Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia (which means 'ancient town') is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio and also sea port on the Tyrrhenian sea. The harbor was originally constructed by the Emperor Trajan; the town indeed owed its origin entirely to the port of this emperor, and hence came to be known as Portus Trajani. The harbor is formed by two moles and a breakwater, on which latter is a lighthouse. The place became a free port under Pope Innocent XII in 1696. It suffered at the hands of the Goths and Saracens, and was occupied by the French in 1849. The Papal troops opened the gates of the fortress to the Italian general Bixio in 1870. It was almost completely destroyed in the second world war. But it has been rebuilt since. Certainly the recent constructions have made the urban layout rather difficult to appreciate, but if you take your time ther is plenty to discover.

The Archeological Museum of Civitavecchia is housed in an eighteenth century building that belonged to Clemente XIII, and was built to house the headquarters of the papal garrison. Here there are archeological findings from the town of Centumcellae (ancient name of Civitavecchia) and from the entire territory, as well as the immediate surrounding area. This ancient baths complex of Civitavecchia is surely amongst the most interesting in the entire Etruscan territory. he first surveys performed on the archeological area date back to the mid 1700 and were carried out by the pontifical government. Fort Michelangelo was built to the order of Pope Julius II Della Rovere. Begun by Bramante and continued by Sangallo the Younger and by Giuliano Leno, it was completed by Michelangelo, who was responsible for the imposing keep, during the papacy of Paul III. The tombs at La Scaglia are underground chambers with a roof and a slope on each side or ogives, and benches placed along the main wall on which to layout clothing. The chambers are preceded by a short "dromos" (entrance corridor) with steps to facilitate going down into the burial room. The chronology of these tombs dates back to the VI and V century BC for all of the tombs. There are many beaches in the area which are popular with toursits.

WHAT TO SEE  
Archeological Museum, The Baths of Traiano, Fort Michelangelo, Tombs at La Scaglia, Beaches

Related Shore Excursions