Wintering in Porto di Roma 2008/09

Created by val. Last modified on 2009-03-09 11:53:49
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Countries: Italy

We are a catamaran and were looking for somewhere safe and interesting to winter in Italy this year and so were very interested in the Noonsite article dated 2005 which talked about the Porto di Roma marina in not so glowing terms. As it turned out, it was the only place able to offer us a berth during some pretty awful conditions so we thought we would give it a go for a few days and see how it was.

Three months later, we have just left and would have to say, things must have changed since the 2005 report. Security gates are on all docks and security checks done throughout the marina every few hours. It wasn't uncommon to see security wandering down our dock throughout the day. Bikes and equipment were left on the dock without a problem and staff in the office were extremely helpful and spoke good English. They helped with translations when required, made phone calls on our behalf and were generally very pleasant. The Mare Mosso cafe, run by Rossana and her brother, serve great coffee at a great price. She is delightful, provides for book swaps and speaks pretty good English as well.

I guess because of previous reports, there weren't a large number of cruisers in the harbour but we managed to find a small community with which to share Christmas. As previously reported, it's a great base from which to see Rome and only costs one euro each way including bus, train and metro rides. An extremely pleasant boardwalk between the marina and Ostia central makes walks and bike rides a treat. One of Rome's ancient sites which rivals Pompeii, Ostia Antica, is only two stops away.

In severe on shore conditions (30-40 knots) the harbour develops some surge so having decent springs is important.

The only downside was unrelated to the marina itself, when our bikes were stolen from outside the local Conad supermarket located in a not so good area...they cut through the metal cable bike lock in broad daylight whilst we were doing a 15 minute shop. We recommend going up the road a bit further to Panorama and the local fresh food market.

We're told that this winter's weather around Rome has been unusual and that normally Rome's winter is dominated by cold but sunny, clear days. On those days the marina comes alive with activity as people head for the port to take in the sun.

We enjoyed our stay in Porto di Roma and would recommend it to other cruisers.

Julie, Ray, Sam and Milo
aboard Meander