Ostia

Ostia Antica is the sprawling archaeological site of Rome's ancient harbour town, about 25 kilometres south-west of the city at the mouth of the Tiber. Legend ascribes its foundation to King Ancus Marcius in the 7th century BC; archaeology confirms it from the 4th century BC as a salt-trading post and later naval base of the Roman Republic. At the height of the imperial era around 50,000 people from across the Mediterranean lived here, explaining the wealth of mithraea, synagogues and oriental cult temples among the ruins. Visitors can wander for hours through nearly intact warehouses, insula apartment blocks, baths with black-and-white mosaics and the theatre on the Decumanus. Compared with Pompeii the site is more spacious, greener and usually far less crowded.