ROME STUDY TOUR JANUARY 5-16, 2018 TOUR LEADER: DR NICK GORDON

Overview Rome is one of the most enduring achievements of Western Civilisation. The vast range of historic sites, stretching from Etruscan pre-history to the 21st century, creates an unrivalled sense of historical continuity between ancient and modern society. The works of art and architecture to be found within the city are of exceptional quality and priceless value. The juxtaposition of all this in the narrow laneways and piazzas of the old city creates a destination of unique character and charm, and one well worth an extended visit. Our study tour provides a unique opportunity to gain a detailed knowledge of the history, art and architecture of the city and to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of a major European capital. The itinerary has been planned to peel away the layers of history, beginning with the ancient Roman city, source of the city’s pride and traditions. We then explore the transition of the city in the Middle Ages, when the Empire declined and the Roman church became a major European institution, expressing itself triumphantly in the art and architecture of the Renaissance and Baroque. A series of 10 background lectures on Rome’s history, art and archaeology deepens your knowledge and appreciation of the sites we visit.

For the duration of the tour, we stay in centrally located self-contained apartments, making it easier to enjoy ‘living like a local’. As well as the programmed sightseeing, there is free time built into the itinerary for individual exploration of the city, relaxation and optional tours and visits with the tour leader.

Your tour leader Dr Nick Gordon holds a University Medal and a PhD in History from the University of Sydney. He lectures regularly on art and history for Sydney University’s Nicholson Museum and Centre for Continuing Education, and has taught European history at universities in Sydney for 10 years. His knowledge of and passion for art and history have developed from both academic research and his practice as an artist. He has led tours for Academy Travel since 2007.

“Loved the itinerary – good mix of cultural sites and activities. Nick was an excellent tour leader who took care of our group. He shared his expertise and enthusiasm with us in a friendly and unassuming way, answering our questions and providing further information when asked.” Tour participant on Venice: City, Republic and Empire, 2015.

“Nick was an extremely knowledgeable guide; he organised us very well; he was calm and unflappable; and his lectures were excellent… The information he provided, the places he selected for us, and the art he revealed to us gave us a wonderful insight into Renaissance times.” Tour participant on Florence and the Italian Renaissance, 2016.

ROME STUDY TOUR

Tour dates: January 5-16, 2018

Tour leader: Dr Nick Gordon

Tour Price: $4,910 per person, twin share

Single Supplement: - $1,130 for sole use of a 1-bedroom

apartment- $680 for sole use of a studio apartment

Booking deposit: $500 per person

Recommended airline: Emirates

Maximum places: 20

Itinerary: Rome (11 nights)

Date published: August 21, 2017

Enquiries and bookings

For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Frederick Steyn at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email frederick@academytravel.com.au

Study Tours Academy Travel study tours are designed to provide in-depth intellectual stimulation. The tours feature regular background lectures, morning site visits and several free afternoons for individual exploration or optional visits with the tour leader. Compared to other Academy Travel tours, walking tours are longer and we use local public transport for short journeys within a city. Wherever possible, accommodation will be in self-contained apartments with kitchens and washing machines, allowing you to 'live like a local'.

Tour Themes

CLASSICAL ROME The Roman Empire has been a paragon of greatness since its creation and historians, philosophers and politicians have studied the road to its success for 2000 years. Its cultural and engineering achievements have been similarly influential. We explore classical Rome through background lectures, visits to the some of the Romans’ most enduring monuments in the city, and excursions to Ostia Antica and Hadrian’s Villa.

LATE ANTIQUE ROME The city and its culture underwent dramatic changes in Late Antiquity. The city’s declining importance left a smaller population to maintain its great, ancient monuments but new monuments were also being created in honour of the state religion. The art and architecture of these 4th- and 5th-century churches reveals much about Romans’ attitude to Christianity, which is a far cry from what we often think of as medieval.

