WHY VENICE ?
Venice has been our main centre since 1965, for many good reasons.
It is a great Art city in which one can wonder at the stunning Byzantine mosaics in the basilica of St.Mark’s, then simply cross the Grand Canal to view the very latest cutting-edge contemporary art in the Francois Pinault collection. Ten minutes stroll and you are at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, one of the finest collections of modern European and American art and sculpture in the world . From the Golden Age of the 1500 s Venice has maintained an unbroken line of masters, from the spiritual luminosity of Giovanni Bellini , the mysterious beauty of Giorgione , the painterly exuberance of Titian, the daring compositions of Tintoretto and the luxurious grace of Veronese to the virtuosity of Tiepolo and Piazzetta in the 18th century, the wry social observations of Longhi and the mellow townscapes of Canaletto and the Guardi. Her adopted son Sansovino recreated the most spectacular Renaissance civic centre in the world – the Piazza San Marco and the Piazzetta- and Palladio can claim to be the most influential architect of the Western world : the proof of his genius is laid out on the waterfronts of Venice in easy view. Venice is a city where the classic can provide a sensational backdrop and context for the absolutely modern.
Add the environmental dimension, a marine seaport city built in a lagoon, alive with shipping large and small, threaded by tidal canals. Reflections on water, the light effects at sunrise, sunset, by moonlight, Turneresque effects of sun and shifting mists are the background to our students’ daily lives : they cannot fail to be moved. Venice has always called to those whose imaginations respond to beauty in its many forms and the city in turn has become a historic centre for study and appreciation.
A further reason for the choice of Venice is that it is a genuinely Italian city , without the mass of resident foreign institutions which in some Italian cities can make English the most spoken language on the street. Venice has two Italian universities with international reputations.. The summer mass tourism is concentrated in the St.Mark’s - Rialto area and hardly exists during our residence in February and March.
The human scale of Venice has always worked in favour of our students spending the greater part of the Course there. The city’s layout is practically that of a campus, every part easily accessible on foot : the pace of life is that of walking. The complete absence of cars means that not only are we safe, but also at peace, and unpolluted.
Our hotel is in the centre of Venice, ten minutes walk from our lecture centre which is a modernized convent with a state-of-the-art lecture room, equipment and recreational facilities, not unlike a university campus.
THE FLORENCE AND ROME EXTENSIONS
The extensions are a major part of the Italian experience. They are offered as an option on grounds of possible other unchangeable commitments. Their individual and different identities are striking after Venice, and, after seeing Florence and Rome, Venice comes into even sharper focus retrospectively. A memorable feature of the extensions is our highly privileged private visits, in Florence to the Uffizi and Accademia, in Rome to the Villa Aurora, the Villa Borghese and the Vatican Museums, including Raphael’s Stanze and the Sistine Chapel.
Most students on the Venice Course continue to Florence and Rome. Understandably, a few prefer to leave the decision until the Venice course has started and they have realized what an amazing experience it is and what good new friends they are making. We are sometimes able to accommodate students who decide late, but our regular hotel allotment may be fully taken and we may have to place late students in another hotel: and sometimes our return flight allotment back to London , which we have to confirm at the end of December, is full and a late-decider has to buy a separate air ticket. Both these mean extra expenses. On the latest course, only three did not do the Florence and Rome extensions. So we urge you to make the right decision when you book for the Venice Course.
For details of the actual programme in London, Venice, Florence and Rome, see the Programme page.