Lazio Region will prop up part of Rome’s beach town

Erosion has continuously caused the Tiber river mouth to collapse and retreat where it meets the sea

The official website of the Lazio Region informed the public that on Thursday, 18 February, work had begun on the restoration of the coastal defence system of the Ostia seaboard. The area that is being worked on more specifically is the southern shore of the Tiber river mouth, at the place where it flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea. This intervention has been necessitated by violent storm surges in recent months and due to climatic conditions over a longer period of time.

Ostia is where residents of Rome go to the beach in summer

The locality of Ostia has served as the seaport entrance to the city of Rome since Antiquity, which is evidenced by ruins of the ancient port, nowadays located a little bit upstream. The problem with the coastline there is that it is sandy and generally quite unstable – as a result, erosions and shore degradation is a common phenomenon.

"This intervention is the first of a series of works that will be carried out on the entire coast of Ostia which are now not postponed anymore in the aftermath of the meteorological events of the past weeks, to ensure the safety of citizens and the restoration of the normal practicability conditions of the coast," explained Mauro Alessandri, regional Councilor for Public Works.

The initial phase in question will cover a stretch of 500 metres between Fiumara Grande and Idroscalo neighbourhood sitting adjacent to the Ostia Port. It will involve the placement of natural quarry boulders at the river bottom in order to create a parallel shore that will mitigate the effects of erosion. This will also permit better containment in the event of future extreme atmospheric conditions.

It is expected that the works will take 9 months to complete and will cost over 1.5 million euros.