ACCENT - Art, Music & Culture in Florence, Italy

  Italy

• Florence: 
Florence

Term: Summer 
Dates: July 1 - July 30, 2010

Description: During this month-long visit to Michelangelo's hometown of Florence, Italy, you will be able to explore the greatest Renaissance city in the world. Our resident art historian will lead on-site lectures to works of the great masters of painting, fresco, sculpture, and architecture. You will see the sculpture of Michelangelo in his own home, the frescos of Fra Angelico in the monastery where he lived, the paintings of Botticelli in the palace of the Medici family, and the engineering apparatus of the 15th century architect Brunelleschi.

Led by our music historian, you will learn how Renaissance Florence developed the madrigal, the ballet, the symphony, and the opera. See the Medici collection of Stradivari violins and the first piano, visit Italy's first orphanage, experience the scent of a 16th century pharmacy, and see the original scientific inventions of Galileo.

A day excursion by chartered bus into the Tuscan countryside will take you to the hill-top towns of Siena and San Gimignano. Explore these ancient walled towns with a guide including museum entrances. Experience the Italian train system on a three-day trip to Rome. Tours in Rome will include the ancient Roman Forum and Coliseum, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and more. See Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's, the treasures of the
Papacy and the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museum.

On a day trip to Verona, a guide will show you the town and the homes of Romeo and Juliet. The excursion to Verona will conclude with a spectacular production of the opera AIDA in the Roman Arena of Verona.

During your month in Florence you will attend four concerts of ballet, symphony, chamber music and opera. Also available, at an additional cost and conducted by a local travel and tour agency, are optional cooking classes, tours to Cinque Terra and Venice, and a 3-day excursion to Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: USD 3,850 (plus a USD 150 refundable security deposit)

Credit Available: yes

Experience Required: no

Participants Travel to Italy Independently or in Groups