The Quattrocento
Rome and Central Italy
April 4 to 12, 2024 (April 4 to 15 with Florence add-on)
The Quattrocento, otherwise known as the early Renaissance of the 1400s, was a particularly rich period for Italian arts and aesthetics: the age of the beautiful. During our two days in Rome, we'll look at what remains of the 1400s in this otherwise Baroque city. Then, with five nights in Perugia, we explore a handful of delightful Renaissance hill towns: Arezzo, Spello, Montefalco, Assisi, Sansepolcro, Spoleto, and Orvieto. Each with its own exquisitely beautiful frescoes and unique artistic traditions.
While the primary focus of the trip is historical, we also plan to look at Umbria today. In Perugia, we will invite a variety of Italians from various walks of life to join us for what we call our evening "Cocktail Incontri." Past guests have included a nun from Wisconsin, now based in Assisi, a school teacher from Umbria, a college professor from Perugia, and a policeman from a nearby village. These conversations with local Perugini add substance to our understanding of the region and help bridge the gap that keeps many tourists at arms’ length from the places they visit. The trip also includes visits to local fabbriche where the traditional products of Umbria--linens, cashmeres, wines, ceramics, olive oils--are still being fabricated.
I should add that Nancy and I both rank the Quattrocento tour among our very favorite trips. Indeed, we are always happy to return to these beautiful places. It is a comfortable trip, with a luxurious five-night stay in Perugia, a nice balance of art and other things, and a lovely time to be in Italy. Not to be missed!
The Itinerary, in brief:
Thursday, April 4: Arrive in Rome. Transfer to the Albergo Santa Chiara. In the afternoon we have the perfect introduction to the Renaissance: Nancy’s highly original “Bankers and Whores” tour through Rome’s Centro Storico.
Friday, April 5: Morning visit to the Biblioteca Angelica to see and even handle books and manuscripts from the 15th c. Afternoon visit to the Farnesina, a beautiful palazzetto in Trastevere with frescoes by, among others, Raphael. Group lunch or dinner.
Saturday, April 6: Depart Rome. Our first stop will be Spoleto, a town with interesting traces of Ancient Rome, a spectacular Renaissance Duomo, and a very good restaurant for lunch. Finish the day in Perugia at the Brufani Palace Hotel. Group lunch.
Sunday, April 7: Full day in Perugia with its deeply medieval city center, Perugino’s Collegio del Cambio (mid 15th c.) and the newly renovated local art museum with a remarkable collection of works by all the great Umbrian painters: Piero della Francesca, Perugino, Raphael, and others. Group lunch. Cocktail Incontro at our hotel in the early evening.
Monday, April 8: Morning in Assisi. The Basilica of San Francesco is a veritable treasure trove of works by the greatest of the great, including Giotto. Delicious lunch (Enoteca Properzio) in Spello. Pinturicchio’s Baglioni Chapel (1501) next door to our restaurant is one of the gems of the 15th c. Afternoon visit to the weaving studio of Giuditta Brozzetti where Renaissance textiles are still woven by hand on wooden looms. Group lunch. Group lunch. Cocktail Incontro.
Tuesday, April 9: A day devoted to Piero della Francesca. In Arezzo, Borgo Sansepolcro, and Monterchi, we will see a handful of the most important works—including what Aldous Huxley dubbed the greatest painting in the world—by this fascinating Renaissance artist. Group lunch.
Wednesday, April 10: Morning visit to the factory outlet of Pardi where exquisite linens are woven on gigantic industrial looms, followed by lunch at a restaurant in Montefalco, a town famous for its Sagrantino wine, and a viisit to the local museum where we enjoy a beautiful quattrocento fresco cycle: Benozzo Gozzoli's life of St. Francis. Afternoon visit to another weaving studio, of sorts: the factory store of the couturier Fabiana Fillipi, a leading Italian fashion designer.. Group lunch.
Thursday, April 11: We return to Rome via Orvieto with its striped duomo and stunning Last Judgment by Signorelli (mid 15th c.). Lunch in Orvieto. We end the day at the Rome Airport Hilton Hotel.
Friday, April 12: The tour ends with breakfast.
Weekend in Florence:
I confess. This excursion to Florence is designed around those special places I really need to see again: like the monumental complex of San Lorenzo, plus a handful of beautiful Last Suppers in Florentine monasteries, and of course the the Pazzi Chapel. If there’s a special treasure you’re determined to see, let me know and I’ll see what we can do. Afternoons will be a chance to see other sites on your own.
Thursday, April 11: Visit Orvieto (see above), enjoy a group lunch, and then catch an afternoon train to Florence. From the Florence train station, we take taxis, (fares not included in the cost of the tour) to the 5-star Bernini Palace Hotel where we stay for the next three nights.
Friday, April 12: How Florentines lived in the Quattrocento: private family chapels, a Renaissance home, cloistered lives in beautiful places. Group lunch.
Saturday, April 13: A visit to the church of Santa Croce, with its former curator of arts. A rare treat as well as a chance to understand the complex relationship in Florence between commerce and faith. Also a visit to the leather school. Group lunch.
Sunday, April 14: Morning visit to San Lorenzo, a beautiful religious complex designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, a master of the Quattrocento, and completed by Michelangelo, the master of the Cinquecento. Group lunch. Afternoon train to Rome for an overnight at the Airport Hilton.
Monday, April 15: The trip ends with breakfast.
Photo by javarman3/iStock / Getty Images
Hotels
The cost of the trip includes two nights in superior rooms at the 3-star Albergo Santa Chiara.
In Perugia, we spend 5 nights at the 5-star Brufani Palace Hotel where everyone has superior rooms with views of the same landscape that artists have been painting for the past 600 years.
For those continuing on to Florence, we can look forward to three nights at the Bernini Palace Hotel. For me, this is a perfect hotel.
The final night of the trip is at the Rome Airport Hilton.
Rates:
$5200 in single occupancy
$5000 in double occupancy
Included: 8 nights in hotels, breakfast each morning, one additional meal each day with wine and coffee, private bus transportation throughout the trip, all entrance fees and tips.
Not included: air and airport transportation, unscheduled meals, room service, items of a personal nature.
Cost of Florence add-on:
$1850 in double occupancy
$ 2250 in classic room single occupancy
$2100 in standard single
Group size: approximately 16 people
We will offer an optional Rome tour the afternoon of April 3. Details forthcoming.