VERDI AND WAGNER IN ITALY
November 16 to 26, 2012
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 rte Travel
invites you to celebrate the 200th anniversaries of the two grandest 19th century opera composers –Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner, with new productions of Rigoletto and Siegfried in Milan and Otello and Tristan und Isolde in Venice. Four of the most wonderful operas ever, in two of the most musical cities in Italy, and at two of the most fabled opera houses in the world: La Scala and La Fenicie.
The emphasis of the sightseeing of this tour is on places which are difficult of access or are rarely open to the public – on treasures which lie beyond normally impenetrable portals. Our privileged access takes the form of visits to sites outside their normal opening hours. Instead of sharing Leonardo's Last Supper, the Arena Chapel, The Basilica of San Marco or the Basilica in Bergamo with hundreds of other visitors, around twenty Arte Travel clients, and a few more from another travel company which otherwise would not meet, will have the places to themselves and for twice the allotted time given to other visitors.
We warmly invite you to join us on this wonderful Italian celebration of music, history, culture, and art. Register your interest at arte@berlin.com or call us +1 (281) 617-2648
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COSTS AND CONTENT
♦ Lectures and musical commentary by Professor Greenberg.
♦ 10 nights of accommodation in 4- & 5-star properties (just off La Scala in Milan and on the Grand Canal, in Venice).
♦ Breakfast daily.
♦ Six more meals, as an optional meal package.
♦ All ground and water transfers.
♦ Bus transfer from Milan to Venice, via Padua and Vicenza.
♦ Private and exclusive visits to the Arena Chapel and Last Supper with twice the allotted time given to regular visitors.
♦ Semi-private entry to the basilica of San Marco.
♦ Exclusive entry to the off-limits area of the Santa Maria Maggiore Church in Bergamo.
♦ Sightseeing as per program including entry fees and all transportation to and from sites.
♦ Performance tickets to all four operas.
LOCAL EXPERTS
This tour will be accompanied by Professor Greenberg and expert lecturers – art historians, archaeologists, and historians – selected for their scholarship, communication skills, and companionability. They are the secret ingredient of our tours, and we select them with great care. Although their scholarship is unimpeachable, their ability to share their knowledge is equally important. Their brief is to enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform. We use the term 'lecturer' because it emphasizes their primary role. They are not guides — although some of what they do might include guiding — because they are professional academics, writers, and curators, the nature of the information they supply is significantly different from that which is usually provided by conventional tour guides.
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itinerary and reservation form
Call +1 (281) 617-2648
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VERDI AND WAGNER IN ITALY
November 16 to 26, 2012
MILAN | Nov 16 l (Fri) l Your tour starts with a private transfer to our central Milan hotel from the airport or railway station. Later, over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, we meet Professor Greenberg, and Andrea Ogunbisi, our art-history expert in the city.
Nov 17 to 20 l (Sat to Tue) l Our sightseeing program includes a private and exclusive viewing of Leonardo’s Last Supper with twice the allotted time given to regular visitors. We will also visit the Brera, one of the premier art collections in Italy, where we focus in Caravaggio’s second version of the Supper at Emmaus and, in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, his Still Life: Basket of Fruit. We will enjoy a very special lecture by a guest scholar: The Last Supper: its possible parallels and historic implications.
We have scheduled a full day excursion to Bergamo, where we visit the house where Gaetano Donizetti was born (now a museum). However, the highlight of the day will be our private and exclusive entry into the Choir section of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where we admire the intarsia inlays created by Giovanni Capoferri based on designs by Lorenzo Lotto. An extremely rare privilege, as the Choir is off-limits to the public.
MILAN | VICENZA | PADUA | VENICE | Nov 21 l (Wed) l We depart Milan by private coach to Venice. En route, we pause in Vicenza, the city of Andrea Palladio, the most influential architect the western world has ever known. We visit two of his most famous private villas plus some of his most important civil works: The Palazzo Thiene, by special arrangement, and the Teatro Olimpico, the earliest theatre of modern times with the first proscenium arch in history. The hilltop ‘La Rotonda’, the most famous of Palladio’s buildings, and the 17th-century Villa Valmarana ‘ai Nani’ with frescoes by Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo. An afternoon drive to Pauda brings us to the Arena Chapel containing the fresco cycle by Giotto, one of the most important masterpieces of Western art.
VENICE | Nov 22 to 25 l (Thur to Sun) l While in Venice, we will be honored with the expert commentary and company of Monica Chojnacka, our chief lecturer. Exclusively for your benefit, we have included a special semi-private-visit to the Basilica of San Marco, the finest Byzantine-style church in the West, the mosaic encrusted interior illuminated, an opportunity not only to see the church without crowds, but also to visit chapels not normally open to the public.
Private palaces will be a special feature on this tour: there will be visits to two or three family-owned palazzi with splendid 17th- and 18th-century interiors. Church buildings visited include the little Romanesque cloister of Santa Apollonia, Sansovino’s San Francesco della Vigna with a façade by Palladio and altarpieces by Veronese, the Gothic church of Madonna dell’ Orto with paintings by Tintoretto, and the island church of Il Redentore by Palladio. Walks in Venice include off-the beaten track visits to the Ghetto and its synagogues, around the markets and former trading houses of the Rialto district, and Cannareggio, a tranquil area of the city little known to visitors.
Among the religious foundations visited are the cloisters and convent buildings of the Scuola dei Carmini with paintings by Tiepolo, and the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista with its Grand Renaissance stairway and a magnificent hall.
Nov 26 l (Mon) l Tour ends after breakfast. We will provide water-taxis to the airport to accommodate your schedule.
Gastronomically | this tour offers an optional package of six meals prepared by renowned Chefs and matched with outstanding wines.
Because the sightseeing program in Milan and Venice is dependent on the kindness of many individuals and organizations, whom are reluctant to make arrangements far in advance, we can not give a detailed itinerary at this early stage, but merely list most of the places we intend to take you to.
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