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Home , Condottiero, Portinari Chapel

BOLOGNA TO ART CITIES OF NORTHERN

APRIL 26 – MAY 12, 2017 TOUR LEADER: DR KATHLEEN OLIVE

Bologna to Milan Overview Art cities of Northern Italy is home to some of Europe’s most extraordinary art, Northern Italy including the luminous World Heritage-listed mosaics in Ravenna and Leonardo’s most celebrated work, The Last Supper. Many of these Tour dates: April 26 – May 12, 2017 masterpieces are also in beautiful locations offering panoramic views over the Italian countryside, such as and the foothills of Parma, a little Tour leader: Dr Kathleen Olive off the regular routes taken by most travellers.

This new 17-day tour takes you through the art and history of this Tour Price: $8,750 per person, twin share delightful region, which is also home to some of Italy’s finest cuisine. On this tour we admire art and architecture, from Byzantine Ravenna to Single Supplement: $1,950 for sole use of medieval Bologna and elegant Milan. Discover the courts of double room northern Italy in Urbino, Mantua and Parma. Explore Italian genius and design, from and Leonardo, to Lamborghini and the Booking deposit: $500 per person makers of modern Italy. Learn about Modernism: from the colourful dynamism of the Futurists to the meditative beauty of Giorgio Morandi. Recommended airline: Emirates And we travel through glorious countryside, enjoying the culinary delights of Italy’s leading gastronomic region. Maximum places: 20

The tour has all the characteristics of an Academy Travel tour – stays in Itinerary: Bologna (4 nights), Urbino (3 nights), carefully selected hotels, background talks before site visits and a Parma (4 nights), Milan (5 nights) maximum group size of just 20. Date published: June 2, 2016 Your tour leader

Dr Kathleen Olive has more than 15 years’ experience leading tours to Italy. She has a PhD in Italian literature, regularly presents popular courses at Sydney University’s Centre for Continuing Education and at the WEA, Sydney, and speaks fluent Italian.

Kathleen has a specific interest in Italian culture of the and Renaissance, from the connections between the literature of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio and the painting of Giotto, through to the control of cultural life under ’s Medici family.

Renaissance culture has also been the focus of Kathleen’s academic research, and in 2015 her critical edition of a key Italian text – the Codex Rustici, a commonplace book compiled and illustrated by a 15th-century Florentine goldsmith – was published by Olschki. Together with co-author Nerida Newbigin, Kathleen was in Florence when this publication was presented to Pope Francis I as an official gift on his first trip to the city, and it has subsequently been launched at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Enquiries and the Vatican Museums in Rome, the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence (Italy’s Library of Congress) – and even at the Custodia della bookings Terra Santa in Jerusalem! For further information and to “Kathleen was an outstanding tour leader. She was exceptionally secure a place on this tour knowledgeable and a gifted presenter. She went above and beyond, please contact Frederick looking after group members’ individual needs and making sure everyone Steyn at Academy Travel on was happy. Her obvious passion for Italy was infectious. I would love to do 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 a tour with her again.” Feedback from Academy Travel’s Grand Tour of (outside Sydney) or email Italy, April 2015 [email protected] .au

Inside the mind of A Renaissance man, In Urbino

Urbino, remote Renaissance jewel and a fairytale come to life, is almost entirely the product of one man’s determined vision. – best known, with his wife, from Piero della Francesca’s double portrait now in the Uffizi – was the illegitimate son of the papal defender of Urbino and . It was in fact through ’s good offices that Federico was strategically legitimated, with permission sought from and granted by his father’s legal wife, who happened to be the pope’s niece.

The young Federico spent part of his youth as a political hostage in northern Italy and thus received an excellent education from the court tutor of Mantua, Vittorino da Feltre. But as he was not direct heir to his father’s territories, Federico had to make his own way and fortune as a professional military strategist or condottiero. Some of his fiercest battles were against his family’s local rival, , lord of and patron of ’s remarkable . Yet Federico would fight – even once titled and wealthy – for those who paid his fee, from popes to the Sforza dukes of Milan and even Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence. The Sack of Volterra under Federico’s command is still a notorious Renaissance military disaster.

This situation changed in 1444, when Federico’s half-brother Oddantonio, recently made Duke of Urbino by Pope Eugene IV, was assassinated. Naturally Federico stood to gain the most from this, but his involvement has never been proved and there are even hints in Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation – painted in Urbino in the 1450s and still in the Palazzo Ducale there – that Federico considered his brother a martyr. Once duke, Federico continued to work as a condottiero but also concentrated on making Urbino an ideal city, still evident in Laurana’s rational architecture for his ducal palace, in official court portraits painted by Piero della Francesca, and in the tax-free status Federico’s well-paid battles allowed his subjects!

