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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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| Verona is among
the best of the many attractive cities of northern Italy. Its
Roman Arena is known all over the world as a venue for lavish
operas, but opera-goers may never realise how much more there
is to the city. It boasts a centre filled with lively medieval
and renaissance squares and bustling markets, an impressive
Romanesque cathedral, and many fascinating monuments and buildings,
many of them built in the striking pink marble called rosso
di Verona. The Scaligeri family's castles and palaces are here,
and their Castelvecchio, built in the fourteenth century by
Cangrande II, is now a fine art gallery, with views over the
Adige river and the city. The family's ornate Gothic tombs outside
the tiny church of Santa Maria Antica are unique. In the huge
twelfth-century church of San Zeno Maggiore there are two special
treasures to be enjoyed: an extraordinary pair of bronze doors
from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, with forty-eight panels
of bas-reliefs; and an altarpiece which is one of Mantegna's
masterpieces.
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| We will stay in
a hotel in the historic centre of this prosperous and engaging
city. From here we will enjoy day trips by coach or train to
three other fascinating places - Mantua, Vicenza and Sirmione
on Lake Garda. |
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| One of Mantua's
main attractions is Mantegna's magnificent and absorbing Camera
degli Sposi in the huge Ducal palace of the Gonzaga family.
At the other end of this delightful town, which seems to float
above the lakes which surround it, is the strange, rule-breaking
baroque architecture of the Palazzo Tè, built by Giuliano
Romano as a summer playhouse for Federico Gonzaga; of its many
frescoed rooms the most impressive is the Sala dei Giganti,
in which huge frescoed Titans do battle with Jupiter's thunderbolts.
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| Vicenza was where
Andrea Palladio chose to spend most of his working life, and
the majority of his most famous buildings are in this city and
the surrounding area. Is there anyone else in the history of
architecture who has given their name to a whole style of building?
'Palladian' is almost synonymous with 'neoclassical', except
that it conveys a sense of airy quality and harmony not present
in the more generic term. On our day in this compact and sophisticated
city we will see several of Palladio's most famous buildings,
including the Basilica in Vicenza's centre and his last work,
the Teatro Olimpico. |
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| Sirmione stands
on a small peninsula on the southern shore of Italy's largest
lake, the Lago di Garda. There are magnificent views of the
lake from the huge tower of the thirteenth-century Rocca Scaligera.
At the promontory's extreme tip, surrounded by olive groves,
are the atmospheric remains of a Roman villa, called the Grotte
di Catullo. This impressive domestic building might well have
belonged to the family of the poet Catullus, whose beloved Sirmione
was the 'gem of all peninsulas and islands'. |
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| The tutor for this
study holiday will be Alice Foster, who has led many successful
Learn Italy trips to Italian cities, and is a frequent lecturer
for the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education
and NADFAS. Martin Gray will be the tour organiser. |
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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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| These prices are
based on the current poor exchange rate of the pound in relation
to the euro. Every effort will be made to avoid adding a surcharge
to the cost of the holiday if the pound continues to drop in
value. However if its value increases during the forthcoming
months it may be possible to lower the prices accordingly. |
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| six nights bed and breakfast
in a three-star hotel in Verona; |
| two evening meals; |
| lectures on the art and
architecture of Verona, Mantua and Vicenza; |
| entrance fees to museums
and churches; |
| three days of travel
by coach or train to chosen sites around Verona; |
| coach transfers between
an Italian airport and the hotel; |
| coach travel between
the Cotswolds and Oxford, and a London airport (if enough
people are departing from the area). |
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| Flights from the
UK to north-east Italy currently cost from about £115.
When enough people have subscribed to the holiday, suitable
flights will be chosen and tickets on these can be bought over
the Internet or from a designated travel agent; the price will
depend on when you choose to make your purchase, as prices are
likely to rise steadily. Further information about these arrangements
will be supplied on receipt of your booking form. |
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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:
