The Romans built a settlement here to defend the mouth of the Tevere in the 4th Century BC and it developed into a flourishing commercial port with a population estimated near 100,000 at its peak. It suffered from the silting up of the harbor and bouts of malaria and gradually declined after the 4th Century AD. In the 9th Century attacks by Saracen hordes led to its abandonment. Gradually covered by sand it was not rediscovered until the 19th Century.


A day's exploration can hardly do justice to the extensive ruins, which begin with a huge necropolis area at the entry gate and include apartment blocks, shops, a theater, churches and temples, and baths. A museum contains pieces of sculpture rescued from the sand.