Hi from Tapestry,
One of the interesting things about Fumincino was its nearness to Ostia
Antica. This town was built by the Romans in the fourth century B.C. as a port
on the Tiber River where goods could be unloaded from ships and taken by barge
or overland to Rome. The city thrived for several hundred years and then,
during the second century A.D. the Tiber shifted its course, leaving Ostia high
and dry. At the time it was a city of about a hundred thousand. The city was
slowly abandoned and with the fall of Rome it was looted and vandalized. It
also silted in. Rediscovered in the beginning of the 20th century, it has been
excavated and some say it is in a better state of preservation than Pompeii.
We traveled there by taking two busses, about a half hour ride, and spent
several hours wandering the streets. There are Roman Villas, warehouses, mills,
a theater, a forum, two temples, and hundreds of regular homes. The baths are
spectacular with their mosaic floors still in tact. Most buildings have four
walls and some vaulted roofs remain, but most buildings have long ago lost their
roofs. There are frescos on some of the walls, pictures of wrestlers, chariots,
and mythical beasts. There is a huge market with bars and restaurants mixed
with stalls for venders of meat and vegetables, fish and about everything else.
It is less well-known than Pompeii and hence has fewer visitors. It is possible
to walk deserted streets here and watch for the ghosts of those who lived here
so long ago.
On the way home, we had to run to catch our bus, which was just pulling away
from the bus stop. It was crammed with Italians on their way home from work,
but they made room for us as we squeezed in the door. I think they were amused
at these two frantic Americans running after their bus. They seem to be good
natured people.
The Italian bus system is interesting as well. Tickets cost one Euro, about
a dollar and a quarter. They are sold at tobacco shops and some bars. They are
often not sold on busses. Once you board your bus, you go to a machine which
stamps your ticket with the time and date. You can then ride anywhere for 90
minutes. The bus drivers are helpful and often speak English, but they never
ask whether you have a ticket or notice whether you got it stamped or not.
There are rumors that inspectors can fine you 30 Euros if they catch you on a
bus without a ticket. We have never seen an inspector. It seems that probably
fewer than half the people who get on the bus ever go near the time stamp
machine. They may have passes. Busses are most always at least half full and
they relieve traffic on the narrow roads and city streets. It is a system that
works.
That's it from Tapestry, motor sailing over a calm sea between Anzio and the
Island of Ponza. Hank and Julie