Hotel
DAY 1: Check-in at Claridge’s Hotel, Lecture by Dr. Rocky & Welcome Dinner
DAY 2: Visit to the National Gallery “Medieval and Early Renaissance Italian Art” & Visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum
DAY 3: Visit to the National Gallery “High and Late Renaissance and Baroque Italian Art” & Visit to the Collection Gallery of the Royal Academy of Arts & Farewell Dinner
DAY 4: Check-out from Claridge’s Hotel
To celebrate the bicentenary of the National Gallery, join Dr. Rocky in London in April 2024 to explore the world class collection of Italian Renaissance art at the National Gallery with two separate visits to the museum, which includes works by Leonardo, Titian, Raphael, and Michelangelo – just to name a few. The collection of Italian art at the National Gallery is one of the most impressive outside of Italy and contains some of the most iconic works of the Italian Renaissance.
We shall also take advantage of the extraordinary amount of Italian Renaissance art located in various other London museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal Academy of the Arts. Few cities outside of Italy can boast to possessing such an extensive and highest 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: THURSDAY APRIL 18, 2024
3.00pm - Check into the luxurious Claridge’s Hotel (elegant Mayfair district of London)
6:00pm – In-hotel lecture by Dr. Rocky “Italian Renaissance Masterpieces in London"
7:30pm – Welcome Dinner ate the famous Sartoria Restaurant
DAY 2: FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2024
10:30 am – Visit #1 to the National Gallery: Italian Renaissance Art
During our 1st visit to the National Gallery, we will examine the remarkable collection of medieval and early Renaissance Italian art, including four 14th-century paintings by Duccio, the “Madonna and Child” by Masaccio, the “Baptism of Christ” by Piero della Francesca, the “Venus and Mars” and “Mystical Nativity” by Botticelli, the “Agony in the Garden” and “Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan” by Bellini, as well as the celebrated “Arnolfini Wedding Portrait” by the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck.
12:30 pm – Free for lunch
4:00 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: SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
10:30 am - Visit #2 to the National Gallery: Italian Renaissance Art
During our 2nd visit to the National Gallery, we will examine the remarkable collection of High/late Renaissance and Baroque Italian art, including Leonardo da Vinci’s “Virgin of the Rocks, Michelangelo’s two early unfinished easel paintings “The Manchester Madonna” and the “Lamentation,” Raphael’s “Madonna of the Pinks” and “Portrait of Pope Julius II,” Titian’s “Bacchus and Ariadne” and two “Poesie,” Artemisia Gentileschi’s self-portrait as “St. Catherine of Alexandria,” and Caravaggio’s spectacular “Supper at Emmaeus.”
12:30 pm – Free for lunch
3:00 pm – Visit to the Collection Gallery of the Royal Academy of Arts
Our visit to the Collection Gallery of the Royal Academy of the Arts will allow us to enjoy one of Michelangelo’s rare relief sculptures, the “Taddei Tondo,” which he probably carved while also working on the statue of “David.” We shall also examine the 8m/26ft. long copy of Leonardo’s “Last Supper,” which is attributed to one of his closest followers, as well as the many casts of celebrated classical statues.
4:00 pm – Free afternoon
7:30pm – Farewell Dinner at the celebrated Il Borro Restaurant
DAY 4: SUNDAY APRIL 21, 2024
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:
APRIL 18 - 21, 2024
Double Occupancy - $4,850.00/person
Single Occupancy - $5,990.00/person
Includes:
- 3 nights of accommodations in Deluxe Double rooms in the luxurious Clardige's Hotel in London (breakfast included)
- All lectures with Dr. Rocky
- All admissions to museums
- Welcome Dinner and Farewell Dinner
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 prior to the first day of the program, 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.
