Star Collection: Rome to Athens

2,500 years of history are woven into the fabric of modern Rome. You can feel it in the glory of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Or as you wander sidestreets that open onto piazzas, fountains, Bernini sculpture, and elegant courtyards. Famous treasures are legion in Rome: the Colosseum…the Forum…St. Peter’s Cathedral…the Trevi Fountain…the Spanish Steps. Take time out between sights to do as the Romans do: enjoy a three-hour lunch, shop, people-watch, or savor the best gelati in the world.

This Mediterranean land has been depicted, described and immortalized in song by artists, poets and travelers from every period of history. Along the coast, rugged and inaccessible cliffs soar upwards between beautiful beaches, hidden caves, enchanting bays and sheltered coves. Whereas inland, the high plains, rolling hills and lofty mountains are seared by deep valleys to create a truly unique landscape in which man has also left a clear sign of his remarkable work: the more impervious areas have been modeled into the now-famous terraces, those huge steps descending into the sea on which man has planted vineyards and groves of orange, lemon and olive trees. There are the gardens of delight which exude an inebriating perfume of blossom in spring. The mild climate and predominantly fine weather all year round make the Sorrentine Penisula an ideal destination in any season. The first town in the Peninsula is Vico Equense with its Giusso Castle on the coast and the austere Mont Faito (1400 metres high) which allows you to pass from the sea to the mountain in just a few minutes. Next we find Meta di Sorrento , a town hidden in a maze of alleyways whose small hamlets and sun-drenched beaches are a must for visitors. Piano di Sorrento is a bustling town which harmoniously blends its sea-faring vocation with its rural identity and its role as a major shopping centre. The hill rising up behind the town is traversed by narrow roads flanked by high walls that enclose centuries-old orange and lemon groves.

Giardini Naxos is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Messina on the island of Sicily in southern Italy. It is situated on the coast of the Ionian Sea on a bay which lies between Cape Taormina and Cape Schisò. Since the 1970s it has become a seaside-resort.

Kotor is a fortified town on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, in a bay near the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. Characterized by winding streets and squares, its medieval old town has several Romanesque churches, including Kotor Cathedral. It’s also home to the Maritime Museum, which explores local seafaring history. Sveti Đorđe, one of 2 tiny islands off the ancient town of Perast, features a centuries-old church.

Nestled on the Adriatic coast, Dubrovnik is a beautifully preserved fortifed town. Its ancient medieval walls contain a sparkling white Old City, filled with 15th-century churches, peaceful Franciscan cloisters, a cathedral with works by Raphael and Titian, and a fascinating Maritime Museum. One of Dubrovnik’s main attractions is the sea swim from the quiet, rocky beaches on either end of the city, or catch a boat to the wooded island of Lokrum nearby.

Split is Croatia’s second-largest city and the largest city in the Dalmatia region. It lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is spread over a central peninsula and its surroundings.

Rovinj is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea. It is located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula and is a popular tourist resort and an active fishing port. There is a sizeable community of Italians and the town is officially bilingual (Croatian and Italian). One popular tourist attraction is the church of St. Euphemia. The building process started in 1725, and lasted until 1736. Three main altars were built in 1741, and the organ was installed in 1754. The façade was designed and built in the second half of the 19th century. Many altars and paintings enrich and embelish the church from within.

For centuries,Venice stood at the crossroads of culture between the Byzantine and Roman worlds. The city the great traders and philosophers created is an extraordinary place. From the elegant carved gondolas and vaporetti that ply the Grand Canal to the magnificent Piazza San Marco bustling with life – Venice is unique in all the world. Great works of art are housed here, in the Accademia with its Renaissance masters and the collection of Peggy Guggenheim in her canal-side palazzo. The Basilica di San Marco and the Doge’s Palace are must-sees. After that, follow where your feet take you, over romantic bridges, to shops selling precious glass, to small cafés for a cappuccino or Campari.

Zadar, a city on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, is known for the Roman and Venetian ruins of its peninsular Old Town. There are several Venetian gates in the city walls. Surrounding the Roman-era Forum is 11th-century St. Mary’s Convent, with religious art dating to the 8th century. There’s also the grand, 12th-century St. Anastasia’s Cathedral and the round, 9th-century pre-Romanesque Church of St. Donatus.

Blessed with an abundance of vineyards and perfumed lavendar fields, Hvar is an island that also echoes its rich Venetian past. Among the striking architecture dating to the 17th and 18th centuries, you’ll find one of the oldest theaters in Europe. And the views of the neighboring islands from the fortress are truly unforgettable.

Nestled on the Adriatic coast, Dubrovnik is a beautifully preserved fortifed town. Its ancient medieval walls contain a sparkling white Old City, filled with 15th-century churches, peaceful Franciscan cloisters, a cathedral with works by Raphael and Titian, and a fascinating Maritime Museum. One of Dubrovnik’s main attractions is the sea swim from the quiet, rocky beaches on either end of the city, or catch a boat to the wooded island of Lokrum nearby.

Kotor is a fortified town on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, in a bay near the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. Characterized by winding streets and squares, its medieval old town has several Romanesque churches, including Kotor Cathedral. It’s also home to the Maritime Museum, which explores local seafaring history. Sveti Đorđe, one of 2 tiny islands off the ancient town of Perast, features a centuries-old church.

Kotor is a fortified town on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, in a bay near the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. Characterized by winding streets and squares, its medieval old town has several Romanesque churches, including Kotor Cathedral. It’s also home to the Maritime Museum, which explores local seafaring history. Sveti Đorđe, one of 2 tiny islands off the ancient town of Perast, features a centuries-old church.

Corfu, an island off Greece’s northwest coast in the Ionian Sea, is defined by rugged mountains and a resort-studded shoreline. Its cultural heritage reflects years spent under Venetian, French and British rule before it was united with Greece in 1864. Corfu Town, flanked by 2 imposing Venetian fortresses, features winding medieval lanes, a French-style arcade and the grand Palace of St. Michael and St. George.

Katakolon is the gateway to Olympia, site of the first Olympic games which began in 776 B.C. Olympia was as a sacred precinct built exclusively for the quadrennial games dedicated to Zeus during which all hostilities were ceased in the name of athletic competition. Much was destroyed when the games were outlawed as a pagan festival in 393 A.D., but visitors can still see the Temple of Zeus and the 45,000 seat stadium. The Archaeological Museum houses sculptures, including the famous -Winged Victory.

Situated near the site of ancient Sparta, the ancient castles and fortresses, faded palaces and narrow byways are more reminiscent of the city’s Byzantine and Venetian days.

Above the city, looking out towards the blue Aegean, stands the Acropolis. Here lie the ruins of a culture 2,500 years old: the Propylaea; the Temple of Athena Nike; the Erechtheum temple, and, most famous of all, the Parthenon. Meanwhile, modern Athens buzzes busily below, a city of chic restaurants, lively bazaars, sophisticated banking, historical museums, and the sights and smells of the Plaka district.