THE JOHN HALL VENICE COURSE - WHAT IS IT?
Put simply, the Course is a nine-week introduction to some of the finest and most thought-provoking achievements in the Western World, from the Classical past to today. The Course, conducted through a series of lectures and visits by a team of world-class experts, includes not only painting, sculpture and architecture but also music, world cinema and literature as well as practical classes in studio life drawing and portraiture, photography and Italian Language.

The Course begins with a week in London and ends with a week in Florence and six days in Rome. The heart of the experience is Venice - being genuinely resident for six weeks in Venice, arguably the most beautiful city and one of the most historic in the world. The calm enjoyment of living in Venice, being able to let the many new things sink in, is a vital ingredient of the Course. It is essentially a laying of cultural foundations, an inspirational experience, not a tour.

The majority of students on the Course are from British schools, mostly coming as part of their Gap year. Together with students from many other countries: the United States, Holland, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Argentina, Mexico, Canada ……our community has an interesting international dimension.

WHO IS IT FOR?
The Course is for all students interested in the experience we are offering. Our students come from across the academic spectrum, from the classics to medicine and pure mathematics. No one need feel nervous about seeming ignorant. Much of the content of the course is new to most people.

WHEN?
Once a year, from late January to mid-March.

DATES AND FEES
Please see our 'Fees & Dates' page.

THE GAP YEAR - THEN AND NOW
THEN. The Course was started in 1965 by John Hall in the context of the English educational system, where it is common for students to take a Gap year before starting university. Going to Italy after leaving school is a tradition established centuries ago and is as alive and relevant as ever. History - Art - Music - wonderful Architecture - good food - good wine - good coffee - fashion - design - sunshine - a welcoming friendliness……a life-style where the vibrant present (it's always vibrant in Italy) is lived in a visibly present past. But above all, of all countries, it is Italy that offers the most potent distillation of European civilization.

NOW, with long-distance travel so easy and inexpensive, the Gap Year has become a travel-dominated industry, more skiing, trekking and full-moon Pacific beach-parties than pre-university mind-expansion. Many students who attend the Venice Course go on to back-pack all over the world, loaded not only with water bottles but with a totally new awareness of what European civilization is about - interesting to compare with what they see in other continents - AND - a seriously improved curriculum vitae.

THE VENICE COURSE - an INVESTMENT
The long-term aim of the Course is to lay cultural foundations - a life-long investment. More immediately and materially, in the question of university entrance, the course is highly regarded in many university departments. Nothing in the Course is dumbed-down. To make the point, a list of our referees and lecturers in this prospectus explains very clearly why the Course is taken seriously.

On the question of careers, participation in this course is considered a positive addition to a curriculum vitae. There is a large, invisible network of alumni and many have gone on to successful and distinguished careers. In the art world, alumni include specialists at Christie's and Sotheby's, several directors of commercial galleries, the International Head of Old Master Paintings at Christie's, New York, the Professor of Renaissance Art at the Courtauld Institute, London University, and the Director of the National Gallery, London.

WHY VENICE?
Venice has been our main centre for 44 years. A great Art city - the magnificent Byzantine mosaics and jewel-encrusted Pala d'Oro in St. Mark's, Giovanni Bellini, the revolutionary Giorgione and Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and then Tiepolo - all in situ; the magnificent architecture of Palladio's churches looking out across the water; the Piazza S. Marco, the Piazzetta, the Doge's Palace, Sansovino's library and the Basilica of St. Mark's - an unequalled architectural complex giving onto the glittering water of the Bacino of St. Mark's. The range of its artistic achievements compares with that of any other city, while its advantages as a centre for study and living are incomparable - its human scale, its lack of noise, pollution and violence, its sense of separate identity and the unforgettable beauty of sky and building reflected in the waters of the canal and lagoon.

Venice is and always has been a city for pleasure and delight. Venice invites exploration and draws you into the secret city that is invisible to "whistle-stop" tourists. Find your favourite café or trattoria, sit in the sun with a glass of prosecco, contemplate and enjoy the stunning surroundings.

Our students stay in a central hotel ten minutes' walk from our lecture centre, a modernised convent with state-of-the-art lecture room, equipment and recreational facilities, not unlike a university campus.

THE FLORENCE AND ROME EXTENSIONS
We regard the extensions as an important part of the Course. They are offered as an option, on grounds of cost and possible other commitments. To see Florence and Rome is a major part of the Italian experience. Their individual and different identities are striking after Venice, which in retrospect comes into special focus after Florence and Rome.