Italy Intensive Cruise: Venice, Sicily & Amalfi

Experience Venice, one of the most captivating—and romantic—cities in the world. Tour the city’s cobblestone streets and overarching bridges, or take to the water and explore the canals on a water taxi or gondola. As you make your way through the city, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to shop, sample delicious Veneto wines, or people watch in Piazza San Marco.

The “Mosaic City” of Ravenna is renowned for its 1,500-year-old churches, decorated with exquisite Byzantine mosaics of brilliant color, and is also a gateway to other spots with claims to historical fame.

Ancona, a city steeped in more than 2,400 years of history, is yours to discover. Visit towering marble arches, churches built atop ancient temples, and coastal paths that rise above the breathtaking beauty of the Adriatic Sea.

One of Europe’s best-preserved cities of medieval or Renaissance vintage, Kotor’s walls were constructed right into the slopes of the mountain behind it, making it an amazing sight on approach from the sea.

Founded by the Spartans in 706 BC, and known as “the city of the two seas”, Taranto’s long and proud history is set against a countryside of gentle hills and valleys, beautiful stretches of beaches, rocky cliffs, and sapphire-blue waters.

Mountainous and rugged, Sicily’s highest point is the tip of that infamous and still active Mt. Etna, and as a result Catania is richly layered, having been buried under lava seven times in recorded history.

Palermo is a cosmopolitan city, hardly surprising considering its years as everything from a Greek colony to an Arab emirate, not to mention the influences of the Romans, Normans and quite a few others.

Wedged ravine, encircled by sheer cliffs, into the mouth of a facing blue waters and where terraced hillsides support lemon groves (and of course limoncello), Amalfi requires a camera with lots of memory.

A warming sun and gentle sea breezes have been attracting visitors to Sorrento for two millennia, and its reputation as a playground of the ancient rich and famous have resulted in lavish villas and palaces.

Whether it’s tossing a coin in a fabled fountain or being awestruck by the magnificence of St. Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo’s masterpieces, Rome seems to live up to its sobriquet, the Eternal City.