Cosimo Medici tour to Lucca, Pisa, Siena and Florence

September 27-October 9, 2003

Early Booking Price, before May 27, 2003: $3695

Regular Price, from May 27, 2003: $3995

Single Supplement $490, Deposit $600

Tour Director: Professor Peter Gravgaard

Itinerary

Day 1 (September 27, 2003)

You fly from the USA to Rome. Change at Rome airport and fly to Pisa.

Day 2 (September 28, 2003)

You arrive at Pisa Airport (Galileo Galilei) where you will be met by the tour director, who will take you to your hotel where you will spend two nights. The afternoon is free; in the evening we will have our WELCOME DINNER, and the tour director will explain the program.

Day 3 (September 29, 2003)

Together with Florence and Siena, Pisa is one of the three major cities of Tuscany; it grew to prominence in the 11th century and acquired a sea empire including Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics. When Pisa supported the First Crusade it grew rich. Its period of grandeur stretched from 1135, when it defeated Amalfi, until 1284, when it was defeated by Genoa in the naval battle of Meloria. At its height Pisa built its "Field of Miracles", which you will visit today; it consists of the Cathedral (architect Buscheto 1063), the Baptistry (architect Diotisalvi around 1150), the Campanile (the "Leaning Tower", also around 1150) and the Campo Santo, a remarkable cloister, built as a cemetery for the privileged dead. According to legend, Archbishop Lanfranchi, who led the Pisan fleet in the First Crusade, brought back shiploads of soil from the Holy Land.

The Campo Santo is (or rather was - since the war destruction of 1944) decorated with splendid frescoes: Benozzo Gozzoli's works were badly damaged (Tower of Babylon, Solomon and Sheba, Life of Moses), but two other frescoes by an anonymous master are better preserved: The Triumph of Death and The Last Judgement. Besides the Field of Miracles you will want to see the Piazza dei Cavalieri with the Palazzo della Carovana.

Today we will also visit Lucca - time permitting. The history of Lucca is, you might say, the story of Luck and Pluck. Luck because the city, during its long life, always managed to guard its freedom from the claws of larger neighbors - its motto LIBERTAS is inscribed over the entrance of St Peter's Gate- and Pluck because when its Liberty really was in danger in 1314 when Pisa had seized Lucca - then a Luccan in exile, Castruccio Castracani , returned home, kicked the Pisans out, took over Lucca himself, created a small Luccan empire in Western Tuscany, beat the Florentine army at Altopascio (1325) and was in the process of besieging Florence itself when Luck changed sides and switched over to Florence when Castracani died of malaria. Our visit to Lucca will allow you to walk on the bastions; 4 kms of splendid garden boulevards surrounding the city of Lucca.

In the city itself you should see St Martin's Cathedral with Nicola Pisano's Adoration of the Magi and Matteo Civitali's Tempietto. This is a tabernacle which contains the Volto Santo (a cedarwood crucifix said to be a true portrait of Jesus sculpted by Nicodemus who, with Joseph of Arimathea, was an eyewitness to the crucifixion. You should also visit the San Michele in Foro church, which is crowned by a giant statue of the archangel Michael. Close by you can visit Puccini's birth house, which contains a small Puccini museum (Via di Poggio 30). Have your coffee in the historic Caffe di Simo (Via Fillungo 58). We return to our hotel for dinner.

Day 4 (September 30, 2003)

Today we will drive to Siena via Pistoia and Prato. In Pistoia we will visit the Cathedral (St Zeno), see the tomb of Cino da Pistoia (a friend of Dante) and take a general walk in the fine medieval center. (The city gave its name "Pistol" to the knives and, later, hand guns which it specialized in producing. So Pistol, the friend of Shakespeare's Falstaff (Henry IV), ultimately got his name from this city via its most famous product.)

Our next stop is Prato, where we will visit the castle of the Emperor Frederick II. Interesting also, is the Palazzo Datini, which was built by Francesco di Marco Datini, the "Merchant of Prato". He was the inventor of Accountancy (and, it seems, of work addiction.) His life is described in a fascinating book by Iris Origo.(See bibliography.) We will visit the museum (Galleria Communale) with Bernardo Daddi's Story of the Holy Girdle (i.e. the Virgin Mary's Belt) which in strange ways ended up in Prato. You can see the Pulpit of the Sacred Girdle in the Cathedral of Santo Stefano. Our visit ended, we drive from Prato to Siena where we will spend three nights.

