Genoa — Rome (Ostia)
Startharbour: GenoaBoarding after: 05.12.2015 00:00
Departure: 05.12.2015 17:00
Port of destination: Rome (Ostia)
Arrival: 12.12.2015 13:00
Debarkation before:
Days on board: 8
Pirates of the Tyrrhenian
Genoa — Livorno — Elba – Civitavecchia
Suggested donation towards journey expenses 490 euro.
Italian Riviera, harbour romance, Napoleon’s nightmare, all that under sails, spiced with the smell of gunpowder and belch. It is a real adventure for grown-up boys and brave girls who dreamt to be pirates in their childhood. Not in fantastic Neverland, but in reality: dreams come true aboard our wooden ship that will set sails for breathtaking treasure hunt on the blue Mediterranean.
The travelling pirate party of “Shtandart” starts from Genoa, the famous sea port with a thousand years of history. Picturesque view of Porto Antico suddenly turns into vivid slum, the luxurious Via Garibaldi framed with palaces leads to the red light district, and you may find a colourful flea market close to glamourous boutique.
You’d better come in advance if you want to behold all Genovese contrasts, because as soon as you come on board, you’ll definitely have a lot of other interesting things to do and to learn. The first days are the most difficult and the most saturated for new sailors: tacks and tackles, bowlines and ratlines, handspikes and halyards – the officers will show you how to distinguish between all this stuff and how to use it in sailors’ routine. You’ll even have a chance to fire a real cannon giving a salute to the ancient stones while leaving the harbour of Genoa.
After a short basic training let’s catch a fair wind and set sails to Livorno. The second largest city of Toscana and the birthplace of Amedeo Modigliani, the town is known for centuries as a “free port”: freedom of conscience, speech and religion have been legitimated here since XVI century. Livorno is also related to the Russian history: Russian fleet was located here during the Russo-Turkish War, and famous count Orlov, the favourite of Catherine the Great, captured here the unfortunate princess Tarakanova.
The long stay at one place does not usually befit pirates. Let’s leave the free harbour and look for more adventures on the open Mediterranean. Our next destination is Elba island, the famous Napoleons prison. This holding cell is comfortable enough: with dimensions of 27*18 km, about 70 sandy and pebbled beaches, old castles and unique nature – not the worst place to wear the stripes. But our sailors’ stripes mean not imprisonment, but, vice versa, freedom, so we’ll just “plunder” the island and sneak away.
The passage will end up in the closest suburb of eternal Rome, in the harbour of Ostia.
Ancient stones, luxurious yachts, tourist ships and the world's first apartment buildings – roman insulas – all is mixed up in this italian boiling pot, the whole history of Europe and navigation. By the way, it’s only a few kilometers from Ostia to the Fiumicino airport, so it can be reached even on foot.
But be careful! The proverb says: once a pirate, forever pirate, and if you’ve awaken your inner spirit of adventure, it is not to be sneezed at. So remember, that you may return to the “Shtandart” again one day.
