BOLOGNA
TO MILAN
ART CITIES OF NORTHERN ITALY
APRIL 26 – MAY 12, 2017
TOUR LEADER: DR KATHLEEN OLIVE
Bologna to Milan
Overview
Northern Italy is home to some of Europe’s most extraordinary art,
including the luminous World Heritage-listed mosaics in Ravenna and
Leonardo’s most celebrated work, The Last Supper. Many of these
masterpieces are also in beautiful locations offering panoramic views over
the Italian countryside, such as Urbino and the foothills of Parma, a little
off the regular routes taken by most travellers.
This new 17-day tour takes you through the art and history of this
delightful region, which is also home to some of Italy’s finest cuisine. On
this tour we admire art and architecture, from Byzantine Ravenna to
medieval Bologna and elegant Milan. Discover the Renaissance courts of
northern Italy in Urbino, Mantua and Parma. Explore Italian genius and
design, from Piero della Francesca and Leonardo, to Lamborghini and the
makers of modern Italy. Learn about Modernism: from the colourful
dynamism of the Futurists to the meditative beauty of Giorgio Morandi.
And we travel through glorious countryside, enjoying the culinary delights
of Italy’s leading gastronomic region.
The tour has all the characteristics of an Academy Travel tour – stays in
carefully selected hotels, background talks before site visits and a
maximum group size of just 20.
Art cities of
Northern Italy
Tour dates: April 26 – May 12, 2017
Tour leader: Dr Kathleen Olive
Tour Price: $8,750 per person, twin share
Single Supplement: $1,950 for sole use of
double room
Booking deposit: $500 per person
Recommended airline: Emirates
Maximum places: 20
Itinerary: Bologna (4 nights), Urbino (3 nights),
Parma (4 nights), Milan (5 nights)
Date published: June 2, 2016
Your tour leader
Dr Kathleen Olive has more than 15 years’
experience leading tours to Italy. She has a
PhD in Italian literature, regularly presents
popular courses at Sydney University’s Centre
for Continuing Education and at the WEA,
Sydney, and speaks fluent Italian.
Kathleen has a specific interest in Italian
culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance,
from the connections between the literature of
Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio and the
painting of Giotto, through to the control of cultural life under Florence’s
Medici family.
Renaissance culture has also been the focus of Kathleen’s academic
research, and in 2015 her critical edition of a key Italian text – the Codex
Rustici, a commonplace book compiled and illustrated by a 15th-century
Florentine goldsmith – was published by Olschki. Together with co-author
Nerida Newbigin, Kathleen was in Florence when this publication was
presented to Pope Francis I as an official gift on his first trip to the city,
and it has subsequently been launched at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence,
the Vatican Museums in Rome, the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in
Florence (Italy’s Library of Congress) – and even at the Custodia della
Terra Santa in Jerusalem!
“Kathleen was an outstanding tour leader. She was exceptionally
knowledgeable and a gifted presenter. She went above and beyond,
looking after group members’ individual needs and making sure everyone
was happy. Her obvious passion for Italy was infectious. I would love to do
a tour with her again.” Feedback from Academy Travel’s Grand Tour of
Italy, April 2015
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
[email protected]
.au
Inside the mind of
A Renaissance man,
In Urbino
Urbino, remote Renaissance jewel and a fairytale come to life, is almost entirely the product of one man’s determined vision.
Federico da Montefeltro – best known, with his wife, from Piero della Francesca’s double portrait now in the Uffizi – was the
illegitimate son of the papal defender of Urbino and Gubbio. It was in fact through Pope Martin V’s good offices that Federico
was strategically legitimated, with permission sought from and granted by his father’s legal wife, who happened to be the pope’s
niece.
The young Federico spent part of his youth as a political hostage in northern Italy and thus received an excellent education from
the court tutor of Mantua, Vittorino da Feltre. But as he was not direct heir to his father’s territories, Federico had to make his
own way and fortune as a professional military strategist or condottiero. Some of his fiercest battles were against his family’s
local rival, Sigismondo Malatesta, lord of Rimini and patron of Leon Battista Alberti’s remarkable Tempio Malatestiano. Yet
Federico would fight – even once titled and wealthy – for those who paid his fee, from popes to the Sforza dukes of Milan and
even Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence. The Sack of Volterra under Federico’s command is still a notorious Renaissance
military disaster.
