& the Italian Renaissance
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FLORENCE & THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE SEPTEMBER 22 – OCTOBER 5, 2018 TOUR LEADER: DR NICK GORDON FLORENCE Overview & THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE The Renaissance in Italy is one of the most dynamic periods in European Tour dates: September 22 – October 5, 2018 history, and Florence was its undisputed centre. The city’s unique amalgam of commercial enterprise, wise republican government, great families and individual virtuosity created a society like no other at the time. Tour leader: Dr Nick Gordon Enriched through banking, manufacturing and trade, independent from the constraints of the medieval church and infused with enthusiasm for the Tour Price: $7,390 per person, twin share classical past, the citizens of Florence created distinctive political identities and visual worlds which still captivate. Single Supplement: $1,880 for sole use of double room Today the visitor is rewarded with a host of great art, architecture and history, but most visitors to Florence stay only a few days and see only the Booking deposit: $500 per person main sites – enough time to admire the beauty, but insufficient to truly understand this great city. Recommended airline: Emirates This 14-day residential-style tour offers time to unpack and fully appreciate the complex history, society and culture of Renaissance Florence under Maximum places: 20 the expert guidance of tour leader, Dr Nick Gordon. A program of walking tours, museum and gallery visits in the city is complemented by Itinerary: Florence (13 nights) excursions to important sites in Tuscany. Accommodation is in a perfectly located four-star hotel, and a number of Date published: July 20, 2017 lunches/dinners in selected local restaurants are included. Your tour leader Dr Nick Gordon has a PhD in European history and a University Medal in history for his study of Florentine art, society and politics from the University of Sydney. He has taught European cultural and intellectual history at universities across Sydney for 10 years, lectures regularly for the University of Sydney’s Nicholson Museum, and has run courses on western art for adults since 2009. His knowledge and interest in art comes from both his academic research and his practice as a painter. He has led tours for Academy Travel since 2007. “Loved the itinerary – good mix of cultural sites and activities. Nick was an excellent tour leader who took care of our group. He shared his expertise and enthusiasm with us in a friendly and unassuming way, answering our Enquiries and questions and providing further information when asked.” Tour participant on Venice: City, Republic and Empire, 2015. bookings For further information and to “Nick was an extremely knowledgeable guide; he organised us very well; secure a place on this tour he was calm and unflappable; and his lectures were excellent… The please contact Jemma York at information he provided, the places he selected for us, and the art he Academy Travel on revealed to us gave us a wonderful insight into Renaissance times.” 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email Tour participant on Florence and the Italian Renaissance, 2016 [email protected] Tour Highlights RENAISSANCE FLORENCE Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, Dante, Giotto, Machiavelli and Botticelli are just a handful of the great Florentines who made the Renaissance, and Florence today is home to the largest collections of Renaissance Italian art. Explore the art and history of Renaissance Italy in detail, over two weeks, with expert guidance and from the convenience of our hotel in the historical centre. SAN GIMIGNANO AND VOLTERRA Italy is famous for the beauty of its hill towns and San Gimignano and Volterra are among its most striking. Explore the medieval streets of these two towns, one dominated by its medieval towers and the other by its rich Etruscan and Roman heritage, visit their unique works of art and architecture, and enjoy the regional gastronomy at a superior country restaurant. SIENA AND PISTOIA Although Florence came to dominate what is today Tuscany, there are many other cities that also developed their own unique styles of art and architecture. Enjoy a day trip to Siena, once richer and more powerful than Florence, to explore its beautiful Gothic art and architecture, and discover Pistoia – 2017’s Capital of Italian Culture – a little-visited Romanesque town at the foot of the Apennines. EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCES Enjoy a range of experiences, free from the crowds, including the panoramic views of Florence and the surrounding countryside on a private visit to the terraces of the cathedral; the matroneum of the baptistery where you can get up close to medieval mosaics without the crowds; wine tastings; and a luxurious lunch at the Villa San Michele, in the hills above Florence. FLORENCE BEYOND THE RENAISSANCE Florence’s rich history and culture extends well beyond the Renaissance, from its renowned artisans and their pursuit of perfect craftsmanship, to contemporary artists displaying their works among the cobbled streets, to emergence of contemporary architecture, such as the spectacular Antinori winery in Chianti. Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D. Saturday 22 September Arrival The Emirates flight arrives at Bologna in the early afternoon, where you will be met by your tour leader. We then join our coach and transfer directly to Florence, a trip of approximately 2 hours. After time to check in and freshen up, we meet for an orientation walk and dinner in a local restaurant near our hotel. (D) Sunday 23 September Palaces and Paintings Today we explore the art of Renaissance Florence in its context by looking at how art and architecture were used by those who commissioned them. After a talk in the hotel, we visit Palazzo Davanzati, a beautifully restored patrician palace, and Palazzo Strozzi, one of Florence’s grandest Renaissance palaces, which speak volumes about how the city’s elite impressed themselves on their neighbours and visitors. After a welcome lunch at an excellent local restaurant, we look at masterpieces in situ in Santa Maria Novella by Ghirlandaio, Filippino Lippi and Masaccio, who revolutionised western European art with their “vanishing point” perspective, careful depictions of Above: Renaissance scholar Politian and the young Giovanni de’ Renaissance life and subtle storytelling. (B, L) Medici, future uncle of Francois I of France, by Ghirlandaio Below: Michelangelo’s Pietà in Florence’s renovated Museo dell’Opera Monday 24 September del Duomo Sculpting Public Image From the 13th to 16th century, Florence was governed by its guilds – powerful professional bodies that regulated industry and commerce. The guilds were also responsible for overseeing (and paying for) many of Florence’s monuments, and were highly competitive in the lengths they would go to outdo one another. This morning we visit Orsanmichele, a church-come- granary whose Renaissance sculptures by masters including Donatello, Ghiberti and Verrocchio, Leonardo’s teacher, were commissioned by the guilds. After a break for lunch, we visit the recently renovated Museum of the Opera del Duomo, the institution that has overseen the building, decoration and maintenance of the cathedral for 700 years. It has accumulated an extraordinary collection of works, including a Pietà by Michelangelo, several key works by Donatello, and the original Doors of Paradise by Ghiberti. In the late afternoon we have a private visit to the terraces of the dome of Florence’s Cathedral, with its extraordinary views across the city and surrounding countryside. Evening at leisure. (B) Tuesday 25 September San Gimignano and Volterra Florence’s medieval towers, a symbol of the conflict between the city’s warring factions, were forcibly cut down by the government in the 13th century. The towers survive, however, in San Gimignano, a celebrated town that paints a vivid picture of medieval Tuscany and preserves beautiful frescoes by masters such as Benozzo Gozzoli. Our excursion today takes us to San Gimignano and then on to the town of Volterra, famous for its production of alabaster, which has a stark Romanesque beauty. Its regional museum contains the startling Deposition altarpiece by Rosso Fiorentino. Lunch today is in a simple country restaurant. Returning to Florence, the evening is at leisure. (B, L) Wednesday 26 September Artisans Florence’s wealth and fame are built on the skill of its artisans, many of whom we have come to regard as artists of the highest standing. This morning we tour the Oltrarno, home to a large population of humble artisans and immigrants in the Renaissance and now the district where many of Florence’s artisans have set up shop and practice crafts that are rapidly disappearing. After visiting the Brancacci Chapel for Masaccio and Masolino’s extraordinary depictions of episodes from the life of St Peter set in the poorer streets of Florence, our tour takes us to the workshops of local artisans. The afternoon and evening are at leisure. (B) Thursday 27 September florence’s art treasures - Sculpture The sculptors of Florence revolutionised the art in the first half of the 15th century, achieving feats that had not been done since Above: Masaccio’s Peter healing the sick with his shadow, in the the fall of the Roman Empire, and developing the highly realistic Brancacci Chapel, is set on the streets of 15th-century Florence aesthetic that defines our idea of the Italian Renaissance. Today Below: Donatello’s David, just one of the many treasures in the we trace the development of sculpture in the Etruscan and Bargello Roman periods in the Museum of Archaeology, through to the stunning Renaissance works of Donatello, Michelangelo and Giambologna in the Bargello. Our tour also takes us to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, the headquarters of the city’s art restorers which has a fine museum of inlaid semi-precious stonework, a Florentine speciality.