ITINERARY - SESSION ONE
Click Here for Session 2 Itinerary

FIRST WEEK


1. Sunday 5/25
   Travel with ARTIS group leader; depart USA on a scheduled International flight and cross International Time Zones.
   
   
2. Monday 5/26
   Arrive this morning in Rome. Travel to Florence, receive apartment keys and addresses. Take taxis to apartments. Rest, recuperation and unpacking.
   
   
3. Tuesday 5/27
   AM-Orientation. Meet at the train station. Tour of train station and information on how to travel using public transportation. Tour to the Central Market for food shopping then to ARTIS/Fuji Studio for orientation, lunch and discussion of Program, introductions and safety lecture. Then a walking tour from the studio to the Duomo, Post Office, banks and American Express. return to central market to rent cell phones if interested.
   
   
4. Wednesday 5/28
   AM-Meet at ARTIS/ Fuji Studio for safety lecture followed by the second half of the walking tour to the photo store, P.za San Marco, P.za Santissima Annunziata, return to central market to rent cell phones if interested.
   
   
5. Thursday 5/29
   AM- Our tour begins with a visit to the church of Santa Maria Novella, with frescoes by Filippo Lippi, Paolo Uccello, Masaccio’s Holy Trinity and a wooden Crucifix by Brunelleschi. We’ll continue on to the Romanesque church of San Lorenzo with remodeling by Brunelleschi and pulpits by Donatello. We’ll also see the old Sacristy. PM at leisure or art making at Central Market area and the church of San Lorenzo.
   
   
6. Friday 5/30
   Free Day
   Evening: Optional (Fee) Italian cooking class and dinner.
   
   
7. Saturday 5/31
   AM- Field trip to the Duomo, Florence’s most famous landmark and Europe’s third largest cathedral. An arduous but amazing climb through Brunelleschi’s remarkable double dome leads us to the top with its aerial view of Florence and the Arno valley. We’ll complete the morning with a visit to the Baptistery and view its bronze doors by Pisano and Ghiberti and the 13th century mosaics of the “Last Judgement.”
   
   SECOND WEEK
   
   
8. Sunday 6/1
   Our first day-long excursion will be by bus to Pisa. We’ll visit the “recycled” Romanesque Duomo, Baptistry and then see the amazing frescoes at the Cemetery. PM- Have lunch near piazza del Duomo in the “Field of Miracles” by the famous leaning tower of Pisa. If time and weather permit we will stop at the town of Lucca on our return to Florence.
   
   
9. Monday 6/2
   Free Day .
   
   
10. Tuesday 6/3
    Free Day
    If you stay in Florence you might want to go visit the Pitti Palace. First stop at the Church of Santa Felicita to see paintings by Pontormo. On to the Pitti and visit the Galleria Palatina, with works by Raffaello, Giorgione, Tiziano, Rubens and others. Or opt to visit the Silver Museum and the Modern Gallery with it’s collection of Italian Impressionist called the Macchiaioli. PM- An afternoon stroll and art making in the romantic Boboli Gardens behind the Palace.
    
    
11. Wednesday 6/4
    AM-Field trip to the Church of San Marco. Experience the spiritually moving frescoes by Fra Angelico, paintings by Fra Bartolomeo, Ghirlandaio and others. PM Art Making
    
    
12. Thursday 6/5
    AM We’ll walk to the Duomo Museum and see a sculptured Pieta by Michelangelo, Donatello’s and Della Robbia’s Cantorie, Donatello’s Mary Magdalen plus Pisano’s original door panels. Ending with Art making around the piazza & bell tower (campanile) or inside the Duomo museum.
    
    
13. Friday 6/6
    PM we’ll visit the Accademia, home of Michelangelo’s David and his unfinished Slaves as well as other works of art. Stay and sketch at the feet of the David inside of the Accademia.
    
