Marella Explorer - September 27, 2024

Though once ruled by Venetian doges, Turkish sultans and French invaders, today's Corfiot citizen is as Greek as they come. Marvel at the 17th-century icons in St. George's Church, the medieval Palace of Phrourio or the 19th-century Achilleion Palace. The greenest of the Greek Isles, Corfu also boasts thriving vineyards and olive orchards among its rugged mountains.

This natural harbor on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro was an important artistic and commercial center with famous masonry and iconography schools in the Middle Ages. A large number of its monuments, among which four Romanesque churches and the town walls, were heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1979 but the town is now completely restored.

Take advantage of the many on board activites during your day at sea. You'll have more than enough to fill your day!

The setting for Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Messina has much to offer in the way of history. Its dramatic, boulder-filled harbor has challenged navigators since the days of Ulysses. Try to visit the city's Bell Tower at the stroke of noon--the hour when one of the world's largest and most fanciful mechanical clocks springs into action. Messina's museum is also noteworthy for its Renaissance masterworks.

Taranto is located at the base of the Salentine Pennisula in southeastern Italy and was one of the the leading colonial cities of Magna Graecia and was under consant attack until the end of World War II. Recent exploration of the city's tombs have found a rich collection of Greek and Tarantian vases and hundreds of statuettes of Apollo, which are now housed in Taranto's National Museum. Visit the Roman baths and other Roman ruins, as well as the Aragonese Castle and the Baroque-styled Cataldo Cathedral in the old city.

Though once ruled by Venetian doges, Turkish sultans and French invaders, today's Corfiot citizen is as Greek as they come. Marvel at the 17th-century icons in St. George's Church, the medieval Palace of Phrourio or the 19th-century Achilleion Palace. The greenest of the Greek Isles, Corfu also boasts thriving vineyards and olive orchards among its rugged mountains.