Civitavecchia means 'ancient town'.
The modern city was built certainly over a pre-existing
Etruscan settlement.
The harbor was constructed by the Emperor
Trajan at the beginning of the
2nd Century AD. The first occurrence of the name '' is from a letter by
Pliny The Younger (
107 AD). The origin of the name is disputed: it has been suggested that it could refer to the ''centum'' ("hundred") halls of the villa of the emperor.
In the high
Middle Ages , ''Centumcellae'' was a Byzantine stronghold. Captured by the
Saracen s in
828 , it was later acquired by the
Papal States .
The place became a free port under
Pope Innocent XII in 1696. The main port of Rome in modern era, it was occupied by the French in 1849. The Papal troops opened the gates of the fortress to the Italian general
Bixio in 1870.
During
World War II , Civitavecchia was pulverized by
Allied bombings. For the resistance of its citizens against
Fascism , the city received the Gold Medal to Civil Valour and the Silver Medal to Military Valour.
Civitavecchia is today a major cruise and ferry port, the main starting point for sea connection from central Italy to
Sardinia and
Corsica .
Fishing has a secondary importance.
The city is also the seat of two
Thermal Power Station s. The conversion of one of them to
Carbon has raised the population's protests, as it has been suggested it could create heavy pollution.
- The massive (" Michelangelo 's fort") was commissioned to Bramante by Pope Julius II to defend the port from the pirate attacks, 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 completed by Michelangelo, who gave the name to the fortress. The edifice, measuring 100 x 82 m, has four towers with a diameter of 21 m. The main tower, of octagonal shape, has sides of 12 m. The walls have an impressive thickness of 6-7.6 m. The fortress was built over an ancient Roman construction, probably the barracks of the ''classiarii'' ("mariners") of the Imperial Fleet.
- The ("castle"), re-built in the 15th Century by Pope Sixtus V . An Apostolic Palace was added by Pius IV in the 16th century.
- The cathedral of was built by the Franciscan s over a pre-existing, small church built from 1610 . The current edifice, with Baroque -Neoclassical lines, was erected in the 18th century.
North to the city are the
Terme Della Ficoncella , baths frequented by the Civitavecchiesi and by Romans as well. The name stems by the
Fig plants among the various pools.
Civitavecchia Di Arpino exists in the
Province Of Frosinone (Lazio).
