Western Mediterranean Passage

According to the popular 1960 beach movie, Fort Lauderdale is “where the boys are.” The city’s reputation as America’s Spring Break capital, however, has been replaced with the more favorable image of a prime family tourist destination, attracting more than 10 million visitors annually. The most popular beach resort in Florida is even more rightly famed as the “Yachting Capital of the World,” with more than 40,000 registered crafts calling its waters home. The city also prides itself on being the “Venice of America” with more than 300 miles of navigable waterways. Fort Lauderdale boasts world-class theaters, museums, sightseeing, and shopping.

Rising from the depths of the Atlantic, the rugged, volcanic Azores lie 800 miles off the coast of Portugal. Colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, the nine islands have provided a haven to Atlantic mariners for over five centuries. The Azores offer travelers spectacular landscapes that range from lush meadows fringed with brightly colored hydrangea to ancient caldera filled with lakes. And the many small villages and shops retain an otherworldly air and 18th-century charm.

Ponta Delgada is located on São Miguel, the largest of the nine Azores. The island’s rich volcanic soil sustains fields of tobacco and tea, vineyards, and pineapple greenhouses. The Azores are also noted for fine crafts, particularly basketry and pottery.

The Rock crouches over the sea like an ancient stone beast, looking Sphinx-like to Africa. Beneath the white cliffs of this natural fortress grows a profusion of palm, pine, and cypress. No fewer than 600 varieties of flowers thrive here, some not found anywhere else on Earth. Gibraltar’s stunning setting is matched by its history – five countries have battled for 13 centuries to control the passage between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The result made for a cultural melting pot. Veiled Moroccan women in caftans and vacationing Englishmen and Spaniards stroll along the narrow, steep lanes. The locals revert to a liquid Spanish when talking among themselves. And visitors to a 15th-century cathedral pass through a blue-tiled courtyard, once part of a 13th-century mosque.

In 1811, Napoleon Bonaparte – then Napoleon I, Emperor of the French – made Corsica a department of France. He also moved the capital from Bastia to his hometown of Ajaccio.

The capital of Corsica, Ajaccio is the island’s largest town (although we know that the capital of Corsica is Paris, and Ajaccio & Bastia are roughly the same size) – and the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. One can stroll past the cathedral where the future emperor was baptized–the Casa Bonaparte is a museum devoted to the imperial glory. But Corsica is also the “scented isle” – a place of dramatic shoreline cliffs, small coves, and golden beaches. The island interior consists of stony mountains carpeted in macchia, a low, thick, chaparral comprised of aromatic Corsican mint, rock roses, and myrtle. Everywhere you’ll discover traces of the island’s long and colorful history, from medieval walled towns to seaside villages guarded by 16th-century towers. Though the island has been part of France since the late 18th century, Corsica retains its own distinct culture and flavor.

Your gateway to the Eternal City, Civitavecchia has served as Rome’s seaport since the 13th century. The port has a long and venerable history. The emperor Trajan built a pleasure villa near the modern city, while Bernini and Michelangelo designed the harbor fortifications.

Yet the Eternal City eternally beckons. The ancient capital of the Western World and the center of Christianity for nearly 2,000 years, Rome provides an inexhaustible feast. Visit the ruins of the Forum, view the splendors of the Sistine Chapel, or climb the Spanish Steps, once the heart of Rome’s Bohemian Quarter.

Rome has been a magnet luring the world’s greatest artists, architects, and philosophers since the days of the Caesars.