Rome, Italy
EXCLUSIVE AFTER-HOURS VISIT TO THE SISTINE CHAPEL with Dr. Rocky Ruggiero
November 30, 2024
2 hours
$550
DAY 1: LIVE Virtual Tour of Florence/Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato
DAY 2: The Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and the Spanish Chapel
DAY 3: LIVE Virtual Tour of Florence’s Oltrarno/Masaccio’s Holy Trinity and the Brancacci Chapel
DAY 4: Palazzo Medici, San Lorenzo, and San Marco
DAY 5: Santa Felicità and Palazzo Pitti/LIVE Virtual Tour of NIGHTTIME Florence
”You will begin to wonder that human daring ever achieved anything so magnificent.”
John Ruskin, Mornings in Florence 1875
Our new program “Florence: The Art of Magnificence” Part II is a great opportunity to visit Florence with Dr. Rocky Ruggiero without travelling! It provides a perfect mix of real-time virtual tours directly from Florence and live presentations through which we can observe Florence’s beautiful art and architecture in greater detail.
Description: Florence, Italy, was the cradle of the Renaissance and the birthplace of the modern world. From Dante to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, this central Italian town produced the greatest concentration of artistic genius in history. The legacy of this creative explosion is still very much present in the city. Whether it is the artistic patronage of the Medici family, the grandeur of the Pitti Palace, the early Renaissance frescoes in Santa Maria Novella, or the often overlooked gem of San Miniato perched on high above Piazzale Michelangelo, beauty and inspiration are found in every corner of this open-air museum that is Florence. This week-long program will tell the story of Florence through its art, architecture and history – a story that is simply magnificent!
Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE PROGRAM
Format: Live tours directly from the streets of Florence and live presentations on Zoom platform. Participants will also have access to our online educational platform.
Instructor: Dr. Rocky Ruggiero
ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE FOR THE DURATION OF THE COURSE.
DAY 1: MONDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2021 – FLORENCE IN REAL TIME!
10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. EST – LIVE Virtual Tour direct from Florence
We begin our program with a LIVE STREAM from perhaps the city’s most dramatic perspective – the Piazzale Michelangelo, perched high above the city. There’s no better way to understand the general medieval urbanism of Florence than from a bird’s eye view. Not only will the breath-taking panorama demonstrate why Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, it will also reveal how the individual monuments and piazzas relate to each other. We will then ascend the steep stairway up to the oldest church in Florence – San Miniato al Monte in REAL TIME!
LUNCH BREAK
2:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST – Tuscan Romanesque Architecture of San Miniato al Monte
This lecture will explore the architecture and history of one of the most celebrated Romanesque churches of medieval Europe. The thousand-year-old church of San Miniato al Monte in Florence houses an eclectic mix of artistic styles inside of a distinctly mysterious and mystical atmosphere. Consecrated in 1018 CE as a Benedictine church and monastery, the church still stands as one of the prime examples of Romanesque architecture in Italy.
DAY 2: TUESDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2021 – THE BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA NOVELLA AND POST-BLACK DEATH PAINTING
2:00 – 5:00 p.m. EST – Santa Maria Novella and the Spanish Chapel
The first part of this lecture will examine the great Dominican church and convent of Santa Maria Novella. From the 13th-century Gothic-style architecture, to its early Renaissance façade, the great basilica reflects the changing artistic, religious, and social trends of the late medieval world.
In the second part of today’s lecture, we shall examine the effects of the Black Death on painting. The “Black Death” of 1348 has been described as the single most important event in the history of Europe. The effects of this plague on art have been the focus of much research. We will examine the frescoes in the Spanish Chapel at Santa Maria Novella as a possible testimony of a “post-black death style.”
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2021 – EARLY RENAISSANCE PAINTING “IN PERSPECTIVE”
10:00 – 11:15 a.m. EST – LIVE VIRTUAL TOUR direct from Florence’s Oltrarno neighborhood
In this LIVE STREAM, shall walk the streets of the rive gauche of Florence, known as the “Oltrarno,” in order to admire its beauty and internationally renowned artisan traditions. Stroll across the Ponte Vecchio, admire the majestic Pitti Palace, wander down the antique-shop-filled Via Maggio, bask in the charm of the church and piazza of Santo Spirito, and then end up deep in the heart of the Oltrarno at the piazza and church of Santa Maria del Carmine. See and appreciate the beauty of Florence in REAL TIME!
LUNCH BREAK
2:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST – Masaccio’s Holy Trinity and the Brancacci Chapel
The first part of this lecture will examine Masaccio’s revolutionary frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine. There is no better place in the world in which to illustrate the evolution of late Gothic to Early Renaissance than this chapel. It was here that the young genius named Masaccio introduced what today we define as Renaissance painting.
In the second part of this lecture, we shall examine one of history’s most important paintings. Although not as highly publicized as many other more famous paintings, the Holy Trinity by Masaccio was revolutionary. It is the first painting to ever apply a technology known as linear or single-point perspective. This lecture will take a closer look at the mathematical principles behind the great painting, as well as how (for the first time) science and theology synergized in Renaissance art.
DAY 4: THURSDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2021 – THE RISE OF THE MEDICI: THE ART OF POWER
2:00 – 5:00 p.m EST – Palazzo Medici, San Lorenzo, and San Marco
From relatively modest beginnings, the Medici family became one of the most wealthy and powerful in Renaissance Italy. The Medici imposed de facto rule on Florence from 1434 until 1494. The family controlled the city’s political, economic, and artistic policy. Not only were they bankers to some of Europe’s most important rulers, but also great patrons of the arts. Artists such as Donatello, Brunelleschi, Botticelli and Michelangelo all developed under and enjoyed Medici largesse. We will explore how the art of the Renaissance had become the visual geopolitical language of the Medici – which was clearly a language of power. Their power and patronage is best expressed in their 15th-century palazzo, their unofficial “official” church of San Lorenzo and the first monumental commission of individual patronage to rival communal patronage in Florence: the church and convent of San Marco.
DAY 5: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26, 2021 – THE HIGH RENAISSANCE AND FLORENTINE MANNERISM: SANTA FELICITÀ AND PALAZZO PITTI
2:30 – 4:30 p.m. EST – The Church of Santa Felicità and the Pitti Palace
In the wake of Michelangelo, many young artists in Florence sought their own unique voice of expression. This inevitably led to many of them working in an unorthodox “manner.” Vasari was the first to collectively coin this style as “Mannerism.” This lecture will examine the High Renaissance works of Raphael in the Palatine Gallery of the Pitti Palace and contrast them to contemporary Mannerist works, in particular Pontormo’s Capponi Altarpiece in the church of Santa Felicità.
COFFEE BREAK
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. EST – Grand Finale LIVE Virtual NIGHTTIME Tour direct from Florence
Our program will end with a LIVE STREAM under the stars and glow of the streetlamps of Florence in order to admire its beauty. Stroll across the Ponte Vecchio, marvel at the statues in Piazza della Signoria, wander down the Via Calzaiuoli past the grain-market-turned-church of Orsanmichele, and then be astounded by the stunningly illuminated Duomo of Florence by night. See and appreciate the beauty of Florence in REAL TIME and learn how the city’s beauty only amplifies after the sun goes down.
FEBRUARY 22 – 26, 2021
Participant – $325.00/person
Additional Family Member / Friend – $160.00/person
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