MEDIEVAL ROME Medieval Rome is inseparable from the growth of the Church, which expressed its newfound power and authority through the great Romanesque churches of the High Middle Ages. Exploring the city and its history uncovers a more complex story, rife with civil and political conflicts, along with creative approaches to preserving cultural heritage and adapting the city to its new needs.

RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE ROME From the 15th to 17th century, the papacy and those who aspired to it set about recapturing Rome’s ancient magnificence. A host of now famous names – such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Bernini and Borromini – were called in for projects ranging from the systematic recovery and cataloguing of the Roman world, to rebuilding roads and aqueducts, and adorning the city with new jewels.

ROME’S LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOODS Rome has both the grandeur of a European capital and a sense of intimacy in its neighbourhoods. Along with walking tours through these historical districts, the tour allows you to enjoy ‘living like a local’. From the vibrant neighbourhood of Monti just a few steps away, with its restaurants and boutiques, to the markets of Testaccio, one of Rome’s up and coming districts, the city and its history are on your doorstep.

Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D.

Friday 5 January Arrive

The tour begins in the lobby of our apartments this afternoon, where we meet for an orientation walk of the local neighbourhood with your tour leader. After time to settle in, we have dinner in a local restaurant. (D)

Saturday 6 January The Layers of Rome

Millennia of building, rebuilding, adapting and recycling can make it difficult to see Rome’s history clearly through its monuments. Adding to the complexity is the way the city and its monuments have been used to serve different agendas over the centuries. This morning, after a lecture, we have a guided tour of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine – made partly from new work and partly from old works pressed into service of the new emperor – and the Roman Forum. Centuries of building have accumulated here – from Republican buildings such as the Senate and House of the Vestal Virgins, to gigantic imperial monuments, such as the Temple of Venus and Rome and the Basilica of Maxentius. Much of the area’s present appearance, however, comes from Mussolini’s decision to dig no further than the forum of Julius Caesar, and to separate the forum complexes with a triumphal road of his very own. In the afternoon, there is the option of continuing the tour to San Pietro in Vincoli, to see Michelangelo’s Moses, and to San Clemente – a 12th-century church, beneath which is a 4th-century church and a 1st-century Roman house and a mithraeum.

Sunday 7 January Roman art and Design

The Romans’ love of Greek culture is nowhere more evident than in the art of the Hellenic world they brought back home or had copied. The Greek influence on Roman art, however, is only part of the story. Roman art was also heavily influenced by Etruscan culture and, as the empire expanded, new styles were imported and appropriated. This morning, after a lecture, we visit the Capitoline Museums, one of the world’s finest collections of classical sculpture. The collection, which was established in the 15th century, includes some of the best finds from Rome and its surrounds, from the realism of the Etruscan-influenced statue of Brutus, to the imperial monuments of Marcus Aurelius and Constantine. In the afternoon, there is the option of visiting Palazzo Massimo, another of Rome’s great collections of antiquities, which has 1st-century frescoes from Livia’s imperial villa, and excellent collections of mosaics, jewellery and coinage. In the early evening, there is a lecture on Rome in Late Antiquity.

Images left: the view down onto the Roman Forum; and Michelangelo’s Moses, in San Pietro in Vincoli

Above: Santa Costanza, the 4th-century mausoleum-church built for Helena, Constantine’s daughter

Below: 5th-century mosaics in Santa Pudenziana; and Bramante’s Tempietto, one of the most perfect application of Renaissance principles of harmony and proportion

