Paintings by Caravaggio seen on the cruise
Rome. S. Luigi dei Francesi, Calling of St Matthew, Martyrdom of St Matthew, St Matthew and the Angel. S. Maria del Popolo, Conversion of St Paul, Crucifixion of St Peter. S. Agostino, Madonna of Loreto. Galleria Borghese, Madonna and Child with St Anne, St John the Baptist, Sick Bacchus, St Jerome in his Study, David with the Head of Goliath. Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Mary Magdalene, Rest on the Flight into Egypt.
Naples. Capodimonte, Flagellation of Christ. Banca Commerciale Italiana, Martyrdom of St Ursula. Pia Monte della Misericordia, Seven Acts of Mercy.
Messina. Museo Regionale, Resurrection of Lazarus, Adoration of the Shepherds.
Syracuse. Sta Lucia, Burial of St Lucy.
Valletta. Co-Cathedral of St John, Beheading of St John the Baptist, St Jerome.
Note that some may not be accessible due to loans to exhibitions, restoration or unforeseen closure.
Others seen in Rome on the pre-cruise Caravaggio or Rome tours: Palazzo Barberini, Judith and Holofernes, Narcissus, St Francis in Meditation. Pinacoteca Capitolina, St John the Baptist. Casino Ludovisi, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto. Vatican Pinacoteca, Entombment of Christ.
Pre-cruise tours and stays
The pre-cruise tour Caravaggio, Lombardy to Rome is described in outline elsewhere. There is also the option of flying into Rome a day or two before the programme begins for independent time in the city.
Day 1: Rome
There is a choice of scheduled flights to Rome from London (see page 24). Coaches take participants from the airport to hotels in the city centre. The first night is spent in Rome.
For those on earlier flights there is the opportunity to view Caravaggio’s
St Matthew cycle in S. Luigi dei Francesi, the commission which made his name. There may also be time to visit the church of S. Agostino to see Caravaggio’s
Madonna of Loreto.
The Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj is one of the largest and most lavishly furnished of Roman palaces. The outstanding picture collection includes Caravaggio’s hauntingly beautiful
Rest on the Flight to Egypt.
Concert. There is a fifty-minute concert of Baroque music composed in Rome. The performers are the internationally renowned period instrument ensemble L’Arte dell’Arco.
Dinner is in selected restaurants and the night is spent in one of several hotels in Rome.
Day 2: Rome, Civitavecchia
After an introductory talk, visit Sta Maria del Popolo where there are two dramatic paintings by Caravaggio,
Conversion of St Paul and
Crucifixion of St Peter. For those who missed it yesterday, there is the option of seeing Caravaggio’s
Life of St Matthew in S. Luigi dei Francesi.
Lunch is provided in self-service restaurants near the Piazza del Popolo.
In the afternoon participants converge on the Galleria Borghese, which is opened exclusively for us on its usual closing day. One of the most lavish of Baroque villas, it houses an extraordinarily rich art collection including sculptures by Bernini and five paintings by Caravaggio.
Then drive to the port of Civitavecchia, embark on MS Columbus and sail at 7.00 pm.
Days 3: Naples
Moor at Naples within walking distance of the historic centre.
A major Greek and Roman settlement, the most populous city in Europe in the early modern period, an important Grand Tour destination and capital of the largest state in pre-unification Italy, Naples is richly endowed with art and architecture.
In the morning there is the option of a guided walk to key monuments in the city centre including the Gothic church of Santa Chiara with its tile-encrusted cloister, the extraordinarily affecting and exuberant Baroque sculpture in the Capella di San Severo and the sumptuously decorated cathedral of S. Gennaro. Subject to special arrangement, see Caravaggio’s
Martyrdom of St Ursula in a private collection.
In the afternoon visit the grandiose royal hunting lodge at Capodimonte which now houses one of the finest art collections in Italy; it includes
Flagellation of Christ by Caravaggio.