Day 5 (October 1, 2003)

This day will be spent exploring the center of Siena which, for some writers (such as Facaros & Pauls, The Cadogan Guide to Tuscany & Umbria) surpasses even Florence as "the most beautiful city in Tuscany". But a word about her past history before introducing you to this queen among cities. Siena's independent history begins around 1125, when the city liberated itself from the local bishop and elected its first leaders, the consuls. The cathedral was built between 1186 and 1380. In 1255 Florence beat Siena in the battle of Monteriggioni, and again in 1260 Florence, envious of Siena's Commerce with Rome via the Via Francigena, demanded that Siena raze its walls and make way for a Florentine citadel in the midst of Siena. This demand was sent to Siena while a Florentine army was in position at Montaperti, East of Siena, ready to enforce its orders. Siena was completely and overwhelmingly outnumbered but, in an effort of sublime heroism, the small Siennese army, reinforced by the German horsemen of King Manfred (the son of Emperor Frederick II) and by Florentine exiles (such as Farinata degli Umberti), went into battle at Montaperti and beat Florence so badly that thirty thousand Florentines were killed or captured. (No wonder Dante places Farinata in his Inferno!) Only the presence of so many Florentine exiles in the victorious Siennese army prevented Siena from levelling Florence to the ground. Florence snapped back to its former position, but after Montaperti Siena might have become the ruler of Tuscany.

The end of Siena's independence is also impressive. In 1555 Siena was conquered by the army of Emperor Charles V. But two thousand Siennese diehards escaped to Montalcino, declaring that, "where the Commune is, there is the city". And, as the Republic of Siena at Montalcino, they held out against both the Emperor and Florence for the next four years. In 1559 at the peace treaty at Cateau Cambresis, Filip II, the son of Charles V, sold Siena to Duke Cosimo of Florence. So here ended the story of Siennese Independence and Freedom from 1125 to 1559. But the city which you can see these days is the creation of the citizens who stood up for freedom at Montaperti and Montalcino.

The high points of today are: the Cathedral (the Duomo) with the Baptistry, the Palazzo Pubblico with the Torre di Mangia, the Piazza del Campo with the Fonte Gaia. Also the great palaces built by the great families of Siena: Palazzo Piccolomini, Palazzo Tolomei, Palazzo Salimbeni, Palazzo Chigi Saracini and Palazzo delle Papesse. Visiting the Cathedral you should notice the magnificent Marble Pavement - sgraffitto work - 56 pictures showing portraits, allegories, scenes from the Old Testament. The dominant portrait is Hermes Trismagistros with the Sybils of Cumae, Tivoli, Delphi, Libya, Hellespont and Phrygia. Hermes is the mystical author of mystic philosophical dialogues from the 2nd century AD, dealing with esoteric subjects such as magic, alchemy and astrology. The Hermetic writings were translated from Greek into Latin by Marsilio Ficino, friend of Cosimo dei Medici, in 1471. Finding these people in a church may surprise you, but Hermes was seen as the companion of Moses and the pupil of the Egyptian god, Toth, the inventor of writing. The book he is holding is inscribed: "Take up your letters and laws, O Egyptians." So Hermes, the Sybils and Moses are all present here because they are all teachers of a learning which complements and anticipates the message of Christianity.

The other attractions of the cathedral are:- the Piccolomini Library with frescoes by Pinturicchio depicting the life of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, who became Pope Pius II, founder of the city of Pienza (which you will visit), humanist, poet, geographer, diplomat and scholar. And don't miss the Carrara marble pulpit by Nicola Pisano and the stained glass by Duccio di Buoninsegna.

Visiting the Palazzo Publica (city hall) you should notice:- the Torre di Mangia (belfry/watch tower) which is the symbol of the republic as opposed to the cathedral's tower on the hill;- the Sala del Risorgimento (King Vittorio Emanuele II meets Garibaldi);- the Sala dei Nove, meeting room of the Council of the Nine (the government of Siena). Here you will see the frescoes demonstrating the virtues of Good Government versus the vices of Bad Government. The artist is Ambrogio Lorenzetti , around 1338;- the Sala del Mappamondo, a map of the universe; celestial roadfinding. The afternoon will be devoted to exploring the city at your own pace. You might also want to visit the Pinacoteca Nazionale and the Fortezza Medicea in Piazza della Liberta.

