Civitavecchia, Italy

Another glorious day with blue skies and mild weather.

We docked in Civitavecchia, the main port for Rome. At the entrance to the harbor is the Forte Michelangleo, built partially by the master himself. There is also a statue of Trajan who constructed the harbor. Once just a port which people passed through on the way to or from Rome, people have discovered that the town, “ancient city”, built over a pre-existing Etruscan settlement has its own charms and a very nice shopping precinct where prices for the same articles are cheaper than in Rome.
We took an excursion to Bracciano, an old hillside town dominated by Odescalchi Castle, more simply known as Castle of Bracciano, on the southern shore of Lake Bracciano. The Odescalchi Castle is a majestic construction and it is considered one of the most beautiful feudal castles in Europe.

In 1290 it came in possession of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit of Rome such as other castles and villages in the area of Bracciano. After a short period, Bracciano was conquered by the Bretons at the time of the conflict between Pope Urbano VI and Pope Clemente VII. In 1419 the Orsini family got possession of the castle from Pope Martino V. Napoleone Orsini, was Mayor of Bracciano and belonged to one of the most important Roman families. The Orsini were often in conflict with another important Roman family: the Colonna family. These two families had control of almost the whole city of Rome and kept it constantly under a civil war.

This castle is famous and important because it gave shelter to some of the most renowned people of the time like Pope Sisto IV in 1481, King Umberto I in 1900, the Trittico and Pisanello.

When the power of the Orsini family declined, in 1695 the castle was sold by auction and bought by the Odescalchis, the family of Pope Innocenzo XI. In 1803 the Odescalchis sold the castle to the Torlonia family. In 1861 the castle returned to the Odescalchi family who are still the owners.
We toured several public rooms each one with magnificent wooden beamed and frescoed ceilings…about 10 meters high….and containing beautiful pieces of furniture. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside. We then toured the old kitchens and the battlements. The views over the lake from the castle were stunning.

After some free time to explore the pretty little town, we went around the lake to Trevignano Romano. We were meant to take a boat ride across the lake, but that was cancelled for some reason, so we had a lot of free time in Trevignano. There were ruins of a castle up on the hill….I did not bother with that. I strolled the lovely streets – prettier than Bracciano – and then settle in to a restaurant on the lakefront. Pasta with mushrooms, pesce di lago (a mixture of fried perch and petite friture, whole with the heads on), delicious bread and a mezzo litre of white wine. Heaven! Ross, who had been climbing to the castle, joined me, took one look at the fish with the heads on, gulped an espresso and beat a hasty retreat. I adore eating fried lake fish (perch) on any lakefront in Europe!!! So that made my day.

We only about and hour from Civitavecchia and so it was not a long day.

Our last excursion. We not have 4 days at sea, 2 in the Med (one of which is cruising Gibraltar) and 2 in the Atlantic….meaning the Bay of Biscay. We still have the Charity Auction…tomorrow. And more lectures – plenty to do.

P.S. We are all very worried about the flight situation in Europe. Some people have already cancelled their flights and booked on the QM2. I am looking into it…but I am really ready to come home. I never thought I’d say that I don’t want 7 more days on a ship. Hahahahahah. I think it is because we now have 4 days in a row at sea – very strange itinerary, but I knew it at the time. But who knew that a volcano was going to blow!!!!