The Scavi of St. Peter's and the Grittiness of Catholicism

The Scavi of St. Peter's and the Grittiness of Catholicism





The remarkable sites beneath St. Peter's are known today as the scavi (excavations). A walk through them is a walk into some important truths about what it means to be a Catholic.
Pope Pius XI died on February 10, 1939. Prior to his election as bishop of Rome in 1922, he had been the archbishop of Milan for a brief period, and the Milanese wanted to honor his memory by building a fitting resting place for him in St. Peter's Basilica. So funds were raised, artists commissioned, and a magnificent marble sarcophagus, which was to be the centerpiece of a richly decorated mosaic vault, was prepared and sent to Rome.
According to one story I've heard, when it came time to fit the new tomb into the grottoes underneath the papal high altar in St. Peter's, it was simply too large. Perhaps that's a case of historical embellishment, which isn't rare in Italy; or perhaps it's just a typical Roman attempt to tweak the usually efficient Milanese. In any event, there were longstanding plans to renovate the entire grotto area and make it a more appropriate place for pilgrims to pray. So Pope Plus XII, successor to Pius XI, ordered the floor of the undercroft to be lowered to make room for the tomb of his predecessor and to take a first step in the planned renovation. It was a decision with unforeseen consequences. What we know today as St. Peter's used to be called New St. Peter's to distinguish it from Old St. Peter's, the basilica built by the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, over what he and everyone else understood to be the grave of Peter, prince of the apostles. Despite his absorption in planning the new imperial capital at Constantinople, Constantine helped with the construction of his magnificent St. Peter's by carrying twelve baskets of earth to the site, one for each of the twelve apostles. For more than a millennium, Old St. Peter's was one of the focal points of the Christian world, a pole toward which Christians' internal compasses naturally pointed. By the second half of the fifteenth century, however, Old St. Peter's had fallen to rack and ruin; the decision was made to pull it down to make way for a new basilica. The building of New St. Peter's, which would eventually include the world's largest dome and the fantastically strong foundations needed to support it, took 120 years and absorbed the attention of twenty popes and ten architects, including such legends as Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini. The building's changing design, the execution of those designs, and the fund-raising necessary to support such a vast project caused a lot of controversy, and contributed in at least an indirect way to the Reformation. Amid all the confusion and construction, little was done to explore the tomb of St. Peter. It was simply assumed to be where tradition and Constantine had sited it. "New St. Peter's" was thus built without any systematic excavation of what was underneath Old St. Peter's. When the workmen began lowering the floor of the undercroft to accommodate the tomb of Pope Pius XI and renovate the grotto space, they discovered a series of tombs that, on further examination, seemed to be part of a kind of necropolis, complete with walls, streets, benches, funerary monuments, and so forth. Much of this had been disturbed or destroyed when the ancient Vatican Hill was leveled by Constantine's fourth-century builders, but a fair amount of it was still intact. While World War II raged across Europe, Pius XII quietly authorized a full-scale archaeological excavation of the area, which continued throughout the 1940s. Digging under the papal high altar of the basilica was something like peeling an onion or opening one of those nested Russian matrushka dolls. Eventually the excavators found a shrine, the Tropaion (the Greek word for trophy or victory monument): a classic structure with columns supporting what may have been an altar, surmounted by a pediment. The floor of the Tropaion, which has an opening delineating the boundaries of the grave over which the monument was built, defined the level of the floor of Constantine's basilica. At the back of the Tropaion was a red wall; exposed to the elements, it began to crack, necessitating the construction of a buttressing wall to support the whole structure. When archaeologists unearthed the buttressing wall, they found it covered with graffiti. And it contained a secret, marble-lined repository. One piece of graffiti, decoded, seemed to say, "Peter is [here!]" Thanks to long delayed renovation plans, the need to accommodate Pius XI's tomb, and the curiosity of Pius XII (who seems to have been intrigued by the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1923), archaeologists eventually unearthed a small city of the dead beneath the foundations of Old St. Peter's, which had been incorporated into New St. Peter's as supports for the colossal new structure. There had been, evidently, a vast pagan burial ground on the Vatican Hill. At some point, Christians began to be buried there. The central grave that defines the Tropaion is surrounded by other graves, which radiate toward it. Thus it seems that the remains of St. Peter, which would have been among the most jealously guarded relics of the ancient Roman Christian community, had been buried, perhaps immediately after his death, perhaps a brief time later, in the Vatican Hill necropolis: secretly, but with sufficient clues to indicate to pious Christian pilgrims the location of Peter's tomb. Perhaps the remains were, during persecutions, moved to a less risky place and then reinterred. Perhaps the Tropaion was part of a Christian complex that, in calmer times, was used for baptisms, ordinations, and funerals. Perhaps, before the Tropaion was built, the grave itself was used as a site for small Christian gatherings in the dead of night. No one knows for sure. Archaeology isn't algebra; it yields probabilities rather than certainties. But reputable scientific opinion today holds that the excavations under St. Peter's in the 1940s — originally undertaken for an entirely different purpose — did yield the mortal remains of Peter. Oddly enough, amid the fragments of Peter's skull, vertebrae, arms, hands, pelvis, and legs, there is nothing from the ankles on down. But perhaps that isn't so odd after all. If a man has been crucified upside down, as tradition says Peter was, the easiest way to remove what was left of his body (which may well have been turned into a living torch during his execution, in another refinement of Roman cruelty) would have been to chop off the deceased's feet and remove the rest of the corpse from its cross. The remarkable sites beneath St. Peter's are known today as the scavi (excavations). A walk through them is a walk into some important truths about what it means to be a Catholic.

