Civitavecchia Things to Do

Where the Cathedral stands today, once stood a smaller Church. The City and population outgrew this Church, and a new one was built, which was the Cathedral I was viewing today. It was a simple Church until 1805, when the Church of San Francesco became the Cathedral of the Diocese of Civitavecchia.
If you look up to nearer the top of the Cathedral, you will seed two large statues of S. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua. The Bell's are of historic interest too, as they were made with metal with two cannons donated specifically by the Pope.

The entry to the front door is by many steps.

4 more images

The Fort, you will see from the Cruise Ship, and will be the first major sight when being dropped off by the shuttle bus at the end of the Pier. When standing beside these walls, I realized just how massive they were, and even though I couldn't measure the thickness, I read they are 6 metres thick, wow!

It was the Pope in the year 1503, who decided a city a fortress was needed to defend the town as well as the port. The fort was completed in 1535 under the pontificate of another great Pope, Pope Paul III Farnese, the great patron of the arts.

The fort is the shape of a quadrangle, and has four bastions which are named, Saint Columba, Santa Stop, San Sebastian, San Giovanni. In the tower of San Sebastian is an underground corridor, used as a secret exit from the fortress to the ground, and in Santa Stop, once in direct contact with the sea, is a small chapel in honor of the saint, patron of the city.
The walls have a balustrade with an openings where muskets or cannons were fired. Once, there was a Moat, this no longer exists
The fort could be completely isolated from the rest of the fortress in order to be able to concentrate the last defense. The old entrance still has the bronze pulley that was used to lower and raise the bridge.

There is an admission fee

Just came back from Civitavecchia from a cruise visit. C is much changed since we were last there about 8 years ago, then we just went to Rome and just spent about an hour in C but this time we didnt go to Rome and stayed in C.

It is now a more like a asmall seeside town with a lot of shops , market, restaurants and bars.
You can change money here too at a reasonable rate. The market was good, managed to get a few things with some bartering. Had 2 beers in the open outdoor bar, another paint at the bar by the seaside, a bit expensive though for 5 euros. There is a lovely statue of a sailor and a girl by the seaside.

Next time I go on another cruise and we stop at C i will be more than happy to spend 3-4 hours here.
Hope this helped, Bal

Terme Taurine
Located in Civitavecchia you'll find the Archaeological-Botanical Park of the Taurine Baths. These baths were built around naturally hot sulfur (sulphur) spring water. The site has two parts: The Republican Baths which date back to the 1st century B.C. and The Imperial Baths built by Emperor Hadrian between 123-136 A.D. For approx. 5 euros you can walk around on your own however for only approx. 8 euros you can have a guided tour (English available). The guided tour is much more informative as you will learn about the building techniques, what archaeologists believe each space was used for, and much more. Recently the site has added a formal Roman style garden called Horti Traianei (Gardens of Emperor Trajan), which includes many of the plants that the Romans would have recognized.

The guided tour takes about 1.5-2 hours and makes for a leisurely afternoon if you are looking for a short trip. The Baths are closed on Mondays. Current hours for the summer are Tues.-Sun. 9:00am-1:00pm and again 2:30pm-dusk. Winter hours are Tues.-Sun. 9:00am-1:00pm and again 3:00pm-dusk.

For more information visit the website: www.prolococivitavecchia.it, send an email to prolococivitavecchia@inwind.it, or call (from in Italy) 338-2707567.

You can walk along the top of the walls...not as exciting as it sounds, as it is more like walking along a wide pavement, but you do get good views over the busy harbour and Forte Michelangelo, a 15th century fortress museum at the entrance to the port. Can't tell you more about the fort...if Civitavecchia merits a mention in any tourist guide, it is usually the fort that is mentioned and nothing else, but it was a hot day and I was in no mood for museums. And anyway, it was shut.

1 more image

I don't know if this is a permanent feature or whether it just appears for a few weeks in summer, but in the park behind the beach clubs along Viale Garibaldi, there was a large market selling second-hand books, tie-died clothing, friendship bracelets and the usual tat. I didn't notice it in the morning, only finding the market with an hour to go before the ship left port...and for a touristy market, there didn't seem to be many tourists there.

2 more images

Steps from the promenade lead to a sandy beach which stretches beyond the Pirgo. In August, it didn't seem too overcrowded, and unlike many Italian beaches, sunbeds and umbrellas were not set out in rows. For a public beach very close to one of Italy's major ports, the water was remarkably clear and there were swimmers aplenty.

Nope...no idea what the church is called...and to be honest, it isn't anything rushing out of your way to see. But after missing a train to Tarquinia and having to wait an hour for the next, I'd spotted what looked to be an intriguing building from the top of the station steps...it turned out to be this yellow church, with a statue of ...erm...someone outside.