Ostia Antica was inhabited by a cosmopolitan population of rich businessmen, wily merchants, sailors, slaves, and their respective families. The great horrea (warehouses) were built in the 2nd century AD to handle huge shipments of grain from Africa; the insulae (forerunners of the modern apartment building) provided housing for the growing population. Under the combined assaults of the barbarians and the Anopheles mosquito, and after the Tiber changed course, the port was eventually abandoned. Tidal mud and windblown sand covered the city, which lay buried until the beginning of the 20th century. Now the Scavi di Ostia Antica (Ostia Antica excavations) have been extensively excavated and are well maintained.

To your right, a staircase leads to a platform -- the remains of the upper floor of the Terme di Nettuno -- from which you get a good view of the black-and-white mosaic pavements representing a marine scene with Neptune and Amphitrite. Directly behind the baths are the barracks of the fire department, which played an important role in a town whose warehouses were generally full of valuable goods and foodstuffs.

On the north side of the Decumanus Maximus is the beautiful Teatro, built by Agrippa, remodeled by Septimius Severus in the 2nd century AD, and finally restored by the Rome City Council in the 20th century. In the vast Piazzale delle Corporazioni, where organizations similar to trade guilds had their offices, is the Tempio di Cerere, which is only appropriate for a town dealing in grain imports -- Ceres, who gave her name to cereal, was the goddess of agriculture.You can visit the Domus di Apuleio, built in Pompeian style, which meant lower to the ground and with fewer windows than was characteristic of Ostia. Next door, the Mithraeum has balconies and a hall decorated with symbols of the cult of Mithras. This male-only religion, imported from Persia, was especially popular with legionnaires.

On Via Semita dei Cippi, just off Via dei Molini, the Domus della Fortuna Annonaria is the richly decorated former residence of a wealthy Ostian, which displays the skill of the mosaic artists of the period. One of the rooms opens onto a secluded garden.

On Via dei Molini you can see a molino, where grain for the warehouses next door was ground with stones that are still here.Along Via di Diana you come upon a thermopolium with a marble counter and a fresco depicting the fruit and foodstuffs that were sold here.At the end of Via dei Dipinti is the Museo Ostiense, open the same hours as the Scavi (but enter at least a half hour before closing time), which displays sarcophagi, massive marble columns, and statuary too large to be shown anywhere else, including a beautiful figure of Mithras slaying the bull, which was taken from the underground Mithraeum.

The Forum, on the south side of Decumanus Maximus, holds the monumental remains of the city's most important temple, dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva; other ruins of baths; a basilica (which in Roman times was a secular hall of justice); and smaller temples.

West of Via Epagathiana, the Domus di Amore e Psiche, a residence, was named for a statue found there (now on display in the museum); you can see what remains of a large pool in an enclosed garden decorated with marble and mosaic motifs. Even in ancient times a premium was placed on water views: the house faces the shore, which would have been only about 1/3 km ( 1/5 mi) away.Via Epagathiana leads toward the Tiber, where there are large horrea, which were erected during the 2nd century AD to store the enormous amounts of grain imported into Rome during that period, the height of the empire.

The Casa di Serapide on Via della Foce is a 2nd-century multilevel dwelling; another apartment building stands one street over on Via degli Aurighi. Nearby, the Termi dei Sette Sapienti are named after a group of bawdy frescoes found there.

The Porta Marina leads to what used to be the seashore. About 300 meters (1,000 feet) to the south of the Porta Marina are the ruins of the sinagoga, one of the oldest in the Western world.

Before exploring Ostia Antica's ruins, it's worthwhile to take a detour to stroll around the quaint medieval borgo (old town) and visit the imposing Castello della Rovere. This is the distinctive castle, easily spotted as you come off the footbridge from the train station, built by Pope Julius II when he was the cardinal bishop of Ostia in 1483. Its triangular form is unusual for military architecture. Inside are (badly faded) frescoes, believed to be by Michelangelo's pupil Baldassare Peruzzi.

The Porta Romana, one of the city's three gates, is where you'll enter the Ostia Antica excavations. It opens onto the Decumanus Maximus, which is the main thoroughfare and crosses the city from end to end.

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