The Road to Rome

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Sunday, May 3, 2009 and we are docked in Civitavecchia. The name means OLD CITY and is pronounced like 'chevy te vechia' . We learned that Civitavecchia was established by Rome two centuries after Christ. In 1870, it was unified as a political country.

You see the photo of Monica, our guide. We enjoyed the English language with a heavy Italian accent. Most of her words ended in"ah" and she used the term "aloha" in place of constantly saying "ummm"

As we drove the countryside, the hills were plentiful with sheep, yellow flowers, olive trees and grape vines. The main industry is wine and olive oils. Monica said "we make the best and the worst of wine and olive oil." We drove through the hilly Etruscan countryside where much excavation is still taking place.

The Etruscans were business people and lived two centuries before Christ. They are considered a mysterious civilization. Their tombs reveal they viewed death as the beginning of life. Etruscans were buried with the things they valued. The Romans revolted against the Etruscans and established a republic. Romans began to dominate the Italian Peninsula and the Mediterranean until Julius Caesar's defeat of Pompeii in 48 B.C.

The Romans built aqua ducts to bring water to their capital city of Rome. The climate here is mild and the country is volcanic, so fertile for farmers.

Today we take the 4-hour Panoramic trip to Rome. Rome is 1 1/2 hours from the port. It is Sunday, so we will not be able to go into the basilicas or churches where services are being held. We are suppose to make it to the Vatican in time to see the Pope at noon.