A perfect introduction to the History of Florence…skim through this first

http://www.aboutflorence.com/history-of-Florence.html

________________________________________________________________________

WEEK ONE

Fiesole: The Etruscans (Textbook pages 106-109)

· Thursday July 7

http://www.fiesolemusei.it/inglese/default.asp

http://www.fiesole.com/

Siena: The Middle Ages (Textbook pages 226-283)

· Friday July 8

http://www.ilpalio.org/palioenglish.htm

San Gimignano: The Middle Ages (Textbook pages 226-283)

· Friday July 8

http://www.sangimignano.com/sstoriai.htm

Perugia (not part of the ACCENT program or the History course…just for fun! Any students are welcome to join at their own cost.)

· Saturday, July 9

· Florence to Perugia – 2 hours, $38 each way by train

Umbria Jazz Festival

Official website for the event (in Italian)

http://www.umbriajazz.com/canale.asp

Information in English about the Jazz Festival and the city in general

http://www.bellaumbria.net/Perugia/umbria_jazz_eng.htm

WEEK TWO

Florence: Renaissance (Textbook pages 335-362…focus: Brunelleschi)

Museo dell’Opera del Duomo

· Thursday July 14

- One group goes to the top of the Duomo and the other to the top of the Bell Tower (admission tickets covered by Grant Budget)

Great buildings of Florence, an overview with more links, also has biographies of the architects.

http://www.greatbuildings.com/places/florence.html

Florentine Art and Architecture

http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/florence_sub2.html

http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/symmetry_sub.html

Venice: Byzantium (Textbook pages 198-202);

and Transformation of Europe (Textbook pages 299-303, 318-324)

· Friday July 15 – Sunday July 17

Feast of the Redeemer Festival

http://www.veniceword.com/p2vetraditions.html#redentore

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12677b.htm

Basilica di San Marco

Venice’s famous basilica blends the architectural and decorative styles of East and West. The Building of St. Mark’s – Built on a Greek cross plan and crowned with five huge domes, this is the third church to stand on the site. The first, which enshrined the body of St. Mark in the 9th century was destroyed by fire. The second was pulled down in favor of a church reflecting Venice’s growing power. The present design was inspired by the Church of the Apostles in Constantinople and was completed and decorated over the centuries. From 1075, all ships returning from abroad had by law, to bring back a precious gift to adorn “the House of St. Mark.” The mosaics inside are mostly 12th and 13th century. Some were later replaced by such artists as Titian and Tintoretto. Until 1807 St. Mark’s was the doge’s private chapel, used for ceremonies of State, after which it succeeded San Pietro di Castello s the cathedral of Venice.

WEEK THREE

Florence: Renaissance (Textbook pages 335-363…focus: Botticelli)

Uffizi Museum

· Thursday July 21

Virtual Uffizi- complete collection of the museum online

http://www.virtualuffizi.com/uffizi/paintings.htm

History of the building

http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/monu/ufu.htm

Rome: Ancient Empire (Textbook pages 106-154)

and the Renaissance (Textbook pages 354-355…focus: Michelangelo)

and the Counter-Reformation (Textbook pages 384-393…focus: Bernini)

· Friday July 22 – Sunday July 24

Festa dei Noiantri (last two weeks in July) An open air food festival to usher in the outdoor summer concerts. Located in Trastevere.

Tevere Expo (Last two weeks of July) Stalls along the Tiber near Ponte Sant'Angelo display Italian arts, crafts, food, wine, and folk music.

Overview of the main attractions in Rome and their historical significance

http://www.passports.com/trips/cityfact/cityfact.asp?city=Rome:%20Various%20Attractions

Campo dei Fiori in Rome, Bruno statue, early images

http://www.romeartlover.it/Vasi28.html

Campo dei Fiori in Rome, poem from a holocaust survivor

http://www.library.yale.edu/testimonies/exhibit/Pages/Text-1152.html

Biography of Giordano Bruno

http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/john_kessler/giordano_bruno.html?name=Campo+dei+Fiori&location=Rome_Campo_dei_Fiori

Ancient Roman History Links

http://romanhistorybooksandmore.freeservers.com/l_general.htm

WEEK FOUR

Florence: Renaissance (Textbook: 335-362)

Palazzo Vecchio (also called the Piazza della Signoria) and Accademia

· Thursday July 28

Piazza della Signoria

- Execution of Savonarola (1498)

Having assumed the leadership of Florence in 1494, the fanatical monk was hanged, then burned for heresy in the Piazza della Signoria or Florence.

- Statue of Medici

- Michelangelo’s David statue

- Donatello’s David statue

- others?

Monuments in the Piazza della Signoria

http://www.goldentuliphotels.it/florence/monuments/piazza_signoria.html

ADDITIONAL SITES

Each group will travel to one of these cities. The travel costs are covered by the Grant Budget.

