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Home > Travel Italy > Italy Destinations > Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Italy, officially the Italian Republic or Repubblica Italiana, is a Southern European country comprising of the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It is shaped like a boot and for this reason Italians commonly call it lo Stivale, the boot or, due to its prevalent peninsular geographical nature, la Penisola, the Peninsula.
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 latter is a lighthouse.
The modern city was built certainly over a pre-existing Etruscan settlement. The harbor was constructed by the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century CE. The first occurrence of the name Centum Cellae is from a letter by Pliny the Younger. The origin of the name is disputed: it has been suggested that it could refer to the centum 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. The Papal troops opened the gates of the fortress to the Italian general Bixio in 1870.
Civitavecchia is today a major cruise and ferry port, the main starting point for sea connection from central Italy to Sardinia and Barcelona. Fishing has a secondary importance. The city is also the seat of two thermal power stations. The conversion of one of them to carbon has raised the population's protests, as it has been suggested it could create heavy pollution. enjoys a very good reputation amongst worldwide travelers and hence is one of the most visited places in Italy.
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