If you ever find yourself in Rome and do not have time for the 2.5 hr drive to Pompeii you may consider a quick 40 min train ride from the city centre to Ostia Antica, or better yet…stay in a castle!
Ostia is a harbour city of Rome and a great place to visit or stay before flying out of Rome which is what we did. Whenever traveling from Tuscany to catch a plane from Rome it is always smart to go ahead and drive in the day before because you never know what the traffic will be like, if there may be a labor strike, etc. We arrived into Ostia via a busy road but only 4 miles from the airport! Once we arrived at our hotel, part of a castle, Residenza D’epoca Rodrigo de Vivar, we realized we were only 1 block from the wonderous ruins of Ostia Antica!
The remains of this ancient busy port town began in 620 BC! The town served as a major salt manufacturer and later as a naval base to protect Rome. It was located at the mouth of the Tiber River, which years later moved about 1 mile away and left silt and mud..that eventually destroyed Antica, and it was abandoned during the fall of Rome. The ruins are lovely and perfectly maintained. The farther you walk into them, the more amazing they become. I got there close to closing time and was really sad that I had to rush through-one could spend a full afternoon here. You can bring the family and kids and set them out to find mosaic floors, frescos, an old mill, a theatre, communal baths and a cemetery . Then you can have a snack at the cafeteria and finish with a visit to the museum located on site.
The Rodrigo has city and country rooms to rent. The main building is actually part of a medieval castle and sits smack in the middle of a busy curve in the middle of an active community. But if you are driving too fast you will drive right by it! Our room overlooked the courtyard in the back, the views were amazing. There is no ac however and the road noise was loud but we thought it was worth it.
The courtyard also housed a lovely small church where the Pope calls his “family place” and visits often (so the locals told me). The Fort, Castello di Giulro was also lovely and located in the courtyard as well. We strolled down the street and had amazing pizza in a tiny little place , then grabbed some beautiful fruit in the piazza for dessert. While the Rodrigo also has some “country rooms” and a place to eat dinner about 1 mile away…we stayed around our little square for the evening watching the people and walking the streets. For breakfast we were served a quick full meal and then off to return the car. It was a nice way to stay over close to the airport, without being stressed in Rome.
I hope to return to explore the ruins longer…
Part of the ruins of Ostia Antica.
Lovely courtyard leading to our room in Ostia.
The Pope visits here, so they say.
Castello from the courtyard…
The gate into the fort…
The colors and flowers were lovely all around the courtyard and town…
This was the view from our “castle” room.
walking to the ruins was just across the street…we will be back!
