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Published: April 8th 2019
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Civitavecchia 7th April
Civitavecchia is a city in central Italy in the region of Lazio, a sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea and about 37 miles from the centre of Rome.
For visitors and tourists in the gateway to The Eternal City of Rome.
We knew the port was going to be busy, three other cruise ships in, all on turnaround days that is all off and new passengers on including some (a few embarking QM2).
So some 10,000 off and 10,000 on makes for one busy port.
We have been on the Rome trip before and it is always busy, being a Sunday as well, but just to throw a spanner in the works it was also the day of the Rome marathon.
Best to stay away!!!!
So, what to do in Civitavecchia, well I think its a city that is now trying to cater for the tourists that do not want to go to Rome and surrounds.
It is where major cruise lines start and end their cruises, of the two MSC ships in, they were embarking on 7 day cruises
and judging by the clientele it was going to be ‘party time’.
The drop off for the shuttle was either at the port gate or the train station.
At the gate is the massive Forte Michelangelo much cleaned up since we walked here a few years ago, Pope Julius II had it built to defend the port of Rome.
The upper part of the ‘maschio’ tower was designed by Michelangelo, hence the name applied to the fortress.
The general area around the port has really been cleaned up, and once you get passed the street hawkers and their tatty goods you can see a little of the character of the city.
The marina has been recently redeveloped and seems to be central hub of the city, today with the sun out there were lots of locals as well as tourists enjoying the Sunday sunshine.
At the centre of all the activities, there is the big area of Piazza della Vita, in front of Fort Michelangelo where, in summer, there are ‘pop up’ pubs, street food, news stands and open bars.
Further into the
town it is like any other city, lots of coffee bars, trattoria and shopping opportunities.
Although being Sunday a lot of the bigger stores were closed.
The old town centre extends from Piazza Leandra ,in the heart of the old Medieval district where the small Church (Church of the Star) and there is a small passage to the Piazza Saffi
, where you can see the old city walls.
Lastly, there is the Cathedral, devoted to Saint Francis of Assisi, it is the main church of the city. It was destroyed during the Second World War but was rebuilt in 1950.
Outside, it is decorated with 2 big statues on the tympanum representing St. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua, while inside it has only one nave, where you can see precious works of art, like the Nativity attributed to Domenico Zampieri known as Domenichino.
Well after all that walking and taking in what they have done it was time for lunch, we spotted a restaurant on near the Fort, Trattoria Saro Maria, the menu looked good.
So we partook of some Antipasti
and local wine.
Well, it would be rude not to!!!!
To ease the guilt we walked back to the ship, not too arduous, but having to run the gauntlet of all the young Italians embarking the MSC ships ready to party, party, party!!!!
Both the ships sailed before us, and given the send off I think they had already been partaking in plenty of Prosecco, or what ever the youngsters drink these days.
All in all a good place to have a walk round, we did hear some negatives about the place but one thing they are doing is making it more accessible for tourists who are just coming for the day.
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