Not so long ago, you couldn't see St. Peter's from the Tiber River, a few hundred yards away: it was fronted by a Roman slum, the Borgo. To prepare for the holy year of 1950, the Italian government knocked the slums down and built a broad avenue that runs from the Tiber up to St. Peter's Square: the Via della Conciliazione (Reconciliation Street), so named for the 1929 modus vivendi between the Italian Republic and the Church that created the independent microstate of Vatican City. No matter how many times you do it, the turn into the Conciliazione and that first, startling view of St. Peter's and its dome is always breathtaking. We're fortunate to be doing this today because the basilica, whose facade was extensively cleaned for the Great Jubilee of 2000, looks better than it has in centuries, and perhaps ever. What was once a blinding mass of white travertine stone has, on cleaning, revealed itself to be a rich mix of colors, including café au lait and some light pastels. Still, we don't want to concentrate on the facade and the dome as we walk into the square, but on the obelisk that stands precisely in the center of the square, framed by Bernini's great colonnade. The obelisk, a granite Egyptian monolith standing eighty-four feet tall and weighing 350 tons, was brought to Rome from North Africa by the mad emperor Caligula, who terrorized Rome from A.D. 37 to 41, before he was assassinated by the Praetorian Guard; his wickedness, you may remember, was memorably portrayed by John Hurt in the BBC television series I, Claudius . Caligula's nephew, Nero, made the obelisk part of the spina, or "spine," of his "circus," an elongated oval in which races were held, mock battles staged, exotic animals exhibited — and the condemned executed, often with unimaginable viciousness, for the amusement of the spectators. As you look to the left of St. Peter's, you can see, past the Swiss Guard standing at the Archway of the Bells, the area of Vatican City known as the Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani (Square of the First Roman Martyrs), so named because that was the part of Nero's now nonexistent circus in which many faithful Christians paid the ultimate price of fidelity. Tradition tells us that Peter died during one of Nero's spasms of persecution, and if so, he likely died in Nero's circus. If he did, then it's quite possible that the last thing Peter saw on this earth was the obelisk you're now pondering, which was moved to the square in 1586 by Pope Sixtus V. Think about that as we walk a bit farther into the Vatican. As we enter through the Archway of the Bells, we come to the scavi office, the entrance to the excavations beneath the basilica. Scavi tours are not large affairs, and as we go down the stairways and enter the excavations themselves, you can see why. The passageways are narrow and slightly musty, even dampish. As we make our way through the dark corridors that were once streets and alleys in the Vatican Hill necropolis, our guide points out the elaborate pagan funerary monuments as well as Christian tombs. There, after about a twenty-minute walk, is what can be made out of the Tropaion. And after that, reinterred in the graffiti-marked wall I mentioned before, are what the guide tells us are the mortal remains of Peter the apostle. Leaving through the gilded baroque splendor of the Clementine Chapel, you can't help but think that what we've just seen and touched and smelled is about as close to the apostolic roots of the Catholic Church as it's possible to get. The scavi are more than excavations; if we take them seriously, the scavi demand that we think through the meaning of an extraordinary story involving some utterly ordinary people. Here it is. Sometime in the third decade of the first century of the first millennium of our era, a man named Simon, whose father was named John, made his modest living as a fisherman in Galilee — which, even by regional standards, was a pretty rough patch of what was itself a fringe of the "civilized world." This man, Simon, became a personal friend of Jesus of Nazareth. Through that encounter, he became not Simon but Peter, the rock. But not for a while yet. His friend Jesus called him "Peter," a wordplay on "rock," but the newly minted Peter hardly seems granitelike in the pre-Easter sections of the Gospels. He is impetuous; he often doesn't understand what Jesus is saying. No sooner does he get his new name than he starts telling Jesus that he, Jesus, is flat wrong when he says that the promised Messiah of God must suffer; Jesus calls him a "Satan" and tells him to "get behind me" (Matthew 16:13-23). When Jesus is arrested, Peter insinuates himself into the courtyard near where his master is being interrogated. But when challenged to acknowledge that he, too, was with Jesus the Galilean, Peter starts cursing and denies that he ever knew the man. The Gospels do not suggest that Peter was present at the crucifixion; they do tell us that, after his denial, he "went out and wept bitterly" (Matthew 26:69-75). In the Catholic view of things, Easter changes everything; it certainly changed Peter. After encountering the Risen Christ on Easter Sunday morning and along the lakeshore of the Sea of Galilee, Peter truly is the rock. Filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, he becomes the Church's first great evangelist; the tale is told in Acts 2:14-41, where the crowd initially assumes that this suddenly eloquent Galilean fisherman must be drunk — and then converts in great numbers, each hearing Peter in his own language. Peter welcomes the centurion Cornelius, a Gentile, into the Christian fellowship, enabling his fellow Jews to see that God intends the saving message of Christ for the whole world (Acts 10:1-11:18). As the early Church struggles with what it means to be a Christian, Peter is recognized as the center of the Church's unity, the man before whom issues of Christian identity and practice are thrashed out (Acts 15:6-11). Later, according to the most ancient traditions, Peter goes to Rome, where he meets his death thus fulfilling what the Risen Christ said to him at breakfast along the Sea of Galilee after the miraculous catch of fish: "when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go" (John 21:18). The scavi and the obelisk — Peter's remains and the last thing Peter may have seen in this life — confront us with the historical tangibility, the sheer grittiness, of Catholicism. For all that critical scholarship has taught us about the complex story of the early Christian movement, certain unavoidable facts remain. Here, in the scavi, you can touch them. A Galilean fisherman — a man whose personal characteristics, warts and all, were carefully recorded by his followers — ends up buried on Vatican Hill. Why? For more than nineteen hundred years, pilgrims from all over the world have come to venerate this man's remains. Why? Catholicism does not rest on a pious myth, a story that floats away from us the more we try to touch it. Here, in the scavi, we're in touch with the apostolic foundations of the Catholic Church. And those foundations are not in our minds. They exist, quite literally, in reality. Real things happened to real people who made real, life-and-death decisions — and staked their lives — not on stories or fables but on what they had come to know as the truth. Beneath the layers of encrusted tradition and pious storytelling, there is something real, something you can touch, at the bottom of the bottom line of Catholic faith. And that forces us to confront some decisions.

You've asked me to help you explore some of the truths of Catholic faith and practice. One of the most important truths that you might ponder is this: the truth of faith is something that seizes us, not something of our own discovery (still less, our invention). The Peter who was led from Galilee to Rome did not make the journey because of something he had discovered and wanted to explore to satisfy his curiosity. Peter went from the security of his modest Galilean fishing business to the dangerous (and ultimately lethal) center of the Roman Empire because he had been seized by the truth, the truth he had met in the person of Jesus. Being seized by the truth is not cost-free. "You have received without pay, give without pay," Jesus tells his new disciples, including Peter (Matthew 10:8). In Peter's case, the call to give away the truth that had seized and transformed his life eventually cost him his life. And that, too, is a truth to be pondered: faith in Jesus Christ costs not just something, but everything. It demands all of us, not just a part of us. One of the most touching scenes in the Gospels is St. John's story of Peter's encounter with the Risen Christ along the Sea of Galilee, to which I've referred earlier. In that story, the Risen Christ asks Peter, who's surrounded by the other apostles, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Peter, perhaps abashed, answers, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." The question then comes again, "Do you love me?" And Peter replies, again, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Still evidently unsatisfied, the Risen One poses the question a third time: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter, the Gospel tells us, was "grieved" because the questions kept coming, and finally answers, "Lord, you know everything, you known that I love you" (John 21:15-17). Generations of preachers have presented this as a matter of the Risen Christ teasing Peter, matching Peter's three denials before the crucifixion with three questions about Peter's love. I think there's something far deeper, something at that border between the intimate and the awesome, going on here. Peter, who has been given his new name because he is to be the rock on which the Church rests, is being told, gently but firmly, that his love for Christ is not going to be an easy thing. His love is not going to be a matter of "fulfilling" himself. His love must be a pouring out of himself, and in that self-emptying he will find his fulfillment — if not in terms that the world usually understands as "fulfillment." In abandoning any sense of his autonomy, in binding himself to feed the lambs and sheep of the Lord's flock, Peter will find his true freedom. In giving himself away, he will find himself. Freely you have received, freely you must give — if the gift is to continue to live in you. That is what the Risen Christ tells Peter on the lakeshore. As we've seen, in the Gospels Peter constantly makes a hash of things — which should predispose us to think that those stories really happened; the leader's mistakes and failures and betrayals are not something his followers would likely have invented. In a world deeply skeptical of the miraculous, perhaps the hardest of these stories to accept is the story of Peter's walking on water. Put aside your skepticism for a moment and consider what the story is teaching us — about Peter and about ourselves. You know the basic narrative. The disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee in a boat themselves when then see what they take to be a ghost walking toward them across the stormy waters. Jesus tells them not to be afraid: "Take heart, it is I." And Peter, whose crusty skepticism has a modern ring to it, responds, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." Jesus raises the ante: "Come." Peter climbs out of the boat and starts to walk toward Jesus across the water — until, that is, he starts looking around at the waves blown up by the wind, at which point he starts sinking and calls out to Jesus to save him. Jesus takes him by the hand and leads him to safety in the boat, as the weather calms (Matthew 14:25-32). Did it happen just like that? I don't know, although I'm inclined to think that something extraordinary happened on the Sea of Galilee that night. However we work out the meteorology and hydrology, though, the lesson of the story — the truth it's trying to convey — remains, and helps fill in our portrait of Peter and our understanding of faith as radical gift. When Peter keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, he can do what he imagines impossible: "walk on water." When he starts looking around for his security — when he starts looking elsewhere — he sinks. So do we. When we keep our gaze fixed on Christ, we, too, can do what seems impossible. We can accept the gift of faith, with humility and gratitude. We can live our lives as the gift for others that our lives are to us. We can discover the depths of ourselves in the emptying of ourselves. In the Catholic view of things, "walking on water" is an entirely sensible thing to do. It's staying in the boat, hanging tightly to our own sad little securities, that's rather mad.

