Civitavecchia

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 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two moles and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse. Civitavecchia means "ancient town".

Civitavecchia is the ferry port of Rome with daily ferries departure to Sardinia Olbia and Porto Torres, Barcelona, Palermo, Toulon, Tunis and Porto Vecchio. For timetable and itinerary have a look at TraghettiWeb. The port also affords docking facilities to large cruise ships traversing the Mediterranean. Cruise Passengers have use of a free shuttle to the port entrance, within easy walking distance of stores and a train station for economical travel to Rome.

Civitavecchia, the port of Rome, is the point of arrival and departure of hundreds of ships, cruises, ferries travelling all around the Mediterranean. From here it is possible to reach Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, Spain, France, some other small islands, and even north Africa. A good transportation system links the port to the Eternal City.

The massive Forte Michelangelo ("Michelangelo's fort") was first commissioned from 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 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, has four towers with a diameter of 21 m. 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.