Courtesy: Costa Cruises
- VENICE, Italy: Venice is considered the city of art, romance and prestige. The extraordinary architecture was built on an archipelago of small islands separated by a network of canals crossed by approximately 400 bridges, once wooden and then replaced by stone. The Grand Canal is the main city artery. It is crossed by three bridges and has the shape of an upside down “S” dividing the city in two parts and in turn divided into six “sestieri” (districts): Cannaregio, San Marco and Castello on the left side; Santa Croce, San Polo and Dorsoduro on the right side of the canal. Water transport undoubtedly prevails over land travel, with gondolas, ships, ferries, and yachts serving as taxis to transport people and goods. There are few main roads and several small “calli” (narrow streets) developed along canals, “campi” (squares adjacent to churches), bell towers and “fondamenta” (streets along the canals) where motor vehicles are not allowed.
Refugees from Spina Adria and Aquileia after the invasion of the Huns in the 5th century AD founded Venice. The Doge under the protection of the Byzantine Empire governed it by “maritime tribunes." In the 9th century, the city became a very important commercial port, connecting the eastern and western markets through the Adriatic Sea. Its commercial power soon resulted in military power. Within a few years, Venice dominated all the east Adriatic coast, reaching the East, colonizing territories and conquering important markets, competing with Genoa and with the other Maritime Republics to assert its power. Turks chased the Venetians from many eastern colonies. The repercussions of the French Revolution affected this perfect aristocratic government where commerce and military power supported each other. In 1797, Venice was weak and after the Campoformio treaty, it was subject to Austria and subsequently annexed by Italy.
Grand Canal offers a quick view of the most beautiful palaces in Venice: the Academia, the Ca d’Oro, the Casino, the palace of the Biennial, the University, the Chiesa della Salute and the popular Rialto bridge, up to Piazza San Marco where the canal opens into a wide area. The square is the heart of Venice and its symbol. It is an architectural jewel and one of the most beautiful squares in Italy; a miracle built in trachyte and Istrian stone. In the past, religious and civil ceremonies took place in this square - and also the famous Carnival. At its end, there is the Basilica and the Clock Tower.
Glass blowing is particularly interesting and takes place on the Island of Murarno - with several workshops expert in blown glass and artistic crystal manufacture. The manufacture of the so-called “murrine” is particularly difficult and beautiful. These are art decorations where colored glass is blown and cut inside glass globes with expertise and extraordinary precision. The manufacture of lace is also extraordinary. Several workshops continue to manufacture Venetian mirrors, made with ancient techniques, with silver plates on glass, enriched by glass frames with elegant shapes. - BARI, Italy: Bari, the second biggest city in Southern Italy, was originally a large agricultural, industrial and mainly commercial center, an active port and important exchange network with the East. Its origins are strictly tied with maritime activities which, in the Middle Ages, gave birth along the coast to an ordered quarter designed on a grid pattern apparently originating from Roman design and subsequently readjusted by the Byzantines. In the old city, there are the remains of the civilizations that governed Bari history. The Romans turned Bari into a very rich port able to host dozens of ships, which transported wine and wheat coming from the country in large quantities. The Byzantine developed the city’s commerce until the Normans came and transformed Bari also from the architectural point of view, building churches, portals and palaces. In this period, the most important monuments were erected such as Saint Nicholas and the Cathedral. The huge castle is composed of two separate parts. The castle -also named “mastio" (stronghold), is designed on a trapezoidal plant with two towers out of four original ones. The bastions with angular towers were added in the 16th century on the three sides facing the land. The side .facing the sea still maintains the portal and the beautiful two-light windows of the construction originally built in 1200. The reign of Gioacchino Murat (1813) marks the beginning of modern expansion, built with a precise grid pattern, divided in straight roads. Here we can find the Archaeological Museum and the Provincial Art Gallery.
Bari cuisine is very special, rich with fish such as dentex with olives, Saint Nicholas gilthead fish, anchovies and octopus. Exquisite wines in Bari province comprise the Pnimitivo, the Castel del Monte and Trani Muscat. The two most important churches, the Cathedral, built in the first half of the 11th century and reconstructed in the last decades of the 12th century following the destruction of the city by William “il Malo” (the evil) in 1156 and Saint Nicholas church, together with the Norman-Svevian castle represent the most important architectural buildings in Apulia.
