54 Days at Sea — April 12, Rome

Roman Forum, Rome

MS Prinsendam left Livorno April 11 and docked in Civitavecchi the next morning. Civitavecchi is the port city serving Rome. By commuter rail it takes less than an hour to make the trip.

Rome

Rome statuary

Much of this excursion was spent at the ruins of the Roman Forum., and you’ll see a lot of that over the next three weeks in this 54 Days at Sea series. But the modern city offers up some sights as well:

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum (click here for that reference). The car pictured below is an original Fiat 500, one of almost 3.9 million made between 1957 and 1975. The model name was derived from the size of the original two-cylinder engine, 500 cc (actually 479 cc), which generated just 13 hp (9.7 kW). Don’t worry about the 0-to-60 time, as a car equipped with this original engine would never see 60mph (95 km/h) on its best day! That lofty goal would have to wait for the introduction in 1958 of the ‘Sport’ version and its 499.5 cc, 21.2 hp (15.9 kW) engine. That car would hit 65 mph (105 km/h), but not quick enough to give heartburn to a 1950s L.A. hot-rodder, I’m sure.

Fiat 500 (the original)

Now for the famous Roman Forum.Temple of Castor and Pollux Here are the ruins of the , who were otherwise known as the Gemini Twins:

Temple of Castor and Pollux

This next photograph is of columns from the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, the father and son Roman emperors who ruled 69-79 AD and 79-81 AD, repectively.

Temple of Vespasian and Titus

More views from the Roman Forum:

Roman Forum, Rome

Roman Forum, Rome

Roman Forum, Rome

Roman Forum, Rome