Intellectual life was important to Federico: he chose for his second wife a woman who gave a public Latin oration at four. Battista Sforza bore Federico six daughters and, finally, a male heir (Guidobaldo – painted his portrait), but before her death at only 25, she also ruled in her husband’s absence. Another of the indications of Federico’s drive to unite the active, civic life with his contemplative, intellectual life – an existential obsession for Renaissance humanists – can still be found in Urbino. This is the studiolo, a small, marquetry-lined study where the duke kept his treasured manuscripts and objets. It was crowned with paintings of great thinkers, executed by the best Hispano-Flemish painters of the time, and a quiet and unhurried visit of it offers a compelling portrait of this complex and refined prince.

Tour Highlights

 Private visit of Leonardo’s Last Supper  Milan’s hidden gems, including Bramante’s San Satiro, the Villa Necchi Campiglio and the Casa Boschi di Stefano  Bologna, a delightful medieval city little touched by mass tourism  The World Heritage-listed mosaics of Ravenna  Renaissance masterpieces in out-of-the-way places: Piero della Francesca in Urbino and Parmigianino in Fontanellato  Parma: private collections in modern villas and medieval hamlets in the Apennine foothills

Above: one of the many beautiful arcades that characterises Bologna

Above: mosaics in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna Above: medieval fortress in Fontanellato

Above: Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan

Detailed itinerary

Included meals are shown with the letters B, L and D.

Wednesday April 26 Arrival Your tour leader, Dr Kathleen Olive, will meet the group at the hotel, and there will be a light dinner in a restaurant near our hotel this evening. Overnight Bologna (D)

Thursday April 27 Giorgio morandi This morning we explore the heritage of the great Italian artist Giorgio Morandi. We take a guided tour of the recently restored Morandi's house - the space where Morandi lived and worked almost all his life. Afterwards we continue our guided tour at the Morandi Museum inside the MAMbo to see a collection of the artist’s paintings, engravings and print heritage. We have our welcome lunch at a local restaurant, and the afternoon is at leisure. Overnight Bologna (B, L)

Friday April 28 Brilliant Ravenna Today we travel to Ravenna, capital of the Byzantine Empire in Italy from the 5th to the 8th century AD. The churches and baptisteries of this town are decorated with the very finest late Roman mosaics, gorgeous compositions reflecting a variety of religious and imperial themes. We return to Bologna in the late afternoon and the evening is at leisure. Overnight Bologna (B)

Saturday April 29 Towers and terracotta Today we explore the medieval and Renaissance heritage of Bologna, strolling the centro storico, admiring the red- arcaded passageways, towers and portici (porticoes). We visit the splendid Basilica di Santo Stefano and the oldest existing building, Santi Vitale e Agricola, parts of which date from the 5th century. Bologna is renowned for its outstanding cuisine which we enjoy today with lunch at a local restaurant. The afternoon and evening are at leisure. Overnight Bologna (B, L)

Sunday April 30 THE CONTEMPORARY ART OF FRESCO We depart Bologna today for Urbino, stopping along the way to visit the small town of Dozza, famous for its unique contemporary fresco art. We arrive in Urbino in the late afternoon and take an orientation stroll before dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Albergo Italia, Urbino (B, D) Monday May 1 (public holiday) The Ideal Renaissance city This morning after a talk in the hotel, we tour the principal sites of Urbino, a small hill-town which was transformed by the benevolent rule of Federico da Montefeltro. We visit the Palazzo Ducale and its celebrated intarsia-work studiolo, and the Galleria Nazionale, with Piero della Francesca’s tiny Flagellation. In the afternoon we take a walk to the Parco della Resistenza for panoramic views over the town. This evening is at leisure. Overnight Urbino (B)

Tuesday May 2 Fortresses and principalities San Marino is the world’s smallest and oldest republic. It consists of three ancient castles perched on sheer cliffs rising implausibly out of the flatlands of Romagna, and a tangled knot of cobblestone streets. Today we take a guided tour of the town and enjoy a group lunch of local fare. We then visit the ancient fortress town San Leo, located on an enormous rocky outcrop. We return to Urbino in the late afternoon and the evening is at leisure. Overnight Urbino (B, L)

