Renaissance Culture
Overview | Lecturers | Shore Excursions | Itinerary | Prices | Deck Plans
Departs 15th September 2008, from Southampton, for 16 nights.
After rounding Cape Trafalgar, we reach Cadiz. From here we enjoy a panoramic drive around the city before visiting Jerez de la Frontera – home of sherry wine – for a walking tour, which takes in the 1575 Town Hall, Cathedral and Alcazar.
From Mahon, considered by many to be the finest natural harbour in the Med, we visit the fishing village of Fornells; Monte Toro, the highest peak on Menorca; and find traces of the Renaissance in Mahon and Es Castell.
Our tour of the ‘Queen of the Riveria’, Nice – which even boasts its own Renaissance painting style – takes in the palm-lined Promenade des Anglais, before stopping in Old Nice for a walk through the colourful flower market. After visiting residential Cimiez, we travel to the medieval village of Luceram standing on a steep rock between two deep ravines in a wooded region beneath the peaks of the Alps.
Founded by the Romans, Florence is a two-hour drive from Livorno. Our walking tour of the city begins with a visit to the impressive Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiore.We also visit the Medici Chapels of St. Lawrence Church, conceived by
Michelangelo in 1520; the Piazza della Signoria and its Gothic Old Palace; Loggia dei Lanzi open-air museum; and the Ponte Vecchio.
In the Italian capital we embark on a walk to discover Renaissance Rome.This encompasses the Capitolini Museums with paintings by Ruebens, Bellini and Caravaggio; the Jewish Quarter; Palazzo della Chancelleria; Campo de’ Fiori;
Palazzo Farnese; and the Via Coronari. We also visit the churches of Sata Maria dell’ Anima and Sainta della Pace, both fine examples of the Renaissance style.We end near Ponte Sant’Angelo and its view over St. Peter’s Basilica.
From Naples, we visit fascinating Pompeii, preserved by the tragedy of its destruction through the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD.
On Sardinia we visit the remains of the Phoenician city of Nora, which site also has Carthaginian and Roman relics, and was engulfed by the sea in a natural disaster in the 3rd century AD.
Tangier is the gateway to Morocco and is unmistakably North African, but with a mixture of cultural influences. Our tour takes in many of the city’s unique features – including the Place de France, Cape Spartel lighthouse, and Museum de
la Kasbah – housed in what was the Sultan’s Palace from the 18th century to 1912.
