COSTA DELIZIOSA CRUISE - CANARY ISLANDS CRUISE

11 Night Cruise sailing from Savona roundtrip aboard Costa Deliziosa.

Designed to fascinate, but also to satisfy every desire, Costa Deliziosa - the new diamond of the fleet - has
been created to offer a unique sensory experience.
Every detail on board the Costa Deliziosa is dedicated to the pleasure of the guests on board: from the furniture to the art collections, or the grand spa area to the mastery of the great chefs.

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain with three million inhabitants, a dominating port in northern Mediterranean with one of the most renowned and importantuniversities in the world. The city is a very rich commercial centre, where industrial operations crucial to the Spanish economy take place.
In fact, Catalans have always considered their region unique compared with the other Spanish regions and we can find its roots in the power exercised byBarcelona for four hundred years at least on Spanish monarchy and on European commercial events.
Similarly to Genoa and Venice, the city developed its fortune in the Middle Ages thanks to its port. The first Spanish shipyards were built in Barcelona, banks and Catalan merchants flourished andfor a long time remained the most powerful in the Old World. For Barcelona the sea is very important. Catalan attorneys drafted the first code of European maritime laws. Despite some momentary economic crisis, Barcelona confirmed its economic leadership last century with the creation of large industries and arriving at end of the millennium in a position of great advantage compared with other Spanish cities, confirmed by the recent Olympic Games which involved investments and structures amounting to hundreds of billions in Catalonia.
Barcelona has also become one of the most active cities in culture in the Mediterranean. In the streets, particularly in the famous Ramblas, there is a true cult for art in the street. Decorators, "madonnari" (painters of Madonnas), craftsmen and engravers manufacture in just a few minutes their personalised craftwork according to the customers' taste,often tourists. The university centre has attracted many young people and accordingly underground art, music and bars open all night. A true cosmopolitan city offering a very wide range of tourist attractions.
Views of Barcelona from the surroundings are extraordinary. Montjuich Hill gives a beautiful view of the city and the famous Formula 1 racetrack and a large part of the Olympic Village are situated there.
In the port, cargo traffic averages 20 million tons, and it is very close to the centre where it can be reached through the typical ramblas. The Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Eulalia, the city's patron represents the most important religious centre, even though the most famous church is undoubtedly the Sagrada Familia, started in 1882 and never completed by the great architect Antonio Gaudì who conceived it as a large architectural structure with three façades representing the Nativity, Passion and Death of Christ. The Barrio Gotico is the most ancient part of the city, dominated by the Cathedral. The Carrer de Montcada Picasso Museum is here, the richest in the world as to number of masterpieces. Park Guell is also very beautiful although incomplete, designed by Gaudí and meant to become a residential garden town.

Malaga
The city of Malaga is today a bustling Andalusian tourist centre with a thriving agricultural market for the fruit and wine industries. In centuries gone by Malaga attracted the attention of some of the Mediterranean's most powerful forces, including the Phoenicians, Arabs, Carthaginians and Visigoths. The Arabs considered Malaga the Garden of Eden and built several homes there, which perhaps explains their relatively non-aggressive attitude towards the region. Before them, the Phoenicians, who first discovered the coastline, felt the same sense of tranquillity, building the first village (the origin of the name is the Phoenician 'malak') in the area. For an extensive period, Malaga was then governed by the Carthaginians, eventually abandoning it in the face of invasion by the Visigoths.
Malaga is also the main access to Granada and the magnificent Alhambra Palace, the fortified mediaeval royal city, a masterpiece of Islamic art. The incredible preservation of the Palace, built on a hill 150 metres above Granada, is significantly due to Queen Isabella II who was responsible for its restoration after a period of neglect. The palace fortress, the 11th Century Alcazaba, offers splendid views of Granada from its towers.
One of the highlights inside the palace, Spain's most visited monument, is Myrtle court, the sultan's apartments and a masterpiece of Moorish art. It is named after the myrtle bushes surrounding a central rectangle which, with a harem and a court of 12 black marble lions and central fountain, form the heart of the quarters. Set in the gardens of the Alhambra is the Generalife, the summer residence of the sultans. The eastern atmosphere is complemented with high columns, supporting magnificent arcades, a charming courtyard and a central pond with fountains. Its surroundings include orange trees, myrtle and laurel bushes and beautiful flowers.
Also accessible from Malaga is the sophisticated tourist resort of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, which offers visitors a beautiful beach, historic town centre and some exquisite shops. The cuisine of Andalusia is rich and varied. Specialities on the coast include seafood and spiced meats, accompanied by some of Europe's best wines.

