
All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it.
Notes:
Page added in March 2024.
All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it.
Notes:
Page added in March 2024.
You may wish to see a page on Ancient Porto first.
View of ancient Porto by Pirro Ligorio (1554), upon which a 1582 fresco in the Vatican was based
Pirro Ligorio was a scholar of antiquities; he carried out early excavations at Villa Adriana and he drew Antiquae Urbis Imago, a map of ancient Rome. As an architect he designed Villa d'Este and Casino di Papa Pio IV. His drawing of the section of the harbour built by Emperor Claudius proved to be relatively accurate in the late 1950s when extensive excavations were carried out for the construction of the Fiumicino International Airport. We know that in the XVIth century some evidence of the lighthouse was still visible, but in the XXth century it had disappeared.
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: panels with photos showing the discovery of the wharf (left) and of a "navis vivaria", a fishing boat (right) during the construction of the airport
The remains of eight ships have been discovered since 1958, one of which was not excavated due to its poor state of conservation. The wrecks lay close to the northern wharf of the port of Claudius, perhaps in a section of the basin where old ships were moored. The environmental conditions of the site allowed the conservation of the bottom structures (keel and hull), sealed by the deposits of silt and sand caused by the burial process of the entire port basin. Unfortunately, during the excavation and recovery work, something was lost due to the difficulty of preserving the wood, which does not tolerate changes in temperature and other adverse environmental conditions. A hangar was built in the area of the discovery where the wrecks were transported and subjected to the first consolidation operations.
Northern wharf of the harbour of Claudius near the Airport
Then at length I proceed to the ships, where with twy-horned brow the branching Tiber cleaves his way to the right. The channel on the left (that of Ostia) is avoided for its unapproachable sands. (..) And now the sun in the paler sky of the Scorpion's Claws had lengthened the space of the night-watches. We hesitate to make trial of the sea; we tarry in the haven, unreluctant to endure idleness amid the delays which bar our voyage, so long as the setting Pleiad storms upon the treacherous main, and the anger of the squally season is hot. (..) Thrice five days we watched the trust to be placed in the sea, until a new moon's more favourable breeze should present itself. (..) In the half-dawn we weigh anchor, at the hour of day when colour is first restored and lets the fields grow visible. In little boats we make way along the nearest shores, so that a beach might always lie open as a refuge for them.
Rutilius Namatianus - A Voyage Home to Gaul (in ca 415) - Loeb Edition 1934
Namatianus was on his way to Gaul so his ship left the harbour from its northern mouth (read other passages of his travel account covering Civitavecchia and Monte Argentario). Scanty remains of the southern wharf appear in a 1582 view of Porto (near Torre di Pio V).
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: "Fiumicino 2"
The hangar was eventually turned into a museum and opened to the public in 1979. Its arrangement however did not meet the requirements of a modern structure for properly displaying the ships and the museum was closed in 2002. The design, financing and building of a new structure was a very lengthy affair and the new museum was inaugurated in October 2021. It displays in a very large hall the wrecks of three naves caudicariae (made of logs), ships with a lesser draft which from Porto were towed by oxen to the docks of Rome (Fiumicino 1, Fiumicino 2 and Fiumicino 3), of a small sailing ship intended for trade along the coast (Fiumicino 4) and of a fishing boat (Fiumicino 5). The visit takes place on two levels, on the ground floor and on the walkway that runs along the walls and between the two large river ships in the centre of the room, allowing the view of the wrecks at different heights, up to the overall view of them from above. You may wish to see a museum at Mainz which displays wrecks of Roman river warships.
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: "Fiumicino 1", the largest ship
The presence of three caudicariae vessels intended for transport along the Tiber, allowed an in-depth study of this type of ship, revealing its construction technique. The stern was high and curved, the bow slender. The cable for towing the ship from the shore passed through a pulley at the top of the mast (see a relief at Avignon). The mast could also be provided with a trapezoidal sail, which allowed proximity navigation, in the port and along the coast between Ostia and Portus . The three ships of Fiumicino could transport approximately 70, 50 and 30 tons of cargo. You may wish to see a mosaic at Ostia showing the moving of goods from a ship to another one.
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: "Fiumicino 4", a small merchant sea vessel (Fiumicino "3" and "5" are being restored behind a plastic sheet protection)
The merchant ships, called onerariae, travelled by sail, in the period from March to October. The goods they carried were mostly contained in sealed terracotta amphorae, which could have various shapes depending on the contents, carefully arranged in the hold on several levels with the tips inserted into the ballast and with the interstices filled with non-perishable material (see another wreck and some containers in museums of Marseille).
