Civitavecchia, Italy July 26, 2023

 

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind, I’m not a professional writer. I will apologize now for any incorrect grammar, long confusing sentences odd metaphors, and anything else that doesn't make sense. If you want to read my entire disclaimer, go here. 

At 1 pm our driver picked us up at the hotel, after the other driver wrecked his car. We ended up with the same driver we had a few days again and so we had a wonderful drive to Civitavecchia.  The ship will embark at 6:30 pm. It is a 38-mile drive but you never know how long it will take you to get out of the city.  Civitavecchia developed out of an Etruscan village. The Etruscans, yes the one who constantly battled with Romulus. The symbol of Civitavecchia is Fort Michelangelo, which is right at the port, and depending on where your cruise ship docks you may be walking two to three miles but there are trains and shuttles to get around this huge port. There is so much to see in Civitavecchia and sadly we were not able to see anything on our list. We arrived at 3 pm and by time we made it through the check in, which was very efficient, and set up all the needed items it was 5:30 pm. Our ship was at the very end of the port so it probably would have taken an hour to get to the Kissing Statue.  

The Kissing Statue was created in memory of all the people who left Port and the others who were left behind. I'm sure you recognize it, did you know it was here?

Vanvitelli Fountain, which is located on the port side of the Civitavecchia's city wall along the promenade Calata Della Rocca. Pope Benedict XIV commissioned it and Luigi Vanvitelli created it around 1743.

Porta Livorno is only a few steps away from the fountain. As the name points out it is the passage that connects the Port with the city of Civitavecchia. 

The Rock of Civitavecchia is also close by and it is a castle built around 1400. I do need to do a little more research on this. I believe the castle pretty much survived till WWII and it was damaged during the bombings. Maybe I can find some pictures from the 1920s. 

Darsena Romana, are basically the remains of the old Roman walls. 

Roman Galley Liburna, this is number seven and I’m not sure if I would have managed to get Michael to walk that far.  It is a life-size reconstruction of a Liburna, an ancient galley of the Roman fleet, which is at the Roman Darsena.  

Molo Del Lazzaretto also known as Fort St. Peter is actually the oldest monument of the city.  It was initially a small tower that functioned as a lighthouse and was part of a huge project built by Emperor Trajan and his architect Apollodorus of Damascus in 107 CE

The Taurine Baths / Ficocella Thermal Baths, and the old town. The Church of the Prayer and Death, Civitavecchia Cathedral, San Lorenzo Market, a run in the La Frasca Pine Forest, and the National Archaeological Museum of Civitavecchia. So we will have to come back to Civitavecchia.