Wednesday May 3 Contemporary Italian design We depart Urbino today for Parma, stopping at the impressive Lamborghini Museum en route. After a break for lunch we continue on to Parma, arriving late afternoon. We have dinner together at a local restaurant. Overnight Hotel Mercure Parma Stendhal, Parma (B, D)

Thursday May 4 Elegant Parma After a talk in the hotel, we take a walking tour of Parma including the medieval baptistery, its design overseen by the medieval sculptor Benedetto Antelami, and the cathedral and nearby church of San Giovanni Evangelista, where we enjoy the elegant work of Correggio. The afternoon is at leisure so you may choose to visit the Teatro Farnese, constructed in the early 17th century for Duke Ranuccio I, one of the oldest of its type in Italy. This evening is at leisure. Overnight Parma (B)

Friday May 5 Mantegna’s Mantua A full day excursion takes us to Mantua, where we have a guided tour of the Ducal Palace, a vast agglomeration of medieval and Renaissance structures, with fine works of art including Andrea Mantegna’s celebrated Camera degli Sposi, the so-called Bridal Chamber. We also see the early church Images clockwise from top left: Morandi's Studio, Bologna; the Palazzo of San Sebastiano, designed by Florentine humanist and Ducale, Urbino; the painted domed ceiling of the Parma Baptistery; murals in the village of Dozza near Bologna; and a mosaic of Emperor architect Leon Battista Alberti. Our tour of Mantua ends with a Justinian and his court in San Vitale, Ravenna visit to the great Renaissance palace - the Palazzo Te. We return to Parma in the late afternoon and the evening is at leisure. Overnight Parma (B) Saturday May 6 Parma s modern art patrons ’ This morning we visit the Magnani Rocca Estate, with its private art gallery, restaurant and extensive botanical gardens. After lunch at the villa, we visit the Labyrinth of Franco Maria Ricci, one of Italy’s leading publishers, in the centre of which is a gallery housing his invaluable collection of art, printed material and incunabula. We return to Parma via Fontanellato, whose medieval fortress – one of the few remaining in Italy with its moat intact – was renovated by its 16th-century occupants, who employed a young Parmigianino. The evening is at leisure. Overnight Parma (B, L)

Sunday May 7 The Castles of the Duchy Today we depart for Milan, en route visiting the hamlet of Vigoleno, a medieval fortified town that has been recognised as one of the most beautiful in Italy. We continue to Castel’Arquato, to tour the town’s fine public and religious buildings from the 13th and 14th centuries. We enjoy lunch in a nearby restaurant before continuing on Milan where the evening is at leisure. Overnight Hotel de la Ville, Milan (B, L)

Monday May 8 In the centre Milan Our exploration of Milan today starts with the city’s main square, Piazza del Duomo, to admire the intricate Gothic structure of the cathedral. We venture to the top, via elevator, for spectacular views over the city. Just a few steps away, we visit Santa Maria Presso San Satiro, an architectural gem built in 876 and later perfected by Bramante (1444–1514). The theatre is nearby too, so we visit the theatre museum and take a look at the theatre itself. We end our tour with a bus transfer to the splendid private Portinari Chapel, a Renaissance gem tucked behind the high altar of the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio. This evening is at leisure. Overnight Milan (B)

Tuesday May 9 Leonardo in Milan This morning we are booked to view Leonardo’s masterly Last Supper at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. We continue on by foot to San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, to admire the magnificent 16th-century frescoes of Leonardo's contemporary, Luini. This afternoon is spent at the ; originally a Visconti fortress, this iconic red-brick castle was later home to the mighty Sforza dynasty, who ruled Renaissance Milan. The castle’s defences were designed by the multitalented Leonardo. There is time to independently explore the complex seven specialised museums, which gather together intriguing fragments of Milan’s cultural and civic history, including Michelangelo’s final work, the Rondanini Pietà. This evening is at leisure. Overnight Milan (B) Wednesday May 10 Art and domestic life The Brera gallery is a world-class collection of northern Italian art whose highlights include Mantegna’s Lamentation of Christ and Piero della Francesca’s representation of Federico da Montefeltro’s court in his Holy Conversation. Other artists represented here include the Bellini brothers, Raphael, Titian and Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Rembrandt. This afternoon we visit the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi, a small house museum of the Quattrocento, similar to New York’s Frick Museum. This evening is at leisure. Overnight Milan (B)

