ANCIENT ISLANDS AND CITIES June 18 to 27, 2020 a program of the stanford alumni association What could possibly be more exciting than skimming across the blue Mediterranean at full sail on a three-masted ship, en route to an ancient port or a storied island you’ve always dreamed of visiting? Add to this the opportunity to hear intriguing lectures by Stanford professor Marsh McCall, who will illuminate the history behind these picturesque islands and seaside ruins. Aboard the newly refurbished Le Ponant, we’ll visit seven ports of call in France and Italy. Learn about ancient cultures, stroll through quaint medieval towns, admire modern art and architecture, and taste the fabulous food and wines of this prolific region. Best of all, enjoy all this while relaxing in the summer sunshine. We hope you’ll join us on this modern odyssey. BRETT S. THOMPSON, ’83, DIRECTOR, STANFORD TRAVEL/STUDY VOLTERRA, ITALY Highlights WALK in the footsteps of ADMIRE the works of EXPLORE the spectacular STROLL through a the ancient Etruscans of several renowned 20th- coastal cliffs and hiking trails nuraghe, a Bronze Age Volterra, wandering through century artists in St. Paul of the Cinque Terre, five settlement complete with archaeological ruins while de Vence on the French pastel-hued fishing villages intact megalithic stone learning about the early Riviera. linked by footpaths. towers, on Sardinia. civilization in Italy. COVER: CAMOGLIA, ITALY Faculty Leader Classics professor MARSH MCCALL decided he would become a teacher when he was in the third grade and went on to fulfill that desire, introducing legions of university students to the study of classics during a decades-long professorship at Stanford. Long one of Travel/Study’s most popular faculty leaders, Professor McCall has enchanted several thousand participants on more than 40 Travel/Study programs with his lectures and on-site readings of classical literature. Professor McCall writes, “When Susan and I were invited by Travel/Study to lead this program, our hearts leapt. The itinerary is delicious, and the presence of four major ancient cultures in such “Marsh McCall a relatively small geographical area is irresistible. As we move from the wonders of Nice and its is a marvelous environs boarding our gorgeous ship and crisscrossing between islands and the mainland and then back to Nice, we will encounter the Romans, Greeks, Carthaginians and Etruscans as they human being strive for economic and military supremacy in the western Mediterranean—not to mention all the other cultures and matters that we will learn about from our expert guides.” During this program, and a great Professor McCall will lecture on Rome and Hannibal the Great, touching on how Rome almost teacher. He came to an early demise; the Etruscans of ancient Italy; and Virgil’s Aeneid. — Stanford professor of classics since 1976; former chair, classics department; associate brought the dean, undergraduate studies; chair, Western culture program committee; and founding sites we dean, Continuing Studies — Recipient of Stanford’s Dinkelspiel Award for outstanding service to undergraduate visited alive.” education, the Lyman Award for faculty volunteer service, the Phi Beta Kappa Award, and the School of Humanities and Sciences Lifetime Teaching Award MARY FIEDLER, ELIZABETHNEW ZEALAND WEBB, BY — PhD, classics, Harvard University MAPRIVATE ’65, SICILY, AIR, 2011 2018 SIGN UP ONLINE: alumni.stanford.edu/trip?med2020 OR BY PHONE: (650) 725-1093 ALGHERO, SARDINIA, ITALY Genoa Cinque Terre Adriatic FRANCE Porto Venere Nice Sea St-Paul de Vence Livorno Volterra I TALY CORSICA Ajaccio Aléria Mediterranean Sea SARDINIA Alghero ST. PAUL DE VENCE, FRANCE SUNDAY, JUNE 21 MONDAY, JUNE 22 TUESDAY, JUNE 23 GENOA, ITALY CINQUE TERRE / LIVORNO / VOLTERRA Itinerary Drop anchor in the port city and PORTO VENERE After docking in Livorno, drive capital of Liguria, Genoa, and Start this morning at Cinque to the site of Volterra, an ancient Terre, five coastal villages situated THURSDAY & FRIDAY, explore its historic city center, an city of the Etruscans. Visit the on isolated, cliff-bound islets JUNE 18 & 19 intricate maze of alleyways and well-preserved city walls that DEPART U.S. / small piazzas. Amble along Via in Liguria, connected only by weave throughout the city center, NICE, FRANCE Garibaldi, the “Strada Nuova.” footpaths, small roads and a and also visit the Roman site, Depart the U.S. on overnight A UNESCO World Heritage train. Each village has its own including the amphitheater and flights, arriving in Nice on site, it was a gathering place personality and attractions, and Guarnacci Museum. Once a Friday and transferring to our for the city’s most important we will visit several of them. private collection, the museum hotel. Gather for a welcome families, dating back to the Riomaggiore sits wedged into a features a large number of cocktail reception this evening. 