The Castle of Julius II in Ostia Antica.

The square of Ostia Antica, with the church of Santa Aurea on the right.

Ostia Antica is a district in the commune of Rome, Italy, five kilometers away from the coast. It is distinct from Ostia. Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban...

History

For ancient history, see Ostia Antica (archaeological site)

Under the Romans, Ostia Antica reached a peak of some 75,000 inhabitants in the 2nd and 3rd century AD. A slow decadence began with the time of Constantine I, the decaying conditions of the city mentioned by St. Augustine when he passed there in the late 4th century. His mother, St. Monica, died in a inn here. The poet Rutilius Namatianus also reported the lack of mantainance of the city in 414. Ostia became an episcopal see as early as the 3rd century AD, the cathedral (titulus) of Santa Aurea being located on the sepulture site of St. Monica. Ostia Antica was the harbor of ancient Rome and perhaps its first colonia. ... Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on... For the first Archbishop of Canterbury, see Saint Augustine of Canterbury. ... Saint Monica of Hippo (333 - 387) is a Christian saint and mother of Saint Augustine. ... Information quoted from [1] http://www. ... Events Ataulf, king of the Visigoths, marries Galla Placidia, the sister of Roman Emperor Honorius. ... A see (from the Latin word sedem, meaning seat) is the throne (cathedra) of a bishop. ... In Christian archeology, a titulus is one of a set number of Early Christian churches (collectively known as the tituli) built round the edges of the city of Rome, which were ascribed to patrons, whose names often identified them: they received the name tituli, from the name of the founder...

In the 9th, although largely in ruin, Ostia remained an access from the sea for pilgrims to Rome, but also of Saracen pirates, as was seen in the naval Battle of Ostia just off the coast in 849). Pope Gregory IV fortified the existing burgh, which at the time, the port having been earthened by the Tevere river, was mainly a shelter for the workers of the nearby salt mills. The city was therefore rechristened Gregoriopolis. In older Western historical literature, the Saracens were the people of the Saracen Empire, another name for the Arab Caliphate under the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. ... The Battle of Ostia was a naval battle fought in 849 AD between the Muslims of souther Italy and a Christian League of Papal, Neapolitan and Gaetan ships. ... Events Births Deaths August 18 - Walafrid Strabo, German monk and theologian Categories: 849 ... Gregory IV, pope (827-844), was chosen to succeed Valentinus in December 827, on which occasion he recognized the supremacy of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious in the most unequivocal manner. ... Tiber River in Rome The River Tiber (Italian Tevere), the third longest river in Italy (disputed — see talk page) at 406 km (252 miles) after the Po and the Adige, flows through the Campagna and Rome in its course from Mount Fumaiolo to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which it reaches...

Several restorations followed, the most important being that by bishop Giuliano della Rovere (later pope as Julius II) in the late 15th century, who had the main church and the walls rebuilt. According to Giorgio Vasari, architect who designed the works was Baccio Pontelli. The castle built in this occasion (known as Castello di Giulio II in Italian) remains the most striking feature of modern Ostia. In 1587 a Tevere's flood deprived its ditch from waters, and it was abandoned or used as prison; the entire area turned into a marsh, only a scattered population of shepherds and peasants living in it. Pope Julius II Julius II, né Giuliano della Rovere (December 5, 1443 - February 21, 1513), was pope from 1503 to 1513. ... Giorgio Vasaris selfportrait Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (Arezzo, Tuscany July 3, 1511 - Florence, June 27, 1574) was an Italian painter and architect, mainly known for his famous biographies of Italian artists. ... Baccio Pontelli (born ca. ... 1587 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The castle and the burgh were restored in the 20th century.