TOURS 1 AND 2
THE TERRITORY
The Marches is a secret paradise, partly because of its geological terrain. Going up or down a valley from West to East, from Appennines to Adriatic is easy. Going across the grain, following twisting roads up steep valleysides to high hilltop towns is not easy. A result is an unspoilt world in something of a time warp. In spite of Ryanair and talk of the new Chiantishire, the area is still difficult to penetrate. It is a region of spectacularly varied scenery, sloping Eastwards from the high Appennines through green hills to the sea, a countryside of small farms, vineyards, the region of the Verdicchio, Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno wines.
HISTORY AND ART
Donated to the Papacy by the Carolingians in the 8th century, the Marche was the heartland of the Papal State, in continual conflict with the claims of the Ottonian and later German emperors A legacy of the Medieval past is an abundance of hill-top cities, encircled by defensive walls, with commanding views and monumental historic centres. With its Papal and Imperial connections, it was a region of steady, perhaps even competitive patronage: it is rich in Benedictine abbeys, well-endowed churches and monasteries and works of art. A particular joy of the area is to be able to look at works of art in churches and galleries in small cities where it is unlikely that there will be any other visitors.
TODAY
Geography and benevolent pontifical lethargy preserved the status quo more or less into the 20th century. With the end of the mezzadria system of agriculture in the 1960s, traditional skills re-invented themselves in modern form. Today the region prospers with small-scale artisan industries.
SAN GINESIO
Our base for these tours is San Ginesio, in the central Marchigian province of Macerata. At 2000 feet, San Ginesio is the highest town in the Marche, with stunning views southwards down the range of the Sibilline mountains to the highest Appennine, the Gran Sasso, 70 miles away, and north-eastwards to the Adriatic sea. With a population of 4000, it is a perfect, unspoilt Medieval hill-top town, complete with walls, many churches from Romanesque to Baroque, a fine 19th century theatre, a pinacoteca and all the mod cons of a working community - banks, restaurants, hairdressers, butchers, bakers and a few shops. The town hall has interesting documents dating back to the 13th century, and in the piazza is the statue of local lawyer Alberico Gentili who escaped the counter-reformation Inquisition to become Regius Professor of Law at Oxford University under Queen Elizabeth 1st. He is known as one of the founders of international law.
ALBERGO CENTRALE,
SAN GINESIO - Our Hotel
The Albergo Centrale is the classic small-town hotel looking out over the beautiful piazza. San Ginesio was recently given the coveted Orange Banner award by the Touring Club Italiano, listing it among the piu belli borghi d’italia. The hotel has recently been refurbished, complete with lift, air conditioning and luxurious rooms, as well as a restaurant of traditional local quality.
www.albergocentralesanginesio.com
TOUR 1
A DRAWING & PAINTING HOLIDAY IN SAN GINESIO
September 26 - October 3
Now that we have a beautifully refurbished hotel in San Ginesio, we are able to offer again a Drawing and Painting Holiday which was a great success some years ago. Its success depended on a congenial group of like- minded people, of various levels of ability, in relaxed and beautiful surroundings, under the benign influence of an enthusiastic artist in residence. We trust this will happen again.
Artist in Residence
Richard Colson
Richard Colson is a professional painter whose work has been collected widely by individuals and corporate institutions. His paintings can be seen regularly in London at the Russell Gallery and the Riverside Gallery and in Winchester at the Minster Gallery. His exhibition “Second Sight on the River – Paintings of the Thames by Richard Colson” will run from April 2nd to May 30th at the River and Rowing Museum, Henley.
Richard Colson is also an experienced teacher of painting and drawing. He has taught students from all age groups and backgrounds. He has used this experience to try out and prove the effectiveness of a variety of teaching approaches. His main aim has been to help his students recognize what they need to do to consolidate what they already know and gain confidence to become more independent in their own creative practice. Painting is such an individual and subjective practice that no one set of rules or methods will be applicable to everyone.
The painting holiday will help guests to select subjects for themselves, to think about composition, to use perspective, to consider the relative size of pictorial elements, to respond to changes in light at different times of the day and to develop loose and responsive paint handling.
San Ginesio is a wonderful environment in which to paint and draw and there is no shortage of views to provide guests with inspirational subject matter.
Guests should use the drawing and painting media they feel happiest with. An easel and stool will be provided. Guests should bring their own materials. A recommended list of paper, colours, pencils etc. will be sent when guests have booked for the holiday.
Monday September 26
Arrive Falconara/Ancona Airport (Ryan Air flight from Stansted). Coach to San Ginesio
Tour of San Ginesio: the Collegiata, San Francesco, pinacoteca, Teatro Leopardi
Introductory Talk by the Artist in Residence, Richard Colson
Aperitivi in the cloister of the Comune
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo, Albergo Centrale
Tuesday September 27
Lunch independently
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Wednesday September 28
Lunch independently
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Thursday September 29
a.m. Visit Santuario di Macereto - a fantastic Bramantesque sanctuary church, in an arched enclosure, up among the peaks of the Sibilline mountains: well worth a day-visit for drawing and painting
Picnic lunch
Visit On the way back we will visit the cantina of Vini Baleani for a wine tasting
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo.