Pisa

· Sunday July 10, Friday July 29, Saturday July 30 or Sunday July 31

For much of the Middle Ages, Pisa’s powerful navy ensured its dominance of the western Mediterranean. Trading links with Spain and North Africa in the 12th century brought vast mercantile wealth and formed the basis of scientific and cultural revolution that is still reflected in Pisa’s splendid buildings – especially the Duomo, Baptistry and Leaning Tower. Pisa’s decline began in 1284, with its defeat by Genoa, and was hastened by the silting up of the harbor. The city fell to the Florentines in 1406, but suffered its worst crisis in 1944 when it fell victim to Allied bombing.

Pisa, Leaning Tower Info.

http://torre.duomo.pisa.it/index_eng.html

Assisi

· Sunday July 10, Friday July 29, Saturday July 30 or Sunday July 31

http://www.assisionline.com/index.html

ADDITIONAL, OPTIONAL SITE

(History Instructor will be going to Verona. Any students are welcome to join at their own cost. This visit is not required for the History course.)

Verona

· Sunday July 10, Friday July 29 or Saturday July 30

· Florence to Bologna to Verona – (1 hour, $32) (1 hour 25 min., $37) 2.5 hours, $69 each way

Arena

Verona’s Roman amphitheater, completed in AD 30, is the third largest in the world, after Rome’s Colosseum and the amphitheater at Santa Maria Capua Vetere, near Naples. The interior, still vitually intact, could hold almost the entire population of Roman Verona, and visitors came from across the Veneto to watch gladiatorial combats. Since then, the Arena has seen executions, fairs, bullfights, and theater and opera productions.

Teatro Romano, Museo Archeologico

This Roman theater was built in the 1st century BC; little survives of the stage area, but the semicircular seating area remains largely intact. It has great views over Verona: in the foreground is the only one of three Roman bridges to have survived; it was rebuilt after World War II. The elevator carries visitors from the Teatro Romano up to the monastery above, now an interesting archeological museum. The exhibits around the tiny cloister and in the old monk’s cells include mosaics, pottery, glass and tomb stones. There is also a bronze bust of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, who in 31 BC, overcame his opponents, including Mark Antony and Cleopatra, to become the sole ruler of the Roman world.

Duomo, Santa Maria Matricolare

Verona’s cathedral was begun in 1139 and is fronted by a magnificent Romanesque portal carved by Nicolo, one of the two master masons responsible for the façade of San Zeno. Here he sculpted the sword-bearing figures of Oliver and Roland, two of Charlemagne’s knights, whose exploits were much celebrated in medieval poetry. Alongside them stand evangelists and saints with wide eyes and flowing beards. To the south there is a second Romanesque portal carved with Jonah and the Whale and with comically grotesque caryatids. Outside there is a Romanesque cloister in which the excavated ruins of earlier churches are visible. The 8th century baptistery, or San Giovanni in Fonte (St. John of the Spring) was built from Roman masonry; the marble font was carved in 1200.

San Zeno Maggiore

San Zeno, built in 1120-1138 to house the shrine of Verona’s patron saint, is the most ornate Romanesque church in northern Italy. The façade is adorned with a rose window, marble reliefs, and a porch canopy. The rose window dating from the early 12th century, symbolizes the Wheel of Fortune: figures on the rim show the rise and fall of human luck. The marble side panels, which were carved in 1140, depict events from the Life of Christ and scenes from the Book of Genesis. The Romanesque porch, since 1138, has shielded biblical bas-reliefs, above the west doors from the elements.

The vaulted crypt contains the tomb of San Zeno, appointed eight bishop of Verona in AD 362.

The 48 bronze door panels of the west doors are primitive but forceful in their depiction of biblical stories and scenes from the life of San Zeno. The panels are the work of three separate craftsmen, and are linked with masks. Huge staring eyes and the Ottoman-style hats, armor and architecture feature prominently.

Opera

Opera: First emerged during the wedding celebrations of Italy’s wealthy 16th century families. Monteverdi was the first composer to establish his work firmly in the opera repertoire.

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was best known for his Verspers of 1610. Both his madrigals and operas are considered major landmarks in the development of music.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) wrote over 600 concertos, many of which are for the violin. The Four Seasons, a set of concertos is among the best-selling classical music of all time.

Romeo and Juliet

The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet, two young lovers from rival families, was written by Luigi da Porto of Vicenza in the 1520’s and has inspired countless dramas, movies and ballets. At the Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s house), No.27 Via Cappello, Romeo is said to have climbed to Juliet’s balcony; in reality this is a restored 13th century inn. Crowds throng to see the simple façade, and stand on the small marble balcony. The run-down Casa di Romeo is a few streets away in Via Arche Scaligeri. The so-called Tomba di Giulietta is displayed in a crypt below the cloister of San Francesco al Corso on Via del Pontiere. The stone sarcophagus lies in an extremely atmospheric setting.

Giardino Giusti

This is one of Italy’s finest Renaissance gardens. It was laid out in 1580 and, as in other gardens of the period, there is a juxtaposition of nature and artifice; the formal lower garden of clipped boxwood hedges, gravel walks, and potted plants contrast with wilder woods above.

San Giorgio in Braida

This domed Renaissance church was begun in about 1530 by Michele Sanmicheli. The altar includes the famous Martyrdom of St. George (1566) by Veronese, and above the west door is the Baptism of Christ, usually attributed to Tintoretto (1518-94).