ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates the way conceptions of the Roman street porticus transformed the sensory experience of the street at Ostia in architectural, regulatory and spatial terms. Drawing on the spatial-bodily practices developed in Henri Lefebvre’s work, Roman experience of porticoes is explored through literary texts, architectural developments and the history of Roman mobility. The physical experience of linkage and monumentality in the Ostian street porticoes was perceived through visual continuity, auditory separation, rhythmic contrast in architectural elements and active movement through the space. Movement through the streets in Ostia was a central way of experiencing the differences in space created by architectural elements, perceived by the senses. This chapter argues that the history of Roman mobility must incorporate sensory perception to nuance the development of spatial practices in the cities of the Roman Empire.
