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The Rock

From Porta Marina it is possible to reach Piazza Calamatta which is faced by a palace, built in the sixteenth century and mostly under the pontificate of Pius IV by leaning it against the city walls of the ancient Rock. The buildings dates back to various eras, particularly the part that faces the port which dates back to the times of Julius II. The various transformations it has undergone, especially after the 1500's, the enclosure of the rock is still perfectly recognizable; the origins are ancient and maybe to be attributed to the feudatories whom subsequently possessed Civitavecchia. The Rock was of quadrilateral shape and stood on bluff over the entrance to the dockyard: Halfway through the 1400's it underwent notable transformations; its enclosure was enlarged by adding two towers, one towards Porta Marina and the other, which is now hidden by a succession of buildings, towards Porta Livorno.To be in possession of this formidable fortress also meant being in possession of the port which was the key of all communications with Rome; for this reason it was the cause of continuous and bitter fights. This famous fortress holds all the memories of the greatest historic cycles lived by Civitavecchia which, from the Rock assisted in its seafaring grandeur and with the Rock pushed back the numerous attempts of invasion made during the centuries.The Wall of Urbano VIII and the Vanvitelli fountain When, in 1630, port duty was reinstated, it became necessary to separate the port itself from the city. Urbano VIII therefore had a wall built which still exists today and which also went to complete the city's defensive system which, towards the sea, was in fact lacking. Paul V had already examined the problem, which appeared serious due to possible sudden landing by enemy troupes, in an area that was too far from the fortress and therefore not reachable by battery fire. To confront this danger, even after the wall was built, a study was carried out on various types of expedients and in particular, to make the port safe from night time attacks, a blocking system was arranged at the entrance to the port, using nets, wooden beam and chains anchored to the bastions at the end of the docks.The wall was covered with the remains of those ancient buildings which surrounded the Trajanic port.The original walls built in "opus reticolatum" are still visible inside the rooms situated at the base of the walls (which are now used as fisheries).In 1740, under Benedetto XIV and based on a project by Luigi Vanvitelli, the central part of the wall was decorated with a large fountain in travertine. A harmonic and complex curving stairs descended to the water's edge.Today the stairs are imprisoned in the "Prince Thomas" quay and the entire area has lost the characteristics of a meeting place which, during the course of centuries has been accentuated making the port one of fulcrums of life in the city. This and other internal port areas, which are not involved with port operations, will have to be restored for this type of activity which, amongst other things, was typical of the port in the past.

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