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Iniziative speciali

  • RICERCA COLLABORATORI

dal 13 agosto, 2012
al 15 agosto, 2012
SI RICERCANO 30 COLLABORATORI PER L'EVENTO DI FERRAGOSTO AD OSTIA

PER INFO CONTATTARE GLI UFFICI DELLA PROLOCO ...

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The Origins


THE ORIGINS


According to the ancient tradition, the 4th king of Rome, Anco Marzio, allegedly took possession of Ostia (deriving from “ostium” that means outpouring) during his reign (640-616 b.C.).

Special attention can be given to how Anco Marzio founded Ostia: sailed up the river Tiber to gain control, and after having conquered the small town of Ficana (where Acilia lies today) he decided to establish Ostia.

Thanks to this, Rome could have a direct access to the sea, the control of the river Tiber and the monopoly of salt production (owing to the great quantity of salt in the river Tiber).

Anyway, the first recorded arrival in Ostia was in IV b.C. when a fortified citadel (castrum) was built to take control of Latium’s coastline.

 

In 267 b.C. it became the office of one Roman politician (that is of the fleet). So in 212 b.C., during the War of Apulia - in particular during the war against Hannibal - the Roman fleet set sail from the Ostiensis river port to reach Spain, while in 211 b.C. Publius Cornelius Scipio sailed with 30 ships.


When Rome extended its control on the Mediterranean, Ostia lost its military function and the Roman and local officers focused on problems such as the supply of wheat instead of the need to run a Roman fleet in the river port.


During the 1st century B.C. many important military events took place in Ostia: in 87 B.C., during the civil war, Marius invaded and ravaged it; in 67 B.C., Cilician pirates attacked it and also destroyed the fl eet at the Tiber delta. Cicero deplored this episode, thanks to which (but it’s not sure), he decided to palisade the colony.

During this period, the principles of administration were permanently passed. The duoviri, the two judges holding a 1-year office who ran Ostia, has their term extended to five years, with renewed local council lists. The building surveyors were the junior officers who dealt with public service; the town assembly consisted of one hundred members, called decuriones.


In this period, duoviro Publio Lucilio Gamala and duoviro Cartilio Poplicola were the main characters who animated political and economic life in Ostia. The former built and restored public buildings, while the latter ruled the political Ostiensis scene in the late 1st century B.C.


As Rome’s sea port, Ostia was lacking a harbour that was suitable for the landing of ships transporting goods for the city. Ceasar was the first who realized it was necessary to build a new large dock basin, separated from the Tiber delta. Unfortunately, neither Caesar nor Augustus made it.

Claudius (41-54 A.D.) was the only emperor who was able to set up the biggest port of the past.

The port was often flooded, being close to the Tiber delta; this is why Trajan (98-117 B.C.) decided to raise a new hexagonal basin in an inner area: around it rose a real city with palaces, temples, depositories etc.


As a consequence, Ostia had an important commercial and economic growth that led it to become a cosmopolitan city, rich in culture. All that thanks to the emperors Hadrian (117-138 A.D.) who reconstructed whole quarters by conceiving a new city planning and reorganizing many public buildings; Septimus Severus, who restored some of the most important complexes; Aurelian (270-275 A.D) who erected a forum; Tacitus (275-276 A.D) who donated to it one hundred yellow marble scapes, about 7 metre high; Massentius (306-312 A.D) who established the mint and Constantine (306-337 A.D.) who built a Christian cathedral.


The decline of Ostia began during Constantine’s period, when the Port city lost its administrative autonomy, changed name (taking the name “Civitas Costantiniana”) and became the most important emporium of Rome.


When the port was sacked during the barbarian invasions, Ostia had lost most of its importance. In 410 A.D. the Visigoth king, Alaric, vanquished Rome and caused the breakdown of the relation between Rome and Ostia.

When the poet Rutilio Namanziano told about his journey from Rome to Gaul after the Visigoth invasion, he described the Tiber delta unfeasible, and Rome a city deprived of its ancient splendour, by using these words: Aeneas’ glory is what remain of it.

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