Originally the settlement was a small Etruscan village. The Roman emperor Trajan changed its history, in fact he realized that the coast with its many inlets was the right place for the construction of a large port. The ancient port of Civitavecchia was designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, a very important figure for the technological innovations he was able to implement both with Trajan and with the emperor Hadrian. Centumcellae experienced its period of maximum splendor in the imperial age. Subsequently the city came under the command of the Byzantine empire and in the 8th century under the milder govenment of the popes. It is precisely to this period that most of the large city monuments present in the city date back. In 828 the city was occupied by the Saracens who almost completely destroyed it. The places to prefer to best grasp the importance and beauty of this city are without a doubt around the port area, where the squares, the alleys, even the moden theater and above all the fort of Michelangelo, will be able to tell you about the importance that this port had over time.