There are many other Peter stories we could revisit — including, while we're here in Rome, the famous Quo Vadis story of Peter's alleged flight from Nero's persecution. As the legend has it, Peter decided to flee Rome at the outbreak of persecution, perhaps in fear, perhaps because he thought "the rock" should be somewhere safe so others could eventually find and cling to it, and to him. Heading out the Via Appia, Peter meets Jesus, who's heading into the city and the persecution. "Quo vadis, Domine," Peter asks — "Lord, where are you going?" "I am going to Rome to be crucified," Jesus answers — and disappears. At which point Peter turns back into the city to embrace martyrdom. In Rome, to this day, you can visit the spot on the Via Appia Antica where all of this is said to have happened (the church is worth a visit; the Quo Vadis Restaurant is a tourist trap). The Quo Vadis legend is interesting for its tenacity. It's also interesting for the same reason it's interesting that the Church, in deciding which books to include in the canon of the New Testament, included four Gospels that all describe, sometimes in great detail, Peter's failures. Those stories could have been discretely edited out, airbrushed from history; they weren't. And that tells us something. What it tells us is that weakness and failure have been part of the Catholic reality from the beginning. Weakness and failure, too, are part of the grittiness of Catholicism — including weakness and failure, stupidity and cowardice among the Church's ordained leaders. Flannery O'Connor was speaking a very ancient truth when she wrote in 1955 that "it seems to be a fact that you have to suffer as much from the Church as for it." Almost fifty years later, Catholics in the United States have relearned that lesson the hard way, in the scandal of clerical sexual abuse and the crisis that scandal caused when it was so badly handled by some bishops — the successors of the apostles. I don't detect any massive abandonment of the Catholic Church because of this crisis. But it does force us to come to grips with the fact that the people of the Church, including its ordained leadership, are earthen vessels carrying the treasure of faith in history (as St. Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 4:7). Only the naive would expect it to be otherwise. Like Peter, all the people of the Church, including the Church's ordained leadership, must constantly be purified. And purified by what? Like Peter, we must be purified by love, by a more complete and radical emptying of self. "Smugness," Flannery O'Connor once wrote, "is the Great Catholic Sin." Looking at Peter, we might almost say, "as it was in the beginning. . . " But here, too, the scavi help us get to the deeper truth of Catholic things. Although the early Church insisted on including weakness and failure in the narrative of its first years and decades, the story line of the New Testament — of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles — is not, finally, a story of failure, but of purified love transforming the world. To be sure, that transformation comes with a price: imagine Peter, in the agonized moments before his death, looking at that obelisk we can see today, and you can understand that none of this is easy. Then consider all those pilgrims who, like Peter, were seized by the truth of Christ and who have come, over the centuries, to place themselves in the presence of Peter's remains. Pious nostalgia? Raw curiosity? I don't think so. Whether articulate or mute, what those millions of other lives are saying, as they pray in the scavi or over the scavi, surrounded by the baroque magnificence of the basilica, is that failure is not the final word. Emptiness and oblivion are not our destiny. Love is the final word. And love is the most living thing of all because love is of God. To know that, and to stake your life on it, is to have been seized by the truth of God in Christ — amid and through, not around, the gritty reality of the world.

Walking in Rome

This new interactive Rome guidebook presents six walking tours, vividly illustrated with 36 videos, photos, practical maps and 600 pages of detailed text. This is the best way to discover Rome. Our ebook travel approach is unique: the entire guide is filled with information about efficient step-by-step walking routes that cover all the major historic attractions and many out-of-the-way modern delights. Thirty-six short movies bring the most important sites to life for you, while lively descriptions offer a clear understanding of the sites; and a historic Baedeker guide provides added travel information.

We have prepared a sample of photos from the book to share with you. Take a look at photos of Rome.

Rome on Foot will be a pleasure for everyone who enjoys travel, whether you are heading to Rome in the near future or not. It is especially useful as a guide during your trip: reading through the routes and viewing the videos and photos will help organize your itinerary to get the most out of the experience. This book is also fun to read at any time, whether you anticipate a journey to Rome in the future or are looking back on a past trip. If you love travel and have not yet been to Rome or Italy, this is the next best thing; and you will surely be there some day. Armchair travelers not going anywhere will also enjoy the book as it transports them to one of the world's greatest cities without having to pack up and go. But go you must; you must go to Rome!

One usually appreciates reading about a place after being there because you can visualize things as they were and recall the sights, sounds, smells and events. This video ebook, the first of its kind, is the next-best thing to being there: the numerous videos and photos will truly give you a vivid picture of Rome's attractions. The book is now available at Apple's iBookstore with full video, and is also available in a non-video version at Amazon and Barnes & Noble for those who do not have an iPad or iPhone.

Rome on Foot is NOT padded with redundant, obsolete information about hotels, shops and restaurants that you can more accurately find online. Nor is it a typical, disconnected list of sites from A to Z offering no clues for getting around in the most efficient way. We connect the dots, serve as your personal tour guide, and take a step-by-step approach to cover all of the major sights and many of the minor ones. Armed with this practical orientation, you are empowered to then strike off on your own and wander freely through these wonderful lanes, making your own personal discoveries.

Rome is one of the world's best cities to discover on foot because its compact center is filled with both fascinating history and vibrant, modern life. The book describes exactly how to choose the best walking routes, understand what you see and make the most of your precious vacation. Don't waste time with a city bus tour: most of Rome's important sites can only be reached on foot, while a bus will waste half your time stuck in traffic you can easily avoid as a pedestrian.

Experienced travelers know that the best way to explore a city is walking. Practical suggestions will ensure that time is not wasted getting lost or wondering what to do next. The book offers strategies to bring you in direct contact with the people and places that make Rome such a special destination. We cover the major historic sites, the lively shopping streets and dozens of narrow, cobblestone lanes where you can leave the crowds behind and experience peaceful local neighborhoods. Yes, walking takes effort, but its rewards are great. Not only is it free and educational, but walking is healthy and helps you to burn off those calories from great Italian meals so you can maintain your fitness while on the road. You will be amazed at how effortless and what fun it is to walk on a route lined with fascinating sights!

Six, half-day walking tours are presented in a logical sequence to fill three days, with the afternoon walks beginning where the morning walks ends. Obviously you are free to rearrange things as you wish, depending on your schedule and interests.
Walking routes are planned for the best time of day — for example, some places are better in the morning, like the outdoor food market of Campo dei Fiore; most churches are closed for siesta from 12-4pm; if you arrive at the Vatican Museum in mid-morning you might wait on line for hours; Trastevere is the perfect place for an early-evening stroll; specific shopping streets are best in late afternoon for the passeggiata (evening stroll) of stylish Romans promenading with friends; and so it goes through the daily cycle of the city.

This three-day period provides a basic format because a good visit takes that long and is the typical amount of time people have for a city as they travel. If you have more time, our itineraries can be expanded over additional days, while those with less time will find tips to help shorten the visit. If you only have one day (and that would be unfortunate), pick those parts of our itineraries that most interest you and do as much as you can. These carefully structured schedules have flexibility built in for personal interests and to accommodate surprises: you'll want to stay open for exciting distractions and spontaneous events that you may find waiting around the corner.

Other guidebooks provide useful material but they are not organized in daily schedules that connect attractions into convenient walking routes: none takes our approach of time-based itineraries through Rome with detailed walking routes joining sites into sequences. Most travel books have either too much information, with endless, quickly outdated lists of restaurants, hotels and shops, or too little, lacking exact directions, except perhaps a one-page walking tour tossed in here and there.