Day 6 (October 2, 2003)

You have a choice today: you can either stay in Siena and continue your own exploration or you can join me on an excursion to see the towns and landscapes where the history of Siena took place. We will show you Montaperti, where Siena routed Florence in 1260; then we will drive you to Montalcino, where the diehard republicans from Siena established the Republic of Siena at Montalcino (1555-1559). We will visit the 14^th century Rocca (fortress) to see the citadel that held out against the Spaniards and Florentines. Next we will see San Quirico d'Orcia and Rocca d'Orcia, and perhaps Castiglioncello del Trinoro, the last bulwark of Freedom. Finally we will visit Pienza, an early attempt at creating a Renaissance city, designed by Rosellino and promoted by Pius II (Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini), hence the name. This is a delightful find.

Day 7 (October 3, 2003)

Today we will drive from Siena to Florence, seeing Monteriggioni, Colle Val d'Elsa and San Gimignano. First stop is the small circular fortified town of Monteriggioni, the Northern bastion of Siena against Florence, where Siena was defeated in 1255. Next we pass Colle Val d'Elsa, the birthplace of Arnolfo di Cambio, the architect who built the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Next we come to San Gimignano, Italy's best preserved medieval city with its characteristic fortress-towers. You should visit the Collegiata church with plenty of lire coins to illuminate the wonderful frescoes. There will be time for a walk through town before we continue to Florence, where we will stay for five nights.

Day 8 (October 4, 2003)

Today and tomorrow we will explore Florence, the Magnificent City. But before seeing the buildings, sculptures and paintings in which the Florence of the Medicis manifests itself, you need to have an idea of the history of the city, its people and its government. The origins are unclear, but the Etruscans seem to have been here from c.900 BC. Romans, Goths and Lombards came and went, and by the 11th century this part of Italy consisted of city states struggling with each other and with the Popes and Emperors. The members of the Pope's party were the Guelphs and those of the Imperial party were the Ghibellines. (The best guide to this history is Dante's Divine Comedy, which everybody ought to read anyway.) The period that matters stretches from c.1100 to c.1600, and the powers that matter are the Popes in Rome and the Emperors of Germany and - in Italy - Florence, Milan, Venice and Naples. From time to time the Kings of France and Spain would interfere in the politics of Italy.

The Medici family came to power as representatives of the middle class with Cosimo dei Medici in 1434. The most important members of the Medici family are as follows: Giovanni di Bicci de'Medici (1360-1429) who founded the Medici Bank. His son is Cosimo de'Medici (1389-1464) and his son is Piero il Gottoso (1416-1469). His son is the most prominent member of the family: Lorenzo de'Medici, il Magnifico (the Magnificent), (1449-1492.) The histories of these men are tempestuous: Giovanni made the family fortune when he helped Baldassare Cossa (a former pirate!) to become first cardinal and later pope (anti-pope John XXIII). John XXIII transferred the account of the Papacy to the Medici Bank which, at this point, expanded hugely, not only in Rome, but all over Italy and Europe; Venice, Genoa, Naples, Gaeta, Bruges, London. John was demoted from the papal dignity at the Church Council of Constance, but the Medicis continued to support him and, when you visit the Baptistry, you will find that the only person to have been buried here is John XXIII.

Cosimo de'Medici, Giovanni's son, is the founding father of the Medici dynasty and of the city of Florence. The inscription on his tomb (in San Lorenzo) says it all: PATER PATRIAE (Father of the Fatherland). Cosimo combined a practical competence - he was an excellent banker - with a strong interest in the arts and the humanities. He had been very well educated (six foreign languages: German, French, Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Arabic). He was a diplomat and had represented his father at the Church Council of Constance (1414-1418); later he would invite the General Council of the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches to transfer their deliberations from Ferrara to Florence. The occasion was important: an agreement between the two churches might have prevented the Fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. While that was not achieved, Cosimo did put Florence on the map: the culture of Ancient Greece, which had survived (if it had survived?) in Constantinople, found a new home in Florence where Cosimo promoted studies of Greek philosophy and literature and supported the arts like a modern Maecenas. Cosimo founded a Platonic Academy and supported scholars like Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola and artists like Michelangelo and Botticelli.

But it is in Cosimo's grandson that the renewal of art, literature, philosophy and learning reach their culmination. Lorenzo il Magnifico, the son of Piero il Gottoso, is the most famous Medici and the favorite of historians. In him they see an ideal realised, somebody who is significant through what he was rather than through what he did, and somebody who lived the culture of the ancients instead of studying it. (One would expect writers like Macchiavelli and - in modern times - Nietzsche - to admire Lorenzo il Magnifico.) His teachers were the best: Gentile Becchi, Christoforo Landino, Marsilio Ficino. His life was as happy as money, status, love, friendship, poetry and art can make it. He has become the model of what a ruler and leader should be.

As a politician, Lorenzo il Magnifico was effective, firm and decisive. He stood up to the murderous intrigues of Pope Sixtus IV and later became the tutor of Pope Innocent VIII. The major test of Lorenzo came when Pope Sixtus IV supported the "Pazzi Conspiracy". The Pazzi family of Florence were rivals of the Medici and attempted, with the support of the Pope and the King of Naples, to take over power in Florence. The decisive moment was the Pazzi attempt to kill the two Medici brothers, Lorenzo and Giuliano, in the Cathedral in Florence during High Mass on Sunday 25 April, 1478. Giuliano was killed, but the two priests who attacked Lorenzo were less competent with a dagger and only wounded him. Lorenzo escaped, and the conspirators were hung from the windows of the Palazzo della Signoria. Botticelli was employed to depict the Pazzi ringleaders by painting their portraits on the walls of the building where they had died, while Lorenzo used his verbal genius to add appropriate texts to the pictures. His talent as a diplomat showed when he travelled to Naples and won over King Ferrante to his own point of view. This took courage as well as tact, and peace was the result of Lorenzo's initiative.

Having taken you rapidly through the history of Medici Florence, let us now turn to the scene of these events, Florence itself. Our walk through the center of the city begins with a visit to the Baptistry. (As Facaros & Pauls put it in Tuscany & Umbria, p 90, "To begin to understand what magic made the Renaissance first bloom by the Arno, look here; this ancient, mysterious building is the egg from which Florence's golden age was hatched.") The famous doors were made by Ghiberti. Inside, please notice the tomb of John XXIII (Antipope). We then visit the Cathedral with Brunelleschi's magnificent dome and with Giotto's Campanile. Next we visit the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. From here you will visit the extraordinary grain market cum Guildhall cum church of Orsanmichele and the great Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo Vecchio.

Day 9 (October 5, 2003)

Today we will take you to see the Uffizi (meaning the offices), the finest collection of Italian paintings in the world. Later you will visit the San Lorenzo church with the Medici tombs and Michelangelo's statues. Also you will want to visit some of the fine Florentine palaces: we begin with the Palazzo Davanzati with the museum of the Florentine house. Then the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Via Larga, built by Michelozzi for Cosimo de'Medici. See also the Palazzo Strozzi and the Palazzo Rucellai. Other sights not to be missed are the Boboli Gardens, the Pitti Palace with its art collections and the San Giorgio Fortress. Time permitting, we will take you to the church of San Miniato al Monte with its fine view over Florence.

Day 10 (October 6, 2003)

Today will be devoted to an excursion to see the country villas of the Medici family in the surroundings of Florence. They were mostly built by Cosimo or Lorenzo: Villa Careggi (West of Fiesole), Poggio a Caiano (West of Florence & Northwest of Signa), Cafaggiolo (North of Florence), Villa Trebbio (South of Cafaggiolo).

Day 11 (October 7, 2003)

Today is the last day in Florence and it is entirely at your disposal for walking about at your leisure, shopping or visiting that museum which has escaped you until now.

Day 12 (October 8, 2003)

We drive from Florence to Pisa. Afternoon at leisure in Pisa. In the evening: FAREWELL DINNER.

Day 13 (October 9, 2003)

LAST DAY: We will take you to Pisa Airport for your return to the USA: Pisa-Rome-USA. (Please ask your travel agent to find you a flight departing no earlier than local 08:00 hours from Pisa.) BON VOYAGE!

Note: All breakfasts and dinners are included in the tour price.

Bibliography

Judith Hook, Lorenzo de'Medici, London 1984
Same, Siena, A City and its History
Mary McCarthy, The Story of Florence
Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy
Christopher Hibbert, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici
Iris Origo, The Merchant of Prato, London, Penguin 1963
Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron
Dante Aligheri, The Divine Comedy, transl. Dorothy Sayers, Penguin
Ugo Foscolo, Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis
H.V.Morton, A Traveller in Italy
Marcel Brion, The Medici: A Great Florentine Family
Agnes Heller, Renaissance Man, London 1987