{"id":3169,"date":"2025-03-18T16:59:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T16:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/siti-musei\/il-castello-di-giulio-ii-e-il-borgo-di-ostia-antica\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:43:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:43:38","slug":"julius-ii-castle-and-ostia-antica-hamlet","status":"publish","type":"siti-musei","link":"https:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/en\/sites\/julius-ii-castle-and-ostia-antica-hamlet\/","title":{"rendered":"Julius II Castle and Ostia antica Hamlet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ostia Antica Hamlet<\/h3>\n

The village born around the basilica, perceived as a safe place by the remaining population of Ostia, was turned into a walled hamlet by\u00a0Pope Gregory IV<\/strong>\u00a0(827-844) and subsequently called \u201cGregoriopoli<\/strong>\u201d (city of Gregory).<\/p>\n

In the 15th century\u00a0Pope Martin V<\/strong>\u00a0had a fortified tower built, surrounded by a moat, to control the Tiber. For the same reason, and to keep the trades and the nearby\u00a0salt mines<\/strong>\u00a0safe, the cardinal\u00a0Guillaume\u00a0<\/strong>d’Estouteville<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(bishop of Ostia in 1461-1483) renovated the walls of Gregoriopoli within which he built three rows of still-inhabited terraced houses.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Il Borgo di Ostia antica in uno scatto d’epoca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h3>\n

Julius II Castle<\/h3>\n

The Castle was built in 1483 by the cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (future\u00a0Pope Julius II<\/strong>, 1503-1513), who commissioned the Florentine architect\u00a0Baccio Pontelli<\/strong>\u00a0to design it.<\/p>\n

As one of the most important examples of Renaissance military architecture, the complex includes a perimeter wall with\u00a0casematte<\/em>\u00a0(cannon-proof rooms), three towers (one of which incorporates the Pope Martin V tower), a\u00a0rivellino<\/em>\u00a0(the highest tower built to protect the main entrance) and a wide ditch. The internal monumental staircase was decorated with frescoes by painters of\u00a0Baldassare Peruzzi<\/strong>\u2019s school, representing the myth of Hercules.<\/p>\n

After the\u00a0siege of the Duke of Alba<\/strong>\u00a0(1556), the flood after which the Tiber deviated from its course (1557) and the increase of malarious swamps, the Castle and the Hamlet were abandoned. The Papal custom-house, previously hosted here, was moved to Tor Boacciana at first, and to Tor San Michele soon after.<\/p>\n

At a later stage the Castle was used as a prison, where prisoners condemned to forced labour were held, and used by Pope\u00a0Pius VII<\/strong>\u00a0(1800-1823) and\u00a0Pius IX<\/strong>\u00a0(1846-1878) to underetake excavations at Ostia Antica.<\/p>\n

\n

Visiting the Castle<\/h3>\n

Visitors will be able to admire every construction phase of the Castle and enjoy an extraordinary panoramic view on the surroundings.<\/p>\n

Tips for the visit<\/h3>\n

Due to the conditions of the walking paths, it is recommended to wear comfortable clothing and shoes (no heels, no flip flops).<\/p>\n

Please respect the instructions given by the staff and stay on the guided path, holding children\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

Dogs are not allowed, except guide dogs for the visually impaired.<\/p>\n

The guided path might not be entirely accessible to people with disabilities or special needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ostia Antica Hamlet The village born around the basilica, perceived as a safe place by the remaining population of Ostia, was turned into a walled hamlet by\u00a0Pope Gregory IV\u00a0(827-844) and subsequently called \u201cGregoriopoli\u201d (city of Gregory). In the 15th century\u00a0Pope Martin V\u00a0had a fortified tower built, surrounded by a moat, to control the Tiber. For…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":75,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3169","siti-musei","type-siti-musei","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/siti-musei\/3169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/siti-musei"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/siti-musei"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/siti-musei\/3169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3254,"href":"https:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/siti-musei\/3169\/revisions\/3254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ostiaantica.cultura.gov.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}