Rome, Sicily & Greece With Aegean Cruise

Baroque-en hearted? Revive your spirits with a walk past Rome's most beautiful and unusual Baroque fountains. At the foot of the Spanish Steps, elegant cafes once favored by visiting Brits and Americans surround the central fountain. The water pressure here was so low that the artist had to sink the fountain into the ground to get any water going through it, so he went ahead and designed the fountain to look like a sinking ship. There's no shortage of water pressure at the nearby Trevi Fountain, a Baroque extravagance designed by master sculptor Bernini. At the Pantheon you'll see the largest concrete dome ever constructed. An oculus, or hole, in the dome lets sunlight into the beautiful temple, dedicated to all the gods.

The ultimate symbol of ancient Rome, the Colosseum still dominates the modern city. Tour the amphitheater with your local licensed guide. Built by the emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72, the structure held almost 50,000 spectators but was so well organized that the entire place could be emptied within 15 minutes. Inside, the spectacles varied from gladiator battles to immense naval contests that required the flooding of the amphitheater to wild beast shows, in which thousands of exotic animals like giraffes and ostriches were popped into the stadium through trap doors and left to fight Roman hunters. See the system beneath the floor that operated the trap doors and housed the animals, then continue on to the relative calm of the Forum. Rome’s commercial, religious, and political center, the Forum held markets, temples, and the Senate House. Near the Rostra, or speaker’s platform, you can still see game boards scratched into the marble by bored politicians -- anyone up for a game of tic tac toe?

Don a state-of-the-art headset for a space-age tour of St. Peter’s Basilica with a licensed local guide. Outside the church, four rows of columns radiate out like welcoming arms (if you stand on the circles marked on the ground, the rows will line up and look like a single row); inside, the church seems enormous enough to embrace the entire world. The dome, partially designed by Michelangelo, rises 452 feet above the ground. Michelangelo’s mark is everywhere here, from the costumes worn by the Swiss Guards to his exquisite “Pietà” sculpture (the only sculpture he ever signed -- look for his name carved into the Madonna’s sash) to the amazing frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Because he considered himself a sculptor and not a painter, Michelangelo hated working on these paintings, now considered masterpieces.

Explore the chaotic and vibrant capital of Sicily, where a mix of Italian, Arab, French, and Phoenician influences -- to name only a few -- has created a culture unique in all of Italy. Islamic filigreed windows throw intricate shadows on 17th-century Baroque cupolas; gold and marble mosaics sparkle in churches while leafy palm trees ruffle in ocean breezes outside. With a licensed local guide, start your tour of this energetic city at the Baroque Quattro Canti ("four corners"), Palermo's central intersection. Head to the Norman Palace, once home to the finest and most learned court in Europe. (Notice the halos on the statues -- they were added to the original Moorish statues when the Christian Normans arrived in 1072 and took over the building.) Step inside La Martorana, one of the few buildings remaining from the Middle Ages, for a peek at its glittering gold Byzantine mosaics. And don't miss the rows of pastry shops selling marzipan, a Sicilian specialty; the sweet almond-paste candy is sculpted and dyed to resemble realistic fruits, vegetables -- even shellfish!

Twinkle, sparkle, shine. Watch light glitter and gleam off the golden mosaics covering the ceiling and walls of the Monreale cathedral, commissioned in 1172 by the Norman King William II. Images from the Old and New Testaments stretch along the church’s interior, depicting the stories of Noah’s ark, Adam and Eve, the Creation, Abraham and Isaac, and others. In the apse reigns Christ Pantocrator, an impressive Byzantine image of Christ as the stern ruler of the universe.

Legend claims that Daedalus, the creator of the original labyrinth, founded the ancient Greek city of Agrigento. Today it’s a maze of amazing ruins. The Valley of the Temples holds the remains of the largest Doric temple in the world as well as the impressive Temple of Concord, a picture-book example of a perfect Greek temple. (Its conversion to a Christian church in the sixth century helps explain its preservation; anti-Paganism teamed up with several earthquakes to topple most of the surrounding structures.)

