The Rome–Civitavecchia railway line is one of the oldest railways in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, constructed in what was then the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

, opening in 1859 and is 72.6 km long. The line now forms part of the Pisa–Rome line.

History

Construction

The railway was built by the ''Società Pio Central'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

for ''Central Pius Company''), named in honour of

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

, who had overturned the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

's previous opposition to innovations such as railways in the

. It was headed by the haulage contractor Mr. Hubert Debrousse, a French engineer, and 950 workers were engaged on 27 railway work sites. Work commenced in October 1856 and in thirty months the railway and two stations were built between the ''Porta Portese'' station in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, near the current Roma Trastevere station and a temporary station at

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...

Opening

The line was opened for service on 24 April 1859, with two trips a day from Rome and two trips a day from Civitavecchia, with a journey time of 2½ hours. In 1860 the railway was absorbed into the Società per le Strade Ferrate Romane.

Rolling stock

The railway equipment consisted of eleven French steam locomotives (built by Cail & C. of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

), one English steam locomotive, 21 first class passenger carriages and 25 second class passenger carriages. The rails were built by

Losh, Wilson and Bell Losh, Wilson and Bell, later Bells, Goodman, then Bells, Lightfoot and finally Bell Brothers, was a leading Northeast England manufacturing company, founded in 1809 by the partners William Losh, Thomas Wilson (poet), Thomas Wilson, and Thomas B ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Extensions

On 2 July 1860 the permanent Civitavecchia station opened for service and construction began on the section of the line from Civitavecchia to the Papal States' northern border with

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, which was inaugurated and opened for service on 22 June 1867. On 22 October 1863, the line was extended south over the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the R ...

on a

lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swi ...

—built out of cast iron and prefabricated in England—in order to connect with the new Roma Termini station.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rome-Civitavecchia railway Railway lines in Lazio Railway lines opened in 1859 1859 establishments in Italy