Ostia

On Friday the 25th, my parents and sister arrived in Rome for a short visit. We spent the evening of their arrival visiting a few highlights near Termini, including the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Piazza della Reppublica. Later my mom and I went to San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, where we saw both the church and the cortile, which I had never visited before. We thought about visiting the crypt, but the long, steep, and narrow staircase seemed too daunting since we were both tired.

On Saturday we planned a trip to Ostia, as I needed to go for me research and I was fairly confident that they would enjoy it as well. Ostia is a lot of fun because virtually everything is open and few people visit, so it is very easy to feel like you have the whole site to yourself. Unfortunately there are very few wall paintings visible (those that remain are largely inaccessible and blocked from view), but there are many mosaics and some beautiful vaulted structures. Something about the way the light filters into the vaulted ruins is especially wonderful; the internal volumes seem perfect and timeless. Stripped of their furnishings, baths and corridors are environments of pure form complemented by the texture of light on brick and plaster. It’s incredible and impossible to capture in photography.

We ate lunch at the overpriced but decent cafeteria on site and also visited the small museum, where I found an interesting sculpture of relevance to an article on which I’m working. The day was gorgeous and sunny and I think everyone enjoyed Ostia. After spending several hours at the site, we boarded the train to return to Rome. On the train, we were annoyed by a clearly drunk fellow passenger, so we decided to get out early and see the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura, one of my favorite churches in Rome. After finally getting back to the city, we ended the day with delicious pizzas.