There are tens of thousands of extra people in Rome this weekend for the Canonisation of the Two Popes, so we have decided not to battle the crowds and have chosen to go out of the city to see the ancient Roman sites of Ostia Antica , the Park of Aqueducts and the Appian Way. These are three places that we have wanted to visit for years but have just not found the time.
Needless to say visiting these sites has meant a lot of walking - but it was really great to get away from the hassle and bustle of the city and to walk the paths that the ancient Romans trod.
All these sites were constructed by the Romans a couple of hundred years before the time of Christ - this makes them over 2200 years old and they have all played a major roll in the history of the Romans and Italy.
Saturday we went by train to Ostia Antica about 30km from Rome - this was the major port for trade and a major military base for the protection of the harbour and the Tiber River up to Rome until the 1st century AD. It was a bustling city and covered a very large area and thrived for about three centuries. The population just left after the port started to silt up and there where plagues of mosquitoes. Buildings were deserted and left to fall in to ruin.
Today it is still a massive site with the remains of a huge amount of buildings -houses, shops, churches, meeting places etc. In its heyday more than 10,000 people lived here. It has been fairly well preserved and there is also a lot of reconstruction going on. One of the grandest sites still standing is the large open-air theatre.
We walked many kilometres down the main thoroughfare and explored many of the ancient buildings. Around the Forum behind the Theatre were the remains of many shops and businesses. You could see their size and out the front of each premise black and white mosaics advertised the owner and the nature of his business. They all focused on maritime supplies and trade.
This is part of the main road that runs the total length of the city. It was a very pretty place with lots to see. Some areas were left to grow wild and there were fields of wildflowers amongst the long waving grasses - buttercups, red poppies and white daisies.
The next day we went on the train and following a map supplied by a contributor to the Trip Advisor we managed to find the Claudio Aqueduct finish in 52AD and named after Emperor Claudius. It used to carry 48 million gallons of water to Rome each day. It was quite spectacular to see.
This Aqueduct is out in the countryside. No tourists around only the locals riding bikes, walking their dogs and running. It was such a fantastic site to visit - I am amazed that it is not really visited by tourists.
This is the countryside we walked through. It was pretty but somewhat overgrown.
The Aqueduct - we walked in and out of the massive arches and along the dirt track that run beside it for some distance. It was truly great to see and should be a must see on any tourists list.
Other views of the massive structure.
We then wanted to get to the Appian Way, so we walked and caught the train and then a bus. We told the driver that we wanted to go to the Appian Way and pointed on the map to where we wanted to go. " Si Si " he said - but he actually did not understand us and definitely did not go where we had hoped he would take us. When he stopped and we got out we were where much further away from Rome down the Appian Way than we had hoped for. Only one answer was to start walking.
It was hard walking on the cobblestones and rough ground but it ended up being a fantastic walk with lots of road side tombs and monuments. We sat beside the road and had a great picnic lunch.
Part of the Appian Way.
Allan standing beside one of the many tombstones on the way.
Part of the old (the larger cobblestones) and the newer cobblestone road. Note the groves made by chariots on the older section.
An other monument on the side of the road.
As we were walking you could not help but think who had travelled this road before us and what if anything they had travelled in. What ever mode of transport they choose, it would have been a mighty rough ride. I also thought of the many thousands of Christians who where crucified and died along the Appian Way for their faith.
We really enjoyed our walk and all that we saw - and we were exceptionally pleased that the bus driver dropped us where he did, other wise we would have missed the best part of the Appian Way.
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