ITALIAN JOURNEYS Cold Springs Road, Winston-Salem, NC

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1 Page 1 of 6 Cities in Winter: Rome, Florence, Venice Fresh Looks February 17 to 28, 2013 During winter, when the cruise ships have sailed south, Italian cities become once again Italian. Restaurants fill with locals, museums exhale, and Italian is the language heard on the streets. Brisk weather notwithstanding, it is the perfect time to visit these glorious places. This year, for our Cities in Winter tour, we re offering fresh looks at familiar places. In Rome we ll examine the Papacy both through time and as it functions today. We will view Florence through the lens of science and its uncomfortable relationship to the Church. We finish up with Venice, a magnificent city caught between history and modernity. Eleven nights, three cities, twelve participants. Rome: Papal Splendor February 17, 18, 19, 20 Over four days we will examine how Ancient Rome, with its carefully laid out streets, grandiose public spaces and large-scale buildings segued seamlessly into Christian Rome, and how a succession of popes turned a simple Christian brotherhood into an empire. We ll look at the monuments these popes left behind, and we ll also consider how they lived: their Vatican apartments, their private palaces, their passions, and their sometimes-prurient pastimes. Sites visited will include: The Early Christian complex of Sant Agnese (4 th c.) Piazza Del Popolo: a palimpsest of design Papal Commissions: The Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain St. Peter s and the Vatican (Borgia apartments, pending permission) Baroque Rome: The church of the Gesu, Sant Ivo, Piazza Navona

2 Page 2 of 6 Florence: The Rise of Science February 21, 22, 23 Our theme in Florence will be Science and its relationship to faith. We begin at the Uffizi with its newly restored Tribuna, a wunderkammer of precious objects, both artistic and scientific, collected by the Medici. Equally interesting is the intimate Studiolo of Francesco I in the Palazzo Vecchio. The theme of scientific inquiry plays out in the Museum of the History of Science as well as in the Church of Santa Croce where Galileo is entombed. Art, architecture, healing and science come together in Florence s Renaissance hospitals and pharmacies, and in the miracle-working images with which they often vied. Sites visited will include: Galleria degli Uffizi: newly restored Tribuna Boboli Gardens (weather permitting) Palazzo Vecchio: Studiolo of Francesco I Museum of the History of Science Orsanmichele Santa Maria Novella Santa Croce (tomb of Galileo) Renaissance Hospitals of Bigallo and Innocenti Venice: Now and Then February 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Can a city of fifteenth century palaces remain vital in the twenty-first century? This is a question we will try to answer as we trace Venice s artistic and artisan traditions throughout the centuries as well as ways in which the city during that time has reinvented itself. On the Giudecca Island we ll see how a maze of monasteries were transformed during the industrial revolution into factories and, during the twentieth century, into artist studios. Likewise we will follow the development of Venetian fashion, starting with corsets and flounces of earlier eras and ending with a cutting-edge boutique. How have the glassworks of Murano remained relevant, or not? How have gondolas survived? How has modernism flourished in a very old city? Sites visited will include: Punta della Dogana with its collection of contemporary art A tour of the Giudecca including visits to artists studios Artisan shops in the Dorsoduro Bevilaqua Silk factory: Nicolao Atelier collection of Venetian costumes: Carlo Moretti glassworks on Murano:

3 Page 3 of 6 Fortuny Museum of textiles and fashion The works of Carlo Scarpa: Olivetti Showroom and the Palazzo Querini Stampalia: Hotels In Rome we are staying at the Hotel Santa Chiara. It is a well-run 3-star hotel that sits directly behind the Pantheon and amidst a bevy of restaurants and tempting shops. In Florence, we are returning to the Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci, which occupies the top two floors of a palazzo in the heart of old Florence. It is a charming hotel, with a roof garden and public rooms lifted from Merchant and Ivory s Room with a View. Our hotel in Venice is the 4-star Palazzo Sant Angelo on the Grand Canal. We first stayed here a decade ago, when it had just opened, and have returned regularly ever since. Costs The cost of the tour is $4300 in double occupancy. This covers 11 nights in hotels, all breakfasts, one group meal each day, all entrance fees, all tips, transportation as needed within each city, private bus transfer from Rome to Florence, and travel by highspeed train from Florence to Venice. The price of the tour covers standard to superior rooms in all hotels. Please inquire if you are interested in more deluxe accommodations Not included are airfare and airport transportation, hotel extras, and unscheduled meals. Interested in a shorter tour? Please inquire. We may be able to offer the option of fewer cities. Our Itinerary: Sunday, February 17 The tour begins in the afternoon when we take our little bus outside the walls of Rome to the 4 th century Early Christian complex of Sant Agnese. Mosaics are the name of the game, both in the church of Sant Agnese and even more so in the stunning mausoleum built by Emperor Constantine for his daughters Constantia and Helena. Welcome dinner near our hotel.

