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Mediterranean Interlude: A Celebration of Music, Culture & Cuisine
Western civilization was born in the Mediterranean, and for this voyage we have custom-designed a remarkable itinerary that combines three hallmarks of a great civilization: grand art and architecture, sublime music, and fine cuisine prepared by master chefs. In Naples you’ll explore the haunting remains of Pompeii and one of the world’s finest art collections in the National Gallery. On the island of Sicily, after visiting the Capella Palatina, a masterpiece created by Byzantine, Arab, and Norman artists, you’ll attend a private concert in the grand salon of the Palazzo Raffadali. At Lucca you’ll sample the region’s wonderful cuisine, explore its Romanesque churches, then take an excursion to the home of the composer Giacomo Puccini. The medieval village of St.-Paul-de-Vence is home to the Maeght Foundation’s rich collection of works by such modernist masters as Miro, Braque, and Picasso. And in Barcelona you’ll discover centuries of magnificent architecture and an equally long tradition of fine dining. Our ship for this unforgettable voyage is the elegant, beautifully designed all-suite Corinthian II.
On this voyage we are accompanied by novelist Frances Mayes.
Itinerary
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Tuesday, June 1, 2010 • FLY FROM USA
Wednesday, June 2 • ROME | CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy | EMBARK
Thursday, June 3 • NAPLES | POMPEII | NAPLES
Friday, June 4 • PALERMO, Sicily
Saturday, June 5 • AT SEA
Sunday, June 6 • LERICI | VI AREGGIO | LUCCA | TORRE DEL LAGO PUCCINI | LERICI
Monday, June 7 • NICE | ST.-PAUL-DE-VENCE | NICE, France
Tuesday, June 8 • MARSEILLE | AIX-EN-PROVENCE | MARSEILLE
Wednesday, June 9 • BARCELONA, Spain
Thursday, June 10 • BARCELONA | DISEMBARK | FLY TO USA
Click here to view the voyage reading list from Longitude Books.
View Detailed Itinerary
Frances Mayes comes from a family whose motto was “Packing and Unpacking.” When she quit her university position eight years ago, she was able to devote herself to writing and to the family motto. She has written five best-selling books about Italy, including Under the Tuscan Sun, Bella Tuscany, In Tuscany, Bringing Tuscany Home and others. These books also have traveled the world: they appear in thirty languages. Each one celebrates the voluptuousness of Italian life, cultural differences, cuisine and people. A Year in the World, a book of travel narratives, broadened her terrain to France, Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Morocco and other countries.
In a departure from travel, but not a departure from a sense of place, she published Swan, a novel set in her native Georgia among people not unlike those she grew up with. Prior to her Tuscan adventures, she wrote The Discovery of Poetry and six volumes of poetry, including Ex Voto and Hours. Frances’s love of houses led her to designing At Home in Tuscany, a furniture collection with Drexel Heritage. The outdoor complement to the collection is produced by Laneventure. She is currently working on a southern memoir /road trip and also, with her husband Ed, a cookbook based on twenty years in a Tuscan kitchen. She and Ed live in Cortona, Italy and in North Carolina.
Photo by John Gillooly.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
FLY FROM USA
Wednesday, June 2
ROME | CIVITAVECCHIA, Italy | EMBARK
Arrive in Rome and transfer to the pier to board Corinthian II.
Thursday, June 3
NAPLES | POMPEII | NAPLES
This morning, travel to Pompeii, a city both devastated and preserved by the A.D. 79 volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. More than 200 years of excavations have revealed an extraordinary wealth of information that has become the foundation of our knowledge of domestic life in the Roman Empire. Visit the Forum, Stabian Baths, and the Temples of Apollo and Jupiter. Return to Naples for an afternoon visit of the Archaeological Museum. Also enjoy a concert at a historical site.
Friday, June 4
PALERMO, Sicily
Arrive in Palermo, one of the Mediterranean’s most enchanting cities. Founded by the Phoenicians in 827 B.C. and conquered by the Saracens in the 9th century, Palermo became one of Europe’s greatest cities by the 12th century, when the Normans took control. Seek out the Cappella Palatina, the royal chapel built by Roger II between 1132 and 1143. A wonder of Byzantine-Arab-Norman artistry, the chapel features dazzling mosaics, an exquisitely carved wooden ceiling, and magnificent inlaid marble floors and walls. Then drive to Monreale to visit its famed Norman cathedral. Alternatively, spend the day in the lovely medieval town of Cefalu. In the afternoon, everyone will tour the private Palazzo Raffadali, a Gothic palace with 17th-century interiors, followed by a special concert in the palace’s grand salon.
Saturday, June 5
AT SEA
Enjoy the day sailing aboard Corinthian II, attending lectures and musical performances.
Sunday, June 6
LERICI | VIAREGGIO | LUCCA | TORRE DEL LAGO PUCCINI | LERICI
From the small port town of Lerici, dominated by its 13th- to 16th-century castle, drive to Viareggio, perhaps Tuscany’s most attractive seaside resort town that became fashionable early in the 19th century. Continue to Lucca, one of Italy’s most beautiful towns. Of ancient origin, and surrounded by well-preserved 16th- and 17th-century walls, Lucca’s cobblestoned streets are lined with magnificent Romanesque churches and palaces. After exploring Lucca and enjoying lunch at a local restaurant, continue to Torre del Lago Puccini, named after the composer. Visit Puccini’s house, beautifully situated on the shore of Lake di Massaciuoli. Here, the composer wrote the great majority of his operas. Late in the afternoon attend a concert at the Basilica di San Giovanni.
Monday, June 7
NICE | ST.-PAUL-DE-VENCE | NICE, France
From Nice—renowned for its lovely gardens, splendid sea-views, and chic boulevards— visit delightful St.-Paul-de-Vence, a medieval village that became a favorite artists’ retreat in the 1920s. Largely rebuilt in 1537 by Francois I, the old fortified town reveals the ramparts that once defended it, while the heights still afford a spectacular view of the mountains and Mediterranean Sea. Visit the Maeght Foundation, whose modern building blends harmoniously with its surroundings and displays an acclaimed collection of 20th-century works by artists including Braque, Chagall, Miró, and Picasso. After lunch, enjoy a tour of Nice, including the celebrated Musée Matisse, and enjoy a concert at the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen.
Tuesday, June 8
MARSEILLE | AIX-EN-PROVENCE | MARSEILLE
Travel to Aix-en-Provence, the first Roman settlement in Gaul, immortalized by the works of Cézanne. Tour the Old City, down the leafy Cours Mirabeau, noting the perfect classical proportions of the Hotel de Ville en route to the Cathedral of St-Sauveur, with its medieval art treasures. Continue to Cézanne’s old studio, which remains as it was at the time of the Impressionist’s death in 1906, or the Musée Granet, containing works by Cézanne, Van Dyck, Van Loo, Rigaud, Pierre, and François Puget, as well as by the museum’s namesake, François Marius Granet. Enjoy an afternoon at sea with a recital this evening.
Wednesday, June 9
BARCELONA, Spain
Barcelona, the vibrant capital of Catalonia, is a city endowed with exceptional architecture and an unrivalled artistic heritage. Tour the narrow alleyways of the Barrio Gotico, the original site of the Carthaginian city, and the extraordinary Templo de la Sagrada Familia, begun in the 19th century by the architect Antoni Gaudí and still unfinished. Also visit the 14th-century cathedral, La Seu; the Picasso Museum; and La Boqueria, Barcelona’s tremendously rich food market. Also attend a musical performance at a historical site today.
Thursday, June 10
BARCELONA | DISEMBARK | FLY TO USA
