Spirit, Voyage 5219/5225 ex Venice to Monte Carlo

7 Night Cruise sailing from Venice to Monte Carlo aboard Silver Spirit.

The greatest journeys often begin as a quest. To expand our horizons, to grow, to delve into new worlds. To find the missing or hidden even when beyond the reach of most.

In December 2009, Silversea presented their newestluxury cruise ship — Silver Spirit — with more verandas, more dining choices, more onboard amenities, more of the excellence you've come to expect of Silversea. An answer to your quest.

Venice
It's called La Serenissima, "the most serene," a reference to the majesty, wisdom, and monstrous power of this city that was for centuries the unrivaled mistress of trade between Europe and the Orient and the bulwark of Christendom against the tides of Ottoman expansion. Built entirely on water by men who defied the sea, Venice is unlike any other town. No matter how many times you've seen it in movies or on television, the real thing is more dreamlike than you could ever imagine. Its landmarks, the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale, are exotic mixes of Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. Shimmering sunlight and silvery mist soften every perspective here, and you understand how the city became renowned in the Renaissance for its artists' rendering of color. It's full of secrets, inexpressibly romantic, and at times given over entirely to pleasure.

Dubrovnik
Commanding a splendid coastal location, Dubrovnik is one of the world's most beautiful fortified cities. Its massive stone ramparts and splendid fortress towers curve around a tiny harbor, enclosing graduated ridges of sun-bleached orange-tiled roofs, copper domes, and elegant bell towers. In the 7th century AD, residents of the Roman city Epidaurum (now Cavtat) fled the Avars and Slavs of the north and founded a new settlement on a small rocky island, which they named Laus, and later Ragusa. On the mainland hillside opposite the island, the Slav settlement called Dubrovnik grew up. In the 12th century, the narrow channel separating the two settlements was filled in, and Ragusa and Dubrovnik became one. The city was surrounded by defensive walls during the 13th century, and these were reinforced with towers and bastions during the late 15th century. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. During the war for independence, it came under heavy siege, though thanks to careful restoration work, few traces of damage remain. Today Dubrovnik is once again a fashionable, high-class destination.

Messina
Situated at the northern end of the Straits of Messina, the port of Messina is the natural entrance to Sicily. Although boasting a history of 3,000 years, the city you see today is completely modern, having been almost entirely rebuilt after its destruction by a major earthquake in 1908 that killed nearly half of Messina's population.

A town of some 300,000 inhabitants today, Messina is the third largest city in Sicily after Palermo and Catania. When Messina was rebuilt, focus was put on exceptionally broad streets and low buildings to minimize damage by future earthquakes. The town is connected to mainland Italy across the Straits of Messina by train and car ferry service as well as hydrofoils.

Among Messina's main attractions is the Duomo. Dating from the 12th century, the church was completely reconstructed after the 1908 earthquake. An astronomical clock in the bell tower is reputed to be one of the largest of its kind in the world. Although frequently under repairs, it normally has a host of gilded automatons spring into action every day at 12 noon.

Messina is the birthplace of the great Renaissance painter, Antonello da Messina, whose works, along with two large Caravaggios, can be seen at the Regional Museum. Visitors find Messina a convenient starting point for excursions to Taormina and Mt. Etna.

Sorrento
As you journey down the fabled Amalfi Coast, the route takes you past rocky cliffs plunging into the sea and small boats lying in sandy coves like brightly colored fish. Erosion has contorted the rocks into shapes resembling figures from mythology and hollowed out fairy grottoes where the air is turquoise and the water an icy blue. White villages dripping with flowers nestle in coves or climb like vines up the steep, terraced hills. Lemon trees abound, loaded with blossom or fruit—and netting in winter to protect the fruit. The inhabitants jest that they look after their lemons better than their children. The road must have a thousand turns, each with a different view, on its dizzying 69-km (43-mi) journey from Sorrento to Salerno. Venture north, and you can fall under the spell of Pompeii's silent streets, frozen in time under the dust of 25 centuries.

Bonifacio
"Where the mountains meet the sea," the beautiful island of Corsica, set in the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean between Italy and France, is steeped in history.

At the tip of Corsica is the ancient fortress town of Bonifacio. Its superb location on a narrow peninsula of white limestone at Corsica's southernmost point creates a sight unlike any other on the island. Bonifacio was established in the 12th century by the Genoese as their Corsican stronghold against the Moors; an earlier settlement existed here during Roman times. The name originated with Count Bonifacio of Tuscany, who built a castle on the peninsula in 828. To this day, the Italian influence is very strong.

Bonifacio is one of Corsica's most beautiful towns and comes as a lovely surprise to many first-time visitors. It comprises the upper town, or Haute-Ville, and the lower town, consisting of the port, a marina and numerous restaurants and souvenir shops. The main attractions are located in the upper town, which is surrounded by enormous battlements. A flight of 100 steps, in addition to a gentler incline of a roadway, leads to the upper town. The narrow, cobblestone streets are lined by stately buildings, many of which house attractive shops and quaint restaurants.

Monte Carlo
In 1297, the Grimaldi family seized this fortified town and, except for a short break under Napoléon, they have ruled here ever since. The Principality of Monaco covers 473 acres; it would fit comfortably inside New York's Central Park. The Grimaldis made money from gambling and attracted a well-heeled, monied crowd, and the whole world watched as Hollywood movie star Grace Kelly wed Prince Rainier, ruler of Monaco, to put this place on the map. It's the very favorable tax system, not the gambling, that makes Monaco one of the most sought-after addresses in the world, and the principality bristles with gleaming high-rise apartment complexes owned by tax-exiles. But at the town's great 1864 landmark Hôtel de Paris—still a veritable crossroads of the buffed and befurred Euro-gentry—at the Opéra, or in the ballrooms of the Casino, you'll still be able to conjure up Monaco's belle epoque.

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