The fishing boat, navis vivaria, is an exceptional find of its kind. Its central compartment (vivarium) was equipped with holes in the bottom for water exchange to keep the catch alive.
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: casts of ancient reliefs depicting Roman ships and modern models of them
A series of display cases along the walls houses exhibits which provide information on many aspects of navigation in the Ist-Vth century AD (also from Ostia and Isola Sacra).
When the obelisk had been conveyed down the channel of the Nile and landed at Alexandria, a ship of a size hitherto unknown was constructed, to be rowed by three hundred oarsmen. (..) The obelisk was loaded on the ship, after long delay, and brought over the sea and up the channel of the Tiber.
Ammianus Marcellinus - Roman History - Book XVII - Loeb Edition
Ships were described in many accounts (read one related to another ship) and depicted in many mosaics, frescoes, reliefs, etc. In general however the depictions were very accurate in the representation of details, but the size of the ship was not realistic. Symbolic depictions of ships decorated the floors of the "shipping agencies" of Ostia. You may wish to see some fine mosaics from Rome, Sicily and Tunisia, a fresco from Ostia and a large relief from Ostia.
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: lead anchor, sounding lead and mooring stone
Anchors, soundings, mooring stones, etc. show that the equipment which was used by the ancient Romans was not so dissimilar to that still in use for small boats.
The flukes of the anchor bear the name of the ship: IOVIS (alternative form of Jupiter - left) IV (right). You may wish to see a similar anchor at Sagunto and a sounding lead at Marseille. The ships had often names of gods and goddesses (especially Isis), but some warships were named Victoria and Ops (Strength). A ship at Pompeii was named Europa.
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: marble relief depicting a lighthouse and a personification of Porto from the Great Necropolis (IInd or early IIIrd century AD); the image used as background for this page shows the lighthouse in a floor mosaic at the Great Necropolis of Porto
Two reliefs of the museum depict the lighthouse of Porto which stood on an islet (similar to that of Alexandria), which was created by sinking the ship which at the time of Emperor Caligula carried the obelisk which is now in Piazza S. Pietro. The lighthouse divided the access to the harbour. In the relief shown above it has three storeys, while it was usually depicted with four storeys. The human figure could also refer to Alexandria because he is portrayed with a bull (a possible reference to the Egyptian god Apis), a rudder and a lotus-shaped headdress. The ship is depicted with attention to details, such as the oar rudder, the swan's head on the stern, the sails and the rigging.
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: (above) relief depicting a seaman reaching the harbour and a scene inside a tavern; (below-left) oil lamp with a depiction of Portus; (below-right) fragment of the lid of a sarcophagus
Occasionally some reliefs provide insights into the everyday life of the Romans. We see a tavern scene with many jars placed on three shelves, a woman who is serving wine to two customers sitting at a table and a dog asking for some food. The jars might have contained walnuts, based on evidence found at Herculaneum. A caupona (tavern) at Ostia was located near Porta Marina (Sea Gate) and it is decorated with some interesting floor mosaics. Frescoes at Pompeii depict other scenes in a tavern.
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: showcase with three small statues of "saccarii" (porters) and other items from Portus and Ostia
The saccarii were responsible for the loading and unloading of goods from sea to river ships and warehouses. The clay figurines represented the religious symbol (genius) of the workers' guild (collegium) and were probably placed in small shrines or niches in streets, taverns and workshops. The funerary inscription mentions a curator navium kartha.., i.e. the agent of the shipping line of Carthage. The statera (steelyard) was the common tool for weighing both small and large loads (see a relief at Capua).
Museo delle Navi di Fiumicino: (left) mosaic with fish, from Isola Sacra; (right) showcase with a small statue of Venus, a knife blade, a spoon and a fork
The fine floor mosaic decorated a funerary building; the depiction of sea creatures was very popular throughout the Roman Empire. In some instances it was a sort of catalogue, e.g. in a mosaic in Tunisia where all subjects are shown in isolation, in other instances, including the one shown above, the depiction was more lively (see a mosaic from Rome). Fishing was decidedly important for the nourishment of the Romans, but in imperial times it was an expensive food and therefore reserved to the wealthier classes. The fresh catch was insufficient to cover the market demand and it is for this reason that the farming of some fish in nurseries (piscinae) became widespread (see the piscinae of Formia).
Return to Ancient Porto or move to the Great Necropolis or to Medieval Porto and Modern Fiumicino.
Next and last step in your tour of the Environs of Rome: Caprarola.