Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-12
ROME IS TO REOPEN
HER ANCIENT PORT
0stia to Be Used Again as in
the Time of the
Caesars.
SLEEPING TEN CENTURIES
Especial Correspondence of The Star
and New York WORLDLY

Especial Correspondence of The Star
and New York WORLDLY
New York WORLDLY
ROME, July 14.-After sleep of
nearly ten centuries Ostia. the ancient
port of Rome. will now be reconstructed
TO supply Rome with cereals, coal and
other necessaries Under the Caesars.
in the most glorious period of the Ro-
man empire, Ostia was used as Rome's
port. especially for the landing and
storage of free grain. which the EN-
perors had to give the Romans II they
would keep them in good temper.
Little by little the Tiber filled up the
port with mud. and under the troubles
of barbarian inrasian ostia became
wholly deserted. Many times the Ro-
mans have desired to rebuild the port
and facilitate food supply, but II costs
money, and jealous Naples. whose port
now supplies Rome. raised great obJec-
tons. The commune of Rome has, how
ever, gained victory. and the govern
ment has sanctioned the rebirth Of one
of the oldest ports in the world.
Two Thousand Years Old.
Nature made Ostia a harbor before
the ancient Romans used II. The
2,00o-year-old quays and storehouses
yet remain Engineer Paolo Orlando
will clear out the old basin and make
it At to handle a yearly tonnage of a
million. The port will be connected
with the city by rail. At present the
only way of reaching Rome's natural
outlet is by automobile. Besides the
railway the commune must build
magazines and silos as we'll as all the
accessories of an up-to-date harbor.
The inner basin Of the port has depth
of twelve yards, enough to accommo-
date any merchant vessel Work has
already begun. It will cost at least
100000. It will have the additional
advantage of giving employment to
hundreds of Romans Immediately after
the war.
Ostia is one of the most interesting
parts of ancient Rome. Above the
port is the old city. whose remains
rival those of Pompeii Walking
through its deserted streets you can
repiece the history of 1000 years ago
and see how the Romans lived, worked
and died in those far-off days.
In the Days of It's Glory.
Some of the finest specimens of an
cient sculpture have been found at
Ostia and taken to the Vatican and
other museums. The Emperor Trajan
had a palace there and many rich mer-
chants had theirs. AS today. the feed
ing of Rome was difficult, owing to her
dependence on the outside world for
supplies.
The country around the city, the
Campagna. has languished ever since
the time of Cicero, because it belongs
to large landed proprietors who care
more for sport than agriculture. This
made 1t imperative for the emperors to
import their cereals from Egypt and
Sicily then. as Rome must import
cereals from America today. Hence was
Ostia built In the old days no less
than 100000 Romans had free bread
from the corn that passed through
Ostia- Paris gives free bread to only
$4,000 persons now. But the emperors
were afraid of making the Romans
angry. and none dared curtaiI the sup
plies to any great extent.
In short time American ships will
land cereals at Ostia to feed Rome.