We have selected the most enjoyable sights and placed them in the proper order, so that you can easily walk to a series of attractions and find interesting features all along the way. This arrangement solves the basic challenges of travel: where to go and what does it all mean. With this book you can focus on enjoying what you see rather than trying to figure out where you are and what to do next. Nothing is more frustrating than investing time and money in a much-anticipated trip and then getting lost, visiting the wrong sites at the wrong time of day, fighting the crowds or wandering into boring neighborhoods, wasting time and money.

Rome on Foot is based on the author's experiences leading European walking tours for the past 26 years, producing a travel series for television, and writing many, many articles about walking itineraries. All that time spent traveling with groups has provided valuable insights into what people actually enjoy doing and what can be skipped. This book will be a personal tour guide, with comprehensive text that is richly illustrated with videos, photos and maps that help you understand and enjoy the city. Each route has been thoroughly tested many times to make certain that everything works perfectly.

Rome has so many wonderful sights it could be overwhelming, but don't worry: this guide shows how to efficiently cover the major attractions in a few days and find the real character of the city. Of course, the major destinations like the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon and Vatican are included, but there is so much more to experience. Special tips will reveal miles of pleasant cobbled pedestrian lanes alive with shops, restaurants and locals all day and into the night. This contemporary face of the city is just as interesting as its ancient one, but it is missed by too many travelers. Rome is a city with 2,700 years of history, art and culture, which you can see in a short time if you know where to go. We will bring you the history along with today's life in the city, explored on foot.

You will get a close look at what makes Rome so special and learn ideal walking routes with techniques for getting around in our detailed day-by-day outlines. Rome on Foot includes exact directions on where to walk, best times to visit, what to skip, descriptions of sites, how to get around by transit and taxi, avoid crowds and many more helpful recommendations. These guidelines will deliver an authentic experience that puts you face-to-face with the people and history of this amazing city. Time is precious when traveling and you don't want to waste it getting lost, going in circles, visiting less-important places or following inefficient routes. The routes described here pack in the sites efficiently, enabling you to carve out some free time to follow your own passions.

Walking Tips:

Wear comfortable shoes to protect your precious feet, crucial to discovering this city. Running shoes are the best choice, slightly broken in but not more than one year old, so they still have some bounce left. You are going to be on your feet much more than normal, so sandals or walking shoes might not be up to the task. Sorry, but you cannot see much of the real Rome on a standard bus tour or from a cruise. You must stay several days and walk to appreciate the incredible art, ancient architecture, the best food, impressive churches, quaint cobbled alleys, unlimited shopping and cozy neighborhoods. This is not a marathon race, so you don't have to be an athlete to complete the course. Just follow your own pace and stop frequently to absorb the sites. It is important to sit and rest for a few minutes every hour, which is yet another reason to visit all those churches and sit on their benches. Get in shape before leaving home by walking at least 30 minutes daily for a month, and you will easily cover everything presented in this comprehensive plan.

Fortunately most of the streets you will be walking are quiet lanes with very little automobile traffic. Many narrow streets are semi-pedestrian with few cars coming along, so you can walk in the road, especially since sidewalks are often non-existent or blocked. Keep your ears open for oncoming traffic and walk on one side as courtesy to the drivers and as safety for yourself. However, there are some big streets with crazy traffic you must deal with. When possible, cross at a traffic light and go with the green, but this convenience is in short supply. Jaywalk to save time and energy when necessary, but do so very carefully. Don't expect cars to stop for you when you are in a marked crossing. When Roman drivers see a pedestrian in the street, they will be aiming their vehicle to just miss you on one side or the other, so if you abruptly change your speed, or stop, you might throw off their calculations and get hit. Don't confuse them. Just make your move and walk at a normal, steady pace so the traffic can pass around you. Another strategy is to stand next to locals and walk next to them as they cross the street, but don't lag or blindly follow. Stay Alert. You are ultimately responsible for your own safety.

Photography tips:

Practice with your camera so that shooting becomes automatic: learn how to force the flash on and off; keep the camera turned on and in your hand; shoot a lot and delete at night for feedback and to save space. Do your research before the trip and bring the camera manual with you.

If you handhold the camera in low light, the picture will probably be blurry because of the slow shutter speed, even though it might look good in your small screen. Flash does not do any good because the distances are too great. If you have invested in a digital SLR or one of the new, sensitive compacts (a good investment), you have more flexibility, but it still helps to brace against something solid. Digital cameras can take spectacular photos when properly operated, and you can have great fun with the results in your computer later to bring back those memories.

Rome on Foot combines text, photos, maps and video to provide a complete picture of where you are going. Each section of Rome is summarized in one of the 36 short videos which are placed throughout the book. Written descriptions explain where to walk and help you understand the ancient and modern sights. Additional historic information is included as an appendix you can jump to using hyperlinks whenever you want to dig deeper.

Maps will help orient you and specify exactly where to walk, with options for detouring away from the main route and exploring whatever side lanes look good at the moment. Each walk is illustrated with a large map showing the entire route, and supplemented with neighborhood maps showing greater detail. They can also be enlarged with double-taps and moved around with fingertips
Hold the playback device either in vertical (portrait) or horizontal (landscape) position and adjust font size depending on your preferences. In vertical mode photos will be larger and text lines up in single column. Text and photos flow together regardless of orientation or font size. Text layout reads better if you turn off Full Justification, found in the iBooks section of Settings on the iPad. We recommend vertical orientation for reading, then swiveling to horizontal for videos, with font sized at the third level up from smallest. Arrangement of text and photos will look best with those settings. Videos will play full-frame by turning your device sideways, double-tap the picture, then tap again. Photo captions are not used because each picture is placed in context next to the relevant text. Most devices allow you to make notes and bookmarks on the pages.

Tour outline:

Walk 1, first morning: Campo dei Fiori; little lanes; Chiesa Nuova; Piazza Navona;
Walk 2, first afternoon: Pantheon; Minerva; Ignazio; Trevi; Spagna.
Walk 3, second morning: Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica.
Walk 4, second afternoon: Sant'Angelo, Via dei Coronari; SM Pace; Borghese Gallery; St. John Lateran; evening stroll in Trastevere.
Walk 5, third morning: Largo Argentina; Ghetto; Capitoline; Forum; Colosseum.
Walk 6, third afternoon: Monti; SM Maggiore; V Nazionale; churches of Michelangelo, Bernini and Borromini; Trevi, Spagna and Popolo at night.
Rome has got everything a traveller could want: history, pasta, narrow lanes, beautiful people, history, crazy traffic, mellow attitudes, easygoing lifestyles, modern fashions, compact attractions, architecture, sculpture, good weather, major piazzas, quiet corners, gelato, history, diverse hotels, public transit, cobblestones, loose cats, kids at play, animated conversations, great coffee, and so what more could you possibly need? This video book will show you how to experience it all. Bella Roma!

Acknowledgements:

Two main editors have been immensely helpful: Joseph Kau, formerly an English professor at the University of Hawaii, who has volunteered for many years, editing all my travel stories; and my wife, June Callan, who has offered important corrections, polish, and the most invaluable support. Other friends have made suggestions: Joseph Kennedy, Marc DeLorme and Antonio Andres-Lopez. The classic guide book, Baedeker's CENTRAL ITALY, has been extremely helpful in providing maps and the extended text found in the back half of the book; there is detailed historical information for those of you eager to read all 600 pages. Baedeker continues to be a major publisher of the highest quality guidebooks. I have learned a great deal about page layout using Adobe InDesign 5.5, which now enables use of video in the book, and am grateful to my teacher, Sandee Cohen, author of the Peachpit Press series on that application.