Thursday May 11 Modern miracles in Milan Today we visit two very different Modernist house museums. The first, Casa Museo Boschi Di Stefano, is a gem housing an impressive collection of contemporary art ranging from the Futurism to the 1950s. We then head to the well- restored 1930s Villa Necchi Campiglio, beautifully shot in the recent film I Am Love and surviving completely intact, both outside with its ample yard, tennis court and pool, and inside with its rich succession of rooms. This evening we have our farewell dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight Milan (B, D)

Friday May 12 Departure The tour ends after breakfast. Departing group members transfer to Milan airport for outgoing flights. (B)

Hotels

Hotels have been selected principally for their central location. Most of the hotels are excellent four-star properties that are within renovated palazzi. The Albergo Italia is a simple three-star hotel and the most suitable for our Urbino stay.

 Bologna, Grand Hotel Majestic Già Baglioni (4 nights) www.grandhotelmajestic.duetorrihotels.com/en

 Urbino, Albergo Italia (3 nights) www.albergo-italia-urbino.it/

 Parma, Mercure Hotel Stendhal (4 nights) Images clockwise from top left: Matisse's Odalisque on a Terrace http://www.hotelstendhal.it/ (Odalisque sur la terrasse), 1922, part of the Magnani Rocca Estate’s private art gallery; Raphael's The Marriage of the Virgin, 1504, held in the Brera gallery; the garden room of Villa Necchi Campiglio; Michelangelo’s  Milan, Hotel de la Ville (5 nights) final work, the Rondanini Pietà, in Castello Sforzesco; and www.delavillemilano.com/ Castell’Arquato, located on the first hills of Val D’Arda in the province of Piacenza

Tour Inclusions Fitness Requirements of THIS tour Included in the tour price Grade Two  All accommodation in selected hotels  All breakfasts and selected lunches and dinners in local It is important both for you and for your fellow travellers that restaurants as indicated in the itinerary you are fit enough to be able to enjoy all the activities on this  Land travel in Italy by air-conditioned coach tour. To give you an indication of the level of physical fitness  Extensive tour notes required to participate on our tours, we have given them a  Services of an Australian tour leader throughout the tour star grading. Academy Travel’s tours tend to feature extended walking tours and site visits, which require greater  All entrance fees to sites mentioned in itinerary fitness than coach touring. We ask you to carefully consider  Local guides for cities and sites your ability to meet the physical demands of the tour.  Porterage of one piece of luggage at all hotels  Tips to local guides and drivers Participation criteria for this tour This Grade Two tour is designed for people who lead active Not included in the tour price lives and can comfortably participate in up to five hours of  International airfares, taxes and surcharges (see below) physical activity per day on most days, including longer  Airport transfers if not coordinating with Emirates flights walking tours, challenging archaeological sites, climbing stairs, embarking and disembarking trains and/or boats, and  Travel insurance a more demanding tour schedule with one night stops or  Meals not stated as included in this itinerary several internal flights.  Items of a personal nature such as laundry, phone calls or internet use You should be able to:  keep up with the group at all times  walk for 4-5 kilometres at a moderate pace with only Air travel short breaks  stand for a reasonable length of time in galleries and The tour price quoted is for land content only. For this tour museums we recommend Emirates which offers flights into Bologna  tolerate uncomfortable climatic conditions such as cold, and out of Milan from most Australian cities. Please contact humidity and heat us for the best possible prices on economy, business or first  walk up and down slopes class fares. Transfers between airport and hotel are included  negotiate steps and slopes on archaeological sites, for all passengers booking their flights through Academy which are often uneven and unstable Travel. These may be group or individual transfers.  get on and off a large coach with steep stairs, train or boat unassisted, possibly with luggage  move your luggage a short distance if required Enquiries and A note for older travellers bookings If you are more than 80 years old, or have restricted mobility, For further information and to secure a place on this tour it is highly likely that you will find this itinerary challenging. please contact Frederick Steyn at Academy Travel on 9235 You will have to miss several activities and will not get the 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email full value of the tour. Your booking will not be accepted until [email protected] after you have contacted Academy Travel to discuss your situation and the exact physical requirements of this tour. While we will do our best to reasonably accommodate the physical needs of all group members, we reserve the right to Weather on Tour refuse bookings if we feel that the requirements of the tour are too demanding for you and/or if local conditions mean May is a very pleasant time to travel in Italy. Expect average we cannot reasonably accommodate your condition. maximum temperatures of 20º - 23ºC during the day, and minimums of 12º - 15ºC at night. It is reasonable to expect passing showers or rain on a few days, but it is usually a sunny time of year.