Dilettante Upcoming Tours - Dilettante Courses - Art History Abroad - Art History Abroad

Italian Gardens of tuscany

21st - 28th April 2012 *NOW FULL*

 Tuscany's wealth ripples like the hills that flow through it. It was home to rich bankers, silk and cloth merchants and several papal families and with that wealth came the Renaissance garden. We shall visit the first humanist gardens that echo with the classical way of life. This is not about an enclosed garden surrounded by great swathes of farming land, but intricate, idealistic, intellectual spaces that displayed the wealth and status of these families.  Fast-forward several centuries and the baton moves to the Anglo -American who didn't just buy houses, but romantic notions of how life in Italy should look be. They set about creating gardens that reproduced what they thought was best about Renaissance gardens, some might call these follies, but they brought about a wonderful revival. We will also see a modern example of an Italian garden, still referencing the Renaissance, proving that good design is almost impossible to better.

Many of the garden visits are private, we will dine royally in three of the villas and indulge in a spot of wine tasting.

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A Long Weekend in Munich  with the Durer Exhibition in Nuremburg

14th - 17th June 2012

The Bavarian city of Munich has a grandeur and a beauty to rival most European capitals.  The city boasts a remarkable feast of museums, galleries and churches, not to mention the breathtaking architecture of the surrounding palaces and squares.  This is a wonderful opportunity to spend a long weekend exploring the city and discovering her fascinating Baroque churches and palaces. 

The Alte Pinakothek has an excellent collection including masterpieces by Roger van der Weyden, Durer, Bruegel, Rubens  and Rembrandt.  We will introduce you to the work of the Asam Brothers, a pair of highly skilled architects, sculptors and painters and to the work of Riemenschneider. 

We have now extended this trip with a day in Nuremburg to encompass the most important exhibition on Durer Germany has seen for forty years.  This beautiful city is not only home to works by Riemenschneider but also to the next paragon of German of sculptors, Veit Stoss. 

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St. Petersburg  

6th - 13th October 2012 *A FEW SPACES LEFT*

20th - 27th October 2012 *NOW FULL*

Peter the Great founded this remarkable city to display not only the immense power of his nation but also his far reaching cultural knowledge.  The city grew into a magnificent display of wealth, art and architecture, full of glittering palaces and churches.  Built upon a series of peninsulas and islands the city is known as 'Venice of the North'; the pastel tones of the coloured palaces reflect in the many canals and rivers threading through the city.  We will delve behind these extravagant and theatrical facades and explore the darker side of this city's complex and fascinating history.  After the severe damage suffered during the war the city underwent a huge restoration programme to once again recreate Peter the Great's vision of an ideal city.

 We will stay in a beautifully restored palace on the bank of the Fontanka River.  The restaurants in St.Petersburg are superb; the food is a delicious mix of Russian and European cuisine, all washed down with good  wines (or vodka should you prefer) in wonderful settings.

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