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THE HISTORY |
  
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| The first impression the hasty traveller has of Civitavecchia is linked with its efficient port from which ferries sail for nearby Sardinia, a centre for mercantile traffic from all over the world. On the other hand it is a town that should be discovered little by little, not letting oneself be deceived by the recent urban developments due to post-war rebuilding. Both the town and its territory are filled with surprises and here the impossible becomes possible. As long ago as the days of Trajan, the impossibility of avoiding the silting up of harbours like Ostia and Anzio led to the enormous development of the port of Centumcellae (as it was called then), until it became Rome's most important outlet to the sea. Lying between the mouth of the river Mignone and Cape Linaro, it was the site of old Etruscan settlements, remains of which can be seen at Aquae Tauri and in the necropoli of Pisciarelli and La Scaglia. Thanks to its deep rocky shore, it was chosen as the new port by the Emperor Trajan, who owned a large villa there, and the famous architect Apollodorus was called upon to build it. Even Pliny the Younger mentions it in his writings, describing its construction. It was such an excellent choice that the port is still functioning and a bustling town has grown up around it. It followed the same fate as Rome when the fury of the barbaric hordes was vented on Italy, it was then a garrison of Byzantium until the eighth century when it passed under papal rule. In 828, it was conquered by the Saracens after a courageous fight and the inhabitants fled into the nearby mountains. It was not until 854 that the little town of Leopoli was founded, at the instigation of Pope Leo IV, to give refuge to the fugitives from Centumcellae. The name Leopoli was soon abandoned in favour of Cencellae (an abbreviation of Centumcellae), denoting the people's regret for their old home town. In 889, after the defeat of the Saracens, it was decided to refound the town. Tradition tells of an assembly of the people, held in the shade of a huge oak tree, where an old sailor by the name Leandro, in favour of returning to the original site, managed to make his opinion prevail. His opinion was considered "ottimo consiglio", that is excellent advice, and so the coat of arms of the town shows the oak tree with the initials of the motto, "O" and "C". In order to confirm their roots and the continuity of the town, instead of calling it a "new" town they decided to call it "old", hence the new name of Civitavecchia. In this case too the impossible had been defeated. The town rose again, became a feud of the Ranieri family, of the Abbey of Farfa and above all the Di Vico family, until it became a permanent part of the Papal States in 1431. There was a brief period of French rule between the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, after which it became part of the new Italy in 1870, opening its gates to General Bixio.
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