A perfect introduction to the History of Florence…skim through this first
http://www.aboutflorence.com/history-of-Florence.html
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WEEK ONE
Fiesole: The Etruscans (Textbook pages 106-109)

Thursday July 7
http://www.fiesolemusei.it/inglese/default.asp
http://www.fiesole.com/
Siena: The Middle Ages (Textbook pages 226-283)

Friday July 8
http://www.ilpalio.org/palioenglish.htm
San Gimignano: The Middle Ages (Textbook pages 226-283)

Friday July 8
http://www.sangimignano.com/sstoriai.htm
Perugia (not part of the ACCENT program or the History course…just for fun!
Any students are welcome to join at their own cost.)


Saturday, July 9
Florence to Perugia – 2 hours, $38 each way by train
Umbria Jazz Festival
Official website for the event (in Italian)
http://www.umbriajazz.com/canale.asp
Information in English about the Jazz Festival and the city in general
http://www.bellaumbria.net/Perugia/umbria_jazz_eng.htm
WEEK TWO
Florence: Renaissance (Textbook pages 335-362…focus: Brunelleschi)
Museo dell’Opera del Duomo
 Thursday July 14
- One group goes to the top of the Duomo and the other to the top of the Bell Tower
(admission tickets covered by Grant Budget)
Great buildings of Florence, an overview with more links, also has biographies of the
architects.
http://www.greatbuildings.com/places/florence.html
Florentine Art and Architecture
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/florence_sub2.html
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/symmetry_sub.html
Venice: Byzantium (Textbook pages 198-202);
and Transformation of Europe (Textbook pages 299-303, 318-324)

Friday July 15 – Sunday July 17
Feast of the Redeemer Festival
http://www.veniceword.com/p2vetraditions.html#redentore
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12677b.htm
Basilica di San Marco
Venice’s famous basilica blends the architectural and decorative styles of East and West.
The Building of St. Mark’s – Built on a Greek cross plan and crowned with five huge
domes, this is the third church to stand on the site. The first, which enshrined the body of
St. Mark in the 9th century was destroyed by fire. The second was pulled down in favor
of a church reflecting Venice’s growing power. The present design was inspired by the
Church of the Apostles in Constantinople and was completed and decorated over the
centuries. From 1075, all ships returning from abroad had by law, to bring back a
precious gift to adorn “the House of St. Mark.” The mosaics inside are mostly 12th and
13th century. Some were later replaced by such artists as Titian and Tintoretto. Until
1807 St. Mark’s was the doge’s private chapel, used for ceremonies of State, after which
it succeeded San Pietro di Castello s the cathedral of Venice.
WEEK THREE
Florence: Renaissance (Textbook pages 335-363…focus: Botticelli)
Uffizi Museum
 Thursday July 21
Virtual Uffizi- complete collection of the museum online
http://www.virtualuffizi.com/uffizi/paintings.htm
History of the building
http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/monu/ufu.htm
Rome: Ancient Empire (Textbook pages 106-154)
and the Renaissance (Textbook pages 354-355…focus: Michelangelo)
and the Counter-Reformation (Textbook pages 384-393…focus: Bernini)

Friday July 22 – Sunday July 24
Festa dei Noiantri (last two weeks in July) An open air food festival to usher in the
outdoor summer concerts. Located in Trastevere.
Tevere Expo (Last two weeks of July) Stalls along the Tiber near Ponte Sant'Angelo
display Italian arts, crafts, food, wine, and folk music.
Overview of the main attractions in Rome and their historical significance
http://www.passports.com/trips/cityfact/cityfact.asp?city=Rome:%20Various%20Attracti
ons
Campo dei Fiori in Rome, Bruno statue, early images
http://www.romeartlover.it/Vasi28.html
Campo dei Fiori in Rome, poem from a holocaust survivor
http://www.library.yale.edu/testimonies/exhibit/Pages/Text-1152.html
Biography of Giordano Bruno
http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/john_kessler/giordano_bruno.html?name=Camp
o+dei+Fiori&location=Rome_Campo_dei_Fiori
Ancient Roman History Links
http://romanhistorybooksandmore.freeservers.com/l_general.htm
WEEK FOUR
Florence: Renaissance (Textbook: 335-362)
Palazzo Vecchio (also called the Piazza della Signoria) and Accademia
 Thursday July 28
Piazza della Signoria
- Execution of Savonarola (1498)
Having assumed the leadership of Florence in 1494, the fanatical monk was hanged, then
burned for heresy in the Piazza della Signoria or Florence.
- Statue of Medici
- Michelangelo’s David statue
- Donatello’s David statue
- others?
Monuments in the Piazza della Signoria
http://www.goldentuliphotels.it/florence/monuments/piazza_signoria.html
ADDITIONAL SITES
Each group will travel to one of these cities. The travel costs are covered by the Grant
Budget.
Pisa

