Italy etc Cruise April 2019 - Civitavecchia for Rome Page

Monday 6th May 2019

Civitavecchia is not a particularly attractive ‘city’. Ot is mostly valued as a gateway to Rome,about an hour by road to the start of the Rome traffic jams & much faster by train. However, Civitavecchia does have an old city & a magnificent harbour fort designed by & named after Michelangelo. We found 3 interesting churches in the old city in the morning & went to Rome in the afternoon.

The Cathedral is near the Front.

After an hour on the motorway & a while to get in, we were driven round the City, glimpsing the sights before getting to the Farnesia Palace.

The Farnesia Palace was not built for the Farnese family but for the Pope's banker Agostino Chigi, who had married a prostitute &, to face down public disapproval, built this palace as a temple to love, with lots of frescoes on the subject. Some were drawn bt Raphael and painted in by his workshop.

We were driven off after a wander through the ‘wrong side’ of the river to a restaurant, where we were fed salami with trimmings & both red & white wine. Then, we were taken back to the ship;