Concert. There is an early evening concert in the chapel of Pio Monte della Misericordia with the Tallis Scholars, the world’s leading Renaissance polyphony ensemble. The programme includes music by Gesualdo, an aristocratic Neapolitan contemporary of Caravaggio, whose
Seven Works of Mercy forms the backdrop to the performance.
Day 4: Naples or Pompeii or Vesuvius
Those who are not on the out-of-town excursions can in the morning join a tour of the centre of Naples or visit the Museo Nazionale. This is among the greatest archaeological museums in the world, many of its exhibits having been unearthed in Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Alternatively, there are two optional all-day excursions to choose from, to Vesuvius and to Pompeii and Herculaneum. These have limited capacity and need to be booked in advance. There is a charge of £45 which includes lunch ashore.
The Vesuvius excursion includes the rim of the crater (volcanic activity permitting), the observatory and various geological phenomena.The Villa Oplontis, possibly belonging to Poppea, Nero’s wife, is a spectacular excavation and well shows the impact of the ad 79 lava flow.
The other visits Pompeii and Herculaneum, the cities buried in the earthquake of ad 79. Paradoxically, their sudden obliteration preserved them with a completeness which has no parallel with any other archaeological site in the world.
Sail from Naples at 11.00 pm.
Day 5: Agropoli, Paestum
Moor at Agropoli early in the morning.
Poseidonia (Paestum) was founded by Greek colonists around 600 bc on an alluvial plain and soon benefited from the proceeds of agricultural abundance. Its three temples are among the best-preserved in the entire Greek world, partly because from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century they were shielded from sight by dense vegetation. The largest, hypothetically dedicated to Poseidon, became highly influential among Neo-Classical architects and it is still judged to be the finest of all purely Doric temples.
Sail at 2.30 pm for Sicily.
Day 6: Messina, Reggio di Calabbria; Taormina; Etna
Situated on the northeast apex of Sicily, the port of Messina was one of Caravaggio’s Sicilian refuges. The Museo Regionale houses his Resurrection of Lazarus and Adoration of the Shepherds. The restored Romanesque cathedral is among the other things to see in this lively city, where you can have free time for the rest of the day if you wish.
Reggio di Calabria. Unless you opt for the Etna or Taormina excursions, there is the opportunity of crossing by hydrofoil to Reggio di Calabria on mainland Italy to see the Riace Bronzes, two over-life-size male nudes, among the finest ancient Greek sculptures to survive.
Taormina option. After visiting the Messina museum, drive to Taormina by coach (km 48) for free time there. A very attractive hilltop town, from the well-preserved Roman theatre there are views over the sea to Calabria and inland to Mount Etna. It was one of the first seaside resorts in Italy and remains one of the most prestigious. Lunch is not included.
Mount Etna. An all-day excursion examines one of the world’s largest active volcanoes. Recent geological activity precludes reaching the lip of the main crater but we shall strive to get as high as practicable. There is a charge for this excursion, which must be booked in advance, of £95 which includes lunch, 4x4 truck and cable car. It is not suitable for people with any breathing difficulties or who are susceptible to altitude sickness.
Sail at 7.00 pm for Palermo via the Aeolian Islands, a group of volcanic outcrops. Stromboli is the most consistently active of Europe’s volcanoes, shooting showers of sparks every twenty minutes or so, best seen at night (we pass c. 10.00 pm; visibility is dependent on the weather).
Day 7: Palermo
PALERMO. The capital of Sicily since the Arab occupation in the ninth century, Palermo is a vibrant, busy city with a cross-section of the art and architecture accrued from the extraordinary range of peoples and civilizations which have made their home on the island.