Buying the basics

Buying the basics

24-hour supermarkets In Italy , 24-hour supermarkets are referred to as "drugstores." CONAD at Termini: Downstairs in the new "Forum Termini" mall.  CONAD at Tiburtina Station: Not the most charming place at night, but excellent for those taking overnight trains from this station or catching a bus from the square outside. CONAD Clodio: Via Golametto 4A, near Piazzale Clodio, about a 10 minute walk from the Vatican area. Museum: Via Portuense, 313, a little bit out of the average tourist's way! Supermarkets in general are scarce in the centre of Rome . The most accessible are: GS The only supermarket in the historical center! Via Monte di Farina (between Campo de' Fiori and Largo Argentina). Mon-Sat 9am-8pm. Bus 40 Express, 64, 62, or 492 to Largo Argentina . Standa A supermarket located in the downstairs section of a department store. In Trastevere: Viale di Trastevere, 60 (inside the Oviesse department store) Mon-Sat 9am-8pm. Sun 8:30am-1:30pm / 4pm-8pm. Tram 8 from Largo Argentina. Vatican area: Via Cola di Rienzo, 173 (inside the COIN department store) Mon-Sun 9am-8pm. Metro Line A: Lepanto or Ottaviano Upim Household goods and toiletries. Termini Station, Via Giolitti side (near platform 24). Mon-Sat 9am-8pm ; Sun 10:30am-8pm. Bus 64 or Metro Line A: Repubblica (or a short walk from Termini). Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore. Mon-Sat 9am-6pm; Sun 10:30am-8pm. Two-minute walk south of Termini. Fruit and vegetable markets Markets are among the best spots in Rome, they are usually open by 7am and close at 2pm , Mon-Sat. Campo de' Fiori: The most popular market, where the austere hooded statue of Giordano Bruno overlooks dozens of colorful stalls selling fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Bus 40 Express, 64 or 62 to Largo Argentina . Trionfale Market: If you are on your way to the Vatican Museums, this market in Via Andrea Doria is handy and cheap. Metro Line A: Ottaviano or Cipro-Musei Vaticani. Piazza Vittorio: Convenient to Termini (10 minute walk to the south of the station), this large fresh fruit and vegetable market takes place in an interesting park (market located inside to the north of the piazza). San Cosimato: In the heart of Trastevere. Take in the true Roman atmosphere of the locals interacting early in the morning before the tourists arrive. Tram 8 to Viale Trastevere. Testaccio: Another authentic market--the only foreigners you'll find here are the ones who came to Rome as tourists, fell in love with the city, and now live in this area! Metro Line B: Piramide, then a short walk down Via Marmorata. Other fruit and vegetable markets can be found just north of Termini station in Via Milazzo and Via Montebello. The most sophisticated market is in Via Bocca di Leone, by the Spanish Steps.

Pristine Sistine Chapel with Walks of Italy

Everyone, meet Jason Spiehler (left) and Stephen Oddo (right) – the co-founders of Walks of Italy, a sustainable travel company that provides high quality personal experiences and small group tours. We initially crossed travel paths with Jason and Stephen back in June, 2012 – Walks of Italy was a sponsor at TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange Conference).
 What an amazing opportunity! Today’s post focuses on Vatican City*(coincidentally, a UNESCO World Heritage site).

This was my second time visiting Vatican City and it literally was a night and day experience – partly attributed to Walks of Italy’s Pristine Sistine tour itself, and partly due to the fact that I was able to compare my experience of pre-restoration (1993) to post restoration frescos. Time can be favorable under the right set of circumstances.
Walks of Italy calls their early morning tour the Pristine Sistine with good reason: it’s a special experience that grants small group access (up to 12 people per group) to the Sistine chapel – well before the general public are allowed to enter (i.e., the Vatican receives over 20,000 visitors daily).  The Pristine Sistine tour provides patrons a rare opportunity to walk freely inside of the chapel (and not feel like a sardine); the other significant benefit is that this is one of the few times that the Vatican allows guests to talk (quietly but) freely with their knowledgeable [Vatican approved] Walks of Italy guide inside the Chapel itself. The real-time explanation and interpretation of the frescos, along with having a remarkable amount of personal space makes a world of difference.  To me, this is the preferred way to visit the Sistine Chapel.
Inside the Sistine Chapel, I was in awe. The fresco restorations were simply incredible – literally, it is like comparing a black-and-white photo to a vividly colored one. Since we weren’t allowed to take any photos within the chapel itself, you can see the pre-and post-restoration work here (via Wikipedia).

If you visit later in the day, via regular public access, the Sistine Chapel experience is an entirely different animal. Packed to the brim, people stand nearly shoulder-to-shoulder; the temperature inside the chapel is much warmer (due to the sheer volume of people); the Vatican museum stewards constantly bark at the visitors in an effort to keep the chapel under control (there’s a no talking/photography policy within the chapel itself. I later walked through the Sistine Chapel and had to squeeze through sardine pit; it was a stark contrast to the “Pristine Sistine”).
Rich in art, history, and culture – it’s easy to spend days inside the walls of the Vatican.  The Pristine Sistine tour led us through the Vatican museums, Raphael rooms, and some other special gems (we can’t give all the secrets away).  Our tour wrapped up inside of St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world.

Inside, we saw Michelangelo’s Pieta (behind bulletproof glass – another sad “sign of the times”).

Tips on Visiting the Vatican:

• Be sure to dress appropriately – dress code is strictly enforced for both men and women. (i.e.,  no shorts, bare shoulders, miniskirts/other revealing (or offensively marked) clothing).
• Stay close to your guide, especially while inside St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s easy to lose your group while being in awe of the art and architecture (I temporarily lost my group, quite by accident, and nearly didn’t find them again).
• Climbing to the top of the cupola at St. Peter’s Basilica is something everyone should do at least once (320 steps) in your lifetime.  The view from the top is simply stunning. There’s an elevator that provides rooftop access (but not the top of the cupola).  The Vatican charges additional access fees (note: this is not included in the Pristine Sistine Tour, but I highly recommend doing this – the view from the top is well worth the additional effort).
• Warning: the Sistine Chapel is not immune to pickpockets , especially during peak visiting hours.  Having squeezed through the sardine pit myself, I could see how this is likely.

Special thanks to all of the folks at Walks of Italy for really amazing tour and Vatican experience!  The Pristine Sistine is one of those experiences that I’ll always remember!

St. Peter's Basilica

Saint Peter's Basilica, the world's largest church, is the center of Christianity. The imposing structure was built over a span of more than one hundred years by the greatest Italian architects of the era.

The church is built on Vatican Hill, across the Tiber river from the historic center of Rome. The location is highly symbolic: this was the site where Saint Peter, the chief apostle, died a martyr and where he was buried in 64 AD. St. Peter is considered the first pope, so it made perfect sense for the papacy to build the principal shrine of the Catholic church here.

Brief History-The First Basilica

In the early fourth century Emperor Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, decided to build a basilica on Vatican Hill at the site of small shrine that marked the likely location of the tomb of St. Peter. Construction of the basilica started between 319 and 322. It was consecrated in 326 AD and finally completed around 349 AD. To facilitate the construction, a part of the terrain was leveled and the necropolis where St. Peter was originally buried was demolished.
The basilica had an eighty-five meter (279 ft) long nave with four aisles and a spacious atrium with a central cantharus (fountain), enclosed by a colonnade. A bell tower stood at the front of the atrium. Visitors entered the atrium through a triple-arched portico.

In the middle of the fifteenth century, the basilica was falling into ruin and pope Nicolas V ordered the restoration and enlargement of the church after plans by Bernardo Rossellino. After Nicolas V died, works were halted.

No progress was made for half a century until pope Julius II decided to build a completely new church. He appointed Donato Bramante as chief architect. Bramante designed a structure with a high dome on a Greek cross plan (all sides have equal lengths). In 1506 Julius II laid the first stone of the new basilica which was to become the largest in the world.

