Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Latium. 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".
The modern city was built over a pre-existing Etruscan settlement.
The harbor was constructed by the Emperor Trajan at the ...
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Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Latium. 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".
The modern city was built over a pre-existing Etruscan settlement.
The harbor was constructed by the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century. The first occurrence of the name Centum Cellae is from a letter by Pliny the Younger (AD 107). 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 Saracens 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. On...
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