There are a number of excursions to choose from today. One is devoted to the buildings from the time of Norman rule in the 12th century, a unique blend of French Romanesque, Byzantine mosaics and Saracenic detailing. The Palatine Chapel and Hall of King Roger (under restoration but a private visit is possible) are the outstanding examples, and in the afternoon there is the option of visiting the magnificent Siculo-Norman cathedral at Monreale. The Archaeological Museum has an important collection, especially of Greek sculpture, and there is a fine art gallery in the Renaissance Palazzo Abatellis. Churches and palaces of all ages abound, but Baroque is predominant.
Sail at midnight.
Day 8: Trapani, Segesta
Moor at Trapani on the west coast of Sicily. There is free time in the morning at this pleasant little seaside town.
Set in an unspoilt hilly landscape, the almost complete but fascinatingly unfinished fifth-century temple at Segesta was built by the indigenous if thoroughly Hellenized people. On an adjacent, higher hill is a theatre with views to the sea.
Sail at 5.00 pm for Syracuse.
Day 9: Syracuse
Founded by Corinthian colonists in 733 bc around a fine natural harbour, Greek Syracuse grew into the wealthiest of all the cities in Magna Graecia and therefore in Europe. The heart of the ancient city is now an island, Ortygia. Here are the ruins of the oldest Doric temple in the Greek west while another owes its preservation to conversion into the present-day cathedral. On the mainland there is a well-conserved theatre. The Piazza del Duomo and surrounding streets have many fine Baroque buildings. For Sta Lucia Caravaggio painted an altarpiece,
Martyrdom of St Lucy.
There is free time in the afternoon. There is plenty more to see and do in one of Sicily’s most attractive towns. At the end of the afternoon there is a visit to a private palace.
Sail from Syracuse at 10.00 pm.
Day 10: Agrigento
Moor at Porto Empedocle and drive to Agrigento.
As if making up for a relatively late foundation (580 BC), the colony of Akragas rose rapidly to riches and constructed the largest group of peripteral temples in the Greek world, seven on elevated sites within the city walls and an eighth outside. That dedicated to Olympian Zeus was the largest of all Doric temples before being felled by Carthaginians and earthquakes, while the Temple ‘of Concord’ is the best preserved in the west. The ‘Valley of the Temples’ is one of the great sights bequeathed by the ancient world.
Sail at 2.00 pm and moor in the Grand Harbour of Valletta around 11.00 pm.
Day 11: Valletta and sites in Malta
After their retreat from the eastern Mediterranean before the all-conquering Turks, the Knights of the Order of St John found refuge on Malta. Here in 1565, against overwhelming odds, they survived an Ottoman siege. For the next two hundred years the ensuing rebuilding campaign turned the capital, Valletta, into one of the most impressive Baroque cities in Europe, and spread across the island fine churches, grand palaces and fortifications unsurpassed for splendour and impregnability.
Caravaggio fled here from Naples and before he was obliged hurriedly to depart again he so impressed the Knights with his art that he was invited to join the Order. His
Beheading of St John, which has been described as ‘the painting of the century’, remains in the oratory for which it was painted. Also in Valletta there is the opportunity to see one of the palaces of the Knights and the Grand Hospital with the longest hall in Europe.
Outside Valletta sights include the beautiful, unspoilt citadel of Mdina, Malta’s ancient capital, and the church at Mosta, Europe’s third widest masonry dome. Of great international importance are the Tarxien ‘temples’ and the Hypogeum, approached through pleasant countryside and located by the sea at the top of high cliffs. (Numbers are limited on the excursions to the archaeological sites and they must be pre-booked.)
Concert. Vivaldi specialists La Serenissima play Baroque music in the 1731 Manoel Theatre.
Day 12: Valletta, Malta
In the morning there is free time or the opportunity to join one of the excursions described above.
Sail at 1.00 pm for La Goulette, the port of Tunis (Tunisia).
Day 13: Tunis
Here the cruise ends. Depending on flight schedules, there may be time to visit the old medina of Tunis or the magnificent collection of Roman mosaics at the Bardo Museum. Return to a London airport in the afternoon on a specially chartered flight.