Page 473 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

LAZIO  471

9 Ostia Antica The building
material for the The internal
Viale dei Romagnoli 717, Ostia. houses was brick, courtyard has
Tel 06 56 35 80 03. q Piramide, then left plain or remained a feature
V from Porta San Paolo to Ostia covered in mural of Italian housing.
Antica. Excavations & Museum: Open decoration.
8:30am–1 hour before sunset Tue–
Sun. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. &
For over 600 years Ostia
was Rome’s main port Ruins of shops and offices along
and a busy trading the Decumanus Maximus
centre, until the 5th
century AD when a Balcony
disastrous combination
of malaria and
commercial
competition brought
the town into decline. Silt
preserved its buildings
and it now lies 5 km
(3 miles) inland.
The ruins of Ostia give a
vivid idea of life in Classical
times. The main thoroughfare,
the Decumanus Maximus, runs
through the Forum, which
houses Ostia’s largest temple,
the Capitol, and past the Apartments or
restored theatre, still used for single rooms were
rented out.
open-air concerts in summer.
The road is lined with baths, Shops
occupied the
shops and multistorey Ostia Apartments ground floor of
buildings. There is even a Much of Ostia’s population the block.
Thermopolium, or bar, with a lived in blocks of flats, such as
marble counter and paintings this building, based on the Casa The bar served wine
advertising food and drink. di Diana (2nd century AD). and snacks.
0 Frascati and the Villa Aldobrandini, a majestic (4 miles) south, Castel Gandolfo
Castelli Romani 17th-century building set in a is the site of the pope’s summer
Roma. V @ Frascati. Villa splendid park of secret grottoes, palace. When in residence the
Aldobrandini Gardens: Tel 06 94 18 41. fountains and statues. pope addresses the crowd from
Open Mon–Fri. & The fortified Abbazia di San the balcony.
Nilo in Grottaferrata, 3 km Gathered around a sturdy
The Alban hills have long been (2 miles) south, was founded in 9th-century castle, and famed
a country retreat for Romans. 1004 and contains some lovely for its strawberries, Nemi, 10 km
In Classical times they were 17th-century frescoes by (6 miles) southeast, looks down
scat tered with villas; in the Domenichino in the chapel. onto the glassy dark blue waters
Middle Ages with fortified Overlooking Lake Albano, 6 km of Lake Nemi.
castles (hence the name); and
in the 16th and 17th centuries
with luxurious residences and
their spectacular parks. During
World War II German defences
were based in the Alban hills
and many Castelli towns were
damaged by Allied bombs.
Although partly protected by
a nature reserve, the hilltop
towns are popular day-trip
destinations as well as being
famous for their white wine.
Frascati’s central piazza is a
belvedere overlooked by the The forested shores around the small, volcanic Lake Nemi

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