ONLINE ART HISTORY COURSE
“Splendid Sicily: Art at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean” Part 1

Course Description:

Where can one visit the best-preserved Greek temples in the world? Not in Greece but in Sicily. Where can one find the world’s most fully preserved set of figural ancient Roman floor mosaics? Not in Pompeii but in Sicily. Where can one find incomparable Byzantine mosaics side by side with perfectly preserved Islamic wooden ceilings? Not in Istanbul but in Sicily. Where does the Baroque take on twists and turns never imagined in the rest of Europe? Of course, in Sicily. And where does the past still come brilliantly alive in popular arts and processions? You’ve got it, in Sicily.

In this two-part course marvel at Sicilian creativity and beauty across the ages. Learn how Sicilians, living at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, have always celebrated and embraced the best that multi-culturalism offered them.

Part One of this course will introduce you to the art and architecture of Sicily’s three Golden Ages: the Greek and Roman, Medieval, and Baroque eras. Then in Part Two drill down to learn more about other intriguing corners of Sicilian art and history: its surprising contributions to Renaissance painting, its lively popular culture, and Sicilians’ remarkable artistic responses to hard times and disasters that have always been part of the island’s history. You’ll be convinced that Sicily truly is splendid.

Virtual Classroom: Full access to an online educational platform with videos of recordings, syllabus and readings.

Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE ART HISTORY LECTURES

Optional Readings: Information will be provided 2 weeks before the start of the course.

Complete syllabus will be provided 2 weeks before the start of the course.

• ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE IN OUR VIDEO LIBRARY FOR TWO WEEKS AFTER THE COURSE HAS ENDED.

LECTURE 1 – Art and Life in Greek and Roman Sicily

-Monday, January 5

Take a virtual trip around Greek and Roman Sicily, visiting splendid Doric temples, theatres, and villas. Greek stops will include the enormous archeological site of ancient Greek Selinunte as well representative monuments in Segesta and Siracusa.  Then it’s on to Roman Sicily, the bread basket of the Empire, exploring upper-class life through the floor mosaics of the late Roman villa in Piazza Armerina.

LECTURE 2 – East and West Embrace in Norman-Arab Sicily

-Monday, January 12

This lecture will look in-depth at the glittering wall mosaics of Cefalu Cathedral, the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, and the Cathedral in Monreale. Thanks to extensive inscriptions, we can read the intentions and ambitions of Sicily’s first Norman kings as they brought together cultural traditions from across the Mediterranean.

LECTURE 3 – Going for Baroque

-Monday, January 19

Too much was never enough in 17th- and 18th-century Palermo. Churches and palaces drip with marble, gold, and extravagant clouds of stucco. Experience the coloristic marvels of churches like Santa Caterina and the Gesu, and then delight in the all-white fantasies of Giacomo Serpotta at the Oratories of Santa Cita and San Lorenzo

Dr. Gary M. Radke is Professor Emeritus of Art History at Syracuse University, where he directed the Florence Graduate Program in Renaissance Art and was named Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence. His publications on Italian medieval and Renaissance art range from a book on the thirteenth-century papal palace in Viterbo to essays on the patronage of nuns in Renaissance Venice. He curated major loan exhibitions throughout the United States on Italian Renaissance sculptors Lorenzo Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, Andrea del Verrocchio, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. His widely distributed college textbook on Italian Renaissance art, co-authored with John Paoletti, appeared in four editions and in Spanish and Chinese translations. Gary is past president of the Italian Art Society and a fellow of the American Academy in Rome.

In retirement Professor Radke and his wife Nancy have settled into an historic home in Savannah, Georgia, where Gary is now a trustee of the Historic Savannah Foundation and chair of its Architectural Review Committee. He continues to write scholarly articles and enjoys lecturing in Italy for various cultural groups.