‘The entire coastline will be cemented over’: the tiny Italian town set to become a dock for giant cruise ships

Only 20 miles from Italy's capital, Isola Sacra was ignored for years but now Royal Caribbean has plans to turn it into a major new port

On a cloudy day in January, Isola Sacra, a hamlet in Fiumicino, 20 miles from Rome, does not look like a place that would attract masses of tourists. Low-rise family homes with small gardens alternate with meadows and fields and life has the sedate pace of a provincial town.

An old lighthouse now lies in ruins and not far away is the darsena dei bilancioni, the beach that takes its name from the stilt houses, or bilancioni, once used for fishing.