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

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, constructed in what was then the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

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

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

, who had overturned the Vatican'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 , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

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

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 ''Società'' (Italian: ''Society'') was an Italian communist cultural magazine published in Italy between 1945 and 1961. History and profile ''Società'' was founded as a quarterly magazine in Florence in 1945. The founders were Ranuccio Bianchi ...

Rolling stock

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

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

), 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, and Thomas Bell. The firm was fo ...

of Newcastle,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, 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 ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the 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 Riv ...

on a lift bridge—built out of cast iron and prefabricated in England—in order to connect with the new

Roma Termini station Roma Termini (in Italian, ''Stazione Termini'') is the main railway station of Rome, Italy. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from ancient Baths of Diocletian (in Latin, ''thermae''), which ...

Notes

References

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