The history of Saint Nicholas’, the city’s cathedral, is particularly charming. It was built between 1087 and 1197 to take custody of the body of the saint transported by 62 mariners from Mira, in Lycia in 1087. The church is one of the prototypes of Romanesque-Apulian churches. Its façade is majestic and simple, accompanied by two towers, divided in three by pilaster strips and open on top by two-light windows and on the bottom by three portals, the middle being exquisitely carved. It certainly represents the Christian temple that Bari citizens are most devoted to. - KATAKOLON, Greece: Katakolon is a small port founded in the first half of the 19th century and linked to the legendary, nearby Olympia. According to the annals, which describes in detail and with some legend, the birth and history of Olympia. The city is a pastoral site chosen by the king of the gods Zeus to promote his culture among the Greeks. Olympia, together with Delphi, the city dedicated to Apollo, and Athens represents the most important mythological places in traditional Greece.
Olympic Games originated here and, according to the Hellenic tradition described by the Greek poet Pindar, their origin is in honor of Pelope, a legendary character, after whom the Peloponnese was named. In the beginning, the Games were composed of few disciplines, deriving from military arts characterized by loyalty and courage and lasted just one day often interrupted by religious ceremonies. Subsequently, the celebration of the Olympic Games, every four years at the summer solstice, lasted for a few weeks and at this time, all conflicts had to be suspended to enable the performance of the games.
The ceremony was strict. Women, except for Hera priestesses were not allowed, upon punishment of death. All competitors had to be Greek. The winners (at the time there were no sponsors or money compensation) were awarded by public triumph, they were included in a golden register engraved in stone and a life size statue was erected. After over 1200 years of continued history, the Olympic Games were stopped in 393 AD by Theodosius I and started again in Athens in 1896 upon initiative of the French Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Life in Olympia takes place around the sacred walls of the Sanctuary where all the temples and religious buildings are situated. Olympia was discovered in 1776, but the most important excavations are recent. Zeus’ temple, for instance, was entirely brought to light by German archaeologists who succeeded in, reconstructing part of the front and side columns collecting the statues of Greek winners, votive offerings and small temples damaged by a series of earthquakes - frequent in the past. The most ancient part of the Sanctuary is dedicated to Hera and it was destroyed and sacked after the prohibition of the pagan cult ordered by Theodosius. The stadium is very impressive, with an audience capacity of up to 45,000. Several votive offerings were found here, and among them Miltiades helmets after Athens victory in Marathon. It is still possible to see the starting and finishing lines of the races in the stadium. All archaeological finds are preserved in the Museum nearby. - PIRAEUS (ATHENS), Greece: The cradle of Greek civilization, Athens today is a bustling, frenetic, modern city with six million inhabitants, one third of the total population of Greece. The port of Athens, Piraeus, is very much an integral part of the city. Although Athens is a huge, sprawling city, much of its political, historical and administrative life is concentrated in a small area including Syntagma (Constitution) Square, the Acropolis and Omonia Square.
According to Greek mythology, the establishment of Athens was the result of a dispute between the goddess of wisdom Athena and her fellow gods, under which the city was given as a peace offering. In historical terms, the city was founded by the Phoenicians at least 2,000 years before Christ. The founding fathers of democracy, Athenians had to go into battle many times to defend their freedom and built up a mighty military strength.
As the leading cultural influence in the Mediterranean region for centuries, Athens attracted considerable opposition as well as admiration. Its intellectual dominance over the Mediterranean began to wane with the establishment of the Byzantine Empire, eventually leading to the city being virtually deserted and almost destroyed by Saracens in the 12th Century. By the time the Turks gained control of Athens in the 15th Century, its population had dwindled to only a few thousand inhabitants. Between 400 BC and 1400 AD Athens had been raided, sacked, and burnt at least 30 times. Gradually, Athens was rebuilt and by the end of the 19th Century, its fortunes had greatly improved, culminating in the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896. The next period of sustained development came after World War II with aggressive industrialization and maritime enterprise.
The historical attractions of Athens are world-renowned. The Acropolis, overlooking the city of Athens from the top of a rocky hillside, is the dominant monument of ancient Greece, the site of the first temple dedicated to the goddess Athena and the stunning Parthenon. Among the magnificent ruins of the Acropolis, and the fascinating artifacts of the Acropolis Museum, the ancient civilization surrounding the Parthenon, Herod Atticaus Odeon, Dionysus Theatre, Muses Hill, the Agora, Hephaestus Temple and the Apostles Church come to life.
