Boats in Italy
Europe Summer Sea
Travel
June 15 - June 24, 2024

Sailing Sicily and Malta aboard Sea Cloud II

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Wendy Heller, Scheide Professor of Music History and director in the Program in Italian Studies

Recognized as one of the leading scholars of baroque music, Professor Wendy Heller is a musicologist who specializes in the study of music, especially opera. Heller, who served as the Music Department Chair from 2015-2022, has published widely on 17th- and 18th-century opera from interdisciplinary perspectives, with emphasis on gender and sexuality, art history, Italian literature, dance history and the classical tradition. Author of the award-winning Emblems of Eloquence: Opera and Women’s Voices in Seventeenth-Century Venice and Music in the Baroque, Heller has published widely on the music of Monteverdi, Cavalli, Handel, and Bach. Her current projects include the monograph Animating Ovid: Opera and the Metamorphoses of Antiquity in Early Modern Italy and volume Barbara Strozzi: In Context (co-edited with Beth Glixon); her edition of Francesco Cavalli’s Veremonda, l’amazzone di Aragona will be published next year. Heller, who also trained as a professional, maintains strong interests in performance and has been a dramaturg for numerous performances of baroque operas at Princeton. Awarded the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, Heller has also won numerous fellowships from such organizations as the Mellon Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Villa I Tatti, Harvard University Center for Renaissance Studies.

About the Journey

Come aboard the iconic Sea Cloud II for a circumnavigation of Sicily. Begin and end your journey in Valletta, Malta, one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. Experience the three-masted vessel under sail before reaching Sicily’s treasures, with stops in Trapani, Palermo, Taormina, Mt. Etna, and Syracuse. Spend the day in Lipari, one of the seven Aeolian Islands, and experience a specially timed sailing through the Strait of Messina at sunset. Explore the history and archaeology, witness the scenic beauty, and savor the wines and cuisine of this stunning region with your fellow Princetonians.

Please note: Princeton travelers will be joined by those from Yale, Archaeological Institute of America, and National Trust Tours.

Accommodation

Grand Hotel Excelsior Valletta, Malta
The five-star Grand Hotel Excelsior is ideally located between old town Valetta and the sea. To one side of the hotel is Marsamxett Harbour and on the other are the fortifications of Valletta whose main city gate is just a few minutes' walk away. The Excelsior’s facilities are plentiful and include a gym, spa, indoor and outdoor pools, its own yacht marina and a variety of eateries.

Sea Cloud II
The iconic Sea Cloud II is perhaps the most luxurious three-masted sailing yacht on the seas today. Like Marjorie Merriweather Post’s legendary Sea Cloud, she combines the seafaring elegance of a bygone era with the highest modern standards of luxury. In the grand tradition of the world’s finest sailing vessels, guests can experience this marvelous ship under sail as the skilled crew hand-sets over 30,000 square feet of canvas. The Sea Cloud II offers an intimate setting of just 47 beautifully appointed cabins, gracious common areas, world-class service, and five-star dining.

Reservations

To reserve your space, please contact our partner tour operator, Criterion Travel, at 888-328- 2089 or res@criteriontravel.com.

Trip Details