Since ancient times, the salt pans of the Roman coast were one of the most important places for salt production and a significant source of livelihood for the area. For this reason, there were several warehouses used for its storage before being transported to Rome by river.

A primitive structure of the Episcope probably existed as early as the Middle Ages, but very little is known about it. In 1511 Raffaele Riario obtained the bishopric of Ostia and decided to enlarge the building. A new wing was built on the right side of the Church of Sant’Aurea, forming a single block with it.

An extraordinary but unfortunately little known archaeological site, the necropolis of Porto actually represents a unicum in the context of Roman burial grounds. Thanks to its exceptional conservation, due to the layers of sand that have protected the tombs for many centuries, it is possible to understand what an ancient Roman necropolis must have been like.

Another symbol of the Borgo di Ostia Antica is represented by the church dedicated to Sant’Aurea. There is little news regarding the saint. From the Acts of the Martyrs we know that she came from a noble Roman family and that she was martyred under Claudius the Gothic in the third century. His body, thrown into the sea and carried ashore by the waves, was buried “foras muros portae Ostiae”, in an area already used for burials in the imperial age.

An extraordinary but unfortunately little known archaeological site, the necropolis of Porto actually represents a unicum in the context of Roman burial grounds. Thanks to its exceptional conservation, due to the layers of sand that have protected the tombs for many centuries, it is possible to understand what an ancient Roman necropolis must have been like. The funerary monuments date from the beginning of the 2nd century AD. and the middle of the third century AD, but modest interventions are attested up to the fourth century AD.
Read More “A day at the Necropolis of Porto”