9 day history focused Rome itinerary-Critiques welcome

Ostia Antica and surrounding (Tour not booked. Trying to decide if we need one)

We used the RS (free) audio tour and found it quite satisfactory

The Capitoline Museums are large, so I'm doubtful you'll be finished there by lunch time since you're planning the Forum and the Super Sites first, but in truth I haven't been to either of the latter, so I may be unduly pessimistic.

Santa Prassede is a lovely small church. I don't know about mass there, but be sure you have a few one-euro coins so you can feed the light boxes to illuminate the mosaics.

On your Trastevere day, I recommend stopping in to see both Santa Maria in Trastevere and Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. The crypt at Santa Cecilia is very colorful and lovely; don't skip it (there's a fee). I don't remember whether there are coin-operated lights in either of those churches.

We've had a post from someone who found riding bikes along the Appian Way quite a challenge because of the uneven surface. Perhaps that's not an issue all the way along; I've never been out there. I just thought I'd mention this in case you want to have a back-up plan in the event it's more of a work-out than expected and you don't want to spend the entire day biking.

If you are focusing on history, the Forum + Super sites will take up the entire morning, so maybe better to do the museum after lunch - and note that not many good food choices in that immediate area.

I was intrigued after seeing YouTube videos of Aqueduct Park - we didn't get to it - but would be best to scope out a route beforehand. You can find Via Appia videos on YouTube as well.

Saturday looks tight to me, especially the first half. As mentioned above, Capitoline Museums are big big big. Also, there's a great cafe with terrace at the top. Worth it to pay for table service and have an aperitivo on the couches under the canopy on a hot June day.

Given your interests, you might also enjoy Palazzo Massimo and the Baths of Diocletian, both part of the National Museum of Rome. And of course there are tons of amazing churches you can pop into as you're walking about.

Also, there's a great cafe with terrace at the top. Worth it to pay for table service and have an aperitivo on the couches under the canopy on a hot June day.

Wonder if it wouldn't be worth it to do the Forum, go directly to the terrace and then work our way down into the museum.

If you have a special interest in the Borghese you might want to understand the renovations taking place this spring and an alternative.

https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/italy-rome-palazzo-barberini-galleria-borghese.html

https://barberinicorsini.org/en/art/sites/