Ostia Antiqua

We took a day trip to Ostia Antiqua which is known as the harbour city of Ancient Rome. Ostia Antiqua now is a small city of Roman ruins located right near the Tiber River. The "city" reminded me much of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Here we had a little more freedom to roam in and out of the ancient streets and climb up on some of the ancient buildings that were still standing. The one aspect of Ostia Antiqua that makes this ancient city stand out is the incredible brick work. Every building was constructed out of brick. There were so many different brick patterns that overlapped and changed as we walked the streets! It was also interesting to see how the brick pattern changed when they made a puncture in the walls for doors and archways. The ampitheatre that still was in excellent condition was awesome! We were able to stand down on the "stage" and see the difference in the sound level in our voice! It was pretty cool to stand down on the stage, talk in a normal voice and have the people at the top of the ampitheatre hear you perfectly!! One thing I really loved about Ostia Antiqua was the intergration of landscape into the city. Whether that was simply because of overgrown grass, shrubbery and trees, it worked. It was beautiful!! A few of us got off the main street and started to explore the area by taking a few overgrown smaller paths to a run down hidden ancient structure. What made this place so perfect was the peacefulness and quiet atmosphere around!! It was such an amazing day!