The massive Forte Michelangelo ("Michelangelo's fort") was first commissioned from Bramante by Pope Julius II, to defend the port of Rome, and was completed in 1535 by Giuliano Leno and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, under Paul III. The upper part of the "maschio" tower, however, was designed by Michelangelo, whose name is generally applied to the fortress. The edifice, measuring 100 × 82 m (328.08 ft × 269.03 ft), has four towers with a diameter of 21 m (68.90 ft). The main tower, of octagonal shape, has sides of 12 m (39.37 ft). The walls have an impressive thickness of 6–7.6 m (19.69–24.93 ft). The fortress was built over an ancient Roman construction, probably the barracks of the classiarii ("mariners") of the Imperial Fleet.
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. 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 piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse. The name Civitavecchia means "ancient town".
The modern city was built over a pre-existing Etruscan settlement.
The harbor was constructed by the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century. The first occurrence of the name Centum Cellae is from a letter by Pliny the Younger (AD 107). The origin of the name is disputed: it has been suggested that it could refer to the centum ("hundred") 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 and by the modern era was the main port of Rome. The French occupied it in 1849. On April 16, 1859 the Rome and Civitavecchia Rail Road was opened for service. The Papal troops opened the gates of the fortress to the Italian general Nino Bixio in 1870.
During World War II, Allied bombings severely damaged Civitavecchia, and caused civilian casualties.
The Port of Civitavecchia, also known as "Port of Rome", is an important hub for the maritime transport in Italy, for goods and passengers. Part of the "Motorways of the Sea" it is linked to several Mediterranean ports and represents one of the main links between Italian mainland to Sardinia.
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