Piero della Francesca & the Early Renaissance

On the first day, we explore Sansepolcro, Piero della Francesca’s birth place and the city where the artist left some of his greatest masterpieces. In the morning we visit the Civic Museum to admire Piero’s Madonna della Misericordia and his famous Resurrection. Later we visit Piero’s House, a relatively modest 15^th century house transformed by the artist particularly in the latter part of his life. Here we explore the importance of the painter and his role in Early Renaissance. In the afternoon we travel to Monterchi to discover its most famous work of art, the Madonna del Parto, which della Francesca produced in honour of his mother, Romana, who was born in the town. There will be an evening lecture on Piero’s life and his work.

In the morning we depart for Urbino, which was considered the ideal Renaissance city at its height, during the reign of Duke Federico da Montefeltro. First, we visit the beautiful Ducal Palace where we talk about the Renaissance concept of an ideal city and where we examine the world class art collection of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche. Here we admire some of Piero’s most astonishing works, including the mysterious Flagellation and the Madonna di Senigallia. In the afternoon we discover the fresçoes by the Salimbeni brothers in the Oratory of St. John the Baptist, painted in the International Gothic Style popular before the advent of the Early Renaissance. We finish our day in Urbino with a visit to Raphael’s house.

This morning we travel to explore Arezzo, where we start with a visit to the Duomo with Piero’s Mary Magdalene fresço, as well as the Church of San Domenico to see the beautiful painted crucifix by Cimabue, which allows us to consider the roots of the Renaissance. We continue to the Casa di Vasari, the dwelling of the famous artist and author of the revolutionary Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. In the afternoon, we walk to the Basilica of San Francesco to admire Piero’s most astonishing frescoes representing The History of the True Cross. In the evening, after our return to the hotel, there will be a lecture on the artistic revolutions of the Early Renaissance.

Today we go to the ancient and glorious city of Perugia. In the morning we visit the hugely important Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria where we admire the masterpieces by Piero della Francesca, as well as the city’s most famous painter, Pietro Vannucci, better known as Perugino. After lunch, we visit the wonderful Collegio del Cambio, with its exceptional series of fresçoes by Perugino and, it is thought, his most important pupil, the incomparable Raphael. Later we walk a short distance to the city’s glorious gothic fountain sculpted by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano.

The tour continues to Assisi, a Roman city made famous in the 13^th century by the revolutionary Saint Francis. Here we explore the city’s most famous churches, starting with the Basilica of Saint Francis where we admire the incredible fresço cycle depicting the life of the saint painted by Giotto and his school. We spend the whole morning in this unique church built over two levels in order to explore the development of art in the Early Renaissance from Cimabue to Giotto. In the afternoon, we visit the Basilica of Santa Chiara where we discover the miraculous crucifix from the Church of San Damiano, a 12^th century Romanesque crucifix which allows us to glimpse art before the Renaissance.

Today we discover Cortona, the beautiful ancient hill-top town dissected by narrow medieval streets. In the morning we visit the Etruscan Academy Museum for its excellent collection of art, including the famous triptych by Bicci di Lorenzo which is a good example of art from the cusp of the Early Renaissance. Later we discover the world class assemblage of art in the Diocesan Museum, notably Fra Angelico’s Annunciation and Lorenzetti’s Maestà. In the afternoon we absorb the wonderful Tuscan ambience while sampling the region’s famous Sangiovese grapes during wine tasting.

We travel to the airport in Pisa where we board our return flight back to London.