This situation changed in 1444, when Federico’s half-brother Oddantonio, recently made Duke of Urbino by Pope Eugene IV,
was assassinated. Naturally Federico stood to gain the most from this, but his involvement has never been proved and there
are even hints in Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation – painted in Urbino in the 1450s and still in the Palazzo Ducale there –
that Federico considered his brother a martyr. Once duke, Federico continued to work as a condottiero but also concentrated
on making Urbino an ideal city, still evident in Laurana’s rational architecture for his ducal palace, in official court portraits
painted by Piero della Francesca, and in the tax-free status Federico’s well-paid battles allowed his subjects!
Intellectual life was important to Federico: he chose for his second wife a woman who gave a public Latin oration at four.
Battista Sforza bore Federico six daughters and, finally, a male heir (Guidobaldo – Raphael painted his portrait), but before her
death at only 25, she also ruled in her husband’s absence. Another of the indications of Federico’s drive to unite the active, civic
life with his contemplative, intellectual life – an existential obsession for Renaissance humanists – can still be found in Urbino.
This is the studiolo, a small, marquetry-lined study where the duke kept his treasured manuscripts and objets. It was crowned
with paintings of great thinkers, executed by the best Hispano-Flemish painters of the time, and a quiet and unhurried visit of it
offers a compelling portrait of this complex and refined warrior prince.
Tour Highlights
 Private visit of Leonardo’s Last Supper
 Milan’s hidden gems, including Bramante’s San
Satiro, the Villa Necchi Campiglio and the Casa
Boschi di Stefano
 Bologna, a delightful medieval city little touched by
mass tourism
 The World Heritage-listed mosaics of Ravenna
 Renaissance masterpieces in out-of-the-way places:
Piero della Francesca in Urbino and Parmigianino in
Fontanellato
 Parma: private collections in modern villas and
medieval hamlets in the Apennine foothills
Above: one of the many beautiful arcades that characterises Bologna
Above: mosaics in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna
Above: medieval fortress in Fontanellato
Above: Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan
Detailed itinerary
Included meals are shown with the letters B, L and D.
Wednesday April 26
Arrival
Your tour leader, Dr Kathleen Olive, will meet the group at
the hotel, and there will be a light dinner in a restaurant near
our hotel this evening. Overnight Bologna (D)
Thursday April 27
Giorgio morandi
This morning we explore the heritage of the great Italian
artist Giorgio Morandi. We take a guided tour of the recently
restored Morandi's house - the space where Morandi lived
and worked almost all his life. Afterwards we continue our
guided tour at the Morandi Museum inside the MAMbo to
see a collection of the artist’s paintings, engravings and print
heritage. We have our welcome lunch at a local restaurant,
and the afternoon is at leisure. Overnight Bologna (B, L)
Friday April 28
Brilliant Ravenna
Today we travel to Ravenna, capital of the Byzantine Empire
in Italy from the 5th to the 8th century AD. The churches and
baptisteries of this town are decorated with the very finest
late Roman mosaics, gorgeous compositions reflecting a
variety of religious and imperial themes. We return to
Bologna in the late afternoon and the evening is at leisure.
Overnight Bologna (B)
Saturday April 29
Towers and terracotta
Today we explore the medieval and Renaissance heritage of
Bologna, strolling the centro storico, admiring the redarcaded passageways, towers and portici (porticoes). We
visit the splendid Basilica di Santo Stefano and the oldest
existing building, Santi Vitale e Agricola, parts of which
date from the 5th century. Bologna is renowned for its
outstanding cuisine which we enjoy today with lunch at a
local restaurant. The afternoon and evening are at leisure.
Overnight Bologna (B, L)
Sunday April 30
THE CONTEMPORARY ART OF FRESCO
We depart Bologna today for Urbino, stopping along the way
to visit the small town of Dozza, famous for its unique
contemporary fresco art. We arrive in Urbino in the late
afternoon and take an orientation stroll before dinner at a
local restaurant. Overnight Albergo Italia, Urbino (B, D)
Monday May 1 (public holiday)
The Ideal Renaissance city
This morning after a talk in the hotel, we tour the principal
sites of Urbino, a small hill-town which was transformed by
the benevolent rule of Federico da Montefeltro. We visit the
Palazzo Ducale and its celebrated intarsia-work studiolo, and
the Galleria Nazionale, with Piero della Francesca’s tiny
Flagellation. In the afternoon we take a walk to the Parco
della Resistenza for panoramic views over the town. This
evening is at leisure. Overnight Urbino (B)
Tuesday May 2
Fortresses and principalities
San Marino is the world’s smallest and oldest republic. It
consists of three ancient castles perched on sheer cliffs rising
implausibly out of the flatlands of Romagna, and a tangled
knot of cobblestone streets. Today we take a guided tour of
the town and enjoy a group lunch of local fare. We then visit
the ancient fortress town San Leo, located on an enormous
rocky outcrop. We return to Urbino in the late afternoon and
the evening is at leisure. Overnight Urbino (B, L)
Wednesday May 3
Contemporary Italian design
We depart Urbino today for Parma, stopping at the
impressive Lamborghini Museum en route. After a break for
lunch we continue on to Parma, arriving late afternoon. We
have dinner together at a local restaurant. Overnight Hotel
Mercure Parma Stendhal, Parma (B, D)
Thursday May 4
Elegant Parma
After a talk in the hotel, we take a walking tour of Parma
including the medieval baptistery, its design overseen by the
medieval sculptor Benedetto Antelami, and the cathedral
and nearby church of San Giovanni Evangelista, where we
enjoy the elegant work of Correggio. The afternoon is at
leisure so you may choose to visit the Teatro Farnese,
constructed in the early 17th century for Duke Ranuccio I,
one of the oldest of its type in Italy. This evening is at leisure.