    
14. Saturday 6/7
    Free Day to make a 4 day weekend for those not going to Venice.
    (If you stay in Florence you may want to visit , on your own, the Gothic Church of Santa Croce. Here you’ll see the monumental tombs of Michelangelo, Macchiavelli, Galileo, Rossini and others. This Franciscan church also contains works by Giotto, Donatello and Luca della Robbia.) Or for those signed up for the optional Venice Trip - An early morning train will take us on our Optional excursion to the city of Venice. After room assignments at our hotel we’ll start our tours. Highlights for the day will be a boat ride to visit the Church of San Marco and the major exhibits of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.
    
    THIRD WEEK
    
    
15. Sunday 6/8
    Free Day
    Or -AM- Tour of Venice continues. Mornings highlights includes the Modern Art Museum.
    
    
16. Monday 6/9
    Free day then return from Venice in PM
    
    
17. Tuesday 6/10
    Free day
    
    
18. Wednesday 6/11
    AM Critique or art making PM- We’ll take a bus into the southern hills to visit the Romanesque Benedictine Monastery and cemetery of San Miniato, and sketch landscapes and if we are lucky we might hear the Monks chanting!
    
    
19. Thursday 6/12
    AM- Critique or art making. PM- We’ll tour the world renowned Uffizi Art Galleries. See Italian masterpieces from the Gothic to the Baroque by such artists as Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Masaccio, Uccello, Fra Angelico, Giotto, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Raffaello, and Caravaggio.
    
    
20. Friday 6/13
    AM- A visit to the Medici Chapels. See incredible inlaid stone work and Michelangelo’s renowned marble sculptures known as Dawn & Dusk and Day & Night. PM Critique, return to studio for group viewing and discussion of art work completed or free time.
    
    
21. Saturday 6/14
    AM-Our second day-long excursion will take us through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to Siena. We’ll first visit the Church of San Domenico and see the shrine that contains the mummified head of the renowned Saint Katherine. For the energetic who love aerial views, the Etruscan design for the layout of this hilltop town can easily be seen from atop the Bell Tower (or opt to visit one of several Museums). Explore the back streets on a leisurely stroll to the Gothic Cathedral with frescoes by Pinturicchio or spend time art making in Siena’s main piazza. PM- Continue our tour to the Medieval hill town of San Gimignano, the city of towers.
    
    FOURTH WEEK
    
    
22. Sunday 6/15
    Free Day . Option (fee) to go to Cinque Terre and the seaside for a day at the beach.
    
    23 Monday 6/16
    Free Day
    
    
23. Tuesday 6/17
    AM- A morning walk to the National Museum (Bargello). This Medieval Palace now contains priceless sculptures with works by Michelangelo and his students, Cellini, Giambologna and others. It also contains a Museum of Minor Arts, with carved ivory, jewelry, tapestry, armor and ceramics. PM- Location to be announced
    
    
24. Wednesday 6/18
    Final personal reviews and critiques or free day. Start packing for return to USA. Clean apts. PM- We’ll all gather for a big farewell ice cream party and slide show.
    
    
25. Thursday 6/19
    Last Free day in Florence. Apartments cleaned and checked.
    
    
26. Friday 6/20
    Our fourth excursion begins with an early morning bus ride to Rome. After being assigned rooms at our hotel the Rome Tour will begin. Highlights will include: Piazza Navona with Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, and the great ancient Roman monument the Pantheon. Also the famous Trevi fountain, something that nobody should miss if you want to go back to Rome in the future.
    
    
27. Saturday 6/21
    Second day in Rome. AM- In the morning visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. In the afternoon, St. Peter Basilica.
    
    
28. Sunday 6/22
    Third day in Rome. AM- Capitoline Hill, view of the Forum, Vittorio Emanuele Monument, Trajan’s Column & market, and the Colosseum from the outside. PM Free
    
    
29. Monday 6/23 Leave by early morning bus to airport. Return flight to USA, cross International Time Zones and arrive home the same day