Rome
The first evidence of settlement in the area of Civitavecchia relates to the ancient town of Centocelle, once the port for Ethruria and a rich market centre. Pliny the Younger refers in his writings to Centocelle as the venue of a peace council held by the emperor Trajan.
Centocelle takes its name from the style of village houses, which resembled hives with small cells, and the tiny bays along the coast that enabled ships to come and go. Due to its sheltered surroundings and easy access to the sea, Trajan built his most extravagant villa in the vicinity, mentioned by Pliny. The basic structure of the port first developed by Trajan still remains.
When the port of Ostia at the mouth of the River Tiber became insufficient to handle the maritime traffic to Rome, Civitavecchia took its place. The distinctive shape of the port is attributed to the architect Apollodoro who decorated the original structure with engravings and statues. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Civitavecchia maintained its maritime importance and in a few centuries had become the most important port in the Thyrrenian, competing for supremacy with Pisa and attracting the attention of Turkish pirates.
The port today manages light commercial and passenger traffic to the Thyerrenian islands, while the mediaeval centre of Civitavecchia is still well preserved.

Casablanca, Morocco
The image of Casablanca immortalised by Humphrey Bogart in the 1942 classic Hollywood film is of a city shrouded in intrigue, with a spy around every corner. In fact, Casablanca is a bustling, sophisticated modern city with one of the largest and busiest ports in Africa. Portuguese, Arab, Spanish and French influences give the city a particular, and unique, charm.
Morocco gained independence in 1955, under the leadership of King Mohammed V, who died within hours of his country's liberation. Since independence, Casablanca city has developed to become one of the country's industrial heartlands. With the surrounding area, the population of Casablanca is some four million inhabitants. The oldest part of the city is the ancient quarter of Medina, an intricate network of alleyways built on the remains of the legendary town of Anfa. In the centre of Medina is the Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world and the second most important Islamic centre after Mecca. The charm of old Medina is complemented by the modernity of the surrounding city. Any full tour of Casablanca would not be complete without a journey along the Corniche, a coastal highway through the wealthy quarter of Anfa, a centre of the city's nightlife with a multitude of bars and restaurants. A short distance from Casablanca is Rabat and the splendid Islamic attractions of the Royal Palace, the Mausoleum of Mohamed V and Hassan Tower, a classical example of Islamic architecture.
Casablanca has much to offer shopping fans, particularly those willing to bargain. Specialities to look out for include Moroccan carpets, leatherwear, ceremonial daggers, mother of pearl furniture, and traditional caftans. And when hunger strikes, traditional couscous will satisfy most appetites, accompanied by a refreshing glass of mint tea.

St. Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands
Santa Cruz de Tenerife has all the characteristics of a Spanish city, with a population of some 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the island of Tenerife in the Canary Island and of the province bearing the same name, including La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro.
A tranquil and friendly city, Santa Cruz features some markets in its busy squares and streets. Another highlight of the city are its gardens, such as García Sanabria Park, where the local inhabitants go to take a relaxing stroll, read a book, listen to music, or appreciate the permanent exhibition of sculptures by Moore and masterpieces by the most celebrated artist in the Canaries, José Abad.
Outside this charming natural 'open-air museum' the city is engaged in the typical day-to-day activities of an island port. Santa Cruz is at the ocean crossroads on the way to or from America and a shelter for ships requiring repairs, and a point of rest for their crews. The city bay embraces the sea as if in the shape of two arms extended in welcome. As well as its natural charm and the relaxed outlook of the local population, always able to make strangers feel at ease, Santa Cruz is rich in architectural highlights. Among these are Concepcion Church, which preserves many features of the period during which Santa Cruz was at the centre of terrible conflicts, and Saint Franciscus Church, a magnificent example of the Hispanic-Portuguese Baroque style of the 17th Century.
The La Carta Palace was built in the same style and period. There are also many elegant houses and castles built for nobility, such as the grand Il Cabildo, San Juan. It is situated only a few minutes' walk from the charming San Andrès beach, where fishermen used to sleep on the sand between trips out to sea. The houses of San Andrès, once a poor man's refuge, are now only for the wealthy.

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