Monday 8 January The Coming of Christianity

Christianity had been practised in Rome since the 1st century CE, but it was not until the 4th century that it left great monuments. Most of the churches of Late Antiquity were replaced in the grand rebuilding projects of the 1100s and 1500s, but the ones that have survived tell us much about Christian Romans’ attitudes to their heritage. This morning we visit Santa Pudenziana, one of the oldest surviving churches in Rome. This church, from the 400s, is built into a 1st-century bath and contains excellent 5th-century mosaics. The naturalism in these mosaics shows how early Christians adopted Roman aesthetics. They are a stark contrast to the 8th-century mosaics in nearby Santa Prassede, which reflect the dominance of Byzantium, whose style came to define medieval Italian art. Our tour continues to Santa Costanza, a 4th-century mausoleum-church for Constantine’s daughter Helena, whose mosaics incorporate both Christian and pagan motifs, and Sant’Agnese fuori le mura, a 7th-century church commissioned by Pope Honorius I. This church was built above the top of the catacombs of St Agnes to replace the monumental church built by Constantine, the ruins of which are testament to the scale of Constantine’s ambitions. The afternoon is free.

Tuesday 9 January Medieval Rome

The decline of the Empire and the resulting wars in Italy reduced Rome’s population to about a hundredth of what it had been. The population retreated to a small pocket on the Tiber, where they fortified themselves among the ruins of a glorious past. The city remained significant, however, because of the presence of the papacy, over which Roman aristocratic families fought for control. When the papacy became more centralised in the High Middle Ages, it set about consolidating itself through rebuilding larger, grander churches throughout the city and decorating them with Cosmatesque floors and golden mosaics. The art and architecture of these new Romanesque churches in many ways defined how ‘medieval’ looks. After a lecture this morning, we explore medieval Rome on foot, beginning at Santa Maria in Cosmedin, an 8th-century church that was significantly remodelled in the 12th century after it was sacked by the Normans, and ending at Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of Rome’s most beautiful churches. The districts in between are an excellent place to examine how the ancient city was transformed in the Middle Ages. The afternoon is free, and you may wish to walk up the Janiculum Hill for its panoramic views over Rome and Bramante’s masterpiece, the Tempietto.

Wednesday 10 January Renaissance Rome

In the 15th century, the Popes began to systematically restore Rome to its magnificence. Artists, architects, engineers and intellectuals were brought in from around Italy to work on this project, which included rebuilding roads and aqueducts, to cataloguing newly discovered antiquities and creating new

masterpieces to adorn the city, its churches and palaces. The wealth that cardinals and bankers brought to the city was phenomenal and, to get ahead, one needed to spend it tastefully. After a lecture this morning, we explore the Renaissance city, starting at Villa Farnesina, the fashionable party house of Agostino Chigi, a papal financier, who commissioned Raphael to paint a series of secular frescoes. We continue our walking tour of the heart of the Renaissance city and its palaces, stopping to visit Campo dei Fiori, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The afternoon is free. You may wish to explore some of the many fine smaller galleries and museums in this area or visit some of the Renaissance churches with your tour leader.

Thursday 11 January Ostia Antica

Rome today gives very little sense of life in the ancient city. This morning we take the train to Ostia Antica. In its heyday, from the 1st century BCE to the 4th century CE, the population of this town worked the harbour, through which ships from Sicily, north Africa and Egypt supplied Rome with grain. The city was abandoned in the early Middle Ages, partly because of the decline in trade and partly because of the risk posed by Saracen pirates. Its location on the mouth of the Tiber (which is now three kilometres to the west) led to it being covered in silt. Consequently, it is an exceptionally well-preserved site and is free of the crowds that flock to Pompeii. The afternoon is free and there is a lecture in the early evening followed by dinner in a local restaurant. (D)

