The Railway from Civitavecchia to Rome (express in 2, ordinary train in 3"/2 hrs. ; fares see p. 11.; views to the r. till Rome is approached, when a seat on the l. should if possible be secured) traverses a dreary tract, running parallel with the ancient Via Aurelia near the sea-coast as far as Palo. On clear days the Alban and Volscian mountains are visible in the distance, and still farther off the promontory of Circeii. The first stat. Santa Marinella possesses a mediaeval castle rising above a small bay, in the garden of which a date-palm flourishes. Stat. Rio Fiume; then the picturesque baronial castle of Santa Severa (stat.), formerly the property of the Galera, afterwards of the Orsini family, now of the Hospital Santo Spirito at Rome. Here in ancient times was situated Pyrgos or Pyrgi, harbour of the once powerful Etruscan city Caere, formerly termed Agylla or the “circular city” by the Phoenicians, with whom the town carried on a flourishing trade, now Cervetri (p. 350), situated on the height 6 M. farther to the l. Stat. Furbara. The solitary towers on the shore were erected during the middle ages for protection against the dreaded Turkish Corsairs.
Stat. Palo (poor railway-restaurant), with a château and villa of the Odescalchi, occupies the site of the ancient Alsium, where Pompey and Antoninus Pius possessed country-residences. Relics of antiquity now scanty. Stat. Palidoro, on the river of that name, which rises on the heights by the Lago di Bracciano. The line now approaches the plantations of Maccarese (stat.) to the r., believed to be the ancient Fregenae, situated near the mouth of the Arrone, a river which descends from the Lago di Bracciano. The Lago di Ponente or Stagno di Maccarese is now skirted. Stat. Ponte Galera, beyond which the line runs in the vicinity of the Tiber.
Beyond stat. Magliano a more unbroken view is obtained of the extensive Campagna di Roma and the Alban Mts., at the base of which glitter the white houses of Frascati (p. 316), and of the Sabine Mts. in the background; in the foreground the hand some Benedictine monastery of S. Paolo fuori le mura with its sumptuous new basilica. To the l. is disclosed a view of Rome, the Aventine (p. 217), the Capitol (p. 195) and Trastevere (p. 261). The train crosses the Tiber by a new iron bridge and slowly approaches the walls of Rome, of which the S.E. side is skirted.
Above the wall rises Monte Testaccio (p. 219); adjacent is the Pyramid of Cestius (p. 218) with the cypresses of the Protestant cemetery; in the vicinity, the Porta S. Paolo, farther distant the Aventine with S. Sabina (p. 219). The line then traverses gardens and unites with the railway from Naples. The Porta S. Sebastiano, approached by the Via Appia (p. 305), is visible. The latter having been crossed, the Lateran (p. 232) appears with the numerous statues of its façade; then the monastery of S. Croce in Gerusalemme (p. 165), with lofty Romanesque tower. The train now enters a tunnel beneath the aqueduct of the Acqua Felice and passes the Porta Maggiore (p. 165), which is crossed by two ancient water-conduits. The line then intersects the city-wall; to the l. a decagonal ruin, usually termed a Temple of Minerva Medica, two stories in height. A view is next obtained of S. Maria Maggiore (p. 160), a handsome edifice with two domes and Romanesque tower. To the r. insignificant remnants of the ancient Wall of Servius, discovered and destroyed by the construction of the railway. The train now enters the station at the N.W. extremity of the town, opposite the Thermae of Diocletian and the traveller is in the Imperial City.