The port of Civitavecchia is not the most beautiful stop on this trip but as the closest port to Rome it is very much the gateway to the capital. When we visited last year we made our own way to the Vatican using the public train system. This time however we felt that the already unreliable Italian rail network would be too risky on a Sunday and so decided to stay local and explore the town of Civitavecchia.
We first walked along the sea front reading the story of Italy's first real seaside resort, Pirgo. With the advent of steam trains the people of Rome discovered that they could easily reach the coast on a weekend and similar to Brighton in England, the seaside was born. Although much of the original structures were destroyed in the war and by a subsequent high tide the town is trying to revive it's popularity and have constructed a nice walkway all along the front.
The old town contains many historical buildings with the fort and sea defences still very much in evidence.
Further in the town the old infirmary, constructed in 1523,is still in use as the city archives.
Other more modern buildings are painted in really bright colours that are vibrant under the hot sun.
This evening we dined in the Italian restaurant, Verona, sitting down just as the ship was departing from it's berth.
I started with mushrooms in a cheese sauce while everyone else had the prawns. For the main course Win went for pizza, Sylvia for a chicken dish and Jim for tuna. I decided to go for the sirloin steak cooked at the table on a hot lava stone, it literally melted in my mouth.
Tomorrow we visit the lovely town of Ajaccio in Corsica.
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