Overnight Parma (B)
Friday May 5
Mantegna’s Mantua
A full day excursion takes us to Mantua, where we have a
guided tour of the Ducal Palace, a vast agglomeration of
medieval and Renaissance structures, with fine works of art
including Andrea Mantegna’s celebrated Camera degli Sposi,
the so-called Bridal Chamber. We also see the early church
of San Sebastiano, designed by Florentine humanist and
architect Leon Battista Alberti. Our tour of Mantua ends with a
visit to the great Renaissance palace - the Palazzo Te. We
return to Parma in the late afternoon and the evening is at
leisure. Overnight Parma (B)
Images clockwise from top left: Morandi's Studio, Bologna; the Palazzo
Ducale, Urbino; the painted domed ceiling of the Parma Baptistery;
murals in the village of Dozza near Bologna; and a mosaic of Emperor
Justinian and his court in San Vitale, Ravenna
Saturday May 6
Parma’s modern art patrons
This morning we visit the Magnani Rocca Estate, with its
private art gallery, restaurant and extensive botanical
gardens. After lunch at the villa, we visit the Labyrinth of
Franco Maria Ricci, one of Italy’s leading publishers, in the
centre of which is a gallery housing his invaluable collection
of art, printed material and incunabula. We return to Parma
via Fontanellato, whose medieval fortress – one of the few
remaining in Italy with its moat intact – was renovated by its
16th-century occupants, who employed a young
Parmigianino. The evening is at leisure. Overnight Parma
(B, L)
Sunday May 7
The Castles of the Duchy
Today we depart for Milan, en route visiting the hamlet of
Vigoleno, a medieval fortified town that has been recognised
as one of the most beautiful in Italy. We continue to
Castel’Arquato, to tour the town’s fine public and religious
buildings from the 13th and 14th centuries. We enjoy lunch in
a nearby restaurant before continuing on Milan where the
evening is at leisure. Overnight Hotel de la Ville, Milan (B, L)
Monday May 8
In the centre Milan
Our exploration of Milan today starts with the city’s main
square, Piazza del Duomo, to admire the intricate Gothic
structure of the cathedral. We venture to the top, via elevator,
for spectacular views over the city. Just a few steps away, we
visit Santa Maria Presso San Satiro, an architectural gem
built in 876 and later perfected by Bramante (1444–1514).
The La Scala theatre is nearby too, so we visit the theatre
museum and take a look at the theatre itself. We end our tour
with a bus transfer to the splendid private Portinari Chapel,
a Renaissance gem tucked behind the high altar of
the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio. This evening is at leisure.
Overnight Milan (B)
Tuesday May 9
Leonardo in Milan
This morning we are booked to view Leonardo’s masterly
Last Supper at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. We
continue on by foot to San Maurizio al Monastero
Maggiore, to admire the magnificent 16th-century frescoes of
Leonardo's contemporary, Luini. This afternoon is spent at
the Castello Sforzesco; originally a Visconti fortress, this
iconic red-brick castle was later home to the mighty Sforza
dynasty, who ruled Renaissance Milan. The castle’s
defences were designed by the multitalented Leonardo.
There is time to independently explore the complex seven
specialised museums, which gather together intriguing
fragments of Milan’s cultural and civic history, including
Michelangelo’s final work, the Rondanini Pietà. This evening
is at leisure. Overnight Milan (B)
Wednesday May 10
Art and domestic life
The Brera gallery is a world-class collection of northern
Italian art whose highlights include Mantegna’s Lamentation
of Christ and Piero della Francesca’s representation of
Federico da Montefeltro’s court in his Holy Conversation.
