Hotel
DAY 1: Check-in at Claridge’s Hotel, Lecture by Dr. Rocky & Welcome Dinner
DAY 2: Visit to the Wallace Collection & the Victoria & Albert Museum
DAY 3: Visit to the “Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael” exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts & the National Gallery & New Year’s Eve Celebration!
DAY 4: Lecture by Dr. Rocky & Exclusive in-hotel New Year’s Day Brunch
DAY 5: Check-out from Claridge’s Hotel
Ring in the New Year with Dr. Rocky, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael in London, England!
Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to usher in the New Year 2025 in London with Dr. Rocky and visit the “Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael” exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (November 9, 2024 – February 16, 2025). This exhibition explores the rivalry between Leonardo and Michelangelo and the influence both had on the young Raphael.
We shall also take advantage of the extraordinary amount of world-class Italian Renaissance art located in various other London museums such as the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Wallace Collection. Few cities outside of Italy can boast such an extensive and high-quality collection of Italian Renaissance masterpieces.
All the while, you can enjoy the timeless elegance of one of London’s top hotels – the Claridge’s – as well as some of the finest Italian food and wine outside of Italy!
DAY 1: SUNDAY DECEMBER 29, 2024
3.00pm – Check into the luxurious Claridge’s Hotel (in the elegant Mayfair district of London)
5:30pm – In-hotel welcome lecture by Dr. Rocky “Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael: The High Renaissance Holy Trinity”
The fact that the lives and careers of these three extraordinary men not only overlapped but were directly intertwined is a direct reflection of the unique importance of their times. No other moment in western history witnessed the concurrence of such artistic genius in such close geographical proximity. This lecture will examine the professional and personal relationships between the three artists and how they not only helped to shape each artist’s personal style, but also to define the art of the early modern world.
7:30pm – Welcome dinner at the celebrated Il Borro Restaurant
DAY 2: MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2024
10:30 am – Visit to the Wallace Collection
Built over the 18th and 19th centuries by the Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the Wallace Collection houses one of the world’s most important collections of painting, sculpture, furniture, arms, armor, and porcelain. In 1897, the collection was given to the British Nation by Lady Wallace. Today it is a national museum and includes Italian Renaissance masterpieces by Titian, Giambologna, Andrea del Sarto and Cima da Conegliano.
12:30 pm – Free for lunch
3:30 pm – Visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum is home to some of the world’s greatest Italian Renaissance masterpieces. The collection includes Donatello’s mesmerizing “Ascension/Giving of the Keys” marble relief sculpture and his powerful bronze “Lamentation,” Botticelli’s “Portrait of a Lady,” Bellini’s “Portrait of Mehmed II,” and seven spectacular full-scale tapestry cartoons by Raphael.
6:00 pm – Free evening
DAY 3: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2024
10:30 am – Visit to the “Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael” exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts
Organized in collaboration with the Royal Collection Trust and the National Gallery, this exhibition focuses on the year 1504, when all three members of the High Renaissance “Holy Trinity” were simultaneously in Florence. In addition to the in-house rare relief sculpture produced by Michelangelo at this time, the “Taddei Tondo,” this extraordinary exhibition also includes some of the finest examples of Italian Renaissance drawings, including Leonardo’s Burlington House Cartoon and studies by Leonardo and Michelangelo for their battle murals in the Salone del Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
12:30 pm – Free for lunch
3:00 pm –Visit to the National Gallery
The collection of Italian art at the NG is the world’s most important outside of Italy and contains some of the most iconic works of the Renaissance.
During our visit to the National Gallery, we will examine the remarkable collection of Italian Renaissance art, including the “Virgin of the Rocks” by Leonardo da Vinci, the “Madonna and Child” by Masaccio, the “Arnolfini Wedding Portrait” by the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, the “Baptism of Christ” by Piero della Francesca, Michelangelo’s two unfinished early paintings of the “Madonna and Child” and the “Entombment,” the “Madonna of the Pinks” by Raphael, and the “Bacchus and Ariadne” by Titian.
8:00 pm – Group dinner celebration and optional count down to midnight!
DAY 4: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 1, 2025
11:00am – In-hotel lecture by Dr. Rocky “Rebirth and Revival in the Italian Renaissance”
Join Dr. Rocky for this exclusive lecture about Renaissance stories of rebirth and revival. Whether it was Europe’s slow recovery from the Black Death, Brunelleschi’s triumphant construction of the dome after losing the Baptistry doors competition, Cosimo de’ Medici’s triumphant return from exile, or Michelangelo’s silencing his critics at the age of 71 when he took over the building of St. Peter’s, the Italian Renaissance was a period full of new beginnings. What better way to begin 2025 than with some Renaissance inspiration?
12:00pm – Exclusive New Year’s Day brunch in private dining room at the Claridge’s
DAY 5: THURSDAY JANUARY 2, 2025
11:00am – Check out of hotel / Arrivederci Amici!
All participants will be staying at the Claridge’s Hotel. A 5-Star hotel located in the elegant Mayfair district in London.