Friday September 30
Lunch independently
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Saturday October 1
Lunch independently
p.m. Visit Tolentino - great Giottesque era frescoes in the Basilica Wine tasting at the Cantine Il Pollenza
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Sunday, October 2
a.m. Market Day in San Ginesio
Buffet lunch with local products, offered by Vini Baleani
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Monday October 3
Transfer by coach to Falconara Airport
Tour 1 includes 1 picnic lunch, 1 buffet lunch and 7 dinners. There are 4 lunches to be had independently.
COURSE FEES £1280 per person in double room
Supplement for single person in double room £105
Please note that flights are not included.
All rooms have en suite facilities with showers.
TOUR 2
SECRET ITALY - THE HEART OF THE MARCHE - based in San Ginesio
October 3 - 10
The tour will include Ancona, the capital of the Marche Region, an active seaport throughout its long history, and Macerata, the capital of its province. However, many of the visits will be to very small but enchanting hill towns, all with surprising works of art in the parish churches, frequently by the Venetian artists Carlo and Vittore Crivelli, the Vivarini and Lorenzo Lotto. The daily itineraries are in the setting of magnificent countryside- rolling hills, the high Appennine mountains and glimpses of the Adriatic. An unhurried lunch in a local trattoria is an enjoyable part of each day.
The Tour is accompanied by the renowned art historian Dr.Stella Rudolph, whose dynamic and scholarly presence has been a major factor in Italian Journeys from their beginning in 1974.
Monday October 3
Arrive Falconara/Ancona Airport (Ryan Air flight from Stansted)
Coach to San Ginesio
Tour of San Ginesio: the Collegiata, San Francesco, pinacoteca, Teatro Leopardi
Aperitivi in the Franciscan cloister of the Comune
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo, Albergo Centrale
Tuesday October 4
a.m. Visit Macerata, capital of the province: view the Renaissance Loggia dei Mercanti; visits to the Duomo and the churches of the Madonna della Misericordia with its surprising elliptical interior by the 18th century architect Luigi Vanvitelli; S. filippo, S. Giovanni, the high Renaissance church of SantaMaria delle Vergine; the Pinacoteca comunale; the neo-classical Sferistereo, which seats 7000 people, now used for the prestigious Macerata Opera Festival
Lunch at Ristorante da Secondo, Macerata
p.m. Visit Tolentino: the Augustinian Basilica S.Nicola with its magnificent early 14th century frescoes
Visit the recently established Cantine Il Pollenza: wine tasting
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Wednesday October 5
a.m. Visit the minuscule borgo Massa Fermana, where there is the first polyptich in the Marche by the Venetian painter Carlo Crivelli
Visit Mogliano to see a fine altarpiece by Titian’s contemporary Lorenzo Lotto
Visit Abbadia di Fiastra a large Cistercian abbey complex
Lunch in the Abbadia di Fiastra buildings
pm. Visit Urbs Salvia, with its Roman amphitheatre and excavations 150 AD
Wine tasting - Vini Baleani, Passo San Ripe San Ginesio
Visit S.Maria delle Macchie a small Benedictine abbey with its Romanesque crypt.
XI C
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Thursday October 6
a.m. Visit Ancona, capital of the Marche Region, originally a Greek colony, it’s port area memorable for Trajan’s Arch, fine 18th century architectural features by Luigi Vanvitelli and overlooked by the Byzantine Romaneque cathedral of San Ciriaco. Visit the Pinacoteca which has masterpieces by Carlo Crivelli, Titian, Lorenzo Lotto, Guercino; the Romanesque church of S.Maria della Piazza; the churches of S. Francesco della Scala and S. Domenico with its fine Titian altarpiece
Lunch Ristorante La Torre, Numana
p.m. Visit the 18th century garden of the Villa Buonaccorsi near Porto Piceno or Osimo
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Friday October 7
a.m. Visit the sanctuary of Macereto, a Bramantesque church among the high Sibilline mountains
Visit the church of S.Giusto, a rare Romanesque round church
Lunch Ristorante al Cacciatore, Muccia
p.m. Visit Belforte in Chienti to see the important large polyptich by Boccati
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Saturday October 8
a.m. Visit Servigliano, an example of 18th century model town planning
Visit Monte San Martino, a tiny hill-top town with works by Carlo and Vettore Crivelli in the church of San Martino
Lunch Ristorante dei Priori
p.m. Visit Sarnano, a Medieval hill town, with many 15C frescoes in the church of S.Maria Assunta
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Sunday October 9
a.m. Free morning to enjoy the animated Market in the piazza in San Ginesio
Buffet lunch, with local products offered by Vini Baleani
p.m. independently
Dinner Ristorante Il Borgo
Monday October 10
Transfer by coach to Falconara Airport
Tour 2 includes 5 lunches, 1 buffet lunch and 7 dinners. There will be 1 lunch had independently on the arrival day.
COURSE FEES £1590 per person in double room
Supplement for single person in double room £105
Please note that flights are not included.
All rooms have en suite facilities with showers.
