Every design for Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia is known above all for its port, one of the most important in Italy and the busiest in Europe for cruise passengers in transit. The harbour, formed by two piers and a breakwater with a lighthouse, has been the town's reason for being since the Emperor Trajan enlarged it.

There is a long memory here. Trajan built a villa nearby, Pliny the Younger described it, and the Villa romana di Traiano and the Terme Taurine baths still recall that time. In the ninth century the townspeople fled the Saracens, then came back to the place they now called the old city, Civitas Vetula, which became Civitavecchia. Everyday life still turns towards the water: the Forte Michelangelo stands by the harbour, the Antica Rocca di Civitavecchia and the Fortino di San Pietro are part of the same fortified seafront story, and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale keeps the past of a coast dotted with Etruscan tombs. The shore is full of little rocky coves; sandy beaches appear only to the north.

On a summer evening, the great white cruise ships sit beside the old stone of the fort, with the town carrying on its life a few streets away.