Sunday July 10, Friday July 29, Saturday July 30 or Sunday July 31
For much of the Middle Ages, Pisa’s powerful navy ensured its dominance of the western
Mediterranean. Trading links with Spain and North Africa in the 12th century brought
vast mercantile wealth and formed the basis of scientific and cultural revolution that is
still reflected in Pisa’s splendid buildings – especially the Duomo, Baptistry and Leaning
Tower. Pisa’s decline began in 1284, with its defeat by Genoa, and was hastened by the
silting up of the harbor. The city fell to the Florentines in 1406, but suffered its worst
crisis in 1944 when it fell victim to Allied bombing.
Pisa, Leaning Tower Info.
http://torre.duomo.pisa.it/index_eng.html
Assisi

Sunday July 10, Friday July 29, Saturday July 30 or Sunday July 31
http://www.assisionline.com/index.html
ADDITIONAL, OPTIONAL SITE
(History Instructor will be going to Verona. Any students are welcome to join at their
own cost. This visit is not required for the History course.)
Verona


Sunday July 10, Friday July 29 or Saturday July 30
Florence to Bologna to Verona – (1 hour, $32) (1 hour 25 min., $37) 2.5 hours,
$69 each way
Arena
Verona’s Roman amphitheater, completed in AD 30, is the third largest in the world,
after Rome’s Colosseum and the amphitheater at Santa Maria Capua Vetere, near Naples.
The interior, still vitually intact, could hold almost the entire population of Roman
Verona, and visitors came from across the Veneto to watch gladiatorial combats. Since
then, the Arena has seen executions, fairs, bullfights, and theater and opera productions.
Teatro Romano, Museo Archeologico
This Roman theater was built in the 1st century BC; little survives of the stage area, but
the semicircular seating area remains largely intact. It has great views over Verona: in
the foreground is the only one of three Roman bridges to have survived; it was rebuilt
after World War II. The elevator carries visitors from the Teatro Romano up to the
monastery above, now an interesting archeological museum. The exhibits around the tiny
cloister and in the old monk’s cells include mosaics, pottery, glass and tomb stones.
There is also a bronze bust of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, who in 31 BC,
overcame his opponents, including Mark Antony and Cleopatra, to become the sole ruler
of the Roman world.
Duomo, Santa Maria Matricolare
Verona’s cathedral was begun in 1139 and is fronted by a magnificent Romanesque
portal carved by Nicolo, one of the two master masons responsible for the façade of San
Zeno. Here he sculpted the sword-bearing figures of Oliver and Roland, two of
Charlemagne’s knights, whose exploits were much celebrated in medieval poetry.
Alongside them stand evangelists and saints with wide eyes and flowing beards. To the
south there is a second Romanesque portal carved with Jonah and the Whale and with
comically grotesque caryatids. Outside there is a Romanesque cloister in which the
excavated ruins of earlier churches are visible. The 8th century baptistery, or San
Giovanni in Fonte (St. John of the Spring) was built from Roman masonry; the marble
font was carved in 1200.
San Zeno Maggiore
San Zeno, built in 1120-1138 to house the shrine of Verona’s patron saint, is the most
ornate Romanesque church in northern Italy. The façade is adorned with a rose window,
marble reliefs, and a porch canopy. The rose window dating from the early 12th century,
symbolizes the Wheel of Fortune: figures on the rim show the rise and fall of human
luck. The marble side panels, which were carved in 1140, depict events from the Life of
Christ and scenes from the Book of Genesis. The Romanesque porch, since 1138, has
shielded biblical bas-reliefs, above the west doors from the elements.
The vaulted crypt contains the tomb of San Zeno, appointed eight bishop of Verona in
AD 362.
The 48 bronze door panels of the west doors are primitive but forceful in their depiction
of biblical stories and scenes from the life of San Zeno. The panels are the work of three
separate craftsmen, and are linked with masks. Huge staring eyes and the Ottoman-style
hats, armor and architecture feature prominently.
Opera
Opera: First emerged during the wedding celebrations of Italy’s wealthy 16 th century
families. Monteverdi was the first composer to establish his work firmly in the opera
repertoire.
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was best known for his Verspers of 1610. Both his
madrigals and operas are considered major landmarks in the development of music.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) wrote over 600 concertos, many of which are for the violin.
The Four Seasons, a set of concertos is among the best-selling classical music of all time.
Romeo and Juliet
The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet, two young lovers from rival families, was written
by Luigi da Porto of Vicenza in the 1520’s and has inspired countless dramas, movies
and ballets. At the Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s house), No.27 Via Cappello, Romeo is said
to have climbed to Juliet’s balcony; in reality this is a restored 13th century inn. Crowds
throng to see the simple façade, and stand on the small marble balcony. The run-down
Casa di Romeo is a few streets away in Via Arche Scaligeri. The so-called Tomba di
Giulietta is displayed in a crypt below the cloister of San Francesco al Corso on Via del
Pontiere. The stone sarcophagus lies in an extremely atmospheric setting.
Giardino Giusti
This is one of Italy’s finest Renaissance gardens. It was laid out in 1580 and, as in other
gardens of the period, there is a juxtaposition of nature and artifice; the formal lower
garden of clipped boxwood hedges, gravel walks, and potted plants contrast with wilder
woods above.
San Giorgio in Braida
This domed Renaissance church was begun in about 1530 by Michele Sanmicheli. The
altar includes the famous Martyrdom of St. George (1566) by Veronese, and above the
west door is the Baptism of Christ, usually attributed to Tintoretto (1518-94).