Sicily’s ancient military capital has grown into one of Italy’s most charming destinations. Its main square, on the connected island of Ortygia, combines the typical Sicilian mix of Greek, Arab, and Baroque -- the 17th-century cathedral facade is woven into the columns of an ancient temple and once served as a mosque. Syracuse’s ancient Greek theater and archaeological museum display the city’s past treasures, while “The Garden of Paradise,” a grove of citrus trees thriving on the site of an ancient quarry, reminds visitors to enjoy the city’s current splendors. But don't get too caught up in your rapture -- the nearby "Ear of Dionysius" cave, once a jail, was probably named for its S-curve shape, but its echoing acoustics led to rumors that the tyrant Dionysius could eavesdrop on anyone imprisoned there.

An earthly paradise. From the ancient Greek theater on a Taormina hilltop, your eye wanders over the violet outline of Mount Etna dominating the skyline, through the almond and lemon groves releasing the fragrance of blossoms and marzipan and lemonade, across bright fishing boats bobbing on the ocean's blue waves to the distant misty view of the Italian mainland hovering above the water. With a licensed local guide, explore the views and history that have enchanted so many, from the ancient Greeks to the Romans to the Moors to the Normans to the Spanish to Francis Ford Coppola, who filmed scenes for "The Godfather" nearby.

Once part of the ancient Greek empire, Reggio now holds one of the greatest monuments to that civilization in Italy. The city's National Museum holds the Riace Bronzes, amazing bronze statues hauled up from the bottom of the sea in 1972 when a diver thought he had found two drowned men. Thought to represent warriors or athletes, the two statues have inlayed stone eyes, teeth, and lips, giving their faces a startling animation. They are two of the few surviving examples of Greek bronzes from the 5th century BC, and no one really knows how they ended up on the bottom of the ocean. The museum also holds other ancient sculpture as well as slightly more modern art -- Byzantine and Renaissance paintings hold court upstairs.

Not just another crowded dusty city, Athens has developed from the birthplace of democracy to a bustling modern metropolis. With a local licensed guide, start your time travel at the ancient hot spots of the first Olympic site and the sprawling Acropolis, classical Athens’ religious and civic center. The awe-inspiring Parthenon -- a temple dedicated to Athens’ patron saint Athena -- is the obvious centerpiece, but take time to examine the building next door, where sculpted women hold up the roof with their heads, and the amazing view of modern Athens below. Jump back to the present in Syntagma Square, the center of the modern city, to see the Parliament building and the British-style changing of the guards ceremony. (There’s a rather un-British flair to it, however -- the Greek guards wear white skirts, head scarves, and shoes and knee bands adorned with pom-poms.) Continue to Omonia Square, Athens' other main meeting point, to relax by the splashing central fountain ringed with palm trees.

You’re never more than a few steps away from the past in Athens. Accompany your Tour Director to the Plaka, the historic district that borders the Acropolis. In its twisting narrow streets you’ll catch glimpses of an older city, from wrought-iron balconies bursting with geraniums to traditional Greek dancing in basement tavernas. Continue on to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, begun in the 6th century B.C. and finished in A.D. 132 by the emperor Hadrian. Its enormous columns provide a sense of the scale of the original temple. Nearby, the elaborate Hadrian’s Arch separated the ancient and imperial sections of the city.

Head to six of the most beautiful coastal destinations in the world on this four-day Aegean cruise. Your first stop is Mykonos, where bright white houses contrast with Crayola-colored boats and the international jet set relaxes all day long on the beach. Continue on to Kusadasi, an ancient Turkish town that’s one of the Mediterranean’s most popular resort destinations, and then continue to Patmos for gold-leafed Byzantine icons at the Monastery of St. John. Rhodes is next, with whitewashed medieval buildings and spectacular views. Cruise on to Heraklion, the capital of Crete and a former Minoan seaport, for an unparalleled collection of Minoan archaeological artifacts. End your jaunt at Santorini, where villages cling to the edge of a volcano and exotic black sand beaches stretch into the sea. Cruise excursions are provided by the liner and can be purchased during the voyage.

Contemplate the sea god Poseidon from his temple perched high atop the hill of Cape Sounion, the southern-most tip of Central Greece. Stand among the tall, marble pillars rising up from the slippery slabs of rock and look out over the calm blue Aegean Sea. The Temple of Poseidon, built around the same time as the Parthenon (between 450-440 BC), is a refreshing point of calm after the chaos of modern Athens.