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Site & Content
©2002-7 Learn Italy Ltd. |
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cercate il sito Learn Italy della Societa Dante Alighieri
- Comitato di Siena, clickare qui
www.learnitaly.com |
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| At the heart of
medieval Siena is the shell-shaped Campo, where the famous Palio
horse race is run. One side is taken up by the thirteenth-century
Palazzo Pubblico, its halls filled with frescoes, including
Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti's panoramic 'Allegories of Good
and Bad Government' and Simone Martini's superb Maestà.
As well as seeing these and many other works of art in their
original settings, we will take advantage of Siena's many excellent
art galleries and museums to deepen our understanding of this
city's special contribution to the history of European art.
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| A short walk from
the Campo through the city's labyrinth of medieval streets and
alleys is Siena's Duomo and baptistery, filled with priceless
works of art from different periods, by artists such as Nicola
Pisano, Donatello and Pintoricchio. The cathedral museum houses
Duccio's Maestà, his indisputable masterpiece,
among many other exquisite paintings and sculptures. It also
provides access to a vertiginous viewpoint from the top of a
fragment of the huge cathedral planned by the Sienese, a project
brought to an end by the Black Death in 1348. If you have a
head for heights, from here you can see the medieval city spread
across its seven hills, pierced everywhere with valleys of cultivated
land, and the contada beyond, the unforgettable landscape
of southern Tuscany, with its vines, its olives and cypresses,
and its ancient hill towns. |
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| We will spend a
day visiting some of these towns. Montalcino is famous for its
Brunello wine and the Romanesque abbey of Sant'Antimo; it also
has a small but lovely art gallery. Pienza is a tiny renaissance
jewel built at the behest of Pope Pius II. On the outskirts
of Montepulciano is the architect Sangallo's unsurpassed masterpiece,
the church of San Biagio. |
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| On another day
we will go north-west of Siena to San Gimignano, another tiny
medieval city-state, but one which preserves fifteen of the
towers built by noble families for their defence and prestige,
which in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries crowded the sky-lines
of Italian towns. The cathedral is filled with medieval and
renaissance frescoes, with works by Bartolo dei Fredi and Ghirlandaio
amongst many others. Ten minutes walk away is the church of
Sant'Agostino, home of Benozzo Gozzoli's outstanding frescoes
of the life of St Augustine. |
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| Lecturer and guide
for this study week will Dr Lynda Dennison who specialises in
Gothic and Renaissance Art and Architecture. She has published
extensively on illuminated manuscripts of the fourteenth century
and is currently teaching on the Adult Education programmes
of Oxford and Bristol universities, as well as working on the
Cambridge University Illuminations project. Martin Gray will
be the tour organiser. |
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| Early March weather
in Tuscany is unpredictable, but the advantage of visiting Siena
at this time is that we should avoid the throngs of tourists
who arrive later in the year. The weather may be cold or wet,
but days of tranquil early spring sunshine are equally possible.
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| The hill-top geography
of Siena and its nearby towns means that every day will involve
steady uphill and downhill walking as well as steep streets
and stairs. There are no hotels in the centre of the city suitable
for our group, so we will be staying just outside the medieval
city walls, about quarter-of-an-hour's walk from the Campo.
Buses to the centre are frequent and taxis are cheap, but participants
on this holiday should enjoy a reasonable level of fitness and
mobility in order to take full advantage of what the stay in
Siena has to offer. |
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| Siena has an abundance
of cafes and restaurants. As on other Learn Italy holidays,
a number of group meals will be organised. |
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Per person,
single use of double room:
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| Per person,
sharing a double room |
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| coach transfers between
an Italian airport and Siena; |
six nights accommodation
with breakfast in a three-star hotel in Siena;
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| lectures on Sienese art
and history illustrated with slides; |
| a day's tour of southern
Tuscany by private coach; |
| a half-day in San Gimignano
with travel by private coach; |
| entrance fees to churches,
art galleries and museums. |
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| These prices do
not include the flight to Italy. As soon as a sufficient number
of people have signed up for the holiday, participants will
be able to buy tickets on a chosen flight, either over the Internet
or by phone from Italia nel Mondo, an ABTA and ATOL registered
travel agent. Based on current prices, these flights should
cost about £150 or less. |
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If you wish to
join this study week, please contact Martin Gray
at
01865 860984 or
enquiries@learn-italy.com
to receive a booking form.
Places on the holiday will be first-come, first-served,
based on receipt of the booking form and deposit.
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Guideline prices, excluding flights:
