OStiensia – The Awakening of Ostia Antica

A journey into ancient Rome among the ruins of Ostia

OStiensia – The Awakening of Ostia Antica is a historical re-enactment that, for one day, brings the ancient Ostia—the commercial port of Imperial Rome—back to life within the archaeological site of Ostia Antica, in the 10th Municipality of Rome (Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio). The event is organized by the Suadela cultural association in collaboration with the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park and the Superintendency, with the goal of vividly and educationally recounting daily life in the times of ancient Rome.

What to see: trades, arts, and scenes of daily life

Along the visitor route, re-enactors in historical attire animate various sectors of the archaeological area, philologically reconstructing the professions, civil activities, and life scenes of two thousand years ago. In the ancient tabernae and squares, the workshops and trades of ancient Rome come to life, including the fresco painter (tector), the mosaicist (tessellarius), the goldsmith (aurifex), the potter (figulus), the shoemaker (sutor), and the blacksmith (faber ferrarius), who demonstrate to the public the ancient techniques used to create mosaics, frescoes, jewelry, footwear, and artifacts.

The stages of the re-enactment

The route passes through some of the most evocative spots of the excavations, each with its own thematic re-enactments:

• Necropolis — insights into the Roman funeral rite;
• Porta Romana — the monumental entrance to the city;
• Via dei Vigili and Piazzale delle Corporazioni — the commercial heart of the port;
• Portico of Pius IX;
• Forum and Capitolium — the civil and religious center;
• Mithraeum of the Baths — the mystery cults of Ostia.

Throughout the day, dedicated educational moments also take place, such as explanations of the funeral rite and the manumissio, the ceremony for the manumission of slaves.

Why it's worth it

Ostia Antica is one of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Italy and, unlike other contexts, allows you to walk among the streets, houses, baths, and warehouses of a real Roman city. OStiensia adds to this extraordinary setting the presence of re-enactors, transforming the visit into an immersive experience suitable for all ages: a different and engaging way to discover how people lived, worked, and traded in the port of Rome.