Cruising to Rome and Civitavecchia

Cruising to Rome is a voyage to one of the world's great cities. The city combines centuries of history, beautiful art and architecture and an atmosphere that is at once lively and timeless.

It is not possible to cover everything of interest in Rome in just one section of an online travel guide. Therefore, I have concentrated on three aspects of interest to visitors.

First, Rome is a city that lends itself to walking. Yes, you do have to be aware of the Roman traffic, although it does not seem as chaotic as when I first went to Rome but then most people were driving chariots back then. However, many of the major sights of ancient Rome and Renaissance Rome are not located very far from each other.

To illustrate this, I have put together a photo feature about a walk through central Rome. We start at the Piazza Navona and wander our way through the streets and plazas to the Colosseum. There is a lot to see along the way. The article is posted at http://www.beyondships3.com/rome-a-walk-through-rome.html

Next, many people come to Rome and then leave the country for all or part of the day. This is because Rome surrounds the world's smallest country, the Vatican. http://www.beyondships3.com/rome-visiting-the-vatican.html

In addition to being a major religious center, the Vatican has an incomparable collection of fine art. And it is all housed in historic and architecturally important buildings. Our coverage of the Vatican includes a photo feature on visiting St. Peter's Basilica http://www.beyondships3.com/rome-visiting-st-peters.html and information about the Vatican Museums. http://www.beyondships3.com/rome-visiting-vatican-museums.html

Finally, we look at Rome's cruise port, Civitavecchia. This is perhaps the only cruise port with a building designed in part by Michelangelo. It is a busy cruise port and thus is a great place for watching cruise ships. Our page on Civitavecchia is at http://www.beyondships3.com/cruise-port-civitavecchia.html