After Bramante's death in 1514 he was succeeded by a number of different architects, all of whom made changes to the design, most notably Michelangelo Buonarroti, who became chief architect in 1547 at the age of seventy-two. He conceived the imposing dome and made further alterations to the plans.

At the time of Michelangelo's death in 1564 only the drum of the dome was built. The dome was finally completed in 1590 by Giacomo della Porta. On request of pope Paul V the imposing edifice was extended further into a true Latin cross plan by Carlo Maderno, who completed the main facade in 1614. The church was finally reconsecrated in 1626 by pope Urban VIII, exactly 1300 years after the consecration of the first church.
Ever since, the St. Peter's Basilica has been the center of Christianity, drawing pilgrims and tourists from all over the world.

Visitors on their way to the St. Peter's Basilica pass along St. Peter's Square, a grandiose elliptical esplanade created in the mid seventeenth century by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The square is bordered by massive colonnades that symbolize outstretched arms. Bernini and his assistants sculpted the 140 statues of saints that grace the balustrades on the colonnades. The square is decorated with fountains and an Egyptian obelisk that was transported to Rome in 37 AD.
The view of St. Peter's Basilica from the square is unfortunately a bit disappointing; the result of the enlargement of the church carried out by Carlo Maderno, which partly obscures Michelangelo's dome.

The building itself is truly impressive. The largest church in the world, it has a 211.5 meter long nave (694 ft, including the narthex). The basilica's dome is one of the world's largest measuring 42 meters in diameter and reaching 132.5 meters high (more than 434ft).

Front Facade

The travertine front facade of the basilica was created by Carlo Maderno, who slightly altered Michelangelo's original design by widening the narthex to 114.7 meters. Maderno also placed the massive columns against the walls instead of in front of the building, as Michelangelo had intended.

The 45.5 meters (149 ft) high facade is crowned with 5.7 meter tall statues of Christ, John the Baptist and the apostles except for St. Peter. On either side are huge clocks supported by angels and decorated with ornaments and the papal crest. They were added in the early nineteenth century and are the work of Giuseppe Valadier. Below the clock on the left you can see the church bells.

Five entrances lead to the narthex (the lobby area) of the church, where you find an equestrian statue of Charles the Great on the left and another equestrian statue of Emperor Constantine, created by Bernini. Five doors lead from the narthex to the nave of the basilica. The central bronze door was created in the fifteenth century by the Florentine sculptor and architect Filarete for the old basilica. The door on the right is the Porta Santa, the holy door which is only opened once every twenty-five years.

Interior

Once inside the nave the enormous size of the church becomes apparent. The basilica has a surface area of 15,160 square meters, enough space to accommodate 60,000 visitors. It is covered by a coffered barrel vault ceiling and a huge central dome.

The opulence of the interior bears testimony to the wealth of the Catholic church in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. It is decorated with large monuments, many of which were created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the greatest artists of all time.

One of his main creations invariably draws the immediate attention of visitors: the enormous, twenty-six meter high bronze baldachin over the papal altar. The Baroque masterpiece is crafted from bronze that was taken from the ceiling of the Pantheon. The design of the spiraling columns was inspired by marble columns that originally adorned the crypt of the old basilica.

In front of the papal altar is the confessio (burial crypt) that marks the presumed grave of St. Peter. It is encircled by a balustrade with ninety-five bronze oil lamps.

The confessio is located right below the majestic dome. Look up and you'll see the impressive colorful vaulting with sixteen ribs that are supported by four massive pillars. The triangular spaces where the pillars meet the dome are decorated with mosaics depicting the evangelists. Light enters through the lantern and the sixteen large windows below the cornice.

Huge niches in the pillars hold five meter tall statues of the saints Andrew, Veronica, Helena and Longinus. The latter was created by Bernini, the others by students and assistants of the master. They stand on pedestals that are almost as tall as the statues that are placed on them. Above the niches are loggias that hold the relics associated with the four saints.

The pillar with the statue of Longinus also provides the backdrop for a bronze statue of St. Peter. First thought to be a late-classical work, it is now attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio, a thirteenth century architect and sculptor.

The apse of the basilica is decorated with a bombastic Baroque work that integrates the Cathedra Petri, the supposed chair of St. Peter. The chair is encapsulated in a bronze throne with reliefs that is supported by four church fathers; Athanasius and Johannes represent the Eastern Church while Ambrose and Augustine represent the Western Church. Above the throne is a large oval window surrounded by numerous angels.

The tomb of pope Urban VIII, to the right of the throne, was also created by Bernini. The tomb opposite, of Paul III, is the work of Giacomo della Porta. There are plenty more tombs and sepulchral monuments in St. Peter's, most notably the monument to Alexander VII, another work of Bernini. It depicts the pope praying in front of a skeleton holding an hourglass. Statues alongside the skeleton represent virtues. One of the figures was originally nude but the prudish pope Innocent XI ordered Bernini to cover it with a marble drape. Another notable monument is the tomb of Innocent VII, sculpted in 1498 by Antonio del Pollaiolo. It is the only papal tomb in the church that was transferred from the original fourth century basilica.

The most famous monument in the St. Peter's Basilica is the Pietà, a marble sculpture of a young looking Mary holding the dead body of her son. It was created in 1499-1500 by Michelangelo at the early age of twenty-five. The monument is located in the first chapel on the right. It is the only work of Michelangelo that bears his signature. He etched his name on the ribbon that runs across Mary's chest, allegedly after he heard that people attributed his work to another artist. The sculpture was heavily damaged in 1972 when a deranged visitor hit it with a hammer; it is now protected by a bulletproof glass screen.

Most of the paintings in the church are replicas of the original paintings created for the basilica, many of which are now on display in the Vatican Pinacoteca. The high humidity in the church ruined the oil paintings which started to suffer from mold damage. Some have been replaced by mosaics such as 'The Transfiguration', a painting by Raphael, which was recreated in 1774 as a mosaic by Stefano Pozzi.

The floor of the basilica has a colorful marble pattern. Look for the red porphyry disc near the central door. In the old church it was located in front of the main altar. Emperors - most notably Charles the Great (in 800 AD) - were crowned while standing on the disc. There are also bronze markings that compare the size of the church with that of others, including the St. Paul's Cathedral in London and the Cologne Cathedral.

Right in front of the left transept is the entrance to the Museo Storico-Artistico (entrance not free), better known as the tesoro or treasury. On display are several historic crucifixes, including the sixth century Crux Vaticana. There are also objects taken from the old church, such as tabernacle created by Donatello.

It is also possible to visit the Sacre Grotte or Grotte Vaticane, a necropolis below the nave where you find the graves of more than one hundred popes. The Grotte was created when the floor of the new basilica was built 3.2 meters above the old one. It can be reached via a stair near the statue of Longinus.

The Dome and Viewing Platform

The crowning piece of the St. Peter's Basilica is the majestic dome, a masterpiece designed by Michelangelo. The dome has a diameter of 42.34 meters and rests on four massive five-sided pillars. On top of the pillars rests a cylindrical drum - with sixteen large rectangular windows - that supports the ribbed vault. The ribs come together at the oculus on which an enormous lantern is placed. The outside of the drum and lantern are decorated with double Corinthian pillars.

There is a viewing platform at the base of the lantern from where you can enjoy an unparalleled panorama over Rome. You have the option of taking the elevator or the stairs, the latter being a bit cheaper. At the foot of the dome you can walk onto the roof terrace, from where you get a close-up view of the dome. The galleries inside give you a birds-eye view of the interior of the church. From here a long, narrow and spiraling staircase brings you to the top of the dome. The staircase is situated between the inner and outer shells of the dome, so the walls are somewhat slanted. The rather uneasy climb and the entrance fee are definitely worth it though since you are rewarded with one of the best views over the city.

