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CAU > Seminars and Study Tours > Adriatic & Dalmatian Coast

Adriatic & Dalmatian Coast

August 12-22, 2005

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Landscapes and Legacies of the Adriatic:

August 12-22, 2005
Venice, Ravenna, Dubrovnik, and the Dalmatian Coast aboard Le Ponant
Frank H.T. Rhodes, Michael P. Steinberg, and Suzanne R. Stewart-Steinberg

The Adriatic is little brother to the Mediterranean, but its natural and cultural treasures are marvelous and numerous. In this new CAU study tour and cruise we hope to do justice to this remarkable corner of Europe even as we enjoy the comforts and delights of our privately chartered motorized sailing ship, Le Ponant.

We'll be led by an all-star CAU teaching team. Our resident geologist, Cornell President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes, will help us plumb the Adriatic and its coasts for geological, tectonic, and climatic clues to their formation and evolution. CAU favorite Michael P. Steinberg, professor of European history at Cornell, will lead our inquiries into the saga of Adriatic geopolitics, from the Venetian, Ottoman, and Habsburg wars, to the events of the tumultuous century just past. Italianist Suzanne R. Stewart-Steinberg, adjunct assistant professor in Cornell's Department of Romance Studies, will be our guide to the delights of Italian culture.

Our journey will begin in Venice, where we'll enjoy the comforts of the Westin Europa and Regina Hotel near St. Mark's as we visit great churches and palazzos, glide along canals to Murano, and visit Paduażincluding Giotto's incomparable chapel.

Departing Venice, we'll board Le Ponant, our elegant home for the next week, with its fine accommodations for a maximum of 64 passengers, its superior service and food, and its splendid rigging and sails, which we'll enjoy daily as we sail the Adriatic.

We'll cross the Adriatic en route to destinations along the Dalmatian Coast, with its forests, coves, sleepy islands, and bustling ports. We'll visit Rab, in Croatia; Korcula, where we'll visit the purported home of Marco Polo; and Dubrovnik, regarded by just about everyone as the architectural gem of the Adriatic. From Dubrovnik, we'll sail into the memorable "Triple Bay" of Kotor, in Montenegro, to visit this unspoiled medieval town.

From Kotor we'll sail north to Split (in Bosnia and Herzegovina) to visit the ruins of Diocletian's Palace, and then recross the Adriatic, sailing to Ravenna, whose architecture and mosaics are among the finest examples of Roman and Byzantine art in the Mediterranean. Reluctantly, we're sure, we'll disembark Le Ponant at Chioggia and head for the Venice airport and our return flights.

The program fee (double-occupancy) of $7,790 includes all accommodations in Venice and aboard Le Ponant, most meals on land, all meals during the cruise, all taxes, gratuities, site visits, emergency medical-evacuation insurance, and the full educational program. The supplement for single occupancy (very limited availability) is $2,200.A group airfare from New York will be offered at an additional cost. More detailed itinerary and ship information is available from the CAU office: call 607 255-6260 or e-mail cauinfo@cornell.edu.

We are also planning a special pre-cruise extension, led by Michael and Suzanne Steinberg, to Slovenia and Trieste, the flash point for Italy's generations-long efforts to "redeem" the longtime Habsburg-controlled city and port. The pre-extension will depart from the U.S. on August 9 and join up with the main group in Venice on August 13. The program fee for the extension is $1,790 (double-occupancy). The supplement for single occupancy is $150.