Rodney Campbell's Blog

Meandering down Ostia Antica’s back lanes is a veritable archaeological scavenger hunt. Hidden bits of fresco, preserved mosaic flooring, and millstones for grinding grain back when business was booming.

Ostia Antica

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 145 mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

An ancient loo – with all the plumbing – pretty swish for 2000 years old.

The Loo

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 62 mm, 1/100 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Shards

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The Plug

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Ostia’s museum offers a fantastic look at some of the city’s finest statuary — kissing cupids, tangled wrestlers and playful gods. Most of the statues are second and third-century A.D. Roman pieces inspired by rare and famous Greek originals.

Cupids

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One very rare find here is the excellent new modern cafe on the site. Normally food in locations like these (where there’s no other places available and they can give you what they want and charge what they like – think of food you get in other locked in touristy locations) is pretty terrible and expensive. However in contrast it was real surprise – varied and quite good and the price was very reasonable.

Pillar to Post

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 112 mm, 1/200 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Ostia Archways

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My wife had really wanted to visit one of the preserved Roman villages in the in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii and Herculaneum being the two most well known sites buried and thus preserved by the erupting volcano.

Hidden Treasures

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Unfortunately the weather in Italy was still looking a bit iffy (rain), and we really couldn’t face the 3 to 4 hour journey each way to either of these locations (especially with these very short winter days).

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Ostia Arena

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/500 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Thankfully we’d heard about Ostia Antica, just 30 minutes from Rome by train. It’s an ancient city with hidden treasures and some of the best preserved ruins in Italy. It’s also said to be on a par with Pompeii and Herculaneum – and is perhaps the most under-appreciated sight in all of Italy.

Roman Village

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 62 mm, 1/60 sec at f/8, ISO 200

Ostia, at the mouth (ostium) of the Tiber River, was founded around 620 B.C. Its central attraction was the salt gleaned from nearby salt flats, which served as a precious meat preserver. Later, around 400 B.C., Rome conquered Ostia and made it a naval base, complete with a fort. By A.D. 150, when Rome controlled all the Mediterranean, Ostia served as its busy commercial port.

With the fall of Rome, the port was abandoned. Over time the harbour silted up. The shoreline moved seawards, due to silting, from the Middle Ages until the 19th century. The mud that eventually buried Ostia, protected it from the ravages of time, allowing it to lay safely buried until it was excavated and opened to the public.

The site is noted for the excellent preservation of its ancient buildings, magnificent frescoes and impressive mosaics.

You can stroll among the ruins and trace the grid standard for Roman military towns. Walking along the main road, Decumanus Maximus, you can identify buildings from the Republic (centuries before Christ) and the Empire (centuries after Christ) by their level. Over the centuries, Ostia’s ground level rose, and the road was elevated.

Arena Panorama

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/50 sec at f/8, ISO 100 x 13 Frames

On the main road is the large theatre/arena. One of the oldest brick theatres anywhere and it’s still used for concerts today. The three rows of marble steps near the orchestra used to be for big shots.

The Arena

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/640 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Ostia Apartment View

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/100 sec at f/8, ISO 100 x 6 Frames

We were in Italy when our eldest daughter received her year 12 results.

She did the IB (International Baccalaureate) diploma program instead of the HSC (Higher School Certificate) for years 11 & 12. Our daughters attend one of the 100 or so schools in Australia which offer the IB as well as HSC. The IB results come out some weeks after the HSC and thus the long wait.

The results ended up being released around 4AM (Sydney time) which was early evening our time – which meant she was one of the first to know her results.

NIKON D750 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 42 mm, 1/60 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

She received an IB score of 44 (out of 45) and an ATAR of 99.85! It was a fantastic and exciting result – beyond even her wildest hopes and expectations – so she and we are all extremely pleased and proud of her result.

Today we attended the Year 12 Class of 2017 Laureate Assembly. A time to congratulate the high achievers and celebrate their fantastic results. Further celebration for Amelia as she was jointly awarded Dux of her year – yay!! 🙂

Joint Dux

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… and what is this ATAR thing anyway… the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank is apparently a rank, not a mark. It is a number between 0.00 and 99.95 and indicates a student’s position relative to all the students who started high school with them in Year 7. Speaking in rough terms the number scored by an individual is the percentage of students they ‘beat’ from their year group. And why no 100 – it would imply you beat 100% of all students – including yourself.

NIKON D750 + 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 @ 58 mm, 1/250 sec at f/4, ISO 100

After leaving the Pantheon we made our way to nearby Piazza Navona and then to Campo de’ Fiori where they have a very popular local produce market in the public square.

Fractals

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec at f/8, ISO 1250

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Fruits

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We had fully intended on coming back here later to pick up some interesting produce and food – alas we never got back here.

Fruits II

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After the market we headed down to the Tiber river and crossed over to Tiber Island (where the girls bought some art :)).

Ponte Fabricio

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 36 mm, 1/400 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Tiber

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 125 mm, 1/400 sec at f/9, ISO 100