4 Page 4 of 6 Monday, February 18 The Piazza del Popolo, with twin churches to greet arriving pilgrims, the art-filled Renaissance church of Santa Maria del Poplo, and the 19 th century neo-classical landscaping, makes an excellent starting point for our exploration of this city built by emperors and then re-shaped, time and again, by popes. We will also look at the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, both important papal commissions. And, finally, with a nod to both our own era and the past, we will visit Emperor Augustus s Altar to Peace, housed in a 21 st century shell designed by California architect Richard Meier. Tuesday, February 19 Morning tour of the Vatican and St. Peter s Basilica with particular emphasis on how these spaces were created and used as a papal palace. In the afternoon we have our Courtesan Tour of Rome s historic center, where we ll discuss how some pope s used their leisure time. We will look at the palaces where Courtesans were lodged, the banks that subsidized their lifestyles, and the jewelers that kept them in glitter. Wednesday, February 20 Seventeenth century Rome witnessed an exuberant boom in papal commissions as the church attempted to steel itself against protestant movements beyond its borders. In Rome s historic center we ll look at several examples of this vigorous style of art and architecture from a period we now refer to as the Baroque. Afternoon transfer by private bus from Rome to Florence. Welcome dinner in Florence. Thursday, February 21 Morning tour of the Uffizi Gallery, including the newly renovated Tribuna, a wunderkammer of precious objects, both artistic and scientific, collected by the Medici. Afternoon visit to the Brancacci Chapel where art once again meets science as we see Masaccio working out the geometry of vanishing-point perspective.

5 Page 5 of 6 Friday, February 22 Morning visit to the Palazzo Vecchio, which has functioned both as town hall and as residence for the Medici princes. The intimate Studiolo of Francesco I was designed for the Duke by Vasari as a part-office, part-laboratory, and part-cabinet of curiosities. Next we visit the Museum of the History of Science, much of which is dedicated to Galileo and his legacy. In the nearby Church of Santa Croce we find his tomb. Afternoon free. Saturday, February 23 Our theme today is healing, both scientific and spiritual. We will look at miracle working images in the churches of Orsanmichele and Santissima Annunziata, the Renaissance hospitals of Bigallo and Innocenti, and the Renaissance pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella. Afternoon and evening free. Sunday, February 24 Morning train to Venice. We will settle in our hotel by noon and then gather for a group lunch. In the afternoon we ll visit the Palazzo Querini Stampalia and the Olivetti Showroom to see how centuries-old architecture can be adapted to modern design. Both sites are designed by Carlo Scarpa, who brought modernity to Venice. Monday, February 25 Today we consider an art form that in Venice has always been of upmost importance: fashion. Starting at an atelier that furnishes costumes for both filmmakers and Carnevale tourists, we ll see how people of earlier eras dressed, from top to bottom and inside out. From there we continue to the studios of Bevilaqua, with the only functioning silk looms in Venice. We will look at Venetian design in the Fortuny Museum and finish our day at a cutting-edge fashion boutique.

6 Page 6 of 6 Tuesday, February 26 In the morning we will visit Murano, with our first stop at the School of Glass to gain an appreciation of this very-venetian art form. From there we proceed to the Carlo Moretti glassworks where we can watch teams of artisans produce museum quality objects. Afternoon visit to the Punta della Dogana, a customs house at the tip of the Dorsoduro that sat empty for decades until it was acquired by the Francois Pinault Foundation and transformed into a space for contemporary art that is both stunning and controversial. Wednesday, February 27 Morning tour of the Giudecca, that sleepy island across the water from Venice proper. Originally, this area was dotted with monasteries. In the 18 th and 19 th centuries, as churches in Venice suffered under foreign domination and demand for manufactured goods rose, the convents were one-by-one converted into factories. In recent decades, the Giudecca has become a fashionable place to live so as to look at Venice rather than to live there and factories have been converted into apartments and artists studios. Afternoon tour of artisan studios in the Dorsoduro: the best in silks, beads, goblets, masks. Thursday, February 28 The tour ends with breakfast. For further details contact Libby Lubin: libbylubin@italianjouneys.net Italian Journeys 4400 Cold Springs Road Winston Salem, NC