is in the Ostiense quarter; just to the west is the Roma ...
). In the late
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 ...
, trade suffered under an economic crisis, and Ostia declined as an important port. With the accompanying growth of importance of the
Via Portuensis
Via Portuensis was an ancient Roman road, leading to the Portus constructed by Claudius on the right bank of the Tiber, at its mouth. It started from the Pons Aemilius, and the first part of its course is identical with that of the Via Campana. Th ...
from the time of
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
onwards, that of the Via Ostiensis correspondingly decreased. Modern Via Ostiense, following a similar path, is the main connection of Rome to Ostia (one of the quarters of Rome at present) together with the Via del Mare. On its way to Ostia, the road passes by the important
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
of
Saint Paul Outside the Walls
The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the ...
.
Roman bridges
There are the remains of at least one
Roman bridge
The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ke ...
along the road, which is the Ponte presso Tor di Valle.
See also
*
Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
*
Roman bridge
The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ke ...
*
Roman engineering
The ancient Romans were famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, but transformed by the Romans into a technology inconceivable in Greece. The architecture ...
*
Ostiense
Ostiense is the 10th ''quartiere'' of Rome, identified by the initials Q. X.
The toponym comes from the original name of the Porta San Paolo, a gate in the city walls of Rome, was , because it was located at the beginning of Via Ostiense. It no ...
External links
LacusCurtius — Via Ostiensis
Ostiensis, Via
Ostiensis
Ostia (Rome)
Rome Q. XXXII Europa
Rome Q. X Ostiense
Rome Q. XXXIV Lido di Ostia Levante
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