16th century. Continue to the hillside, a collage of picturesque funerary urns, the tomb of a HYATT REGENCY PALAIS DEL LA Palazzo Bianco, which houses and colorful abodes. Manarola is warrior prince from Poggio alle MÉDITERRANÉE an important collection of Italian considered the oldest site of the Croci and an Etruscan bronze and European paintings from Cinque Terre and is famed for its bust called the Testa Lorenzini. SATURDAY, JUNE 20 the 16th to 18th centuries: Italian many lemon trees that frame the LE PONANT (B,L,D) NICE / ST. PAUL DE view of the coastline for visitors VENCE / EMBARK (Caravaggio, Veronese), Flemish and inhabitants. By comparison, Today we tour St. Paul de Vence, (Memling, Rubens, Van Dyck), Corniglia is the only city a medieval village that became Dutch (Steen), French (Vouet, not situated an artists’ retreat in the 1920s. Lancret), and Spanish (Zurbaran, on the coast Largely rebuilt by François I in Murillo) painters, as well as a vast and, instead, 1537, the fortified town reveals collection of Genoese masters is surrounded the ramparts that once defended (Magnasco, Cambiaso, Strozzi, by vineyards. it and affords a spectacular Piola). Stroll past the striking Vernazza, has view of the mountains and sea. Cathedral of San Lorenzo, then the imposing Visit the Maeght Foundation, continue on to visit Palazzo Doria Castle whose modern building displays Rosso, decorated with frescoes and fortress, as an acclaimed collection of by some of the greatest Ligurian well as the city’s 20th-century works by artists, painters of the 17th century. ancient church. including Braque, Chagall, Miró Also view artifacts and relics And Monterosso and Picasso. Following lunch, associated with the cult of John is known for its return to Nice to embark our ship. the Baptist, Genoa’s patron saint. beautiful beach. After settling in gather for dinner LE PONANT (B,L,D) LE PONANT (B,L,D) onboard. LE PONANT (B,L,D) ST. PAUL DE VENCE, FRANCE SAN LORENZO, GENOA, ITALY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 THURSDAY, JUNE 25 FRIDAY, JUNE 26 Continue to the Cathedral of ALÉRIA, CORSICA, ALGHERO, AJACCIO, CORSICA, Notre Dame and the Fesch FRANCE SARDINIA, ITALY FRANCE Museum with its fine collection Wander the ruins of ancient Aléria, Situated on the northwest coast Today, stop at the capital of the of French paintings. Enjoy a Phoenician-founded Roman of Sardinia, Alghero is a quaint French island of Corsica, Ajaccio, some leisure time to explore the town that fell to ruin after the old city that was dominated by which stands at the head of a picturesque streets of the old Empire crumbled, and view the Catalonia in the Middle Ages and beautiful bay. Originally a Roman Genoese quarter. Gather for a remnants of its villa and necropolis. was known at that time as “Little port, the town was ruled by farewell reception aboard ship Next, explore a 16th-century fort Barcelona.” Walk along the town’s Genoa during the Middle Ages. this evening before dinner. at the harbor’s edge, built by the cobblestoned streets and admire Its most famous native son is LE PONANT (B,L,D) Genoans to help protect their its medieval stone walls and Napoleon, whose family arrived home. Inside the fort, visit the towers. Also visit the 14th-century from Tuscany in the 16th century. SATURDAY, JUNE 27 Museum Jerome-Carcopino that church of San Francisco and the Visit Old Town with its narrow NICE / DISEMBARK / contains artifacts uncovered at the Cathedral of Santa Maria. Later streets and buildings dating from U.S. site since its demise. LE PONANT wander through the nearby ruins of the 15th century and the Napoleon After breakfast, disembark (B,L,D) the Bronze and Iron Age Nuraghe Museum, located in the former Le Ponant and transfer to the di Palmavera with its several still- home of the Bonaparte family. airport for flights home. (B) intact stone towers. LE PONANT (B,L,D) Le Ponant Program Cost* Le Ponant is a sleek, 290-foot-long, three-masted sailing vessel. Rates are per person, based on double or single occupancy Built in 1991 in France and refurbished in 2019, Le Ponant features as specified. 16 well-appointed staterooms positioned mid-ship, all with sea CAT. DESCRIPTION DOUBLE SINGLE** views (some with private balcony), mini-bar, wi-fi system, individual Marie-Galante Deck with a air conditioning, telephone, bathrobes, and private shower and 1 porthole, queen bed, avg. — $12,995 toilet. The four-deck vessel has ample deck space and includes a 146 sq. ft. jacuzzi, a spacious sun deck, a fitness area, the exquisite Le Diamant Marie-Galante Deck with a Restaurant and a bar. 2 porthole, queen bed, avg. $10,195 $13,995 170 sq. ft. SOLEIL DECK Marie-Galante Deck with one 3 or two portholes, queen or $11,195 — Jacuzzi two twin beds, avg. 231 sq. ft. Sun Deck Saint-Barth Deck, private 4 balcony, queen or twin beds, $11,995 — avg.