Ready to set sail. Summer begins with the latest issue of HTSI

Sky and sea, mountain peaks and the underworld: the latest issue of HTSI, on sale from Friday with *Il Sole 24 Ore*, explores every facet of the desire to travel. If the horizon is ever-shifting and borders are meant to be crossed, every page is an invitation to discover. We begin with astro-tourism, featuring a feature on the most beautiful places on the planet for stargazing: on the Baa Atoll, where resident astronomers guide visitors in observing the constellations of both hemispheres, or at a brand-new lodge in Namibia, built so that guests can fall asleep directly beneath the arch of the Milky Way. 

From midnight blue to sea blue, the HTSI special feature on sailing is a must-read. There are two ways – complementary yet contrasting – of experiencing life amidst the waves: one contemplative, the other competitive; one restful, the other high-performance. So let’s turn our attention to the most interesting summer regattas, with their mix of jet-set glamour, networking and sporting competition. The Costa Smeralda is the meeting place for Olympic champions, the stars of great ocean crossings and the most famous names in corporate yachting for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the Rolex Swan Cup. Porto Maurizio is set to welcome the vintage yachts that have shaped the evolution of sailing, from the 12-Metre class that wrote the epic story of the America’s Cup to the schooner Palinuro and many other historic floating masterpieces. In Naples at the end of September, the second America’s Cup preliminary regatta will take place, and Luna Rossa arrives with high expectations, fresh from victory in the Preliminary Regatta Sardinia in Cagliari. But out at sea, there are also those who seek above all a slower pace, exceptional hospitality and the same comforts as on dry land, from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. So here is a new concept in offshore holidays: luxury hotel groups have reinvented life on board, equipping it with every comfort: multi-starred cuisine, arthouse cinema, libraries of rare books, and fitness programmes curated by athletes of the calibre of Jannik Sinner.

Taking contrasting travel routes, they have just launched two high-end destinations where top-class service goes hand in hand with respect for a fragile ecosystem. Remote places where privilege goes hand in hand with moderation: reaching places few others do, travelling with expert guides, and accepting the need to adapt to the rhythm of the environment. This is the case on Principe, the smallest island in the Gulf of Guinea, often referred to as the ‘African Galápagos’, because its geological isolation has meant that certain species of flora and marine fauna now exist only here. And so it is on Iceland’s Troll Peninsula, just below the Arctic Circle, far from the beaten track. Two places as different in temperature and landscape as they are similar in their rarity, beauty and need for protection.

The HTSI world tour ventures to the far reaches of the desert, between Algeria and Mauritania, passing through Oman to follow the call of the endless expanse of sand and rock, where people seem like mirages and space stretches across the entire horizon. And then into the heart of the most extreme Outback, at Kupa-Piti, amongst the mines of an iridescent stone that seems to hold the blinding light of these places and, not surprisingly, is the symbol of Australia: the opal.

For those who prefer the vibrancy of capital cities and cities of art to seclusion, Phnom Penh has left behind its past as merely a stop-off on the way to Cambodia’s beaches and the temples of Angkor Wat, and has redefined itself as an international destination thanks to its art and exquisite cuisine. And then there’s Venice, Roquebrune, New York, the Hamptons…