Friday 12 January Caravaggio, Bernini and Baroque Rome

Raphael and Michelangelo left an indelible mark on Western art history, but their deaths also created a vacuum. In Rome, leading families with an eye on the papal tiara were searching for the next great artists, in the hope that the kudos they would gain from association with genius would add to their social and cultural capital. Sculpture was especially useful, as monuments and fountains throughout the city were a testament to one’s role as provider to the community and as a man of taste. One needed to get it right – the city was a hotbed of gossip, political intrigue and malcontent, as the life of Caravaggio and the reputation of Pope Urban VIII suggest. This morning, after lectures on Caravaggio, Bernini and Borromini, we explore Baroque Rome on foot, including visits to the Cornaro Chapel to admire Bernini’s extraordinary St Teresa of Avila, Borromini’s early masterpiece, San Carlino, and the Trevi Fountain. After a break for lunch, we focus on the works of Caravaggio in situ, including the Calling of St Matthew, the Conversion of St Paul and the Madonna of Loreto. In the late afternoon, there is the option of continuing the tour to the Galleria Doria-Pamphilj, a fine art collection displayed as it was intended to be seen in the baroque period, with works by Caravaggio, Titian, Jan Breughel and Velasquez’s Portrait of Innocent X.

Images left: a scene from Raphael’s frescoes in the Villa Farnesina; Piazza Navona, famous for its fountains by Bernini; a Roman street in Ostia Antica

Saturday 13 January GaLLeria Borghese

Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V, was an avid collector and an adept talent-spotter: he was a major patron of Caravaggio and took a teenage Bernini under his wing. The villa he commissioned on what was then the edge of Rome, surrounded by gardens, was designed to show off his famous collection, which includes Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, the world’s largest collection of Caravaggio, and masterpieces by Titian, Bellini, Raphael and Antonello da Messina. We spend this morning at the Galleria Borghese. The afternoon is free, and there is the option of exploring the different sides of Rome’s modernity, including a visit to the house and studio of Giorgio De Chirico, and to the Foro Olimpico, where we see how Mussolini was inspired by Rome’s past.

Sunday 14 January Tivoli

Ancient Rome has provided a constant source of inspiration for artists and architects. The interest in all things Roman in the 15th and 16th centuries exploded, however, fuelled by the number of new discoveries made by people actively recovering buildings, coins and statuary from the ravages of time and soil. One of the most influential of these figures was Pirro Ligorio, an accomplished architect and antiquarian. Ligorio undertook extensive excavations of Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, whose location had been discovered by the historian Flavio Biondo. The villa – a palatial complex sprawling over 80 hectares from which the empire could be governed – became one of the most famous sites in Europe, inspiring numerous buildings. Ligorio’s patrons – the Este – could, however, go much further. Having paid for the excavations, they had Ligorio install some of the discoveries in their own villa. The Villa d’Este also showcased Ligorio’s skill as a designer and engineer, and its extensive water features continue to delight visitors to this day. Today we travel by coach for a guided tour of Hadrian’s Villa, enjoy lunch in a superior restaurant, and visit the Villa d’Este. We return to Rome in the late afternoon, when we have a lecture. (L)

Monday 15 January The Vatican Museums and St Peters

As the de facto rulers of Rome, Renaissance popes were in an ideal position to amass extraordinary collections of art and antiquities. That the papacy would be heavily invested in the discovery and preservation of non-Christian works is a result of their own humanist educations and the number of leading scholars and classicists who filled the ranks of the papal curia. The collections, which have been growing since their establishment 500 years ago, are extraordinarily vast and include some of the most significant ancient sculptures – the Laocoon and the Belvedere Torso have inspired generations of artists, including Michelangelo and Bernini – and some of the world’s most recognisable paintings, such as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This morning we have a guided visit of the Museums, followed by free time for individual exploration. In the

Above: Bernini’s spectacular Apollo and Daphne in the Galleria Borghese Below: Some of the fountains and water gardens at the Villa d’Este

late afternoon, we meet again to tour St Peters, with its masterpieces by Bernini and Michelangelo. In the evening, we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant. (D) Tuesday 16 January Departure

The tour ends this morning. Please check your individual travel plans for information about transfers. Hotel information

Palazzo Al Velabro (11 nights)

For the duration of the tour we stay in self-contained 1-bedroom apartments at Palazzo Al Velabro, a 4* apartment hotel, located between the Capitoline and Palatine Hill. All apartments have self-catering facilities and wifi, and the include breakfast in the hotel's dining room. http://www.velabro.it/ The Neighbourhood

