From Italy to Istanbul with Costa Fortuna (Fly & Cruise) 2025

Rome is the capital of the Italian Republic.It is the city with the highest concentration of historical and architectural riches in the world. Its historical centre, outlined by the enclosing Aurelian Walls, layering nearly three thousand years of antiquity, is an invaluable testimony to the European western world’s cultural, artistic and historical legacy and in 1980 it was, together with the Holy See’s property beyond the confines of the Vatican State as well as the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls, were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List .

 

Palermo is the capital of the Italian island, Sicily, an island renowned as a vacation destination due to its great beauty and historical significance. Once an important Mediterranean centre, Palermo still displays the grandeur of its former greatness. Large, spacious and colourful, Palermo is set on the plain of Conca d'Oro (Golden Shell) between two magnificent headlands. The area has been dominated by many civilisations over the centuries, including the Romans, Carthaginians, Byzantines, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Swabians and the Spanish. Thanks to its eclectic past, Palermo offers an intriguing mix of cultures.

 

Throughout history, from Romans to Arabs, from Turks to Normans and St. It has hosted many cultures and civilizations until the Knights of St. John, and today it bears the traces of these cultures. Destroyed by bombings during the Second World War, Valletta regained its old architectural texture with successive repairs. The houses with bay windows, narrow streets, palaces, churches and cathedrals form the eye-catching architectural texture of the city. Another striking feature of the houses made of yellow malt stone are the door handles and the decorations and lanterns on the door edges. Valletta, the capital of Malta, is a very busy and lively city.

 

This is the time to personalize your cruise experience—you can participate in any or all the activities scheduled onboard or do nothing more strenuous than lift an umbrella drink while reading a book poolside.

 

Piraeus is the main port of Athens, the biggest in Greece, and one of the most important in the Mediterranean Sea. Piraeus is walking distance from Kastella, a hill strewn with beautiful houses that offers a majestic view of the Saronic Gulf. Other points of interest include an archaeological museum, Mikrolimano, where you can enjoy an ouzo accompanied by seafood mezedes.

 

This is the time to personalize your cruise experience—you can participate in any or all the activities scheduled onboard or do nothing more strenuous than lift an umbrella drink while reading a book poolside.

 

Istanbul is supremely exotic, warmly welcoming, and quite unique – after all, where else can you tour Europe and Asia on the very same afternoon? Must sees include Haghia Sophia, decorated in 30 million tiny mosaic tiles, the greatest church in Christendom for 1000 years, then a mosque and now a museum; and Topkapi, palace of sultans, complete with harem quarters. And of course shopping in the Grand Bazaar, a medieval version of a mall, for unusual gifts to take home, stopping along the way in a café for a cup of Turkish coffee or mint tea.