Southern
Tuscany and Umbria are home to some of the greatest fresco cycles of the
Italian Renaissance. We will be staying in the handsome town of Cortona,
centrally situated for this tour. From there we will visit Giotto’s
and Simone Martini’s scenes at Assisi, Piero della Francesca’s
Cycle of the True Cross in Arezzo and Signorelli’s apocalyptic Last
Judgement at Orvieto. Other treasures explored are Pinturicchio’s
jewel-like frescoes at Spello and Perugino’s decoration of the Collegio
del Cambio in Perugia. These artistic delights will be matched by some
of the most evocative landscapes and hill-top towns that this part of Italy
can offer.
This Art Pursuits study tour includes:
Scheduled return flights with British Airways between London Heathrow
and Rome airport
Transfers between airport and hotel and excursions (as appropriate)
by private coach.
Six nights bed & breakfast in a beautifully atmospheric and historic
4-star hotel, conveniently situated in the centre of Cortona.
Three dinners and one lunches
All entrance fees for visits included in the programme and gratuities
Services of the lecturer and tour manager
Detailed programme and study notes
Small group: this tour will operate with a minimum of 12 and a maximum
of 22 participants
Not Included:
Three dinners and five lunches
Transport between home and London Heathrow
Travel insurance. We strongly advise you to be covered by adequate
travel insurance.
Price
The price of this tour is £1,750, based on two people sharing. Price
without flights £1,650. Double room for sole use supplement £290.
Deposit payable at the time of booking £200.
Programme Details
Day 1
Morning flight with British Airways
from London Heathrow to Rome. Transfer by coach to Cortona with
a stop at Todi en route to visit S.Maria della Consolazione, one
of the best Renaissance churches in Italy. Dinner in a local restaurant.
Day 2
Coach excursion to Assisi to study the frescoes
in the basilica of S. Francesco: Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini
and the Lorenzetti brothers – they all contributed to this
greatest of late mediaeval shrines, making it one of the most splendid
monuments of Italian art. After lunch, continue to the delightful
mediaeval town of Spello where the decorative frescoes by Pinturicchio
provide a wonderful antidote to the morning’s more austere
monumentality. Return to Cortona and dinner in a local restaurant.
Day 3
The day will be spent in Arezzo, home town
of the sixteenth-century art historian Giorgio Vasari. A morning
walk will include visits to Vasari’s house, the cathedral
and the pieve with an early polyptych by Pietro Lorenzetti. The
afternoon will be dedicated to Piero della Francesca’s grand
fresco cycle of the True Cross, one of the landmarks of Quattrocento
art. Return to Cortona and independent dinner.
Day 4
Follow the Piero trail: In the painter’s
home town of San Sepolcro we will visit the Museo Civico to see
his earliest work, the Madonna della Misericordia, and his haunting
fresco of the Resurrection. After a picnic lunch (included), continue
to Monterchi to admire the fresco of Piero’s Madonna del
Parto, the only representation of a pregnant Madonna in Renaissance
art. Return to Cortona and independent dinner.
Day 5
Excursion to Perugia, capital of Umbria and
overflowing with artistic treasures. Monuments of civic pride range
from the Fontana Maggiore by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano to the
Collegio del Cambio with frescoes by Perugino. The Galleria Nazionale
houses Piero della Francesca’s sensational polyptych of the
Madonna with Saints, as well as works by Fra Angelico and Pinturicchio.
After lunch visits will include the fifth-century church of Sant’Angelo
and the oratory of San Severo which contains Raphael’s early
fresco of the Holy Trinity and Saints. Return to Cortona and dinner
in a local restaurant.
Day 6
In the morning explore Cortona on foot,
including the Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca with a collection
ranging from Etruscan finds to paintings by Pietro da Cortona,
and the Museo Diocesano with Fra Angelico’s exquisite Annunciation.
Free afternoon to stroll around this handsome hill town. Independent
dinner.
Day 7
Depart Cortona for Orvieto and its spectacular
14th-century cathedral, with magnificent reliefs on the façade
and superlative frescoes by Luca Signorelli. The Museo dell’Opera
del Duomo is home to works by Coppo di Marcovaldo, Simone Martini
and Andrea Pisano. After lunch (independent) continue to Rome’s
Fiumicino airport for a late afternoon flight back to London Heathrow.
Please note that at this stage the programme is still provisional. Although
we aim at the greatest degree of accuracy from the outset, some details,
especially the order of visits, may be subject to change.
After you complete this on-line provisional tour booking form and press
the "Make Booking" button, you will be sent a supplementary booking form
to complete (asking for additional information needed to fully process
your booking) which you will need to send back to us along with the requested
deposit.
Your provisional booking will be held for up to seven days until
we receive payment of the deposit. Please contact us if you have not
received the supplementary booking form within seven days.
Southern
Tuscany and Umbria are home to some of the greatest fresco cycles of the
Italian Renaissance. We will be staying in the handsome town of Cortona,
centrally situated for this tour. From there we will visit Giotto’s
and Simone Martini’s scenes at Assisi, Piero della Francesca’s
Cycle of the True Cross in Arezzo and Signorelli’s apocalyptic Last
Judgement at Orvieto. Other treasures explored are Pinturicchio’s
jewel-like frescoes at Spello and Perugino’s decoration of the Collegio
del Cambio in Perugia. These artistic delights will be matched by some
of the most evocative landscapes and hill-top towns that this part of Italy
can offer.
