Rome: A Visit to Ostia Antica, Roman Ghost Town

Ostia Antica ruins, located just outside of Rome. Alexandra Tunney photos.
Ostia Antica ruins, located just outside of Rome. Alexandra Turney photos.

By Alexandra Turney

To experience the illusion of being the only person in a large Roman town, visit

Ostia Antica street
Ostia Antica street

Ostia Antica. The ruins of Ostia Antica are only half an hour away from Rome, and if you visit during the low season, as I did, you’ll practically have the place to yourself.

I spent so much time alone in the ruins, pretending that I was the first person to have stumbled across this deserted town, that I was sometimes startled by the sight of another visitor.

You couldn’t say the same of the ruins of Pompeii, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy. In Roman times Pompeii had a population of around 12,000 people, and it now has nearly 2.5 million annual visitors.

Compare that to Ostia Antica, the port town of Ancient Rome, which had an estimated 60,000 inhabitants. It attracts a fraction of Pompeii’s tourists – fewer than 300,000 visitors each year.

It’s a pity that Ostia Antica is so overlooked, but it means that those who make the day trip from Rome are rewarded with an unforgettable experience, and without the crowds.

Ostia Antica Capitolium.
Ostia Antica capitolium

Walking in the footsteps of the Romans

I entered Ostia Antica through the necropolis, walking through the maze of tombs on the edge of the ancient city.

The Romans always buried their dead outside of the city, and you have to follow the cobbled road a little further to reach the city center.

It’s always a slightly surreal sensation, walking over these vast, time-warped stones, where the ruts of the ancient carriage wheels are still visible.

In Ostia Antica you’re literally walking in the footsteps of the Romans, crossing their streets, climbing their stairs, and entering their houses, shops, and temples.

There are countless buildings to explore. Some of them are little more than fragments of wall and grass carpets, while others are almost eerily well preserved. I wandered through claustrophobic insulae — multistory Roman apartment blocks with shops on the ground floor — and the courtyards of grand villas.

In the Domus of Fortuna Annonaria, you can still see some remaining statues and mosaic floors, depicting mythological scenes in tiny black and white tiles.

Many of the most famous mosaics at Ostia Antica, such as those of the Baths of Neptune, were covered up when I

Ostia Antica fishmongers mosaic.
Ostia Antica fishmongers mosaic.

visited. The mosaics were also undergoing restoration work on my first visit a couple of years ago, with an awkwardly translated sign that apologized for any “uneasiness” that might be caused.

This time I didn’t feel uneasy, just a little disappointed, but of course, such work is essential. Italy is facing some enormous challenges in terms of cultural preservation, with such a wealth of historical sites to protect, and it was encouraging to see the restorers hard at work on the mosaic floor.

Ostia Antica road
Ostia Antica road

The drama of the ruins

The artwork may have suffered, but elsewhere it’s amazing to see how much has remained relatively intact.

The theater, built in the second century, is particularly impressive, and I enjoyed clambering up the steps for a better view.

As well as giving me a reminder of the sheer scale of Ostia Antica – ruins as far as the eye can see – I was also able to appreciate the acoustics.

From the top row of the theater, you can hear people whispering on the stage. It has been speculated that the tyrannical emperor Commodus once performed in this theater, either appearing as a gladiator or killing wild animals.

Now that the only sounds to be heard are the birds and the distant traffic, it’s difficult to imagine the chaos of a gladiator fight, but I could just about imagine a play. The leering, bearded theatrical masks behind the stage are a vivid reminder of what once took place here.

Even away from the theater, there’s something undeniably theatrical about Ostia Antica. Certain streets could be part of a film set, such as one cobbled street lined by two-story, red brick buildings. Look up and you’ll only see pigeons perched on the window ledge, but I half expected to see the head of a resident pop out of the window – perhaps the man who worked at the fishmonger’s down the road.

In the nearby forum, I discovered the striking ruins of the Capitolium. This vast temple is believed to have been dedicated to the Capitoline triad of gods (Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva), but in recent times it’s been used for quite a different purpose.

Ostia Antica ruins
Ostia Antica ruins.

As I watched two children racing up the steps, I remembered a scene from the popular Italian TV show Romanzo Criminale, where two rival criminal gangs meet on the podium to discuss business. Ostia Antica is chosen not only because it’s a neutral location outside of Rome, but also because it’s private. No one’s going to interrupt a meeting taking place in a desolate Roman town in the early hours of the morning.

Urban wilderness

Whatever your motives for visiting Ostia Antica – an interest in archaeology or something more nefarious – you’re unlikely to be disturbed.

The further I walked, the fewer people I encountered. I spotted a couple of cats roaming through the ruins of temples, and little emerald lizards scurrying up and down the walls.

Ostia Antica statue
Ostia Antica statue

I found flights of stairs that led to nowhere, abruptly stopping mid-air and trees growing in a labyrinth of ruins. When I encountered another lone visitor in the courtyard of a Domus, we both pretended we hadn’t seen each other, and quickly walked off in opposite directions, to return to our fantasies of total solitude.

Human Touches

But while certain parts of the town resemble a picturesque wilderness, one of the loveliest things about Ostia Antica is the little human touches.

I visited a fishmonger’s with a marble table and a mosaic of a dolphin on the floor, captioned “Inbide calcio te” (“Envious one, I tread on you”). In another building some massive granite sculptures, which had initially seemed rather mysterious, were revealed to be ancient grain mills, and I discovered I was standing in the town’s largest bakery.

Just as I was starting to crave something to eat, I came across one of Ostia Antica’s bars. But unfortunately nothing had been served there for well over a thousand years, and there was no one behind the marble bar.

This building was once a kind of tavern, where locals would have stopped off for a snack and a drink. Little details like the stove, the storage jar and the faded paintings of food brought the bar to life, transforming it from a ruin into something much more human.

There were times, however, when I wanted to know more. As much as I enjoyed feeling like an adventurer and guessing what something was when I couldn’t find a sign, I found myself envying the couple in the bar with the private guide. I eavesdropped for a while and was tempted to follow them, but it’s difficult to subtly tag along on a tour group of two.

Missing the mithrae

Getting lost in Ostia Antica was fun, but I know that after a visit of less than three hours, without a guide or guidebook, I must have missed a lot. I didn’t see the brothel or the synagogue – the oldest in Europe – and I was disappointed to leave without finding the mithraeum (a pagan temple dedicated to the god Mithras). Then I got home, checked online, and discovered that there are in fact sixteen mithrae, including one with a symbolic mosaic floor, depicting animals that represent the different stages of cult initiation.

On the train back to Rome, I reflected that Ostia Antica is best experienced at least twice. Once on your own, so you can feel like an explorer and enjoy the sense of mystery, and once on a private tour, so you have an expert to answer your questions and show you the mosaics of the mithrae. But at least I can say that I’ve visited Ostia Antica – I’ve sat on the steps of the theater and explored the homes of the rich and poor. There are so many tourists who rush through Rome without even considering a trip to the town by the sea. They have no idea what they’re missing.

Find out more about Ostia Antica on the official website.

Alexandra Tunney Alexandra Turney grew up in London and now lives in Rome, where she works for Through Eternity (which organizes private tours of Ostia Antica), and writes novels. She also has a        personal Rome blog, Go Thou to Rome.

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