The Al Velabro is located in a very historic part of Rome. The closest major landmark is the Bocca della Verita, in Santa Maria in Cosmedin. The neighbourhood is relatively quiet and a short walk from the Ghetto district, which has many very good restaurants, bars, shops and modern conveniences. The area is also well serviced by regular public transport and is a short bus trip from the Testaccio Markets. Weather on Tour Rome in January is usually a pleasant time to travel, with cool weather and blue skies. The average temperature is 8°C (the average high is 13°C and average low is 3°C). Occasionally, there is some light snow in the city and the temperature can drop quickly in the evening. It is a good idea to have a pair of waterproof shoes and a warm, water and windproof coat. As for most destinations, we recommend clothing that can be layered easily. Study Tours While study tours are full of group activities, a reasonable degree of independence is also required. Accommodation is in self-contained apartments, giving you cooking and washing facilities, but also meaning that you will have to purchase your own breakfast foods. As well, local public transport is used and there is a significant amount of walking. However, your tour leader will of course show you around the neighbourhood and will provide full assistance if you encounter any difficulties.

Above: a standard room at the Palazzo Al Velabro Below: Fontana delle Tartarughe in Piazza Mattei, near our hotel

Tour Price The tour price is $4,910 per person, twin share (land content only). The single supplement for use of a 1-bedroom apartment is $1,130 per person. A limited number of studio apartments are available to single travellers at a reduced supplement of $680. A non-refundable deposit of $500 per person is required to secure a place on the tour.

Tour Inclusions

Included in the tour price

11 nights’ accommodation at Residenza dell’Olmata A ticket for unlimited use of Rome’s local public

transport network for the duration of the tour All entrance fees to sites included in the itinerary Selected dinners and lunches as indicated by (L) or (D)

in the itinerary Services of a tour leader throughout the tour Background lectures, site notes and onsite guidance,

including local guides where required

Not included

International air fares, taxes and surcharges (see below) Travel insurance Meals not mentioned in itinerary Expenses of a personal nature

Air travel OPTIONS The tour price quoted is for land content only. For this tour we recommend Emirates which offers flights into and out of Rome from most Australian cities. Please contact us for further information on competitive Economy, Business and First Class airfares. Transfers between airport and hotel are included for all passengers booking their flights through Academy Travel. These may be group or individual transfers.

Enquiries & bookings For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Frederick Steyn at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email frederick@academytravel.com.au

Fitness Requirements of THIS tour

GRADE THREE

It is important both for you and for your fellow travellers that you are fit enough to be able to enjoy all the activities on this tour. To give you an indication of the level of physical fitness required to participate on our tours, we have given them a star grading. Academy Travel’s tours tend to feature extended walking tours and site visits, which require greater fitness than coach touring. We ask you to carefully consider your ability to meet the physical demands of the tour.

Participation criteria for this tour

This Grade Three tour is among our most physically demanding. To participate on this tour, you should be able to comfortably undertake up to seven hours of activity per day, over several days. Activities may include travelling long distances, walking on difficult terrain, climbing stairs, embarking and disembarking trains and/or boats, exposure to high altitudes and long days of touring. These tours may include one night stops and early starts. You should be able to: keep up with the group at all times walk for 5-7 kilometres at a moderate pace with only

short breaks stand for a reasonable length of time in galleries and

museums tolerate varying climatic conditions such as cold weather maintain a reasonable level of physical and respiratory

fitness tolerate a diet that can be significantly different from a

typical Australian diet, and where some dietary requirements cannot be met

walk up and down slopes negotiate steps and slopes on archaeological sites or

mountain paths, which are often uneven and unstable get on and off a large coach with steep steps, train or

boat unassisted, possibly with luggage move your luggage a short distance if required

A note for older travellers

We regret that we are not able to accept bookings on a Grade Three tour from people more than 80 years old, or with restricted mobility.