Introduction

Civitavecchia, Roman Centumcellae, was and is an important harbour. There was a delightful Imperial villa in the past, but today the city is far from beautiful. It was an essential harbour during the Second World War, and bombed heavily by the allied forces on May 14 1943: 80% of the harbour was destroyed. After the war hasty rebuilding began. The city is now the main port for cruise ships with tourists wishing to visit Rome. On these pages we will stay in the harbour and have a look at some archaeological remains among the modern buildings, and old photos and documentation.

The city is approximately 50 kilometers north of Rome as the crow flies. It was situated on the Via Aurelia that connected Rome with Pisa, leaving Rome over the Pons Aemilius (today known as Ponte Rotto).

The Via Aurelia indicated in blue.

One of the questions we will have to ask ourselves is, why the Romans built such a large harbour at that spot. A south-north current transported silt adduced by the Tiber along the coast. The area was protected against silting through Cape Linaro (Santa Marinella) to the south, but there was no natural shelter for ships. There is no river connecting the harbour with Rome.

The harbour on a photo taken before the Second World War.
Photo: Quilici 1993, fig. 4.

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