The whole territory of Civitavecchia is dotted with the remains ofEtruscan tombs and it is likely that in the centre of the current city a small Etruscan settlement thrived. The Etruscan necropolis of Mattonara, not far from the Molinari factory, is almost certainly from the 7th - 6th century BC and was most likely connected with the nearby necropolis of Scaglia. An ancient port formed by small parallel basins capable of accommodating single vessels was still visible at the end of the 19th century near Forte Michelangelo.
An Etruscan settlement on the hill of Ficoncella can still be seen. The first baths of the settlement were built there before 70 BC, and known by the Romans as Aquae Tauri.
The nearby monumental baths atTerme Taurine were built originally in the Roman Republican era, possibly byTitus Statilius Taurus, prefect of Rome.
The harbour was greatly enlarged by theEmperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century and became known as Centum Cellae, probably due to the many vaulted "cells" forming the harbour wall, some of which can still be seen. The first occurrence of the name Centum Cellae is from a letter byPliny the Younger[3] in AD 107. It has been suggested that the name could instead refer to thecentum ("hundred") halls of the extensive villa of Trajan which was nearby.[4] The harbour was probably built by Trajan's favourite architect,Apollodorus of Damascus (who also built the harbour ofAncona). The town was also known as Centum Cellae and was developed from the same time. Trajan's sumptuous villapulcherrima (most beautiful, according to Pliny[3]) must have been built at the same time but traces have yet to be found, although the Terme Taurine baths and the large cistern nearby are likely to have been included.[5] Pliny was summoned by Trajan to his villa there for an exceptional meeting there of theconsilium principis (advisory council) which normally took place in Rome, and which indicates the status of the villa as an imperial residence. The villa was also used later by the youngMarcus Aurelius, probably in the years 140-145[6] who built avivarium there and also in 173 byCommodus.[7]
Inscriptions from between the 2nd and 3rd centuries from a cemetery near the Roman harbour prove the presence ofclassiari, sailors from the navy, and also of a noble class. They also tell of the number and type of ships which were detachments of the fleets of Ravenna and of Misenum.[8]
In the 4th and 5th centuries the city and port became even more prosperous and busy, asRutilius Namatianus described it in 414[9] as it became an important port of Rome due to the silting ofOstia.
In the 530s,Centumcellae was aByzantine stronghold and until 553 the city suffered in the wars between the Goths and the Byzantines.[10][11][12]
It became part of thePapal States in 728 andPope Gregory III refortified Centumcellae. As the port was raided by theSaracens in 813–814, 828, 846 and finally in 876, a new settlement in a more secure place was therefore built by order ofPope Leo IV as soon as 854.[13] In the meantime, however, the inhabitants returned to the old town by the shore in 889 and rebuilt it, giving it the nameCivitas Vetus.[4] The Popes gave the settlement as a fief to several local lords, including the Count Ranieri ofCivitacastellana and theAbbey of Farfa, and the Di Vico, who heldCentumcellae in 1431. In that year, popeEugene IV sent an army under cardinalGiovanni Vitelleschi and severalcondottieri (Niccolò Fortebraccio,Ranuccio Farnese and Menicuccio dell'Aquila among them) to recapture the place, which, after the payment of 4,000 florins, became thenceforth a full Papal possession, led by a vicar and a treasurer.[citation needed]
The Papal troops opened the gates of the fortress to the Italian generalNino Bixio in 1870. This permanently removed the port from papal control.[citation needed]
DuringWorld War II, theAllies launched several bombing raids against Civitavecchia, which damaged the city and inflicted several civilian casualties.[14] On June 27, 1944, two American soldiers from the379th Port Battalion, Fred A. McMurray andLouis Till, allegedly raped two Italian women in Civitavecchia and murdered a third. McMurray and Till were subsequently both executed by theUnited States Army byhanging five months later.[15]
The city is also the seat of twothermal power stations. The conversion of one of them tocoal has raised the population's protests, as it is feared it could create heavy pollution.[citation needed]
The modern inner harbour (darsena) rests on ancient foundations many of which can be seen and whose shape is still very much the same as it was in Trajan's time. It had a curved breakwater on the southern side and a straight one to the north with arches to reduce the waves which still exist.
TheTorre di Lazzaretto [it] is the only remaining Tower of four large Roman round towers that served as beacons around the ancient harbour. Remains of warehouses can be seen between the large basin and the inner harbour (darsena), still used during the Middle Ages.
A section of theVia Aurelia running along the harbour, 6 m wide and at a depth of 3 m, was excavated. Some of the Roman city wall is visible in the basement of the Fraternity of the Banner in the Piazza Leandra. Remains of an aqueduct and a large cistern, possibly part of Trajan's villa, are preserved.[16]
North of the city at Ficoncella are theTerme Taurine baths frequented byRomans and still popular with the Civitavecchiesi. The modern name stems from the common fig plants among the various pools.
Also at Ficoncella nearby are the baths of Aquae Tauri from the earlier Etruscan and early Roman settlement.[17] A larger building of 160x100 m enclosed the baths and is being excavated.[18]
The massiveForte Michelangelo was first commissioned from Donato Bramante byPope Julius II, to defend theport of Rome. The upper part of the "maschio" tower, however, was designed byMichelangelo, whose name is generally applied to the fortress.Pius IV added a convict prison, and thearsenal, designed byBernini, was built byAlexander VII.[4]
Major cruise lines start and end their cruises at this location, and others stop for shore excursion days to visitRome and theVatican, ninety minutes away.
ThePort of Civitavecchia, also known as "Port ofRome",[21] is an important hub for the maritime transport in Italy, for goods and passengers. Part of the "Motorways of the Sea",[22] it is linked to severalMediterranean ports and represents one of the main links between Italian mainland toSardinia.
Civitavecchia railway station, opened in 1859, is the western terminus of theRome–Civitavecchia railway, which forms part of thePisa–Livorno–Rome railway.A short line linking the town center to the harbour survived until the early 2000s.[23] It counted two stations: Civitavecchia Marittima, serving the port, and Civitavecchia Viale della Vittoria.
The commune has multiple preschools,[25] primary schools,[26] junior high schools,[27] and high schools.[28] Polo Universitario di Civitavecchia is located in the city.
^"Civitavecchia Climate Normals 1991–2020".World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived fromthe original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved27 August 2023.
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