2-982-461 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Civita Vecchia, [in Italy], 1858. 'Two piers, formed of massive marble blocks, stretch out from the shore into the blue waters of the Mediterranean, and, with the assistance of a small breakwater, constructed of irregular pieces of rock, and thrown up at the entrance between their extremities, form the small harbour of Civita Vecchia...The port of Civita Vecchia was founded by Trajan between a.d. 106 and a. d. 114...During the decline and fall of the Roman Empire the harbour of Civita Vecchia was suffered to fall into decay, and it was not until the establishment of the Papal sovereignty that the necessary repairs were executed upon the breakwater and piers. Leo the Fourth built the present town, which has been regularly fortified, and boasts of a citadel erected by Michael Angelo...A lazaretto for ships coming from suspected ports, when the plague or any other epidemic is prevalent, has been established. There are also a lighthouse (built by Michael Angelo), a prison for galley slaves, and some docks of inconsiderable dimensions. The word "Civita" is derived from the Latin "civitas", a town...' ("Vecchia" means old). From "Illustrated London News", 1858.