Other artists represented here include the Bellini brothers,
Raphael, Titian and Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Rembrandt.
This afternoon we visit the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi, a
small house museum of the Quattrocento, similar to New
York’s Frick Museum. This evening is at leisure. Overnight
Milan (B)
Thursday May 11
Modern miracles in Milan
Today we visit two very different Modernist house museums.
The first, Casa Museo Boschi Di Stefano, is a gem housing
an impressive collection of contemporary art ranging from
the Futurism to the 1950s. We then head to the wellrestored 1930s Villa Necchi Campiglio, beautifully shot in
the recent film I Am Love and surviving completely intact,
both outside with its ample yard, tennis court and pool, and
inside with its rich succession of rooms. This evening we
have our farewell dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight
Milan (B, D)
Friday May 12
Departure
The tour ends after breakfast. Departing group members
transfer to Milan airport for outgoing flights. (B)
Hotels
Hotels have been selected principally for their central
location. Most of the hotels are excellent four-star properties
that are within renovated palazzi. The Albergo Italia is a
simple three-star hotel and the most suitable for our Urbino
stay.
 Bologna, Grand Hotel Majestic Già Baglioni (4 nights)
www.grandhotelmajestic.duetorrihotels.com/en
 Urbino, Albergo Italia (3 nights)
www.albergo-italia-urbino.it/
 Parma, Mercure Hotel Stendhal (4 nights)
http://www.hotelstendhal.it/
 Milan, Hotel de la Ville (5 nights)
www.delavillemilano.com/
Images clockwise from top left: Matisse's Odalisque on a Terrace
(Odalisque sur la terrasse), 1922, part of the Magnani Rocca Estate’s
private art gallery; Raphael's The Marriage of the Virgin, 1504, held in the
Brera gallery; the garden room of Villa Necchi Campiglio; Michelangelo’s
final work, the Rondanini Pietà, in Castello Sforzesco; and
Castell’Arquato, located on the first hills of Val D’Arda in the province of
Piacenza
Tour Inclusions
Included in the tour price
 All accommodation in selected hotels
 All breakfasts and selected lunches and dinners in local
restaurants as indicated in the itinerary
 Land travel in Italy by air-conditioned coach
 Extensive tour notes
 Services of an Australian tour leader throughout the tour
 All entrance fees to sites mentioned in itinerary
 Local guides for cities and sites
 Porterage of one piece of luggage at all hotels
 Tips to local guides and drivers
Not included in the tour price
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International airfares, taxes and surcharges (see below)
Airport transfers if not coordinating with Emirates flights
Travel insurance
Meals not stated as included in this itinerary
Items of a personal nature such as laundry, phone calls
or internet use
Air travel
The tour price quoted is for land content only. For this tour
we recommend Emirates which offers flights into Bologna
and out of Milan from most Australian cities. Please contact
us for the best possible prices on economy, business or first
class fares. Transfers between airport and hotel are included
for all passengers booking their flights through Academy
Travel. These may be group or individual transfers.
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
[email protected]
Weather on Tour
May is a very pleasant time to travel in Italy. Expect average
maximum temperatures of 20º - 23ºC during the day, and
minimums of 12º - 15ºC at night. It is reasonable to expect
passing showers or rain on a few days, but it is usually a
sunny time of year.
Fitness Requirements
of THIS tour
Grade Two
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 Two tour is designed for people who lead active
lives and can comfortably participate in up to five hours of
physical activity per day on most days, including longer
walking tours, challenging archaeological sites, climbing
stairs, embarking and disembarking trains and/or boats, and
a more demanding tour schedule with one night stops or
several internal flights.
You should be able to:
 keep up with the group at all times
 walk for 4-5 kilometres at a moderate pace with only
short breaks
 stand for a reasonable length of time in galleries and
museums
 tolerate uncomfortable climatic conditions such as cold,
humidity and heat
 walk up and down slopes
 negotiate steps and slopes on archaeological sites,
which are often uneven and unstable
 get on and off a large coach with steep stairs, train or
boat unassisted, possibly with luggage
 move your luggage a short distance if required
A note for older travellers
If you are more than 80 years old, or have restricted mobility,
it is highly likely that you will find this itinerary challenging.
You will have to miss several activities and will not get the
full value of the tour. Your booking will not be accepted until
after you have contacted Academy Travel to discuss your
situation and the exact physical requirements of this tour.
While we will do our best to reasonably accommodate the
physical needs of all group members, we reserve the right to
refuse bookings if we feel that the requirements of the tour
are too demanding for you and/or if local conditions mean
we cannot reasonably accommodate your condition.