Colonel William A. Phillips

Port of Civitavecchia, also known as "Port of Rome",[2][3] or Civitavecchia Port of Rome,[4] is the seaport of Civitavecchia, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy. It is an important hub for the maritime transport in Italy, for goods and passengers. The Rome Cruise Terminal is part of the port.[5][6] Part of the "Motorways of the Sea",[7] it is linked to several Mediterranean ports and represents one of the main links between the Italian mainland and Sardinia.

The port of Civitavecchia, with approximately 3.33 million passengers per year, is the first Italian port for cruise traffic, the second in Europe after the port of Barcelona and among the busiest in the world.[8]

Rome has two additional yacht harbors/marinas: Marina of Rome in Ostia and Riva di Traiano tourist port also in Civitavecchia, and also the Port of Fiumicino used as a canal port.

History

The port of Civitavecchia was built at the behest of Emperor Trajan, founder of the city then known as Centumcellae, around 106 AD. For many centuries it represented the fulcrum of exchanges and contacts between the peoples of the ancient "Mare Nostrum". The original layout of the port reflected the architectural criteria of the time with a large, almost circular basin of around 500 metres, two large piers and a breakwater, an artificial island jutting out into the sea to protect the basin. The entire structure was surmounted by two opposing towers, later called the Bicchiere and the Lazzaretto (still visible, and rebuilt by Sangallo).[9]

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the port of Civitavecchia and the urban settlement of Centumcellae witnessed a succession of dominations and changes of hands, disputed between the papacy, various municipal powers and frequent Saracen incursions. In the 15th century, after the city definitively returned under papal control, the port of Civitavecchia regained strength and importance. First the Rocca was built, a quadrangular fortification, then in 1508 Julius I entrusted Bramante with the construction work of Fort Michelangelo, which was built on ancient Roman ruins. The fort was completed in 1537 thanks perhaps to the contribution of Michelangelo. In 1608, under the papacy of Paul V, a lighthouse (the lighthouse) was erected on the southern end of the breakwater island, 31 meters high. On November 26, 1659, the first stone of the arsenal designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini was laid, which for a long time would form a large part of the city's economy. The crenellated city walls were then built by Pier Paolo Florian, commissioned by Pope Urban VIII in 1630 and in 1743 under the pontificate of Benedict.[9]

Porta Livorno in the historic port

In 1679, commissioned by Pope Clement XIII, Porta Livorno was built. Some of these structures were destroyed due to bombing during World War II. In particular, in 1943 the Lighthouse, the Arsenal, the Bramante Fort and the Rocca Vecchia were destroyed.[9]

Information

View of the port from Civitavecchia

It is a multifunctional port, divided into two macro areas with different market dynamics: to the south, the one dedicated to tourism, yachting and cruises; to the north the area for commercial traffic, fishing and cabotage; today it can count on approximately 1,900,000 m² of docks, 25 operational berths from 100 to 400 m in length, for approximately 13 km of berths;[10] approximately 11 million tonnes of bulk goods are moved every year; in recent years, coaster services (Motorways of the Sea) have grown, i.e. scheduled services dedicated to the transport of passengers and goods on Mediterranean routes.

Terminals

View of the port in 2021

The port is made up of three main terminals divided by service category (ferries, cruises, service centre):

Terminal Destination Navigation operator
Terminal Autostrade del Mare (T1) Italy Olbia
Italy Cagliari
Italy Arbatax
Italy Porto Torres
Italy Palermo
Italy Termini Imerese
Spain Barcelona
Tunisia Tunis		 Tirrenia
Grimaldi Lines
GNV[11]
Roma Cruise Terminal (RCT) Italy Italy
Spain Spain
France France
Greece Greece
Turkey Turkey
Croatia Croatia
Montenegro Montenegro
Cyprus Cyprus
Tunisia Tunisia
United States United States
Barbados Barbados		 Costa Crociere, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line[12]
Terminal Largo della pace Infopoint
Service center of the port of Civitavecchia		 Infopoint

Ground transportation

The port of Civitavecchia can be reached by roads:

It is served by trains from the Civitavecchia railway station:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Traffico merci, passeggeri e automezzi. Anno 2014-2013 Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine - AUTORITA PORTUALE CIVITAVECCHIA-FIUMICINO-GAETA
  2. ^ (in Italian) Port of Civitavecchia website
  3. ^ Rome for Cruisers - 2018, Civitavecchia (Port of Rome)
  4. ^ Official Civitavecchia Port Site
  5. ^ Rome Cruise Terminal - civitavecchiaport.org
  6. ^ Cruise Ship Calendar - cruisetimetables.com
  7. ^ Infos at R.A.M. website (search the list of ports) Archived 2011-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Crociere: in calo i passeggeri nei porti liguri, Civitavecchia stabile". amp24.ilsole24ore.com (in Italian). 2024-02-19.
  9. ^ a b c "IL PORTO DI CIVITAVECCHIA". pilotiportidiroma.it (in Italian). 2024-03-24.
  10. ^ civitavecchiaport.org
  11. ^ "TRAGHETTI PORTO DI CIVITAVECCHIA: TUTTE LE DESTINAZIONI". Port Mobility Civitavecchia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  12. ^ "RCT, THE CRUISE TERMINAL OF THE PORT OF CIVITAVECCHIA". Port Mobility Civitavecchia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Civitavecchia Express: non-stop train for cruise passengers". civitavecchia.portmobility.it. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  14. ^ trenitalia.com

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Civitavecchia