[pepsi_junkie]

Unlike in Victorian times, Roman-period rickets was less common in towns than in cities, apart from one place: Ostia in Italy, a port on the Tiber, which was densely populated with many people living in the equivalent of multi-storey apartment buildings.

Densely populated place where people live packed together in high rise apartment buildings. Why, it almost sounds like Ostia was also a city.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Another reason (as if I needed another) to avoid cities — poop, needles, bums, gunplay, and rickets. But rickets WAS a great comedian and I really liked him in Kelly’s Heroes.

[SunkenCiv]

By “equivalent of multi-storey apartment buildings” is meant “multi-storey apartment buildings” — the Roman empire pretty much invented those. In Rome itself there are probably some of the originals which are still in use, but with modern additions (plumbing, electricity).

[Verginius Rufus]

Ostia has extensive ruins from Roman times and is easy to get to from Rome--not as spectacular as Pompeii but not as overrun with tourists. At least when I visited there were very few people there.

I believe that a number of members of the Bourbon family who ruled France for 200 years before the French Revolution died young from rickets.