HOTEL:
Bought in 1854 by Mr and Mrs William Claridge, the hotel received the ultimate accolade in 1860 when Queen Victoria visited Claridge’s to see her friend Empress Eugenie of France. This was the beginning of a tradition of royal visits, which continues to this day.
LOCATION:
Set in the heart of Mayfair, Claridge’s is an art deco icon and a byword for understated elegance. Since the 1850s, Claridge’s has excelled at the finer things in life: glamorous design, inspiring dining, impeccable service. There are many 5-star hotels in London but nowhere quite like Claridge’s.
ACCOMODATION:
DECEMBER 29, 2024 – JANUARY 2, 2025
Double Occupancy – $10,190.00/person
Single Occupancy – $11,990.00/person
Includes:
– 4 nights of accommodations in Mayfair Balcony rooms in the luxurious Clardige’s Hotel in London (breakfast included)
– All lectures with Dr. Rocky
– All admissions to museums
– Welcome Dinner, New Year’s Eve Dinner and New Year ‘s Day Brunch
Not included:
Airfare and transportation to London
Payment:
A deposit of 30% of the program fee is required to reserve a space on a program. All payments may be made by credit card or check. Deposits are applied to final payment of the program price.
A second deposit of 30% of the program fee is required 6 months after the first payment, unless otherwise noted.
The balance is due 60 days prior to the first day of the program, unless otherwise noted. If full payment is not received by the final payment due date, your place cannot be guaranteed on the program.
Wait List:
If the program of your choice is fully subscribed, you may choose to be placed on a waitlist by contacting us at info@rockyruggiero.com or by phone. Individuals on the wait list will be contacted if space becomes available and can inquire about program status by contacting us. If you choose to withdraw from a wait list, please notify us.
Cancellation and Refund Policy:
Following enrollment, a participant’s withdrawal from the program for any reason, including, but not limited to, illness, injury, family engagements, work-related issues, geopolitical concerns, or airline delays and/or cancellations, etc., will be deemed a cancellation. Please understand that there will be no exceptions to our cancellation policy.
Per person cancellation fees are based on date of written notice to Rocky Ruggiero. We will refund on the following basis:
– Cancellations within 10 days of booking: Full Refund
– Cancellations after 10 days of booking: Full Deposit Retained
– Cancellations made within final payment date, 60 days before departure: No Refund
– Cancellation by Rocky Ruggiero: Full Refund or Credit
– Non transferable to other travel programs, tours and online and in-person events.
Travel Protection Plan:
Purchase Travel Insurance to Protect your Vacation
Special Travel Arrangements:
Participants may wish to extend their stay in the group hotel either before or after the tour. We will work with you on these arrangements, dependent upon space availability.
Should you decide not to participate in certain parts of the program, no refunds will be made for those unused parts of the program.
READ CAREFULLY: RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT AND LIABILITY DISCLAIMER
Neither Rocky Ruggiero nor faculty shall be held liable for personal injury, death, property damage or accident, delay or irregularity arising out of any act or omission of these suppliers. Rocky Ruggiero and other faculty reserve the right, without penalty, to make changes in the published itinerary whenever, in their judgment, conditions warrant, or if they deem it necessary for the comfort, convenience, or safety of tour participants.
Rocky Ruggiero and designated faculty also reserve the right, without penalty, to withdraw the program announced, to decline to accept any person as a participant in a program, or to require any participant to withdraw from the program at any time (including, but not limited for inappropriate, or offensive behavior) when such action is determined by program staff to be in the best interests of the health, safety or general welfare of the program group or the individual participant.
Dates, schedules, tour details, and costs, although provided in good faith based on information available at the time of publication on the website, are subject to change and revision.
AS A CONDITION OF ACCEPTANCE OF ANY APPLICATION, EACH APPLICANT MUST AGREE TO THE STATEMENT SET FORTH BELOW:
The undersigned has read carefully the Responsibility Statement and Liability Disclaimer set forth above, the schedule of activities for this program, as well as the terms and conditions of application and participation as set forth in the program materials and recognizes and accepts any risk associated with the program and the conditions, including the refund policy, set forth in the program materials. The undersigned further acknowledges that there are many risks and uncertainties inherent in any travel program, including but not limited to the hazards of various modes of transportation, forces of nature, acts or omissions of foreign governments, terrorism, war or insurrection, theft, illness, and damage to person or property due to the negligent acts or omissions of program staff or others. In consideration of, and as part payment for, the right to participate in the program, the undersigned, on behalf of himself, his dependents, heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, agrees to release Rocky Ruggiero, its Regents, officers, employees, representatives or agents, the United States, from liability for personal injury, death, property damage or loss suffered by any person in connection with this tour, even if caused by the negligence (but not the reckless, willful, or fraudulent conduct) of program staff or other related persons or entities. In addition, by registering for this program, the applicant certifies that he or she is mentally and physically capable of full participation in this tour. By registering for a “Rocky Ruggiero Program in Italy”, the participant agrees to the Responsibility Statement and Liability Disclaimer and the Terms and Conditions herein.
