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CIVITA VECCHIA

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Originally appearing in Volume V06, Page 417 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CIVITA VECCHIA , a seaport See also:

town and episcopal see of See also:Italy, in the See also:province of See also:Rome, 5o m. N.W. by See also:rail and 35 M. See also:direct from the See also:city of Rome. Pop. (1871) 8143; (1901) 17,589. It is the See also:ancient Centum Cellae, founded by See also:Trajan. Interesting descriptions of it are given by See also:Pliny the Younger (Epist. vi. 31) and Rutilius Namat. 237. The See also:modern See also:harbour See also:works See also:rest on the ancient See also:foundations, and near it the See also:cemetery of detachments of the Classes Misenensis and Ravennas has been found (Corp. Inscr. See also:Lat. vol. xi., See also:Berlin, 1888, pp. 3520 seq.).

Remains of an See also:

aqueduct and other See also:Roman buildings are preserved; the imperial See also:family had a See also:villa here. See also:Procopius mentions it in the 6th See also:century as a strong and populous See also:place, but it was destroyed in 813 by the See also:Saracens. See also:Leo IV. erected a new city for the inhabitants on the site where they had taken See also:refuge, about 8 m. N.N.E. of Civita Vecchia towards the hills, near La Farnesina, where its ruins may still be seen; the city walls and some of the streets `and buildings may be traced, and an inscription 4 (which must have stood over one of the city See also:gates) recording its See also:foundation has been discovered. It continued to exist under the name Cencelle as a feudal See also:castle until the 15th century. In the meantime, however, the inhabitants returned to the old town by the See also:shore in 889 and rebuilt it, giving it the name Civitas Vetus, the modern Civita Vecchia (see 0. Marucchi in Nuovo Bullettino di archeologia cristiana, vi., 1900, p. 195 seq.). In 1508 See also:Pope See also:Julius II. began the construction of the castle from the designs of See also:Bramante, See also:Michelangelo being responsible for the addition of the central See also:tower. It is considered by See also:Burckhardt the finest See also:building of its See also:kind. See also:Pius IV. added a convict See also:prison. The See also:arsenal was built by See also:Alexander VII. and designed by See also:Bernini.

Civita Vecchia was the See also:

chief See also:port of the Papal See also:State and has still a considerable See also:trade. There are See also:cement factories in the town, and See also:calcium See also:carbide is an important See also:article of export. The See also:principal imports are See also:coal, See also:cattle for the See also:home markets, and See also:fire-bricks from the See also:United See also:Kingdom. Three See also:miles N.E. were the See also:Aquae See also:Tauri, warm springs, now known as Bagni della Ferrata: considerable remains of the Roman See also:baths are still preserved. About 1 m. W. of these are other hot springs, those of the Ficoncella, also known in Roman times.

End of Article: CIVITA VECCHIA

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