Location

St. Peter's is located in Vatican City, across the river Tiber, west of Rome's center. Vatican City is completely surrounded by the city of Rome. Entrance to the basilica is free but make sure you are dressed properly since a very strict dress code is enforced.

Ostia Antica

General information regarding Ostia Antica's excavations
 For additional information regarding the archeological site, you are pleased to contact directly the 'Soprintendenza' and the ticket office, you'll find their contacts at the bottom of this page. But please, make sure to read this page before doing that, you'll probably find the answers to most of your questions.
The best period to visit the excavations is surely the spring, from half March till the end of May. Another good period would be from the end of September to the beggining of November (weather allowing).
Ostia Antica's excavations timetable
Closed every Monday and in the 1st of January, 1st of May and on the 25th of December.
 January and February, November and December:
08.30 - 16.00 (public exit within 17.00)
March:
08.30 - 17.00 (public exit within 18.00)
From the Daylight saving time beginning (last Sunday of March) till October:
08.30 - 18.00 (public exit within 19.00)
From the last Sunday of October (end of Daylight saving time) till the 1st of November:
08.30 - 17.00 (public exit within 18.00)
    Tickets information--Ticket € 8,00--Reduced ticket € 4,00
 How to reach the archaeological site
The address of the excavations is:
Scavi di Ostia - Via dei Romagnoli, 717 - 00119 Ostia Antica - Roma
By car you need to follow the signs to Ostia Antica, the excavations are along the main street (Via dei Romagnoli). You won't have problems finding them.
By metro if you are in the middle of Rome, for example at Termini, you need to take the line B direction Laurentina till Magliana (will take around 7 minutes) and from Magliana take the metro to Lido di Ostia till at Ostia Antica (will take around 20 minutes). As soon you are out of the station you'll see a blue foot bridge in front of you, cross it and keep going straight till you'll reach a fountain, cross the road in front of it and again keep going straight till the gate of the excavations (less then 2 minutes).
 Other useful information-- It's possible to reserve a guided tour from Tuesday to Sunday contacting the ticket office.  It's possible to have an audio guide in Italian, English and French, ask at the ticket office.  It's not allowed the access to the excavations with transportation which can stop at the checked parking (paying) close to the ticket office.
  Within the excavations, right beside the Ostiense Museum and the offices, there's a cafe, restaurant and a bookshop.

 

The Roman port of Ostia is easier to visit than Pompeii (which is four hours south of Rome by train). And, in some ways, it's more interesting. Because Ostia was a working port town, it shows a more complete and gritty look at Roman life than wealthy Pompeii. Wandering around today, you'll see the remains of the docks, warehouses, apartment flats, mansions, shopping arcades, and baths that served a once-thriving port of 60,000 people.   

Getting to Ostia

Getting to Ostia Antica from downtown Rome is a snap — it's a 45-minute combination Metro/train ride to Ostia Antica. It'll cost you just one Metro ticket each way. From Rome, take Metro line B to the Piramide stop (which really is next to a pyramid, and several other interesting sights — it's worth a quick stop). The Piramide Metro stop is also the Roma Porta San Paolo train station, so the train tracks are just a few steps from the Metro tracks — follow signs to Lido. All trains depart in the direction of Lido, leave every 15 minutes, and stop at Ostia Antica along the way. The lighted schedule at each track will read something like, "Treno in partenza alle ore 13.25," meaning, "Train departing at 13:25." Look for the train departing next, hop on, ride for about 30 minutes (keep your Metro ticket handy), and get off at the Ostia Antica stop. (If you don't have a ticket to get back, purchase one at the ticket window at the station, or from the nearby snack bar.)
Leaving the train station in Ostia Antica, cross the road via the blue sky-bridge and walk straight down Via della Stazione di Ostia Antica, continuing straight until you reach the parking lot. The entrance is to your left.

History

Located at (and named for) the mouth (ostium) of the Tiber, Ostia was founded about 620 B.C. Its main attraction was the salt gleaned from nearby salt flats, which was a precious preserver of meat in ancient times. Later, as Rome began expanding (around 400 B.C.), Ostia was conquered, and a fort, or castrum, was built here. Ostia — often called Rome's first colony — served as a naval base, protecting Rome from any invasion by river. By A.D. 150, when Rome controlled the Mediterranean, Ostia's importance became commercial rather than military. Rome eventually outgrew the port of Ostia, and a vast new port was dug nearby (where Rome's airport now stands). But Ostia remained a key administrative and warehousing center, busy with the big business of keeping more than a million Romans fed and in sandals. With the fall of Rome, the port was abandoned. Over time, the harbor silted up, and the Tiber retreated to about one mile away. The mud that eventually buried Ostia actually protected it from the ravages of time — and stone-scavenging medieval peasants.