Not far from Athens is one of greatest engineering feats of mankind, the Corinth Canal. The canal, which is cut out of solid rock, is a little over 6 km in length, 21 meters wide and some 79 meters high, with a water depth of eight meters. Such was the complexity of its construction that the canal was started by Nero in 66 AD but only completed in 1893. - SANTORINI, Greece: One of the Cyclades islands, Santorini is a spectacular jewel of the Aegean. Born out of a volcanic eruption in approximately 1500 BC, which formed the two islands of Aspronissi and Terrasia, Santorini is a magnificent mixture of dramatic cliff-side villages, glorious black sand beaches and ancient treasures. Steep cliffs plunging into a crystalline sea distinguish the west coast, while the east coast is gentler, featuring a fertile plain and delicate bays, even an airport, with the Profttis Ilias mountains in the background.
Archaeological investigations have shown that the 69 kilometers of coastline of Santorini was probably inhabited in prehistoric times, while the first chronicled civilization to live on the island were the Phoenicians. Through the centuries, the island continued to fall under different rulers, including the Spartans, Athenians, Byzantines and Turks. Commencing in 1967, ongoing excavations near the pink sand beach at Akrotiri have revealed the ruins of ancient Thera, the center of population on the island before it was destroyed by the volcanic eruption. Among the extensive remains are ceramics, stone and bronze tools, ornaments and small artworks. A series of frescoes suggest a highly-developed community. Some researchers believe it is the site of the mythical lost city of Atlantis. One of the prettiest spots on the island is the village of Oia, a network of narrow marble-paved alleys, lined with yellow and blue domed houses, and extraordinary views out to sea. - CORFOU, Greece: Corfu is the northernmost of the Ionian Islands, located in the heart of the Mediterranean. The Greek place named Kerkira was renamed Corfu by the Venetians, who paraphrased the word “Korifi” which was used to indicate the towers of St. Mark’s fortress. Corfu is covered in lush vegetation, thriving in a climate that is tempered by the wind without being too dry. Its coastline is very long, seemingly never-ending: over 200 kilometers. The terrain is quite varied, at times sandy and at others rocky and broken up by Mediterranean bush, olive, cypress and citrus trees. Corfu has suffered a long and bloody history. Corfu embarked on a long period of being colonized by others from 700 B.C. onward, first by the Corinthians, then the Illyrians and the Athenians. Corfu suffered attacks from pirates while under Byzantine rule, forcing the relocation of the city northward. This did little to halt the invasions of the Vandals and Visigoths, who repeatedly massacred the populations and razed their villages to the ground. The Venetians gave Corfu back its status as an important center of trade and with it a very wealthy market. Venetian rule lasted for more than 400 years, during which time the island was governed by a system of aristocratic rule. The Venetians began the cultivation of olives and to this day, Corfu is one of the main olive oil producing centers in the region. Once the Venetian reign had come to an end, it was the Turks’ turn, then the French and the English, and on 21st May 1864, it was annexed to the Kingdom of Greece. During the Second World War, Corfu was again bombarded and suffered heavy damage. Most of its buildings were destroyed, such as the public theater and the Ionian Academy. Just a few outstanding buildings remain, scattered along the coastline and in the main town and jealously guarded by the local population. Kerkira is the capital, and accommodates around 60,000 of the 110,000 people who live on the island. The city has a splendid skyline with numerous Venetian fortresses and the English Royal Palace. The rest of the island is made up of small settlements, roads that stretch out high above the sea and splendid views of small bays and magnificent cliffs.
- DUBROVNIK, Croatia: A charming port by the Dalmatian coast, set in front of a picturesque hillside, Dubrovnik is one of the most attractive destinations on the Adriatic Riviera. It has been extensively restored since suffering during the Balkan hostilities of the 1990s and, some would say, is more beautiful now than ever. The city’s style and architecture is strongly rooted in its historical Venetian and, to a lesser extent, Turkish influence. This part of the Dalmatian coast played a vital role in the success of the Venetian Republic. The most attractive section of Dubrovnik is the old city, Stan Grad, lined with cobbled streets, fountains, museums and churches. Its Venetian heritage is apparent in the family names of many of the residents. The main division between the two sections of the old city is called ‘stradun’, a word of Venetian origin. The largely intact city wall, some of which was built 700 years ago, is one of the finest examples of its kind in the world. The importance of religion in the city’s past and present culture is reflected in a number of impressive Franciscan and Dominican convents and churches.
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