Where to begin.

If you want to walk down memory lane and taste of slice of daily Roman life, then the port city of Ostia Antica, 30km South West of Rome, ticks all the boxes. Bigger than Pompeii, with minimal crowds, this is where the visitor can enter another world. Bakeries, fishmongers and restaurants dating back two thousand years ago, eerily stand empty, but pretty well preserved. Mosaics and frescos are waiting to be discovered and miraculously seem as though they were made yesterday.

It’s hard to believe this white marble table was once used as an ancient Roman fishmongers serving slab, but here it is today looking modern basking in the Roman sun.

Taberne dei Pescivendoli:

That’s fishmonger to you and I.

Beautiful mosaics

Opus Reticolata: Meaning, pretty way of laying Roman bricks in a diamanté design.

Original Spartacus sandals, handmade by Roberto Cavallium

A Roman bakery:

Via dei Mulini

These mills are 1,800 years old and made of volcanic stone.

More beautiful mosaics at every turn

Thermopolium

A wine bar, or more of a bistro, serving hot snacks.

Check out this marble display counter.

Red and yellow wall decorations, the colours of the Rome flag. The Romans were big on walls being decorated with faux painted marble effects. Pretty bling for a bistro.

Marble, marble and more marble.

Want to discover more? Then why not book a tailor made Rome tour.