Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometres (50 miles) west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbour is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse. The name Civitavecchia means “ancient town”. The modern city was built over a pre-existing Etruscan settlement. The harbour was constructed by the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century. Civitavecchia today is a major cruise and ferry port, the main starting point for sea connection from central Italy to Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Tunis and Barcelona. Fishing has a secondary importance.
The Port of Civitavecchia, also known as “Port of Rome”, is an important hub for the maritime transport in Italy, for goods and passengers. Part of the Motorways of the Sea it is linked to several Mediterranean ports and represents one of the main links between Italian mainland to Sardinia. To the south of the city the marina Riva di Traiano with over 1,100 berths is located. Next to the town is the location of the cruise ship docks that serves the Rome area. All major cruise lines start and end their cruises at this location, and many others stop for shore excursion days that allow guests to see Rome and Vatican sights, which are about 90 minutes away.
The massive Forte Michelangelo (“Michelangelo‘s fort”) was first commissioned from Donato Bramante by Pope Julius II, to defend the port of Rome, and was completed in 1535 by Giuliano Leno and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, under Pope Paul III. The upper part of the “maschio” tower, however, was designed by Michelangelo, whose name is generally applied to the fortress. The edifice, measuring 100 m × 82 m (328.08 ft × 269.03 ft), has four towers with a diameter of 21 m (68.90 ft). The main tower, of octagonal shape, has sides of 12 m (39.37 ft). The walls have an impressive thickness of 6–7.6 m (19.69–24.93 ft). The fortress was built over an ancient Roman construction, probably the barracks of the classiarii (“mariners”) of the Imperial Fleet.
The Rocca (“castle”), re-built in the late 15th century by Pope Sixtus IV. A Palazzo Apostolico was added by Pope Pius IV in the 16th century.
The cathedral of San Francesco d’Assisi was built by the Franciscans over a pre-existing small church built from 1610. The current edifice, with Baroque-Neoclassical lines, was erected in the eighteenth century.
North of the city at Ficoncella are the Terme Taurine baths frequented by Romans and still popular with the Civitavecchiesi. The modern name stems from the fig plants among the various pools.
[caption id="attachment_229022" align="aligncenter" width="412"] Leonardo da Vinci by Francesco Melzi[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter...
