Sunday April 7^th

Civitavecchia

Instead of going in to Rome, we had decided to hire a driver for the day and to go and see Tarquinia which is a short drive from Civitavecchia. We had asked our tablemates David and Mo to join us; David and Joan were heading off to Rome to go shoe shopping.

This time our driver did appear on time, and he was driving a new, clean, Renault minivan with seat belts and a little stool so it was easy to get in to the back seats. This appeared to be a much safer way to travel than a vintage Land Rover in Cyprus.

We arrived in Tarquinia before the museum was opened, so Paolo, our driver, treated us to coffee in a cute café across the road from the museum.

Tarquinia is well known for its Etruscan tombs, and the contents of the tombs are now housed in the museum. We spent quite a bit of time looking at the sarcophagi and pottery in the museum,

and then we had a chance to wander around the medieval city of Tarquinia, to see its churches and towers, and the views of the surrounding valleys and out to sea, from the walls. We could also see the island if Gigli, the one where the Costa Concordia came to grief.

Then we drove to a nearby hillside where the tombs had been found. It is believed that over 6,000 people had been buried there, but fortunately you can’t see all of those tombs. We probably ended up going into about 10 tombs, but still it was very interesting.

The tombs are known for the colorful frescoes on the walls and roofs. To prevent atmospheric deterioration of the artwork, you cannot actually enter the tombs, but you get a good view of them by climbing down steep stairs in the almost darkness to the entrance to the chamber, where the paintings can be seen behind a Plexiglas window.

We then had a 45-minute drive through the lush countryside to the village of Tuscania. This is another walled hilltop medieval town, with 2 churches (St Mary Maggiore and St Peter’s) dating back to the 800s.

At St Mary Maggiore there was a frieze showing the angel arresting the donkey in Balaam. This was not a Bible story with which we were familiar, but sure enough in Numbers there is a story about a donkey in Balaam, but it failed to mention the arresting angel. Maybe there was something lost in the translation of the description.

St Peter’s had a very interesting façade and beautiful mosaic floors.

We then had lunch in a little café by a fountain in Tuscania. We had a huge plate of cold meat and cheese to share, with freshly baked bread. My kind of lunch. We wandered around the town for a while, finding an ice cream shop with the most delicious gelato.

Then it was time for the 45-minute drive back to the port, and we were there by 3:00. We had a wonderful day, and I highly recommend Paolo and RomePort Taxi.

On a previous visit to Civitavecchia, while walking from the railway station back to the ship, we had smelled the unmistakable aroma of peri peri prawns, just like you used to get at Johnny’s in Beira in Mozambique. Despite following our noses we were never able to track down the source of the smell, but every time we return to Civitavecchia we go in search of that aroma once more.

We have never smelled it again, and today was no exception, but hope springs eternal. Still we had a good time wandering around the waterfront, and stocking up on more soft drinks.

There was a delay in sailing again – we were missing some passengers who did eventually show up. There were 4 other cruise ships in port today – the Norwegian Spirit which was across the quayside from us, and a small, interesting looking German ship named the Berlin, and the MSC Divina and Meraviglia (?) were all along the same pier as we were. The MSC ships were at the rather nice looking new cruise terminal, whereas we were just along the quayside, so no terminal or free wifi for us.

When the MSC ships sailed past us on their way out of the harbor, the passengers were gesticulating, shouting and whistling at us, and we rather sedately gave them the royal wave back. They looked like the party had started. We looked like we were about to get ready for another evening of smart attire on board.

Heather and Geoff were not at dinner again. Joan had not been able to buy shoes as the store she planned to go to was closed, but she and David seemed to have had a good time walking all over Rome. I think Mo and other David had enjoyed their day out with us. If Heather and Geoff ever return we can find out what sort of day they had.

All in all, Civitavecchia never fails to be a great port – there is so much to see and do if you go exploring from there. Or else you can decide to stay in town, and just walk along the sea front, and have an ice cream. As far as I am concerned, any day in Italy is a good day.