Following in footsteps of Leonardo from Vinci
Volume I

07-11 November 2012 Leonardo: Days in Rome
 

Day 1 Arrival – ROME
Introduction to ancient Rome following Leonardo’s trail

Upon arrival in Rome and being greeted by your WTS art historian associate, we’ll start our tour to rediscover the magnificent city of Rome and da Vinci’s imressive works.

Our tour starts in Vatican, in the vast open spaces of St. Peters Basilica, greatest monument of Roman Catholic Church, where a treasure of precious works of art await to be discovered and where Leonardo Da Vinci himself worked on the project in 1490. While admiring Bernini's impressive Papal Canopy, the Baldacchino, in the Basilica, we'll discuss Michelangelo's stunning Pieta, that had urged Pope Julius II to contact the great Renaissance artist for other more important works he had in mind.

At Galleria Borghese you will see some of the earliest and most impressive sculptures and paintings by Bernini, Caravaggio and Raphael. If these were not enough for you, you will also have the pleasure of seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s Leda and the Swan,which reflect the timeless notions of fecundity, birth, and nature's regenerative power. Our walk through sands of time will continue through the marvelous garden of Villa Borghese to Santa Maria del Popolo Basilica at Piazza del Popolo. In ‘’il Genio di Leonardo’’ museum at Sale del Bramante we’ll be thrilled by the brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci and admire his wooden models again and again. We’ll continue our tour after lunch in the heart of the city.

The Pantheon, originally built in 27-25 BC and dedicated to every known god, contains the tomb of Raphael, will be our next landmark to visit. From there we’ll walk to Piazza Navona, where we’ll get amazed by Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, a masterpiece of spectacle and political allegory, symbolizing the 4 rivers (Nile, Ganges, Rio and Danube) on 4 continents.

We’ll walk along the beautiful French church Trinita dei Monti and Spanish Steps, built to connect the piazza in 1720 and then come by the most impressive Trevi Fountain at the ending part of the Aqua Virgo, supplying the fountains in the historic center of Rome with water.

The Colosseum, the symbol and landmark of Rome since ancient history will be our next stop. In the following panaromic city tour we’ll see Piazza Venezia, Vittoria Emanuelle Monument and Forum Romanum respectively and then head back for our hotel.

Day 2 ROME

Life of Leonardo in Rome;
Musei Vaticani, Pinacoteca Vaticano,  Cappella Sistina, Santo Spirito and Museo Etrusco

After the breakfast at the hotel we’ll visit the Musei Vaticani and Sistine Chapel, which feature some of the world's greatest masterpieces by artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael.  Michelangelo, another  genius of the High Renaisance period is featured on Sistine Chapel’s ceiling with his extraordinary paintings, including the large fresco ‘The Last Judgment’ on the sanctuary wall, painted between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II under nearly impossible conditions for the great artisan.

In the Pinacoteca Vaticano, the painting gallery at Vatican Museum,  we’ll try to analyse Leonardo’s unfinished painting of St. Jerome (Hieronymus ) iconographically, which describes the relation between the suffering of the saint and the crucifixion of Jesus and shapes the genius’ future artistic ideas.

After we‘ll get mesmerized at Museo Etrusco by the numerous monuments, objects and works of art of this mysterious folk, we’ll observe from Michelangelo’s dome the ‘il Cortile- Palazzo Belvedere’, the area where Leonardo resided and worked on optics, mechanics and geometry.

After a true italian lunch we’ll finish our daily tour at Museo Storico Nazionale dell’Arte Sanitaria  (The National Museum of the History of Medicine), the former Antico Ospedale Santo Spirito in Sassia (ancient hospital), where Leonardo da Vinci did researches on anatomy and medicine working on cadavers.

(Santo Spirito Museum is open only Mondays. Unavailable to visit on other days)

Day 3 ROME       
Leonardo:
Modern projects in ancient Rome and lost cities:
Port of Civitavecchia, Pontine Marshes and Unesco World Heritage Site: Etruscan Cemeteries

We set off right after the breakfast at the hotel to the Port of Civitavecchia Leonardo visited and resided in 1515 with the purpose of practising the illustrations for buildings and archeological material on the site. The artisan started the project, yet the finishing of the castle was Michelangelo’s work in 1535, adorned with  Pope Julius II’s gigantic octagonal emblem. The paths of two major prodigies of Renaissance had just crossed again on different periods of time for the same project.

After visiting Civitevecchia port-castle and witnessing the combined brilliance of Leonardo and Michelangelo together, it’s time to head for Pontine Marches. The idea of draining the swamp around Lazio in the vicinity of Rome in the XVI. century had intrigued Leonardo da Vinci genuinely and he mused over a system containing waterways and instruments for water draining. Though the project was approved by Pope Leon X, its realisation had to wait until he passed away.

The lunch will be followed by the visit of famed Etruscan Cemeteries, Tarquinia and Cerveteri. The previous day, at the Museo Etrusco we already saw some artifacts from here. The Etruscan Civilization, which spread after 700 BC in the cenral part of the country is the first historic civilization in Italy. The mysterious Etruscans and their tombs in Tarquinia and Cerveteri -since 2004 An Unesco World Heritage Site- will lead us into a journey through time.

Day 4 ROME

A jovial Day in Rome after tracing Leonardo’s days
in ancient Rome

Fountain of Love, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Espresso, Cabaret Show

Breakfast at the hotel. Take your pick! You can enjoy an espresso at a piazza of your own choice, explore a detail in the city stucked on your mind or go to a shopping centre to get a Rome souvenir or two. The modern shopping centre provides for you rich alternatives fot italian cusine and for your children playgrounds.

On your last evening you can enjoy a live cabaret show and a nice dinner.

Day 5 ROME Departure

After your final breakfast at the hotel you have leisure time until the transfer. WTS Italian associates will transfer you to the airport.

And see you until the Volume II of Leonardo da Vinci Tours.

PRICES

SERVICES INCLUDED IN FULL PROGRAM :

- 4 nights acc. in a 4* Hotel in Rome

- 4 breakfasts

- City taxes (and newly  applied hotel taxes which the clients pay directly to the hotel)

- Return transfers

- Full day Rome city tour, entrance fees and transportation

- 1.Day – entrance fee for  Villa Borghese

- 2. Day – entrance fee for Vatican Museum  

- 3.Day – Civitavecchia, Pontina, Tarquinia and Cerveteri Tours

- Lunches at first and third day (for info on restaurants and menus see below) dessert,soft drinks and coffee

- WTS ART HISTORIAN ASSOCIATE during the whole program

- WTS ITALY professional local assistant

SERVICES NOT INCLUDED :

- Porter

- Extra tours and personal expenses

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

- The tour program is arranged for minimum 26 persons, should the number of the particiants confirmed to be below 26 WTS art historian associate service can not be available otherwise local (english ) guide service can be provided-.

- First Day menu : Pizza menu, alternatives :

Pizza Margherita - Pizza Caprese - Pizza Bianchina - Pizza Marinara

Third Day menu : Alternatives

Starters : Smoked Crostini, Octopus Salad, marine crustaceans coctail  

Main Courses : Risotto with shrimps and asparagus, Gnocchetti with potatos and cream, Spaghetti with seafoods

Second Courses : Octopus marinated with white wine,  Shrimps cooked with steam

Additions : Mixed Salad, French Fries

Desserts :  Tiramisu, dessert of the day

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