Within the early beginnings of the II century BC, the emperor Traiano commissioned the works to build his own port in here because Claudio’s Port got already buried by the sand. The new port reached its maximum development after the important findings of aluminium in 1461. The obvious growth of the Port also increased from a commercial point of view, and Pope Julio II concluded the wish of his uncle Sesto IV, of building a new fortress in order to protect in an efficient way the structures of the port together with the goods of the state of the church.
The works began with the placement of the first stone in December 14th, 1508 and they were concluded in 1549 under the papacy of Paolo III, with the participation of Michelangelo Buonarroti who projected and built the last tower of the whole, the one that faces the sea.
That is the reason why nowadays the fort is well known as the Fortress of Michelangelo. This Fortress, the biggest ever built in Europe by that time, is still admirable today in all its beauty and stateliness.
Walking by the fortress on its left side, it is still visible and totally restructured the City Wall ordered by Pope Urban VIII on 1634, and it was embellished by positioning a fountain in its centre and called Fountain of Vanvitelli so as to adorn the city towards the sea with the image of a faun’s head from whose mouth, once, use to gush water. The works began within 1734 under the papacy of Benedict XIV (1740-1758) and were concluded in 1754.
After the Second World War, few ruins remain so as to testify the Roman port of Centumcellae: the pier of the Roman Darsena that nowadays is used by fishermen and beside it the Fish Market which has been recently built, and the remains of the warehouses of the port above which it was raised the Ancient Rocca, a Fort built to protect the city during the Medieval age and whose remains are nowadays used as place for exhibitions and painters' displays.
THE VIRGIN OF PANTANO
In the small and renowned church of Pantano, located about 6 km north of Civitavecchia, you will be able to admire the little famous statue of the Virgin that, as it is said, cried tears of blood in 1995.
THE TAURINE THERMAL BATHS
The Thermal Baths are located above a hill immersed in the green outside the city centre, where it is possible to admire a splendid and suggestive landscape of the surrounding area. The site is a vast complex that offers a great knowledge of the architectural structures, of the constructive technique and also the uses and customs of the ancient Romans.
The importance of the complex during the Roman period was linked thanks to the vicinity with the port and it was built by the emperor Traiano during the II century A D. The name of Taurine Thermal baths could originate due to the nearest small city named Aque Tauri but could also refer to the Latin word "Taurus", which according to the legend, the God Jupiter, under the appearance of a bull, scratched the surface with its hoof and made the water gush.
The area is split into two different parts: the oldest area dates back to the age of Silla (Republican Period) from the year 80 AD., which is characterized by small squared stones predisposed in diagonal (opus reticulatum) whereas the most recent construction which was actually included within the first one, was built by the emperor Hadrian among the years 123 and 136 D.C. (Imperial Period) and it is characterized by regular walls of bricks and terracotta.
Both complexes have not been completely dug: what we see today represents just a 30% of what it was in its origins. The baths dominated a surface of less than 20.000 squared meters including the gardens and the buildings.
The water supply was constituted by several minor canals which converged into a single cistern, called Castellum Aquae, situated near the Baths and the water was distributed into the pools receiving the names Calidarium for hot water pools, Tepidarium for warm water pools and Frigidarium for cold water pools.
The archaeological area has been recently embellished with the realization of the Horti Traianei which is a reconstruction of the huge gardens that used to adorn the baths in Roman time, together with elegant fountains and scented paths.
Civitavecchia
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