Ostia Antica Tour

Consider your visit a three-part affair:
1. Follow this tour, which leads you straight down Decumanus Maximus (the town's main drag), with a couple of slight detours, finishing at the forum (the main square).
2. Pop into the museum and consider getting a bite to eat at the cafeteria.
3. Explore the back lanes — going on a visual scavenger hunt — as you wander your way back to the entry point.
1. Cemetery (Necropolis): Find the map (30 yards inside the gate) for an orientation. Notice how the core of Ostia is a rectangular Roman military camp with two major roads crossing at the forum. One of four city gates lies ahead, and on your left is the necropolis (cemetery). Ancient Romans buried their dead outside the city walls. Detour to find family sepulchres — private open-air rooms lined with niches for ash-filled urns. Until the first century A.D., cremation was common. In the second and third centuries A.D., the Romans here buried their dead in marble and terra-cotta sarcophagi in tombs.
2. Porta Romana: Ahead (where the road gets narrow) you enter the ancient city of Ostia through the scant remains of the gate Porta Romana. Just as Rome's Porta Ostiense faced Ostia, Ostia's Porta Romana faced Rome. Just inside to the left (under the big tree), you can see on the gate the bits of the Latin inscription that greeted all who entered. It reads: "The Senate and the people of the colony of Ostia constructed the walls." The "colony" reference is a reminder that Ostia was the first bit of the Roman Empire.
From the gate, Ostia's main street (named Decumanus Maximus) leads straight to the Forum, where this walk ends. Note that this road was elevated above some buildings' foundations. Over the centuries, Ostia's ground-level rose. You can actually identify buildings from the Republic (centuries before Christ) and the empire (centuries after Christ) by their level. Anything you walk down into is from the earlier period.
3. Republican Warehouses (Magazzini Repubblicani): The first century B.C. was busy with activities relating to the river port. Walking along the main street you pass vast warehouses on the right. The goods of the port, such as grain from Sicily, Egypt, and all of North Africa, were processed and stored in warehouses here before being consumed by Rome.
4. Baths of Neptune (Terme di Nettuno): At the little well in the road, you'll see a viewpoint (with railings, above on right). Climb up for a view of the Baths of Neptune, including a fine mosaic with Neptune riding four horses through the sea. Apart from the cupid riding the dolphin, the sea looks pretty frightening — which it was. The large square to the left of the mosaic would have been busy with people wrestling, stretching, doing jumping jacks, and getting rubdowns. The niches that ring the square housed small businesses.
Climb back down, turn right, and immediately take another right. About seven yards in, on your right as you enter a grassy square, you'll see mosaics of ancient Roman boxers (mosaico degli atleti). Continue around the square until you reach an exit directly opposite the entrance. Follow the path to your left (paralleling the main street) as it crosses a typical street lined with apartments (insulae), to get to the Square of the Guilds.
5. Square of the Guilds (Piazzale delle Corporazioni): This grand square evolved from a simple place — where businessmen would stroll and powwow together — to become a monumental square lined with more than 60 offices of ship-owners and traders. This was the bustling center of Rome's import / export industry. Along the sidewalk, second-century A.D. mosaics advertise the services offered by the various shops. Walking counterclockwise, circle the square to "read" the mosaics that advertised in Latin and in a sign language for illiterate or non-Latin-reading sailors. The most common symbol — the lighthouse — was the sign of the port of Ostia. Grain containers are reminders that grain was the major import of Ostia. The elephant marking the office of the Sabratans (a place in present-day Libya) symbolized the sale of ivory or perhaps of exotic animals (great for parties and private spectacles). One shipper advertised that he dealt with Narbon (Narbonne in present-day France).
In the far corner you'll see a mosaic showing porters loading containers from a sea-going ship to a river-going ship and the three-mouthed delta of a river (probably the Nile). Statues of notable local guild-members and business leaders decorated the courtyard. The temple in the center was likely related to Ceres, the goddess of harvest and abundance (prosperity from good business). As you leave, notice the small white altar on the right. This would have been used to sacrifice animals — such as the rams carved into the corners — to ask for favor from the gods. The entrails would be read to divine the future, and to determine whether the gods were for or against a particular business venture. Ahead of you, in the direction of the Decumanus Maximus, is the theater.
6. Theater (Teatro): Up to 4,000 residents could gather here for entertainment. The three rows of marble steps near the orchestra were for big shots. While this theater seems big, it was twice as high in ancient times. (The upper two-thirds of what you see today is reconstructed.) In its day, a wall rose behind the stage, enclosing the theater. Even today, this place — one of the oldest brick theaters anywhere — is used for concerts. Climb to the top of the theater for a fine view.
7. Mill (Molino): The next intersection is Via dei Molini, which marks the wall of the original military castrum (rectangular camp). Before continuing into that oldest part of Ostia, turn right down Via dei Molini and (after nearly 2 blocks), turn left into the mill building (panificio), which dates from A.D. 120. Before you are several lava millstones that were used to grind grain. Study the workings: A bowl-like lower structure carefully cupped a moving upper section. Grain would be sprinkled in from a sack hanging from the ceiling. Mules or workers would power the grinding by walking in circles, pushing inserted wood poles. Powdery flour (with not much grit) would eventually tumble out of the bottom of the mill, ready to made into bread. A nearby room contains two ovens. Now, backtrack down Via dei Molini and take the first right onto Via Casa di Diana.
8. Via Casa di Diana: There are three places of interest along this street: the House of Diana, a tavern, and stairs leading to the second floor of an apartment flat for a commanding view.
The House of Diana is a great example of an insula (a multistoried tenement complex where the lower middle-class lived). The House of Diana originally had three or four floors (reaching the 66-foot maximum height allowed by Ostia's building codes).
Across the street, and down another 30 yards, is an inn called the Insula of the Thermopolium. Belly up to this tavern's bar. You'll see display shelves for food and drinks for sale, a small sink, and scant remains of wall paintings.
Across the street, stairs lead to the top floor of the Insula of the Paintings. Climb these for a good view and a chance to imagine life as an apartment dweller in ancient Rome. Now, walk on toward the high red brick temple that marks Ostia's Forum.
9. Forum: Whenever possible, Rome imposed a grid road plan on its conquered cities. After Rome conquered Ostia in about 400 B.C., it built a military camp, or castrum — a rectangular fort with east, west, north, and south gates and two main roads converging on the forum. Throughout the empire, Romans found comfort in this familiar city plan.
Ostia's main square became a monumental Forum in Imperial period. And dominating this square, like most Roman towns, was the grand temple (from A.D. 120). The marble veneer was scavenged in the Middle Ages, leaving only the core brickwork. Note the reinforcement arches in the brick. The temple, called the Capitolium (after the original atop Capitol Hill in Rome), was dedicated to the pagan trinity of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. A forum dominated by a Capitolium temple was a standard feature of colonies throughout the empire. The purpose: to transport the Roman cult of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva to the newly conquered population.
Opposite the Capitolium, and distinguished by its sawed-off column, is the Temple of Roma and Augustus. Its position is powerfully symbolic. The power of the emperor stands equal, facing the power of the Capitolium Triad.
At the basilica, dating from about A.D. 100, legal activities and commercial business took place (with your back to the forum, it's the building across the street and to your right). Its central nave and two side aisles lead to the "high altar" where the judge sat.
Behind the Capitolium temple — and a little to the right — the pink, modern building houses the fine little Ostia Museum. Behind that is a shop and a modern cafeteria (with a tiny Tiber view). And Decumanus Maximus continues through the Forum into a vast urban expanse, great for simply wandering (see Archaeological Scavenger Hunt below), but first make one more stop...
10. Forum Baths (Terme del Foro): Walk to the front left corner of the Temple of Roma and Augustus. As you're facing it, look left for a street marked by a grand arch. This leads to Ostia's best and largest baths (entrance on right). As you wander around this huge complex, try to imagine it peopled, steaming, and busy. Roman engineers were experts at radiant heat. A huge furnace heated both the water and air that flowed through pipes under the floors and in the walls. Notice the fine marble steps — great for lounging — that led to the pools. People used olive oil rather than soap to wash, so the water needed to be periodically skimmed by servants. The octagonal room (for sunbathing) leads to the elliptical laconicum (sweating room), two tepidaria (where Romans were rubbed down by masseuses), and the once-steamy caldarium with three pools.
From the baths you can look across the street to the 20-hole latrine (across from the entry to the baths). You can still see the pivot hole in the floor that once supported its revolving door. The cutout below the seat was to accommodate the washable sponge on a stick used rather than toilet paper. Rushing water (brought in by aqueduct) below each seat did the flushing.
11. Ostia Museum: This small museum offers a delightful look at some of Ostia's finest statuary. Without worrying too much about exactly what is what, just wander and imagine these fine statues — tangled wrestlers, kissing cupids, playful gods — adorning the courtyards of wealthy Ostia families. Most of the statues are second- and third-century A.D. Roman pieces inspired by rare and famous Greek originals. The portrait busts are of real people — the kind you'd sit next to in the baths (or toilets).
A forte of Roman sculptors was realistic busts. Roman religion revered the man of the house (and his father and grandfather). A statue of daddy and grandpa was common in the corner of any proper house. Also, with the emperor considered a god, you'd find his bust in classrooms, at the post office, and so on.
The sarcophagi (marble coffins) generally show mythological scenes of Dionysus, the Greek god who relates to the afterlife and immortality. A few humble frescos give a feeling for how living quarters may have been "wallpapered."
Perhaps the most interesting room (to the left as you enter) features statuary from religions of foreign lands. Being a port town, Ostia accommodated people (and their worship needs) from all over the known world. The large statue of a man sacrificing a bull is a Mithraic altarpiece.
The cafeteria and shop are in a modern building just behind the museum.
12. Archeological Scavenger Hunt: As you return to the entry gate, get off the main drag and explore Ostia's back streets. Wandering beyond the Forum and then taking the back lanes as you return to the entry, see if you can find:

• Tarp- and sand-protected mosaic flooring.
• White cornerstones put into buildings to fend off wild carts and reflect corners in the dark.
• Fast-food fish joint (on Decumanus Maximus, just beyond the forum).
• Hidden bits of fresco (clue: under hot tin roofs).
• Republican buildings and buildings dating from the empire.
• Stucco roughed up for fresco work (before applying the wet plaster of a fresco, the surface needs to be systematically gouged so the plaster can grip the wall).
• Mill stones for grinding grain (Ostia's big industry).
• Floor patterns made colorful with sliced columns.
• A domus (single-family dwellings always faced a fancy central open-air courtyard).

By Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw