Art & Architecture Tours 2023 & 2024

‘An

by Kate Romano, CEO of Stapleford Granary 4 – 5

Introduction

ACE is delighted to present highlights from our upcoming programme of tours exploring art and architectural history in the UK, Europe and further afield, including some new releases. From tours focusing on individual artists and art movements, to explorations of regional art collections, and opportunities to go behind closed doors at historic houses, the coming year promises a rich and varied array of experiences for art and architecture enthusiasts.

We look forward to returning to classic destinations for art lovers, including the Renaissance cities of Florence and Venice, the Côte d’Azur with its exquisite galleries and chapels, and Amsterdam, home to fine Old Masters. As well as visiting the breathtaking sites that made these destinations famous, ACE aims to delve below the surface, interspersing itineraries with visits off the beaten track.

All tours are led by experts in their field, and over the coming year we look forward to some brand new itineraries built upon our Tour Directors’ specialist academic research: a tour exploring the Young Poland art movement with award-winning curator Julia Griffin, and an exploration of modern art, architecture and design in Yorkshire with leading architectural historian Alan Powers.

We are pleased to present a wideranging collection of tours taking place across the UK, exploring subjects from art collections in Glasgow to heritage properties on the Isle of Wight, and stained glass in East Anglia to private country houses in Northern Ireland. For

those looking to travel further afield, a brand new tour exploring the remarkable art collections in the US cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington promises to be a highlight of the 2024 calendar.

Many departures can be booked straight away, while for those not yet on sale we invite you to register your interest, to be notified for priority booking as soon as they are available. Read on to discover more, and visit the ACE website or contact the office for further information, to register your interest or book your place.

We look forward to welcoming you on an Art & Architecture tour soon.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Please note that the following tour descriptions and itineraries provide guides to what we hope to offer, and some elements may be subject to change or confirmation nearer the time. Galleries, museums and historical sites can occasionally close at short notice, and we cannot guarantee the availability of individual works of art, as these may be taken off display for restoration or loan.

All tours involve some walking and standing for periods of time, in galleries, museums and over occasionally uneven ground, cobbles and steps. We ask customers to consult the fitness criteria outlined in our Booking Terms & Conditions, as well as the detailed information regarding Fitness and Practicalities specific to each tour, which is available on our website or by contacting the ACE office.

An Architecture of Light & Shadow

By Kate Romano, CEO of Stapleford Granary

small sample. They were all snapped spontaneously, for no purpose other than the pleasure of capturing things that caught my eye. They were taken during twilight hours when the site was quiet, late at night when the light source was a bright moon or the illuminated building, and during extremes of weather: bright sun, heavy rain, the prelude to a storm. I see now that they all share a common theme; ephemeral effects that emerge from the polarities of light and darkness. They are sights which have an immeasurable hold over my senses.

“Our buildings - and our public buildings in particular - should be to some extent poems” wrote the visionary 18th century architect Étienne-Louis Boullée; “the Poetry of architecture lies in natural effects. That is what makes architecture an art and that art sublime”. Shadow and light dominated Boullée’s extraordinary work, yet he had stumbled across this epiphany quite by chance. Walking in a forest one night, heavy with grief, he suddenly noticed his own shadow moving amongst the shadows of the trees. “What did I see?” he wrote in his memoirs. “A mass of objects detached in black against a light of extreme pallor. Nature seemed to offer itself, in mourning, to my sight.”

I thought of Boullée’s words as I looked through the photographs on my phone. I’ve been taking pictures of the Granary for the past three years. This montage is a

Stapleford Granary was the vision of Paul Barnes, the son of Philip Brooke Barnes who founded the charity which owns this beautiful complex of converted 19th century farm buildings. The renovation was carried out by Toni Moses and MCW Architects, winning a RIBA regional award for the sympathetic and contemporary conversion which retains pitched roof forms, black stained timber and locally sourced brick combined with large glazed openings. The Granary exudes warmth, hospitality and creativity. It is also a masterpiece in how a building can utilise natural light, not merely for visibility but as a means of expression. Over the seasons and years, I have discovered spaces within and around the site that capture and collect sunlight or moonlight. It’s a building that comes to life in the penumbral zone of shadows.

Like holes, shadows are things that are only visible by an absence of something. They are a ‘modifying element’ of architecture, contributing to the identity of a building, accidentally or on purpose. They help us to understand spaces, the texture of materials and, as ancient cave dwellers discovered by the light of a flickering fire, they can be enhanced and intensified for creative purposes. Light and shadow has been used dramatically, symbolically and mysteriously for thousands of years. Medieval church builders were masters of shadow. Their churches had dark corners, alcoves and vaults where things were hidden that could only be revealed with

the shining of light through windows or from lamps and would fade away when the light source had passed. Renaissance architects had an understanding of light and shadow as sophisticated as their understanding of sound and acoustic. Vincenzo Scamozzi (1552-1616) was the first architect to see light per se as a medium of architecture, not for its dramatic effects or emotional response, but as a medium for living well. His designs show plots for varying light zones, taking the whole sky as a source of illumination and dividing this up into his six carefully nuanced ‘types’ of light, accounting for intensity and direction. It is remarkable that Scamozzi views the architecture itself as the instrument capable of revealing otherwise invisible qualities of light.

Here at the Granary, I have found different types of light and shadow. There is a pale misty light in the early morning that suffuses a room - soft, fragile, foggy and diluted, a suspended glow with immobile shadows that is virtually impossible to capture in my photographs. There is a grey, cold, desolate light that seems to have lost its power to illuminate. There is a sickly yellowishgreenish light before a storm, cloying and potent, enveloping all it touches before the deluge hits. There is a crisp, blazing sunlight that makes windows into searchlights, moving with mathematical precision across surfaces and floors. There is a late afternoon light with long golden shadows that cling to the brick walls and there is a shadowless white night light that turns everyday objects into something ghostly and remarkable; pure theatre.

These lights and their shadows have a quiet presence, a silent occupation of space, existing in a moment I was privileged to see. Concluding his book on light in archaeology, the anthropologist Tim Ingold wrote about the experience of witnessing shadows; “To watch them is not to take in the world at a glance, but to join in its temporal unfolding, almost as one would with an orchestral composition. It is to reveal a world that is not laid out in fixed and final forms, but launched in perpetual motion”.

unforgettable moments.The effect has been to liberate me from some of the views I subconsciously held about art and music. These moments cannot be framed, exhibited, programmed or performed; they have to be experienced. They don’t replace the work of art, but they are a reminder that nothing is fixed, that aesthetic boundaries are constantly shifting and they generate a wellspring of creative impulses. Boullée’s moving shadows are everywhere, if you look for them.

There is a relationship between the ‘poetry of public spaces’ and between nature and human creativity. The things I see can’t be called ‘works of art’, yet they were in an arts centre and were, to my mind, striking and

Stapleford Granary is the arts centre home of The Association for Cultural Exchange (registered charity 279567) whose aim is to foster cultural understanding through education. We aspire to be a unique, inspiring environment for experiencing music and art, underpinned by our ‘culturally curious’ approach. Stapleford Granary is also home to the offices of ACE Cultural Tours.

www.staplefordgranary.org.uk

Artists, Artistic Movements, Artistic Periods

When artistic inspiration sparks in a particular time and place, a lasting legacy is founded. Certain destinations have become intertwined over time with particular artists and art movements – from the Piero della Francesca trail stretching through Tuscany, Umbria and the Marches, to the 20th century painters who sought inspiration on the Cornish coast, and the pioneering architects and designers of the Bauhaus School in Germany.

Self-portrait as the Apostle Paul, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1661. Public domain via the Rijksmuseum.

Art Nouveau in Belgium

21 - 26 September, 2023 |

With Christopher Bourne

The Art Nouveau movement started as a protest by young designers against the revivalist styles of the 19th century, and developed into a distinctive style of architecture and applied arts that, briefly, was all the rage in Europe, before being swept away by the First World War.

Inspired by writers including Wilde, Proust and Huysmans, and by art movements including Symbolism, Japonisme and Arts & Crafts, the movement was financed by ‘Nouveau Riche’ industrialists.

In addition to exploring exterior Art Nouveau architecture during several guided walks, our tour will also feature special access to the interiors of buildings including the exceptional Van Eetvelde and Max Hallet houses by Victor Horta. We will also gain an in-depth understanding of the style at the Fin-de-Siècle Museum, part of the Royal Museums of the Fine Arts of Belgium. The Winter Garden at St Ursula’s School, with its magnificent stained glass and original furniture, will be a further highlight.

We will also see how Art Nouveau was superseded by the more austere, streamlined Art Deco style after 1914, exploring exceptional examples of early Art Deco architecture, influenced by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Frank Lloyd Wright.

We will stay throughout in the heart of Brussels at the four-star Hotel Le Plaza, a welcoming establishment known for its elegant and traditional atmosphere.

“Our tour director was outstanding, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the locations, history and circumstances relevant to the subject, which he is clearly passionate about. He drew us in to the whole subject, including the matter of conservation and future use of the buildings. A very worthwhile tour.”

- ACE customer on a previous Art Nouveau in Belgium tour with Christopher Bourne

Sgraffito panel from the Cauchie House, Brussels.

Photo by Hilke Arijs licensed under

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London St Pancras 0901 on Eurostar, arriving Brussels 1205. Transfer to Hotel Le Plaza for five nights. Introductory lecture: The Origins & Rise of Art Nouveau. Short orientation walking tour of city centre.

Day 2 Morning: Autrique House followed by exterior walking tour of Ixelles and private visit to Horta Museum. Afternoon: Max Hallet House followed by walking tour of Ixelles Ponds.

Day 3 Morning: short walking tour in the Squares district followed by private visits to Van Eetvelde and Solvay houses. Afternoon: Fin-de-Siècle Museum followed by free time to visit other parts of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts. Free evening.

Day 4 Morning excursion to Antwerp for short walking tours of Zurenborg and Zuid districts. Afternoon: continue to Onze-Lieve-VrouwWaver for the Winter Garden, Salon and Chapel at St Ursula’s School. Free evening in Brussels.

Day 5 Morning: Cauchie House followed by Stoclet Palace (exterior) and Van Buuren Museum and gardens. Afternoon: marriage room and council chamber of Forest Town Hall.

Day 6 Morning lecture: The Zenith of Art Nouveau & After. Depart Brussels 1556, arriving London St Pancras 1701.

Cost of £2195 includes: return travel, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, five breakfasts, four lunches, three dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £340.

Tour code: ARNO-23

Piero Della Francesca

25 September - 2 October, 2023 |

The Piero della Francesca trail stretches through Tuscany, Umbria and the Marches and offers visitors to Italy glimpses of rural villages and medieval walled towns that have changed little since the 15th century.

Our tour will follow in the footsteps of Piero as we see his work in situ in the region’s palaces, churches, chapels and museums. We will trace Piero’s development from his artistic beginnings at Sansepolcro, through the important commissions he carried out at Arezzo, to the final flowering of his art at the enlightened court of Urbino. We will also learn about other artists who have lived in the region, with visits to Raphael’s House in Urbino and the Burri Foundation in Città di Castello.

We will enjoy a whole day excursion to Urbino, where the Ducal Palace is graced with one of the most sublime courtyards in Renaissance Italy. The palazzo’s rich collection of paintings includes works by Uccello, Raphael and Titian as well as Piero’s iconic and enigmatic Flagellation of Christ.

In Arezzo’s 14th century Church of San Francesco we will view one of the most outstanding of all Renaissance fresco cycles: Piero’s Legend of the True Cross. The medieval walled town of Sansepolcro hosts the Madonna della Misericordia polyptych and The Resurrection, “the best painting in the world”, according to writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley.

The hamlet of Monterchi in the Tiber Valley is home to Piero’s Madonna del Parto, one of the earliest depictions of a pregnant Madonna. In the ancient

With Lucrezia Walker

hill town of Cortona, we will discover the enchanting art collection in the Museo Diocesano, which includes Fra Angelico’s Annunciation.

We will stay throughout at the fourstar Hotel Tiferno, a converted palazzo situated in the heart of Città di Castello near Perugia.

Legend of the True Cross fresco by Piero della Francesca in the Church of San Francesco, Arezzo

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 0750 on British Airways, arriving Florence 1100. Transfer to Città di Castello for seven nights at Hotel Tiferno. Evening lecture.

Day 2 Morning excursion to Sansepolcro: Piero della Francesca’s house, Romanesque-Gothic Duomo and Civic Museum. Afternoon: hamlet of Monterchi and Museo della Madonna del Parto. Evening lecture.

Day 3 Whole day excursion to Perugia: Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, Collegio del Cambio, Merchants’ Guild, Sala dei Notari, Duomo and some free time.

Day 4 Città di Castello: San Francesco, Duomo, Palazzo Communale, San Domenico, Palazzo Vitelli alla Cannoniera, Burri Foundation (devoted to the 20th century artist Alberto Burri). Evening lecture.

Day 5 Whole day excursion through Apennine Mountains to Urbino for Ducal Palace (inspiration for Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier): ducal apartments and Galleria Nazionale. Afternoon: Raphael’s House.

Day 6 Whole day excursion to Cortona: guided walking tour and visit to Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca. Afternoon: Museo Diocesano and some free time.

Day 7 Whole day excursion to Arezzo: walking tour (14th century Town Hall, Piazza Grande, Piazza della Libertà and Vasari’s Palazzo delle Logge) followed by visits to Vasari’s House and the churches of San Francesco and San Donato.

Day 8 Depart Florence 1155, arriving Heathrow 1310.

Cost of £2595 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, seven breakfasts, seven dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £135.

Tour code: PIE2-23

The Arts & Crafts of Young Poland

2 - 11 October, 2023 | With Julia Griffin

Young Poland (1890-1918) was part of the international Arts & Crafts movement that originated with William Morris, John Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites. It emerged as an expression of the Polish people’s yearning for political independence and a means of preserving their cultural identity; artists and designers created a new visual language inspired by their country’s history, nature and landscape, as well as vernacular craft and architectural traditions.

In Zakopane, the Tatra Museum holds costumes and objects belonging to the Highlander shepherds, whose houses, carvings and embroideries were a major source of inspiration for Stanisław Witkiewicz’s Zakopane Style in architecture and interior decoration. We will visit Witkiewicz’s first major architectural commission, Villa Koliba, and his magnum opus, the House under the Firs.

The privately owned Silent Villa was home to Karol Kłosowski’s studio house and conceived as a ‘Total Work of Art’. We will also see examples of Zakopane Style ecclesiastical buildings.

In Krakow, our tour explores the role of innovative history painter and pioneering designer Jan Matejko, whose decorative scheme at St Mary’s Basilica is considered Poland’s first Arts & Crafts project, as well as reformer Stanisław Wyspiański, William Morris’s closest counterpart. The Wyspiański Museum gives an overview of his work in the applied arts as well as the literary world, whilst ecclesiastical and civic buildings offer the opportunity to see the artist’s decorative schemes in situ.

At the Franciscan Church, Wyspiański juxtaposed giant floral patterns of pansies, nasturtiums and wild roses with dynastic heraldic eagles, combining indigenous plants and historical relics to convey the spirit of non-extant Poland. Meanwhile, at the Medical Society, he evoked the unity of art and science through stained glass.

Another designer at the forefront of the Young Poland movement was Józef Mehoffer, whose former home we hope to visit, alongside his decorative scheme at the House under the Globe.

Our tour finishes with a visit to the Czartoryski Museum, showcasing Polish heritage and home to a world-class collection of Polish and international fine and decorative arts, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine, and a tour of Wawel Castle, for centuries the residence of the Polish kings, and the nearby cathedral.

We hope to include several privileged visits and opportunities to meet museum staff and private owners during this tour.

Accommodation for the first three nights of our tour will be at the fivestar Aries Hotel & Spa in Zakopane, an elegant property in a central location just minutes from the Tatra Museum. The rest of the tour will be spent at the four-star Hotel H15 Francuski, a charming property built during the Young Poland period and conveniently located in a quiet part of Krakow’s Old Town.

Pansies design for the Franciscan Church, Krakow by Stanisław Wyspiański. Courtesy of Julia Griffin.

Artists, Art Movements & Artistic Periods

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Gatwick 0930 on Easyjet, arriving Krakow 1300. Transfer to Zakopane for three nights at Aries Hotel & Spa. Welcome and introductory lecture: An Overview of the Young Poland Movement.

Day 2 Visits in Zakopane: Tatra Museum, Museum of Zakopane Style, Koliba Villa and Madonna of Częstochowa Old Church. Evening lecture: The Young Poland Movement in Zakopane – Stanisław Witkiewicz’s Architecture & Interiors.

Day 3 Morning: Silent Villa (subject to confirmation) and Harenda (Jan Kasprowicz Museum and Władysław Jarocki Gallery). Afternoon: Jaszczurowka (Chapel of the Sacred Heart) and House under the Firs. Evening lecture: Karol Kłosowski & his Silent Villa as a Total Work of Art.

Day 4 Visits to Oksza Villa and Highlander shepherd’s hut. Optional visit by cable car to the Kasprowy Wierch peak or gentle walk to Jaworzynka. Continue to Krakow for six nights at Hotel H15 Francuski.

Day 5 Morning: Sukiennice Gallery. Afternoon: St Mary’s Basilica and Jan Matejko House Museum. Evening lecture: Jan Matejko, Stanisław Wyspiański & the Young Poland Movement in Krakow.

Day 6 Morning: Wyspiański Museum and Stained Glass Workshop & Museum. Afternoon: Franciscan Church and Medical Society.

Day 7 Morning: House under the Globe and Mehoffer House Museum. Afternoon: Wojciech & Irena Weiss House. Evening lecture: Textiles of the Polish Arts & Crafts Movement followed by independent dinner.

Day 8 Morning: Museum of Industry & Technology. Afternoon: Palace of the Arts (exterior), Craft House and New Manor House in village of Goszyce.

Day 9 Morning: Czartoryski Museum. Afternoon: Wawel Castle and Cathedral.

Day 10 Depart Krakow 1330, arriving Gatwick 1505.

Cost of £3495 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room (premiere category Zakopane, comfort category Krakow), nine breakfasts, three lunches, eight dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement (premiere category Zakopane, comfort category Krakow) £565, double room for single use supplement (premiere category Zakopane, premium category Krakow) £745.

Tour code: YOUP-23

Palladio: Venice & the Villas of the Veneto

5 - 14 October, 2023 | With Charles Hind

Even five centuries after his birth, Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) remains one of the most distinguished figures in the history of western architecture. Born in Padua, Palladio trained originally as a stonecutter and mason in Vicenza, a picturesque historical town packed with delightful palazzi and public buildings.

Palladian highlights in the countryside outside Vicenza will include his earliest country house, the frescoed Villa Godi. We will also turn our attention to the sumptuously decorated La Rotonda, whose central dome (inspired by the Pantheon of ancient Rome) and quadruple porticos are amongst Palladio’s most imitated motifs.

A leisurely cruise along the Brenta Canal will take us to our second base, Venice, where our focus will shift to Palladio’s religious architecture: not just San Giorgio Maggiore, occupying its own island opposite the monumental Doge’s Palace, but also San Francesco della Vigna, Palladio’s first church façade. We will have the opportunity to take in Venice’s major sites – such as the Arsenale and the Rialto Bridge.

The Palazzo Querini-Stampalia, Church of Santa Maria Formosa and the Palazzo Grimani will be further highlights of our time in Venice. Although Palladio himself did not design the latter building, it was home to some of his patrons, and contains extraordinary 16th century interiors, despite being virtually unknown.

Our first five nights will be spent in the heart of Vicenza at the four-star Hotel Campo Marzio. We will then transfer to Venice for four nights at the four-star Hotel Ca’ dei Conti, close to St Mark’s Square.

Artists, Art Movements

& Artistic Periods

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 0845 on British Airways, arriving Venice 1200. Transfer to Vicenza for five nights at Hotel Campo Marzio.

Day 2 Excursion to villas south of Vicenza: Villa Pisani La Rocca (by Scamozzi) and Villa Pisani at Bagnolo. Afternoon: Villa BarbarigoRezzonico (exterior) and Villa Poiana.

Day 3 Vicenza: walking tour including Palazzo Thiene (exterior) and visit to Palazzo Barbaran da Porto (Palladian Museum). Afternoon: Basilica Palladiana, Loggia del Capitaniato and Palazzo Valmarana (exteriors) followed by Church of Santa Corona (Valmarana Chapel), Teatro Olimpico and Museo Civico (Palazzo Chiericati). Free evening.

Day 4 Morning: Villa Porto Colleoni and Villa Godi (Palladio’s earliest villa). Afternoon in Padua: Basilica of San Antonio, Odeon, Loggia Cornaro and Botanical Garden (oldest in Europe).

Day 5 Morning: via Villa Trissino (exterior) and Bassano del Grappa (site of Palladio’s wooden bridge) to Villa Barbaro. Afternoon: Villa Caldogno.

Day 6 Palladio’s famous Villa Rotonda, Villa Pisani at Strà and Villa Foscari. Transfer by boat along the Brenta Canal to Venice for four nights at Hotel Ca’ dei Conti.

Day 7 Morning: Palazzo Grimani, Palazzo Querini-Stampalia and Santa Maria Formosa. Free afternoon and evening.

Day 8 Morning: San Giorgio Maggiore and Church of Il Redentore. Afternoon: Palladio’s cloister of Santa Maria della Carità (Accademia di Belle Arti) and optional visit to Basilica dei Frari.

Day 9 Morning walking tour: Arsenale (exterior), Scuola di San Giorgio, San Francesco della Vigna (Palladio’s first church façade), San Zanipolo, Santa Maria di Miracoli and Rialto Bridge. Free afternoon.

Day 10 Depart Venice 1250, arriving Heathrow 1410.

Cost of £3865 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, nine breakfasts, two lunches with water & coffee, seven dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement (double room for single use in Venice) £585, double room for single use (throughout) supplement £795.

Tour code: PALL-23

Renaissance Florence: City of Wonders

6 - 13 November, 2023 | With Sarah Burles

The city of Florence is rightly considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and this new tour will focus on the transformation that took place there in art and architecture during the 15th century. To tell this story, we will, of course, visit Florence’s most famous museums, galleries and churches, but also some of the city’s less well-known treasures.

We particularly look forward to viewing the individual ‘cenacoli’ (Last Suppers) by artists such as Castagno, Ghirlandaio and Andrea del Sarto, some of which were hidden for many years behind monastery walls. In addition, we will travel beyond the city to look down on Florence from the beautiful hillside town of Fiesole, and from San Miniato al Monte – its oldest surviving church, with wonderful views over the city.

Further highlights will include Masaccio’s ground-breaking frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel, and the calm symmetry of Brunelleschi’s Church of San Spirito, where we will find Michelangelo’s early Crucifix, thought to have been carved when he was just 18 years old. The peaceful cloisters of San Marco are home to many important paintings by Fra Angelico, including the frescoes he painted in the monks’ cells. Standing in front of these works of art, it is no surprise to hear that Giorgio Vasari described Fra Angelico as having “a rare and perfect talent”.

Based in the heart of Florence, a few minutes’ walk from the spectacular Duomo with Giotto’s dramatic campanile and Brunelleschi’s

astonishing dome, we will take in the city’s main sights – including the Baptistery, the oldest religious site in Florence, and the churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce. The Palazzo Medici Riccardi, created for the leading Florentine banker and patron Cosimo de Medici, features famous Magi frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli in the family’s private chapel.

This tour will feature an opportunity to attend sung Vespers at the Badia Fiorentina, which dates back to the 10th century and is now home to the Order of Jerusalem.

We will stay throughout in the historical centre of Florence, at the four-star Grand Hotel Cavour, ideally located for our visits.

Frescoes in the Baroncelli Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 0815 on British Airways, arriving Pisa 1125. Transfer to Florence for seven nights at Grand Hotel Cavour. Afternoon orientation walking tour. Evening welcome and introduction.

Day 2 Morning lecture: The Road to the Renaissance followed by visit to Gothic Franciscan Church of Santa Croce and museum. Afternoon: Uffizi Gallery.

Day 3 Morning lecture: New Concepts of Space & Form in Florentine Painting followed by visits to the Dominican Church of Santa Maria Novella and the Baptistery. Afternoon: visits to the Duomo and Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. Free evening with option to attend sung Vespers at the Badia Fiorentina.

Day 4 Morning lecture: Speaking Statues – Sculpture in 15th Century Florence followed by visits to Bargello National Museum and Orsanmichele (exterior). Walk over the Ponte Vecchio to the Oltrarno area. Afternoon: Santa Maria del Carmine, Santo Spirito and Santa Trinità.

Day 5 Morning: Ospedale degli Innocenti (exterior), Church of Santissima Annunziata, Dominican Church and Convent of San Marco and Convent of Sant’Apollonia. Afternoon: Palazzo Medici Riccardi and San Lorenzo.

Day 6 Morning: Church of the Ognissanti (subject to confirmation) and San Salvi followed by Fiesole for Romanesque Duomo of St Romulus and Museum Bandini. Afternoon: San Miniato al Monte. Free evening.

Day 7 Morning: Cappelle Medicee and Galleria dell’Accademia. Free afternoon.

Day 8 Transfer to Pisa for 1215 departure, arriving Heathrow 1345.

Cost of £2995 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a classic twin or double bedded room, seven breakfasts, five dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, classic double room for single use supplement £525.

Tour code: RFLO-23

Art on the Côte D’Azur

4 - 11 March, 2024 | With Sarah Burles

From the late 19th century onwards, the vivid colours of the Côte d’Azur, as well as the region’s mild climate and dramatic landscapes, captivated a succession of Europe’s leading artists.

Following in Cézanne’s footsteps, Monet and Renoir both visited the south of France in the 1880s, while Signac famously sailed into St Tropez harbour in 1892, later building a house and inviting other artists to join him. Matisse arrived in Nice in 1917 and it was not long before his friend and rival Picasso joined him on the Côte d’Azur.

During our week in Nice and its environs we will consider what drew these and other artists to the south of France and explore the legacy they left in the region: from Matisse’s stunning Chapelle du Rosaire to Picasso’s work at the former Château Grimaldi in Antibes and Jean Cocteau’s ‘Salle des Mariages’ at Menton.

A number of these artists have museums dedicated to them, amongst which are the Musée Matisse, Musée Renoir, Musée National Fernand Léger and Musée Chagall. The latter is home to the twelve great paintings that make up the Biblical Message series, whilst the Musée Renoir offers an opportunity to visit the house of this great artist, where he spent the final decade of his life. It houses a number of his paintings and sculptures, and boasts beautiful views towards the sea.

The great strength of the Musée de l’Annonciade in St Tropez is the collection of works by Signac and the neo-Impressionists, Bonnard and the Nabis, and Matisse and the Fauves.

Meanwhile, above the beautiful walled village of St Paul de Vence lies the Fondation Maeght, its pinewooded grounds adorned with works by Giacometti, Calder and Miró. The Foundation possesses one of Europe’s most important collections of 20th century painting, drawing and sculpture: Braque, Chagall, Léger and Calder are all represented.

We will stay throughout the tour at the four-star Hotel Nice Riviera, ideally situated in the heart of Nice close to the Promenade des Anglais.

Gardener’s House at Antibes , Claude Monet, 1888. Public domain via Cleveland Museum of Art.

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1140 on British Airways, arriving Nice 1450. Transfer to Hotel Nice Riviera for seven nights.

Day 2 Morning lecture: The French Riviera – Art, Love & Life followed by walking tour of Nice. Afternoon: Musée des Beaux-Arts (Old Masters) and Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain. Evening lecture: Matisse, Chagall & the Côte d’Azur.

Day 3 Morning: Musée Renoir. Afternoon: Musée Matisse and Musée Chagall (Biblical Message). Free evening.

Day 4 Morning: Fondation Maeght (20th century art including Miró, Chagall, Matisse and Léger) and walk down the medieval Chemin SainteClaire to St Paul de Vence. Afternoon: Matisse’s celebrated Chapelle du Rosaire.

Day 5 Menton (Salle des Mariages) followed by Villefranche-sur-Mer (Cocteau’s Chapelle de Saint Pierre des Pêcheurs).

Day 6 Morning in Biot: Musée National Fernand Léger. Afternoon in Antibes: Musée Picasso (Château Grimaldi) followed by Château Vallauris (Picasso collection and chapel). Free evening.

Day 7 By coach to St Tropez (favoured haunt of artists since the 1890s) for walking tour of the old port and Musée de l’Annonciade (Bonnard, Braque, Maillol, Matisse and Signac) housed in former chapel of Pénitents Blancs. Return by boat and coach to Nice.

Day 8 Some free time. Depart Nice 1545, arriving Heathrow 1655.

Cost of £2745 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a classic twin or double bedded room, seven breakfasts, one lunch, five dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities.

Not included: travel insurance, classic double room for single use supplement £385.

Tour code: ARC1-24

Flemish Painting: From van Eyck to Rubens

9 - 14 April, 2024 | With

Rupert Dickens

Few countries have made such a profound contribution to European art as the land we know today as Belgium. With the development of oil painting in the 15th century onwards, Belgium played an essential role in the evolution of western painting.

The ‘golden age’ of Flemish art began with the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, before being continued by Hans Memling in Bruges, Rogier van der Weyden in Brussels and Hugo van der Goes in Ghent. Flemish Mannerist architects spread Renaissance ideas throughout northern Europe, and in Van Dyck and Rubens we have two of the most formidable of all Baroque artists.

The first stop on our tour will be Bruges, where we will enjoy a visit to the Gruuthusemuseum, a luxurious city palace reopened in 2019 following a major refurbishment, and housing a multitude of artistic treasures celebrating the glories of the Burgundian age.

The Groeningemuseum is host to an enviable collection of van Eyck and van der Weyden, and is the setting for Hieronymus Bosch’s Last Judgment. We will also visit the Memling Museum, housed in one of Europe’s oldest medieval hospitals, and pay homage to Michelangelo’s marble Madonna and Child in the Gothic Church of Our Lady.

We look forward to an excursion to the city of Mechelen, once the capital of the Burgundian Netherlands and

an important political and cultural hub for the Burgundian and early Habsburg princes. Here, we hope to visit the Museum Hof van Busleyden, a wonderful Renaissance palace, due to reopen in autumn 2023 following a major renovation. Also in Mechelen, St John’s Church contains a magnificent altarpiece by Rubens, its central panel depicting the Adoration of the Magi.

In Antwerp, the great commercial port on the Scheldt, we will enjoy an opportunity to visit the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which has recently undergone a major renovation project. The collections feature works by van Eyck, Brueghel the Elder, Van Dyck, Hals, Rodin and Magritte amongst others. The Mayer van den Bergh Museum, meanwhile, is home to a collection of northern Renaissance art assembled during the 19th century.

Our tour concludes with a visit to the Musée d’Art Ancien in Brussels, home to Flemish and Belgian paintings dating from the 15th to the 18th century.

We will stay throughout in the centre of Ghent at the four-star NH Gent Belfort, opposite the town hall.

The Holy Family with the Parrot , Peter Paul Rubens, 1614-1633. Public domain via Collection KMSKAFlemish Community.

Artists, Art Movements & Artistic Periods

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London St Pancras 0901 on Eurostar, arriving Brussels 1205. Continue to Ghent for five nights at NH Gent Belfort. Afternoon visit to the Stads Museum (Ghent City Museum). Evening lecture: Art in Bruges from Jan van Eyck to Hans Memling.

Day 2 Whole day excursion to Bruges: Gruuthusemuseum (recently refurbished), Groeningemuseum (works by van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hieronymus Bosch and Memling), Church of Our Lady and Hospital of St John (Memling Museum).

Day 3 Visits in Ghent: Cathedral of St Bavo (restored panels of van Eyck’s altarpiece The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb) and Museum of Fine Arts. Evening lecture: Peter Paul Rubens & his Antwerp Studio.

Day 4 Whole day excursion to Antwerp: Mayer van den Bergh’s Museum (Flemish primitives, major collection of late Gothic sculpture), Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady (Rubens altarpieces) and KMSKA (Royal Museum of Fine Arts). Return to Ghent for free evening.

Day 5 Whole day excursion to Mechelen: Museum Hof van Busleyden (Renaissance palace – subject to reopening) and St John’s Church (Rubens altarpiece).

Day 6 Morning lecture: Pieter Brueghel the Elder followed by transfer to Brussels for Musée des Beaux Arts (15th-18th century Belgian painting) – subject to final train times. Depart Brussels 1452, arriving London St Pancras 1600.

Cost of £2095 includes: return travel, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, five breakfasts, one light lunch, four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £295.

Tour code: FLMP-24

Cornwall Calling: The Artists of Newlyn, Lamorna & St Ives (Register Interest)

20 - 25 May, 2024 | With Sarah Burles

The beauty of the countryside, the drama of the sea and the clarity of the light attracted a succession of artists to the Cornish fishing towns of Newlyn, Lamorna and St Ives in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

The painters of the Newlyn School were led by Stanhope Forbes; they adhered to the principle of painting en plein air and found subject matter amongst the local fishermen and their families. In the 20th century, St Ives became a focus for leading avant-garde artists such as Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo and Barbara Hepworth, as well as Patrick Heron, Roger Hilton and Peter Lanyon.

Our tour will follow in the footsteps of the artists inspired by the Cornish land and seascapes from the 1800s to the present day. In Truro, a predominantly Georgian town, the Royal Cornwall Museum is home to a collection of Cornish paintings by artists from both the Newlyn School and the Lamorna Group.

Perched above the River Fal, leading to the sea, the neoclassical columned house at Trelissick offers spectacular maritime views amidst beautifully landscaped gardens and woodland. We will continue by boat to Falmouth Art Gallery, described as having “one of the leading art collections of Cornwall and the South West”, including works by Henry Scott Tuke.

Reopened in 2017 after a £20 million transformation by Jamie Fobert

Architects, Tate St Ives was the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year in 2018. The gallery hosts a rich collection of modern art in a dramatic seafront setting, including pottery and stoneware by Bernard Leach and marine paintings by local artist Alfred Wallis. A short walk away is Trewyn Studio, Barbara Hepworth’s home and studio from 1949 to 1975. The rooms feel as though she has only just left them and the small, tranquil garden provides the perfect setting for her sculptures.

Our tour also includes visits to Newlyn Art Gallery; the Penlee House Gallery and Museum in Penzance, where key works by Newlyn School artists reside; and the church at St Hilary with its series of unique paintings created by artists such as Dod and Ernest Procter and Roger Fry.

Full details, including the itinerary and cost, will be released later in 2023. Please contact the ACE office now to register your interest.

Tour code: CORN-24

Blue’ , Henry Scott Tuke, 1915. Public domain via Birmingham Museums Trust.

20th Century Yorkshire:

Art & Architectre 16 - 21 April, 2024 | With Alan Powers

The historic county of Yorkshire has a rich heritage dating back many centuries, but is also home to some fine examples of 20th century art and architecture. This brand new tour explores this fascinating aspect of Yorkshire’s heritage.

From a base in Harrogate, where we will explore sites including the Grade I listed Church of St Wilfrid, consecrated in 1914 and designed by Temple Lushington Moore, we will enjoy a number of excursions into the surrounding area.

The Yorkshire landscape famously influenced the work of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and continues to inspire contemporary sculptors. We will enjoy seeing highlights of the permanent collection at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which boasts works by Moore, Hepworth, David Nash, Anthony Gormley and Andy Goldsworthy amongst others.

We also look forward to visiting Bradford, which will be UK City of Culture in 2025. Bradford’s suburbs are home to several fascinating 20th century churches, including the first church built fully in the round, designed in the 1930s by local architect Jack Langtry-Langton, and churches built by Temple Moore (1910s) and George Pace (1960s).

A particular highlight of our tour will be an exclusive visit to a privately owned 1950s house near Huddersfield, considered amongst the finest of its type. Farnley Hey is a timber-framed

architect-designed house where the extensive use of glazing makes the most of the property’s position overlooking a wooded valley. The first work of architect Peter Womersley, a mock-up of the house was constructed for the British Pavilion at the Brussels 1958 International Exhibition, and today the house remains remarkably unchanged.

In vibrant Leeds, we will explore the city’s art gallery as well as the Henry Moore Institute and the Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery. Here, our focus will be on the Leeds Art Club and the patronage of Sir Michael Sadler, ViceChancellor of the university and a notable figure in the history of modern art in Britain.

Whilst in Leeds, we will also glimpse university buildings designed in the 1960s and 1970s as part of the campus expansion masterplan by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, one of the most important modernist architectural firms in post-war England. Meanwhile, St Aidan’s Church contains a major mosaic by Frank Brangwyn made during the First World War.

Our tour concludes with a visit to Salt’s Mill, a converted mill in the model village of Saltaire, to explore the 1853 Gallery, containing a collection of works by David Hockney amassed by his friend Jonathan Silver.

This tour will be based at the fourstar White Hart Hotel, a comfortable property centrally located in Harrogate in the city’s stylish Montpellier Quarter, close to the Royal Hall.

Itinerary

Day 1 Tour assembles 1300 at White Hart Hotel, Harrogate, for five nights. Afternoon walking tour of Harrogate including short visits to the Royal Baths, Mercer Art Gallery and Royal Hall. Evening introductory lecture.

Day 2 Excursion to the Hepworth Wakefield followed by visit to Wakefield Town Hall (rich ornamentation dating to the 1890s - visit subject to availability). Afternoon: Yorkshire Sculpture Park (landscaped park including works by Hepworth and Moore).

Day 3 Excursion to Bradford for visits to 20th century suburban churches followed by private visit to Farnley Hey House, near Huddersfield (one of the best and most important 1950s houses in England). Return to Harrogate for free evening.

Day 4 Whole day excursion to Leeds for visits to Leeds Art Gallery, Henry Moore Institute, Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery (part of the University of Leeds) and St Aidan’s Church (WW1 mosaic).

Day 5 Morning visits in Harrogate: St Peter’s Church (fine stained glass) and St Wilfrid’s Church (by Temple Moore). Afternoon excursion to Saltaire for Salt’s Mill: 1853 Gallery (works by Hockney).

Day 6 Tour disperses after breakfast at the hotel.

Cost of £1525 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, five breakfasts, four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £295. Tour code: YORK-24

Great Bardfield & Beyond:

Mid-Century Art & Design in East Anglia

7 - 11 May, 2024 | With Alan Powers

From 1930 to the early 1970s, the Essex village of Great Bardfield was home to a number of artists whose output has received growing recognition in recent years – most notably Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden. Their work spanned painting, illustration and design, and they used traditional imagery and techniques with a modern inflexion.

The artists’ homes and gardens and the nearby scenery often served as the subject matter for their works. This tour adopts Cambridge as a base for exploring the sites, collections and private houses associated with the Great Bardfield artists, their contacts, and the parallel movements of their time.

A highlight of our tour will be a visit to Saffron Walden’s Fry Art Gallery, which has done more than any other institution to showcase this network of artists, to explore their displays and view unique scrapbooks by Ravilious and Bawden. We will also enjoy a walking tour of Great Bardfield in the company of artist Chloë Cheese, who grew up in the village and remembers visiting the studios of Bawden and printmaker Michael Rothenstein.

An excursion to Braintree will offer an opportunity to visit the Town Hall, Braintree Museum and Howard Hall Masonic Centre, where we will enjoy a special guest lecture from Mary Schoeser, a leading authority in the field of textiles, in the building’s Art Deco surroundings. Mary is Honorary President of the UK Textile Society, and

will bring a selection of textile samples to illustrate her lecture.

Our tour continues with a visit to Silver End, the garden village built between the wars, partly in a modern style, by the Crittal family who were supporters of the Great Bardfield movement. We also look forward to taking in the principal collection of Bawden’s graphic work at The Higgins Bedford.

Hidden treasures across the county of Cambridgeshire include the Manor in Hemingford Grey, former home of Lucy Boston and the inspiration for her Green Knowe stories. The Grade I listed Impington Village College Hall dates from the late 1930s, and is a building of great architectural importance. It was designed by Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus School, and his partner Maxwell Fry; and is one of only five examples of Gropius’s work in the UK.

Visits in Cambridge itself will include the Prints and Drawings Room at the Fitzwilliam Museum, where we will see archival items by the likes of Cotman, Towne, Palmer and Lear as well as pieces by Bawden, Ravilious and others whom they inspired. We also look forward to a visit to the Centre for Children’s Book Studies at Anglia Ruskin University, for a special archival session with Professor Martin Salisbury, the Centre’s Director.

We will stay throughout at the four-star University Arms Hotel, conveniently located in the heart of Cambridge.

The Tractor , Eric Ravilious, 1933. Public domain via Birmingham Museums Trust.

Itinerary

Day 1 Tour assembles 1400 at the University Arms Hotel, Cambridge, for four nights. Afternoon visit to the Prints & Drawings Room at the Fitzwilliam Museum (works by Bawden, Ravilious and those who inspired them). Welcome and introductory talk.

Day 2 Morning excursion to Saffron Walden for visit to Fry Art Gallery. Afternoon: walking tour of Great Bardfield (visiting Bawden Room and viewing sites related to the artists).

Day 3 Morning excursion to Braintree: Braintree Museum and Howard Hall Masonic Centre (with guest lecture from Mary Schoeser). Afternoon: Silver End Village (nationally important village of 1920s ‘Modern Movement’ architecture) for walking tour and visit to Heritage Centre. Free evening.

Day 4 Morning visit to The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum, Bedford (focusing on Bawden). Afternoon: The Manor, Hemingford Grey (former home of Lucy Boston and inspiration for her Green Knowe stories) and Impington Village College Hall (subject to confirmation).

Day 5 Morning archival session at the Centre for Children’s Book Studies, Anglia Ruskin University. Tour disperses approx 1130.

Cost of £1795 includes: accommodation based on sharing a classic twin or double bedded room, four breakfasts, one lunch, three dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, cosy double room for single use supplement £385.

Tour code: GRBB-24

Dutch Masters: Rembrandt

& His Legacy

13 - 18 May, 2024 | With Rupert Dickens

This tour follows in the footsteps of one of the most important painters in Dutch art history, Rembrandt van Rijn. We will trace his life and legacy, beginning with a visit to Leiden, where he was born, before considering his impact on later geniuses of Dutch art, such as Van Gogh and Mondrian.

Our tour will be based in Amsterdam, where we will enjoy a visit to Rembrandt’s beautifully restored house and studio, reopening in 2023 following a renovation and expansion. We will also take in the Oude Kerk, the 14th century church Rembrandt often visited and where his marriage was registered, and visit the world-famous Rijksmuseum, to view works by the artist and his contemporaries.

Further afield, we will visit another major repository of 17th century Dutch art: the grand Mauritshuis in The Hague, featuring masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer. Leiden is also home to the recently restored Lakenhal Museum, whose highlights include A Peddler Selling Spectacles, one of Rembrandt’s earliest known works, and The Last Judgment by Lucas van Leyden.

The unrivalled collections of the Netherlands provide a superlative opportunity to explore the careers and work of those whom Rembrandt influenced, such as Van Gogh and Mondrian. Each of the later painters were acutely aware of the example of their illustrious predecessors and often made explicit references to them in their work and through their writings.

A visit to the Van Gogh Museum, which houses the world’s best collection of the artist’s works, will be followed by an excursion to the Kröller-Müller Museum, the second largest collection of works by Van Gogh in the world. Set in beautiful grounds at the centre of a national park, it also features holdings by the three founders of the De Stijl movement in the early 20th century: Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg and Bart van der Leck.

To further explore this important episode in Dutch art history, we will visit the Mondriaanhuis in Amersfoort, which contains exhibits relating to the artist’s life and oeuvre, and the Kunstmuseum in The Hague. The latter is home to a permanent display of De Stijl pieces, including the world’s largest collection of works by Mondrian.

Through these visits, and during walking tours, we will gain an understanding of each artist and the influences and commonalities between them, tracing this back to Rembrandt and his legacy.

This tour will be based at the delightful four-star boutique Hotel Estheréa, family-run for over 80 years and housed in a beautiful 17th century UNESCO-listed building on the Singel, Amsterdam’s oldest major canal. This enviable location, ideal for our visits in the city, is matched by luxurious and individually decorated rooms complete with sumptuous furnishings and charming, unique designs.

The Night Watch , Rembrandt van Rijn, 1642. Public domain via the Rijksmuseum.

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London St Pancras 1104 on Eurostar, arriving Amsterdam 1611. Transfer to Hotel Estheréa for five nights. Evening lecture: The Rise & Fall of Rembrandt.

Day 2 Morning walking tour in Amsterdam focusing on sites relating to Rembrandt, including visits to Oude Kerk (oldest church in the city, location of his wife’s grave and room where the couple’s marriage was registered) and Rembrandthuis (reopening in 2023 after a renovation). Afternoon excursion to Leiden for walking tour (Rembrandt’s birthplace and studio – exteriors) and visit to Lakenhal Museum (early Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Gerrit Dou).

Day 3 Morning visit to the Rijksmuseum (works by Rembrandt, 17th century collections). Afternoon: Van Gogh Museum (world’s best collection of the artist’s works).

Day 4 Morning lecture: Van Gogh – Sunflowers & Stars followed by excursion to Kröller-Müller Museum (world’s second largest collection of works by Van Gogh). Afternoon: Mondriaanhuis (artist’s birthplace with exhibits about his life and work) followed by some free time in Amersfoort. Return to Amsterdam for free evening.

Day 5 Morning lecture: Mondrian & De Stijl followed by excursion to The Hague for Mauritshuis (Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring). Afternoon: Kunstmuseum (world’s largest collection of works by Mondrian).

Day 6 Depart Amsterdam 1347 on Eurostar, arriving London St Pancras 1700.

Cost of £2795 includes: return travel, accommodation based on sharing a classic twin or double bedded room, five breakfasts, one lunch, four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, classic double room for single use supplement £595.

Tour code: DUTM-24

Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design

18 - 23 June, 2024 | With

Alan Powers

Of all the avant-garde enterprises in art and design between the wars, the Staatliches Bauhaus provides a paradigm of modernism. The school taught the unity of art, craft and design with the aim of breaking down traditional disciplinary boundaries to achieve material and spiritual welfare. This tour offers the opportunity to explore the Bauhaus and also the wider artistic context of the movement.

The Bauhaus opened in 1919 under the directorship of Walter Gropius, taking over the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts) building, designed by Henry van de Velde, its pre-1914 director. In Weimar, a city already famous for its associations with J W von Goethe and Friedrich Nietzsche, the Bauhaus can be seen in the context of German thinking about art, nature and politics.

In 1925, the school was transferred to Dessau, its most famous location, where Gropius designed a new building to house it which, in its restored state, powerfully evokes what it might have been like to study there. We look forward to visiting the new Bauhaus Museum in Dessau, which opened in 2019 to celebrate the Bauhaus centenary.

On this tour, we will visit these major centres, but also other cities in Thuringia and Saxony that reveal a wealth of 20th century treasures. In Gera and Jena, our visits will include a finely restored villa by Henry van de Velde as well as Gropius’s pioneering Haus Auerbach.

In Chemnitz, we will visit the Gunzenhauser Museum with its wide collection of interwar paintings and a well-preserved 1935 swimming pool complex by the City Architect, Fred Otto. The exterior of the Schocken department store provides an excellent example of the expressive yet functional designs for which its architect, Erich Mendelsohn, was renowned.

Our journey will include stays in three or four-star hotels in the historical centres of Weimar, Chemnitz and Dessau.

Balconies on the Bauhaus building, Dessau

Artists, Art Movements & Artistic Periods

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1050 on British Airways, arriving Berlin 1345. Transfer to Weimar for three nights at Dorint Hotel Am Goethepark.

Day 2 Morning lecture followed by short walking tour of central Weimar with visits to former Bauhaus Building (including restored office of Walter Gropius), Haus am Horn and Walter Gropius monument. Afternoon: Bauhaus Museum Weimar.

Day 3 Whole day excursion to Erfurt and Jena: Margarete Reichardt Haus (former weaving workshop and museum – visit subject to confirmation), Walter Gropius’s Haus Auerbach and Ernst Abbe Mausoleum (by van der Velde).

Day 4 Transfer to Chemnitz via Gera: Haus Schulenburg (by van de Velde). Afternoon in Chemnitz: Chemnitz Public Baths (by Fred Otto) and optional visit to Gunzenhauser Museum (Expressionist paintings). Overnight at Hotel an der Oper, Chemnitz.

Day 5 Optional walking tour of Chemnitz including exterior of former Schocken department store (by Mendelsohn). Transfer to Dessau for visits to Bauhaus buildings, Masters’ Houses and Törten Housing Estate (by Gropius). Overnight at Radisson Blu Fürst Leopold Hotel, Dessau.

Day 6 Morning: Bauhaus Museum Dessau. Transfer to Berlin for 1635 departure, arriving Heathrow 1730.

Cost of £2745 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a double bedded room, five breakfasts, three lunches, five dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £235.

Tour code: GBAU-24

Houses And Heritage Architecture

Some of the most special and memorable encounters one can have with a work of art are those in which it is experienced in the context for which it was originally created. From churches, chapels and monasteries on the Riviera di Levante and in the charming Bavarian countryside, to country houses, villas and palazzi in and around Rome, seeing works of art preserved in situ in heritage locations adds another layer of historical and aesthetic interest.

Deene Park from

of picturesque views of seats of the noblemen and gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland by Francis Orpen Morris, 1840. Public domain via Internet Book Archive.

Houses & Heritage Architecture

Stained Glass in England: Style, Technique & Colour

20 - 24 November, 2023 |

With Alex Koller

Despite its rarity, fragility and technical limitations, stained glass has received a great deal of attention from church visitors and scholars, and it is appreciated for a wealth of reasons: not least its abstract qualities, the technical mastery involved in its creation, and its perceived spiritual values. Even the term ‘stained glass’ is itself complex, raising questions of design and technique – being opposed to ‘painted glass’, as is often assumed.

Fundamental questions revolving around the making of ‘picture windows’ will be addressed during this tour, as we visit a selection of places boasting significant examples of the art form. Foremost among them is King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, one of the most superlative examples of Renaissance glass, not only in England but anywhere in Europe.

Oxford, by contrast, features some important medieval glass, but also benefitted from a period of active patronage during the 17th century ‘Beauty of Holiness’ movement. The great west windows of the chapels of New College and Magdalen College rank among the most daring experiments in the genre in the postmedieval world.

Survival is an issue that surfaces in the context of continental glass that was taken to England during the iconoclasm of the French Revolution and its aftermath: examples will be studied at the cathedral in Bury St Edmunds and in Hingham, Norfolk.

The 19th century revival of what are still widely regarded as the true principles of stained glass design can be appreciated in the contrast between one of the most complete medieval schemes of glazing at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich, and the Victorian windows of the Catholic cathedral in the same city. Meanwhile, later developments in stained glass design are evident at Jesus College and All Saints’ Church in Cambridge.

The Stained Glass Museum in Ely provides insights into the history and technique of the making of stained glass windows. The fact that this museum is housed in a building where the effects of post-Reformation iconoclasm, which accounted for the loss of so much of this fragile art, are still visible, is a particularly poignant reminder of the changing fortunes of the art form in England.

This tour will be based in the heart of Cambridge at the four-star Hotel du Vin, a stylish and comfortable hotel set in a former university building.

Stained glass depicting the Ark in Ely Cathedral

Itinerary

Day 1 Tour assembles 1415 at the Hotel du Vin, Cambridge, for four nights. Afternoon visits: Peterhouse College Chapel (17th and 19th century Bavarian glass) and Great St Mary’s Church (Victorian Clayton & Bell). Welcome and introductory lecture.

Day 2 Whole day excursion to Oxford (centre of glass-painting since the Middle Ages): Christ Church Cathedral (collection of windows from medieval to Victorian times), Merton College Chapel (13th century glass), Wadham College Chapel (Bernard van Linge), New College (medieval glass, Reynolds-Jarvis West Window) and Magdalen College Chapel (17th century monochrome windows).

Day 3 Visits in Cambridge: King’s College Chapel, Jesus College Chapel and All Saints’ Church, Jesus Lane (Morris & Burne-Jones). Afternoon excursion to Ely for visits to the cathedral and Stained Glass Museum.

Day 4 Morning excursion to Bury St Edmunds for St Edmundsbury Cathedral (16th century Rouen glass) followed by Church of Saints Peter & Paul, East Harling (15th century Norwich school) and St Andrew’s Church, Hingham (16th century German glass). Afternoon: continue to Norwich for Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist (Victorian glass) and St Peter Mancroft (medieval glass).

Day 5 Morning in Cambridge: Wren Library at Trinity College (Peckitt’s George III window – visit subject to confirmation) and Robinson College Chapel (John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens windows). Tour disperses approx 1215.

Cost of £1595 includes: accommodation based on sharing a classic twin or double bedded room, four breakfasts, four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, classic double room for single use supplement £315, deluxe room supplement (sharing) £50 per person, deluxe room for single use supplement £415.

Tour code: STGL-23

The Riviera di Levante

11 - 18 April, 2024 | With Christopher Wellington

For centuries the maritime republics of Italy dominated the Mediterranean. These powerful city-states were fiercely competitive, and our tour will trace the history of their stormy rivalries as we make our way along the enchanting Riviera di Levante (‘coast of the rising sun’), travelling between Genoa and Pisa.

Genoa was one of the longestlived of the maritime republics, its independence lasting until the threshold of the modern era. Today, the city’s historical heart preserves a fascinating labyrinth of medieval lanes and steps, studded with richly decorated churches and palaces, including the magnificent Cathedral of San Lorenzo.

We will travel down the spectacular Ligurian coastline, where picturesque towns cling to hillsides and reside in narrow valleys where the mountains meet the sea. The area of the Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage site in recognition of its combination of scenic beauty and human endeavour, and we will journey along the coast discovering Portofino and Portovenere.

The republic of Pisa fell to Genoa following the Battle of Meloria in 1284, but not before the city had developed one of the strongest architectural styles in Italy. Our visit here will explore the strong influence of classicism combined with medieval models, which culminated in the magnificent complex of the Piazza dei Miracoli surrounding the cathedral. Splendid works of art, such as the intricate Pisano pulpit, adorn these buildings.

We will stay in Santa Margherita Ligure at the Hotel Continental overlooking the Gulf of Tigullio; in Portovenere at the Hotel Paradiso; and in Pisa at the Hotel Bologna, a short walk from the historical centre.

Houses & Heritage Architecture

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1030 on British Airways, arriving Milan Linate 1330. Transfer to Santa Margherita Ligure for four nights at Hotel Continental. Evening introductory lecture.

Day 2 Genoa: cathedral, old port, National Gallery of Palazzo Spinola, Palazzo San Giorgio, Santa Maria di Castello, Church of Gesù, Palazzo Ducale (exterior).

Day 3 Morning: former abbey of La Cervara (beautiful Renaissance Italian-style gardens) followed by Portofino. By boat to San Fruttuoso (abbey founded in the 10th century – weather permitting). Evening lecture.

Day 4 Excursions to Chiavari (12th century planned town founded by Genoese Republic) and the Basilica dei Fieschi (fine Romanesque-Gothic church erected by this important Genoese family). Afternoon: walking tour of Santa Margherita Ligure. Free evening.

Day 5 By train to Monterosso al Mare with time to visit the town. Transfer by boat along the Cinque Terre to Portovenere: Gothic Church of St Peter and Romanesque Church of St Lawrence (erected in 1098 by the Genoese) followed by some free time. Overnight stay at Hotel Paradiso.

Day 6 Morning: fortress town of Sarzana (cathedral) and ruined Roman city of Luna (Archaeological Museum). Continue via Fantiscritti for the Carrara marble quarries and Museo Walter Danesi to Pisa for two nights at Hotel Bologna.

Day 7 Pisa: Campo Santo, baptistery and cathedral. Some free time.

Day 8 Depart Pisa 1230, arriving Heathrow 1345.

Cost of £2895 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, seven breakfasts, six dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £395.

Tour code: RIVI-24

Bavarian Baroque (Register Interest)

16 - 23 April, 2024 |

With Alex Koller

This new tour explores the array of fine Baroque art and architecture to be found in southern Germany, in its many regional and stylistic variants. Following a route from the Alpine territories of Upper Bavaria towards Munich, we continue into Lower Bavaria, Regensburg and its environs.

The influence of Italian architects and designers was felt in the region as reconstruction began after the devastations of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). In the 18th century, this turned into what is known as the ‘Bauwurm’, the building frenzy that created one of Europe’s great artistic legacies and gripped ecclesiastical institutions like monasteries and parishes, as well as the courts of the many regional princes in the area.

As a result, a number of schools of Baroque architecture and decoration developed; the several architects involved are amongst the leading lights of the period, such as Johann Michael Fischer, the brothers Zimmermann and the Asam family. Their involvement is reflected in the major works of the era.

Particular highlights of our tour will include a visit to the former monastery church of St Johann Baptist at Steingaden, with a rococo interior dating from 1740-42; the Wieskirche, a major example of 18th century German architecture; and Ettal Abbey, one of the largest Benedictine houses, which underwent a spectacular rebuilding in the Baroque style to the designs of Swiss-Italian architect Enrico Zuccalli, who had studied with Bernini.

Zuccalli was also involved in an 18th century extension to Schloss Nymphenburg, commissioned by Maximilian Emanuel, heir to Bavaria and sovereign electorate of the Holy Roman Empire begun in 1701. The palace was originally built to the designs of Italian architect Agostino Barelli, one of the individuals responsible for introducing Italian Baroque architecture to Bavaria. We also look forward to seeing Barelli’s Theatinerkirche in Munich.

Further highlights of our tour include a visit to Schloss Schleissheim, situated in a grand Baroque park and home to several important paintings by Flemish Baroque painters including Rubens and Van Dyck, amongst other Old Masters.

As we gain a comprehensive overview of the highlights of the Baroque in southern Germany, we will enjoy changes of scenery as we journey from the foothills of the Alps to the Bavarian lakes. We will also have time to absorb the picturesque architecture of the quintessential Bavarian town of Regensburg, a vibrant and wellpreserved medieval town listed by UNESCO, with its Gothic cathedral and charming bridge over the Danube.

We will stay at hotels of four-star standard in Ettal, Munich and Regensburg.

Full details, including the cost and itinerary, will be released later in 2023. Please contact the ACE office now to register your interest.

Tour code: BVBA-24

Houses & Heritage Architecture

Villas & Gardens in Lazio

(Register Interest)

11 - 17 May, 2024 |

With Lucrezia Walker

From the age of antiquity through the Renaissance and Baroque periods and up to the present day, villas and country gardens have served as centres of rural leisure, aesthetic reflection, philosophical debate and even political strategy. Nowhere is this multiplicity of roles more in evidence than in those of the Roman campagna.

The emperors of ancient Rome expressed their authority by constructing vast rural retreats, with the Villa Adriana at Tivoli, the largest country estate in the Roman Empire, setting the precedent for much future garden planning. During the Renaissance, the classical ideals of villeggiatura – escape to the country –were developed further by the princes of the Church.

This tour will explore many of the beautiful gardens to be found in the Lazio region, delving into their design, iconography and the history of their patrons, as well as offering opportunities to contemplate and absorb the beauty of their form, planting and place within the wider Italian landscape.

Our tour will take in Cardinal Alessandro Farnese’s villa at Caprarola, complete with cascade and underground water theatre, and the extravagant narrative garden of Villa Lante at Bagnaia, where stunning views of the picturesque landscape are the backdrop to beautiful water fountains.

The Mannerist garden at Bomarzo, meanwhile, with its strange sculptural

collection of monsters, compels the viewer to consider the darker side of nature.

We also hope to enjoy a privileged visit to the Giardino di Ninfa, a modern earthly paradise dreamt up among the ruins of a medieval town and home to many varieties of rose, whose scent drifts across the air as the petals are warmed by the gentle sunshine of an Italian spring day. A further sensory highlight of our tour will be a visit to the delightful Renaissance Castello Ruspoli, where the elegant terrace carries hints of the scent of orange blossom in spring.

Full details, including the itinerary and cost, will be released later in 2023. Please contact the ACE office now to register your interest.

Tour code: LAZI-24

View in the garden of the Villa d’Este in Tivoli , Isaac de Moucheron, c. 1725. Public domain via the Rijksmuseum.

Houses & Heritage Architecture

Houses & Gardens of Northern Ireland

17 - 22 May, 2024 |

With Cosmo Samuel Brockway

This tour explores a handpicked selection of the great estates, houses and gardens to be found in Northern Ireland. With a special focus on private houses and gardens, we will get an indepth understanding of these beautiful properties, their surroundings and contents, and hope to enjoy privileged guided tours and opportunities to meet some of the owners.

From a base in Belfast, our tour begins with an excursion to two important properties in County Down. Grey Abbey House, overlooking Strangford Lough, features exquisite 18th century plasterwork and delightful Gothic windows in the elegant drawing room.

Mount Stewart is a neoclassical house perhaps most celebrated for its outstanding gardens. Created by Edith, Lady Londonderry, in the early 20th century, the designs provide a rare example of the late compartmentalised Arts & Crafts style.

Our itinerary includes several other important gardens, notably those at Seaforde, which possesses Ireland’s oldest living maze as well as an arboretum containing champion trees and rare species of plant and a historical walled garden.

Meanwhile, a surprising architectural contrast can be seen at Castle Ward: rebuilt in the 1760s, one wing showcases the classical Palladian style favoured by its owner, the 1st Viscount Bangor, and another the contrasting Georgian Gothic, which was preferred by his wife, Lady Anne Bligh.

Moving into County Tyrone, we will visit the Baronscourt Estate, home to the Duke of Abercorn and surrounded by a spectacular landscape, while in County Fermanagh, we will visit Killyreagh House, dating from 1830, as well as Castle Coole, one of Ireland’s most notable neoclassical country houses, and Crom Castle on the shores of Lough Erne.

Our tour concludes with a visit to the delightful Victorian Italianate palazzo at Ballywalter Park on the shores of the Irish Sea. The home of Lord and Lady Dunleath, the house is of exceptional architectural importance and is surrounded by 30 acres of pleasure grounds.

The beginning and end of our tour will be based at the stylish Titanic Hotel Belfast, located in the heart of the city’s Titanic Quarter. The hotel is elegantly decorated with historical artefacts and contemporary artworks displayed amongst period architectural features. The tour also features an overnight stay at the four-star Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel, situated close to Enniskillen, overlooking picturesque Lough Erne.

Illustration of Baronscourt from A series of picturesque views of seats of the noblemen and gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland. , Francis Orpen Morris, 1840. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 0930 on British Airways, arriving Belfast City Airport 1055. Transfer to Titanic Hotel for three nights. Afternoon visit to Titanic Belfast (museum and monument to the city’s maritime heritage, located in former shipyard). Evening introductory lecture.

Day 2 Excursion to Mount Stewart (neoclassical house and world-class gardens in an exemplary Irish demesne) followed by Grey Abbey House (fine Georgian house overlooking Strangford Lough – visit subject to confirmation). Free evening in Belfast.

Day 3 Morning visit to Castle Ward (18th century mansion with dual architectural style). Afternoon: Seaforde Gardens (historical gardens, maze).

Day 4 Morning: house and gardens at Baronscourt (in the foothills of the Sperrin mountains). Afternoon: Castle Coole (grand 18th century mansion built for the 1st Earl of Belmore). Overnight at Killyhevlin Lakeside Hotel, Enniskillen.

Day 5 Morning visit to Killyreagh House (magnificent Georgian house and mature gardens) followed by Crom Castle (overlooking Lough Erne with formal gardens). Transfer to Belfast for overnight at Titanic Hotel.

Day 6 Morning visit to Ballywalter Park (Victorian Italianate palazzo surrounded by pleasure grounds). Depart Belfast City Airport 1545, arriving Heathrow 1710.

Cost of £2695 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, five breakfasts, three lunches, four dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £295.

Tour code: HGNI-24

Regional Art Collections

Many cities and regions – from Manchester to Berlin, and Puglia to the Bay of Naples – are fortunate to have exceptional galleries and museums of art, whether their collections were originally amassed by pioneering individuals, bequeathed by private patrons or built for the public good. Sometimes these regional collections take on a local flavour, or contain artworks from far and wide, sparking conversations about the history of patronage and art collecting, as well as offering the opportunity to appreciate high quality works of art on an aesthetic level.

Isle of Wight

10 - 15 September, 2023 |

With Suzanne Fagence Cooper

The Isle of Wight features picturesque scenery once favoured by royalty, from charming thatched cottages to medieval churches that stand alongside Regency and Victorian towns.

The island will forever be associated with Queen Victoria, whose reign came to an end there at the beginning of the last century. We will explore the former royal residence of Osborne House and St Mildred’s Church in Whippingham, frequented by the Queen; and our tour is based in the seaside resort of Cowes, which still bears substantial traces of Victorian England.

As well as these royal links, the Isle of Wight also holds connections with the radical Pre-Raphaelite movement of the 19th century, which we will explore during the tour. Many of the artists linked to and inspired by the Brotherhood lived and worked on the island, including the 19th century photographer Juliet Julia Margaret Cameron, and the painters George Frederic Watts, John Brett and Val Prinsep.

We will visit Dimbola Lodge, overlooking the stunning Freshwater Bay, where Julia Margaret Cameron made her home, and will also pay a visit to the recently restored Farringford House, former home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria’s reign.

Our itinerary includes several other stunning houses that stand on land layered with history. Northcourt is the largest of the island’s Jacobean manor houses, built in 1615 on the site of a medieval monastic

building, while the spectacular 18th century Appuldurcombe, a Baroque masterpiece, survives as a shell of the former mansion and enjoys 11 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland. The monastic buildings and church of Benedictine Quarr Abbey – whose origins date back to the 12th century – are among the most important religious constructions of the 20th century in the UK.

Further tour highlights will include the beautiful Mottistone Gardens, a haven for wildlife set in a sheltered valley and featuring delightful herbaceous borders that are full of colour from spring through to the early autumn. We will also view the Princess Beatrice Garden, designed by multiple Chelsea awardwinning designer Chris Beardshaw, on our visit to Carisbrooke Castle.

We will stay throughout at the threestar Best Western New Holmwood Hotel, situated on the water’s edge in Cowes, which enjoys a sea-facing lounge and restaurant.

Mother and Child by a Stile, with Culver Cliff, Isle of Wight, in the Distance , James Collinson, 1849-1850. Public domain via Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.

Itinerary

Day 1 Assemble 1300 at Southampton Red Funnel Ferry Terminal for 1400 departure via Red Funnel ferry as foot passenger, arriving East Cowes 1500. Transfer to Best Western New Holmwood Hotel, Cowes, for five nights. Evening introductory lecture.

Day 2 Morning excursion to Shorwell: St Peter’s Church and private tour of Northcourt House and gardens. Continue to Carisbrooke Castle (Norman castle including Princess Beatrice Garden, designed by Chris Beardshaw and based on the original garden retreat of Queen Victoria’s daughter). Afternoon: St Olave’s Church, Gatcombe (Pre-Raphaelite stained glass).

Day 3 Morning lecture: The Isle of Wight – A Victorian Island followed by visit to Appuldurcombe House (ruins of an 18th century Baroque mansion). Afternoon: Brading Roman Villa and St Mary the Virgin Church, Brading.

Day 4 Morning: Mottistone Gardens and Dimbola Lodge (home of celebrated Victorian photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron). Afternoon: Farringford House (former home of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, extensively restored between 2012 and 2017).

Day 5 Morning: St Mildred’s Church, Whippingham (frequented by Queen Victoria) and Quarr Abbey (impressive 20th century buildings). Afternoon: Osborne House (state and private apartments, followed by free time to visit the garden, Swiss Cottage and Queen Victoria’s bathing machine).

Day 6 Depart East Cowes 1130 via Red Funnel ferry, arriving Southampton 1230, where tour disperses.

Cost of £1545 includes: return ferry travel as foot passenger, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, five breakfasts, one lunch, five dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £140.

Tour code: IWIT-23

Art & Architecture of Puglia

9 - 15 October, 2023 | With

Nestled in the heel of Italy lies Puglia – or Apulia as it was originally named –the most prosperous region in the south of the country, but surprisingly one of its least visited parts. The diversity of its architectural heritage – Greek, Roman, Romanesque, Norman, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque – reflects its multifaceted past and importance on ancient trading and pilgrimage routes.

On our tour of this cosmopolitan region, which borrows elements from classical antiquity, the Islamic Orient and the north European Cistercian Gothic, we stay in the charming towns of Andria and Brindisi. From these bases we will discover the art and architecture of the region, starting in the port town of Bari. Here, we will explore the Romanesque Cathedral, Basilica of San Nicola, and Pinacoteca Provinciale, home to a distinguished collection of Old Master paintings, sculptures and 19th century Italian art.

We will enjoy a day excursion to the ‘white city’ of Ostuni and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Alberobello, characterised by its dense concentration of trulli – dry stone whitewashed buildings with unusual conical roofs.

In the cathedral of the captivating coastal town of Otranto we will view the 12th century Tree of Life mosaic. This extraordinary floor design contains biblical references alongside signs of the zodiac, references to Greek mythology and even images of King Arthur and the pre-Islamic Persian lion of the Sassanid Empire. On our final day in Lecce, the ‘Florence of the South’, our walking tour takes in its piazzas, churches and Roman remains.

Andrew Spira

Our first three nights will be spent in Andria at the four-star Cristal Palace Hotel and our final three nights in Brindisi at the four-star Hotel Orientale, situated in the heart of the city.

The Unbelief of St. Thomas in the crypt of the Basilica di San Nicola, Bari

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Gatwick 1225 on Easyjet, arriving Bari 1620. Transfer to Cristal Palace Hotel, Andria, for three nights. Evening introductory lecture: Puglia – Ancient & Medieval.

Day 2 Whole day excursion to Bari: Romanesque cathedral and Basilica di San Nicola. Afternoon: Pinacoteca Provinciale (distinguished collection of Old Master paintings, sculpture and 19th century art). Evening lecture: Puglia – The Baroque & Beyond.

Day 3 Morning in Barletta: Romanesque/Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore and Pinacoteca De Nittis (housed in Palazzo della Marra). Afternoon in Trani: Cathedral of San Nicola and Museo della Macchina Per Scrivere (subject to confirmation). Free evening.

Day 4 UNESCO World Heritage site of Alberobello, capital of trulli country. Continue to Ostuni (walking tour of old centre including 15th century cathedral and Museo Diocesano). Transfer to Brindisi via 14th century Church of Santa Maria del Casale for three nights at Hotel Orientale.

Day 5 Morning: Soleto for Church of Santo Stefano and Galatina for Church of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria (15th century frescoes). Continue to Otranto: cathedral (12th century Tree of Life floor mosaic) and Byzantine Church of St Peter. Free evening.

Day 6 Lecce: walking tour including Castello di Carlo V, Piazza Sant’Oronzo, Roman theatre and amphitheatre, Church of Santa Chiara, Vittorio Emmanuele II, Piazza del Duomo and cathedral, Church of Santa Irene, Basilica di Santa Croce and Palazzo dei Celestini (exteriors). Afternoon: Santa Maria di Cerrate (13th century frescoes).

Day 7 Transfer to Bari for 1245 flight, arriving Gatwick 1445.

Cost of £2295 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, six breakfasts, four dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £195.

Tour code: AAP2-23

Hidden Cambridge: Collections & Connections

16 - 19 October, 2023 |

With Sarah Burles

Cambridge is well known for its ancient university, beautiful colleges and scientific discoveries, but it is also home to museum collections of international significance as well as hidden artistic treasures. On this tour, we will delve beneath the city’s surface on a series of privileged visits to discover the hidden histories of remarkable patrons – from the 7th Viscount Fitzwilliam in the 18th century, to Jim and Helen Ede in the 20th century.

We will devote a whole day to studying the history and holdings of the Fitzwilliam Museum, discovering its rich and varied collections and enjoying a private visit to the Founder’s Library in the company of a curator.

Our second full day will focus on the city’s Arts & Crafts heritage. At the heart of the tour will be a special visit to the David Parr House, which reopened in 2019 following a two-year refurbishment funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The artistpainter and decorator David Parr was an employee of the decorative arts firm F R Leach & Sons, who carried out commissions for William Morris. Between 1887 and 1927, he created a remarkable interior in his modest terraced Cambridge house, which was wonderfully preserved by his granddaughter.

A further highlight of our tour will be a visit to Kettle’s Yard, once home to Jim and Helen Ede. This fascinating house has also benefitted from redevelopment in recent years. We will enjoy a visit to the new exhibition spaces and a visit to the house, where works by

artists such as Joan Miró, Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Christopher Wood and Alfred Wallis are exhibited alongside textiles, natural objects, ceramics, glass and furniture in what has been described as “a masterclass of curatorship”.

Our tour finishes with a special visit to the Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards College, the largest collection of works by female artists in Europe. It includes pieces by Barbara Hepworth, Maggi Hambling, Tracey Emin and Eileen Cooper amongst others.

We will stay throughout in the heart of Cambridge at the four-star Hotel du Vin, a stylish and comfortable hotel set in a former university building.

The North-West Prospect of the University and Town of Cambridge, c. 1775. Public domain via New York Public Library.

Itinerary

Day 1 Tour assembles 1330 at the Hotel du Vin, Cambridge, for three nights. Afternoon: walking tour of Cambridge followed by visit to the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College (rare books and manuscripts). Evening introductory talk.

Day 2 Morning lecture: The Fitzwilliam Museum – Private Collectors, Public Collections followed by whole day visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum, including tours of the main galleries and current exhibition and private visits to the Study Room and Founder’s Library (Lord Fitzwilliam’s books and manuscripts).

Day 3 Private visit to the David Parr House (tour and talk on The Conservation of the David Parr House) and visits to Jesus College, St Clement’s Church and All Saints’ Church (decorative works by David Parr).

Day 4 Morning lecture: 20th Century Cambridge Collections followed by visit to Kettle’s Yard (house and exhibition space). Afternoon: tour of the Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards College followed by tea in the Fellows’ Drawing Room. Tour disperses approx 1630 at hotel.

Cost of £1195 includes: accommodation based on sharing a classic twin or double bedded room, three breakfasts, three dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, classic double room for single use supplement £265.

Tour code: HDCM-23

From Bologna to Parma: A Feast for the Soul and Senses

6 - 12 November, 2023 |

This navigation of northern Italy absorbs the cultural splendours of Bologna and Parma, and includes excursions to the city of Mantua and the walled Renaissance town of Sabbioneta.

With Andrew Spira

Bologna’s architectural icons include the Gothic Basilica di San Petronio, originally intended to dwarf St Peter’s in Rome, and the lavish Basilica di San Domenico, a Renaissance showpiece that preserves the delicately crafted tomb of the eponymous saint.

Mantua – which only joined the kingdom of Italy in 1866 – is famed for the Renaissance Palazzo Te, notable for its sumptuous decorations by Giulio Romano, in addition to the Palazzo Ducale, once the stronghold of the Gonzaga family, today home to majestic works by Rubens and Mantegna.

En route to Parma, we will learn about one of the area’s most famous gastronomic exports with a visit to the Parmesan cheese-maker at 4 Madonne Caseificio dell’Emilia, near Modena. We will enjoy a tour and a tasting at the factory, described as a ‘cathedral of Parmesans’.

Parma’s Romanesque octagonal Baptistery is crowned with sculptures by Benedetto Antelami, whilst the cupola of the 11th century cathedral is acclaimed for its masterful ceiling frescoes by Correggio. In the imposing Palazzo della Pilotta we find the Galleria Nazionale, presenting paintings by Murillo and Parmigianino.

The walled town of Sabbioneta is a uniquely preserved example of Renaissance town planning, demonstrating how the ideal of rational order became manifest not only in paintings, sculptures and buildings, but in the urban environment itself. Mostly built in the late 16th century, the town has its own Ducal Palace, now the Town Hall, and is home to the Palazzo Giardino, a richly decorated villa. It also features one of only three surviving examples of a Renaissance theatre, which we will compare with that in Parma, and a rare 19th century synagogue.

Our first three nights will be spent at the four-star Art Hotel Commercianti, just a few steps from the Basilica of San Petronio, in a traffic-free area of Bologna’s historical centre. The final three nights of the tour will be spent at the four-star Hotel Mercure Parma Stendhal, located in Parma’s old town.

Camera degli sposi, Ducal Palace, Mantua

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 0910 on British Airways, arriving Bologna 1225. Transfer to Art Hotel Commercianti, Bologna, for three nights. Evening lecture: Medieval Devotion & the Origin of the Renaissance.

Day 2 Morning: Pinacoteca Nazionale (Bolognese paintings). Afternoon: Palazzo Poggi, Oratory of Santa Cecilia (fresco cycle by Costa, Francia and Aspertini) and San Giacomo Maggiore (subject to confirmation).

Day 3 Morning: Cathedral and Archiginnasio (Anatomical Theatre). Afternoon: San Petronio, San Domenico and Oratorio di Santa Maria della Vita. Evening lecture: Humanism & Courtly Culture followed by independent dinner.

Day 4 Depart for Parma via 4 Madonne Caseificio dell’ Emilia (Parmesan cheese factory) for tour and tasting. Visits in Parma: Palazzo della Pilotta (former palace of Farnese dynasty with Teatro Farnese and Galleria Nazionale), San Giovanni Evangelista (Correggio’s Vision of St John frescoes), Cathedral and Baptistery. Evening lecture: Art, Theatre & Propaganda. Three nights at Hotel Mercure Parma Stendhal.

Day 5 Whole day excursion to Mantua: Palazzo Te (Giulio Romano frescoes), San Sebastiano, Civic Museum, Mantegna’s House (exterior), Giulio Romano’s House (exterior), Basilica di San Andrea, Palazzo Ducale (Mantegna and Pisanello), Camera Picta and Teatro Scientifico Bibiena.

Day 6 Whole day excursion to Sabbioneta: Synagogue, Palazzo Ducale, Teatro all’Antica, Palazzo Giardino and Galleria degli Antichi. Return to Parma via former Valserena Abbey (Centro Studi e Archivio della Comunicazione dell’Università di Parma).

Day 7 Depart Bologna 1315, arriving Heathrow 1450.

Cost of £2395 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, six breakfasts, one lunch, five dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, single room supplement (double room for single use in Parma) £175, double room for single use supplement (throughout) £315.

Tour code: BOLG-23

The Bay of Naples

19 - 26 February, 2024 |

With Alex Koller

A bustling sea port, the city of Naples has a long and eminent history as one of the few European centres that can claim an unbroken continuity as a metropolis since its classical origins.

Once the favourite haunt of Roman citizens, and later Italy’s only truly royal city for almost six centuries, Naples was never short of artistic patronage. Dukes, archbishops, nobles and religious orders contributed to an extremely dense collection of buildings and works of art in and around the city: in particular, many examples of Neapolitan painting from the 17th and 18th centuries have remained in their original locations and can thus be appreciated as part of a uniquely authentic artistic landscape.

Our tour covers the main collections of Neapolitan art at the Museo di Capodimonte, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and the Royal Palace. We will also view the Renaissance sculpture adorning Castel Nuovo.

Attention will be paid to a number of religious buildings that contain art of the highest order, including the medieval royal tombs at Santa Chiara, and churches that have retained either all or much of their original decoration. Among the most fascinating are Pio Monte della Misericordia, which displays Caravaggio’s Seven Works of Mercy, and the important Baroque Church of San Gregorio Armeno, decorated by Luca Giordano.

Naples flourished under the Spanish Bourbons who, apart from a brief Napoleonic interlude, controlled the city from 1734 to 1860. One of the most

outstanding legacies of the Bourbon kings is the palace and parklands of Capodimonte, which houses a fine collection of decorative arts and works ranging from Bellini and Botticelli to Caravaggio and Corregio.

Complementing these visits, our itinerary will also include a day at leisure with an optional excursion by boat to Capri, where we will have the opportunity to view the ruins of Tiberius’s Villa Jovis.

We will stay throughout at the four-star Grand Hotel Oriente, located in the historical centre of Naples.

Regional

Art Collections

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1415 on British Airways, arriving Naples 1755. Transfer to the Grand Hotel Oriente for seven nights.

Day 2 Morning introductory lecture. Visits to Palazzo Reale, Castel Nuovo (Museo Civico) and religious houses with outstanding schemes of tomb monuments and paintings: Gesù Nuovo, Complesso Monumentale di Santa Chiara, San Domenico Maggiore and Sant’Angelo a Nilo.

Day 3 Visits in the ancient quarters of Naples: Museo Cappella Sansevero (18th century sculpture and frescoes), San Gregorio Armeno, San Paolo Maggiore, Baptistery at the Cattedrale di San Gennaro, San Lorenzo Maggiore (catacombs), Pio Monte della Misericordia and Sant’Anna dei Lombardi.

Day 4 Morning: San Michele Arcangelo (duomo) and San Leucio. Afternoon: Reggia di Caserta (Europe’s last great Baroque palace scheme).

Day 5 Excursion by boat to Capri for optional visit to ruins of Tiberius’s Villa Jovis, or day at leisure.

Day 6 Morning visit to the gardens at Villa Vannucchi (villa exterior) followed by Reggia di Portici (former royal palace). Afternoon: Villa Campolieto and Parco Archeologico di Ercolano (Herculaneum). Free evening.

Day 7 Morning: by funicular to the Chiaia district for Santa Teresa a Chiaia, followed by churches of the Pizzofalcone quarter. Optional visit to Castel dell’Ovo (subject to opening, time permitting). Afternoon: Complesso Monumentale Donnaregina Vecchia (Santa Maria) and Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Roman wall paintings from the Vesuvian sites).

Day 8 Morning visits including Certosa di San Martino (Neapolitan School) and Museo di Capodimonte (visits time permitting). Depart Naples 1845, arriving Heathrow 2040.

Cost of £2995 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, seven breakfasts, one lunch, six dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £340.

Tour code: BNPL-24

Venice: The Triumph of Light & Colour

27 February - 4 March, 2024 | With Tom Abbott 5 - 11 March, 2024 | With Tom Abbott

This exploration of Venice, one of Europe’s richest cultural cities, will take in a wonderful array of art and architecture, across palazzi, galleries and churches.

Located in the middle of the Venetian Lagoon, the city today bears witness to its heritage as the Republic of Venice –a major financial and maritime power lasting from medieval times, through the Renaissance, until the 18th century. We will begin with a tour of the Doge’s Palace – where the work of the Venetian administration was carried out, and where the architecture and adornments speak of its function as a symbol of the city.

The Galleria dell’Accademia, located in the Dorsoduro district, houses the largest single collection of Venetian art, and offers an opportunity to view a range of paintings showcasing the Venetian masters’ accomplished use of colour. Whilst the concept of ‘disegno’ underpinned the Florentines’ approach to art during the Renaissance, in Venice, ‘colore’ was key. This involved not only the choice of colours themselves, but also their mode of application by layering and blending.

Our exploration of the richness of the Venetian palette will continue as we discover the city’s fine churches. The Scuola Grande di San Rocco contains superb decorative schemes by Tintoretto, a notable member of the Venetian school, while the Scuola di

San Giorgio degli Schiavoni is home to an exquisite cycle by Carpaccio, a student of Gentile Bellini.

Amongst other fascinating historical churches on our itinerary are the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, known as ‘I Gesuiti’, with its stunning Baroque interior, and the Gothic Church of Madonna del Orto.

We will also enjoy excursions by boat to the islands of Burano, San Francesco del Deserto and Torcello: the latter is home to vivid Byzantine mosaics in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta.

Both departures of this tour will be based at the four-star Hotel Ca’ dei Conti, housed in an elegant 18th century building located in the heart of Venice, a stone’s throw from the Piazza and Basilica San Marco, and adjoining a canal.

The Grand Canal, Venice, Looking Southeast, with the Campo della Carità to the Right , Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto), 1730s. Public domain via the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 0840 on British Airways, arriving Venice 1200. Transfer by water taxi to Hotel Ca’ dei Conti for six nights. Afternoon: orientation walking tour followed by welcome and introduction.

Day 2 Morning visits to Doge’s Palace and Museo di San Marco (famous bronze horses and Treasury). Afternoon: San Giorgio Maggiore for Palladio church (Tintoretto) and Church of San Sebastiano (Veronese). Evening lecture: Venice – A History of Art & Architecture.

Day 3 Morning: Galleria dell’Accademia (largest single collection of Venetian art). Afternoon visits to Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni (paintings by Carpaccio), Dominican Church of Saints Giovanni & Paolo (San Zanipolo, fine altarpieces) and Santa Maria dei Miracoli (exquisite early Renaissance church).

Day 4 Visits to the Church of Santa Maria Assunta (known as I Gesuiti, with stunning Baroque interior) and Gothic Church of Madonna del Orto followed by walking tour of old Jewish Quarter. Some free time followed by free evening.

Day 5 Morning: Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Franciscan church, Titian and Bellini altarpieces), Scuola Grande di San Rocco (Tintoretto). Free afternoon.

Day 6 Island of San Francesco del Deserto for guided tour of Franciscan monastery, followed by island of Torcello for Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (vivid Byzantine mosaics). Afternoon on island of Burano: Lace Museum and Church of San Martino (Tiepolo). Independent dinner followed by private evening visit to Basilica di San Marco (subject to confirmation).

Day 7 Morning: Ca’ Rezzonico (beautiful museum of 18th century Venice). Transfer by water taxi to Venice airport for 1735 flight to Heathrow, arriving 1910.

Cost of £2895 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, six breakfasts, one lunch, four dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £375.

Tour code: VENI-24 / VEN2-24

Art Treasures of Dresden: Porcelain & Paintings

18 - 23 March, 2024 | With Lars Tharp

“There are unbelievable treasures of all kinds in this beautiful place,” wrote Goethe of Dresden, where the magnificent Baroque dome of the reconsecrated Frauenkirche, in which Bach and Wagner once performed, vies with Augustus the Strong’s Zwinger Palace as the city’s dominant landmark.

Dresden’s Royal Palace, the former seat of the Saxon government, hosts the fabulous Green Vault treasure chamber. The gilded and mirrored Baroque chambers of the Historic Green Vault reveal items collected by Augustus the Strong.

The Zwinger is a vast complex of formal gardens, ornate fountains and grand pavilions. It is home to the Porcelain Room, which, flooded with natural light, displays the Dresden porcelain collection assembled by Augustus the Strong. We will also visit the refurbished Old Masters Picture Gallery, with works by Raphael (notably his Sistine Madonna), Botticelli, Velázquez, Dürer, Vermeer and Rembrandt.

Meissen, a medieval hotch-potch of red-tiled roofs and stucco architecture, is Saxony’s oldest town. It was once home to the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger, who discovered the formula for creating white porcelain in 1708. Here we will tour the Gothic cathedral and visit the celebrated porcelain factory for a demonstration of the manufacturing process and an opportunity to view an exhibition of their wares. We also hope to include a visit to Charlottenburg Old Palace with its Porcelain Cabinet.

An additional highlight of our tour will be an evening spent at Dresden’s historic Semperoper, where we will enjoy a performance of Mozart’s muchloved final opera, The Magic Flute.

This tour will be based at the Hyperion Dresden am Schloss, a stylish hotel conveniently located in the heart of Dresden in the city’s old town.

Porcelain Chamber at the Charlottenburg Old Palace.

Photo by C H Krass © SPSG

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1030 on British Airways, arriving Berlin 1325. Transfer to Dresden for five nights at Hyperion Dresden am Schloss. Welcome and introduction.

Day 2 Morning walking tour of Dresden including Frauenkirche, Meissen Wettin dynasty tile frieze, Albertinum and synagogue (exteriors) followed by visit to the Royal Cabinet of Mathematical and Physical Instruments (located in the Zwinger Palace). Afternoon: Augustan porcelain collection at the Zwinger Palace.

Day 3 Morning visit to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Master paintings). Afternoon: New and Historic Green Vaults in the Royal Palace.

Day 4 Whole day excursion to Meissen for visits to the modern Meissen Factory (demonstration of manufacturing process, exhibition of wares and Meissen shop), Albrechtsburg (castle) and citadel cathedral.

Day 5 Morning lecture followed by visit to the Panometer. Free afternoon and independent dinner. Evening performance at the Semperoper: Mozart The Magic Flute.

Day 6 Transfer to Berlin with visit en route to Charlottenburg Old Palace (Porcelain Cabinet) – final flight time permitting. Depart Berlin 1735, arriving Heathrow 1835.

Cost of £2695 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, performance ticket, five breakfasts, two lunches (one light), four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £295.

Tour code: ATDR-24

Art Treasures of Manchester

25 - 28 March, 2024 |

With Sarah Burles

The city of Manchester awes both firsttime and experienced visitors alike with the breadth of its cultural heritage, the prosperity of its industrial past and its world-class art collections. This new tour explores the artistic treasures to be found in Manchester’s art galleries, university collections and nearby country houses.

In the 19th century, the city – once a market town – had become the commercial centre of a global textile industry. Inspired by John Ruskin, reformers proposed the creation of a free public art gallery, to enable Manchester’s citizens to be exposed to works of beauty as a respite from their industrial occupations and surroundings.

The result was the Manchester Art Gallery, which opened in 1883 housed in buildings designed in the Greek Revival style by Sir Charles Barry, now linked by a modern extension designed by Hopkins Architects. The gallery is home to an extensive collection of fine and decorative arts and is particularly strong in works by the Pre-Raphaelites.

The University of Manchester’s art gallery, the Whitworth, won the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year in 2015 following a major redevelopment. It houses an important collection of works by modern artists such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Ford Madox Brown, David Hockney, Van Gogh and Picasso, as well as paintings by Turner.

We look forward to a visit to the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, also part of the university, as well as a special tour of Chetham’s School

Library, founded in 1653, which holds the accolade of being the oldest public library in the English-speaking world.

We will extend our exploration outside the city into the Cheshire countryside with an excursion to Knutsford, to see two important country house collections. The Hall at Tatton Park contains art treasures by Canaletto, Poussin and Van Dyck, while the 18th century Palladian Tabley House boasts paintings by Turner in the rooms for which they were created.

Our tour concludes at Salford Quays, for a visit to The Lowry to see the permanent collection of paintings by the famous Salford artist.

We will stay at the four-star Clayton Hotel Manchester City Centre, a smart modern hotel situated in the heart of the city, just a few minutes’ walk from Manchester Art Gallery.

Tabley House by Rudolph Ackermann. Rolf Dietrich Brecher, CC BY-SA

Flickr

Itinerary

Day 1 Tour assembles 1345 at Clayton Hotel Manchester City Centre for three nights. Afternoon walking tour of Manchester city centre: visits to Manchester Cathedral and Chetham’s School Library (oldest public library in the English speaking world), Royal Exchange (exterior) and St Anne’s Church (exterior). Welcome and introduction.

Day 2 Morning guest lecture: Painting Manchester followed by visit to Manchester Art Gallery (internationally significant collections of fine and decorative arts, including important 19th century paintings). Afternoon: Whitworth Art Gallery (part of the University of Manchester).

Day 3 Morning lecture: Manchester Mansions. Excursion to Knutsford for visits to Tatton Park (former home of the Egerton family containing paintings by Canaletto, Poussin and Van Dyck) and Tabley House Collection (Palladian country house containing works by Turner, Lely and Reynolds).

Day 4 Visits to John Rylands Library (part of the University of Manchester) and Salford Quays (The Lowry). Tour disperses approx 1440 at Manchester Piccadilly Station followed by approx 1500 at the hotel.

Cost of £1195 includes: accommodation based on sharing a deluxe twin or double bedded room, three breakfasts, three dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, deluxe double room for single use supplement £165.

Tour code: MANC-24

Art in Berlin

8 - 14 April, 2024 |

With Tom Abbott

Berlin, once variously known as the ‘Athens of the North’ and the ‘Sparta of the North’, is rightly famed for the wealth of its art collections. These range from the Alte Nationalgalerie’s memorable array of 19th century German painting and sculpture, to the Gemäldegalerie’s absorbing assembly of 13th to 18th century paintings.

The Bode Museum, the ‘moated castle’ on the River Spree, proudly accommodates the world’s largest collection of ancient sculpture, with exhibits dating from the early Middle Ages to the late 18th century.

On an excursion into the Grunewald Forest, we will discover Berlin’s oldest remaining palace. Commissioned in 1542 and idyllically situated on the banks of Lake Grunewald, the Jagdschloss was remodelled in a Baroque style in the 18th century and today houses paintings by Lucas Cranach.

We particularly look forward to a visit to the Boros Foundation, a private collection of contemporary art displayed in a converted bunker in Berlin. The collection comprises works by international artists dating from 1990 to the present day. A further highlight of the tour will be a visit to ‘Berlin’s newest landmark’, the Humboldt Forum, located in the reconstructed Berlin Palace and home to a collection of non-European art.

We will also explore the city’s architectural and historical highlights during a tour by coach taking in Potsdamer Platz, the Government Quarter around the Reichstag and

the Alexanderplatz – including the Fernsehturm and the Stalinist architecture of former East Berlin.

Our tour concludes with visits to the Schloss Charlottenburg, a magnificent Baroque palace, and the nearby Käthe Kollwitz Museum, home to the world’s largest collection of works by the artist, including prints, drawings, sculptures and woodcuts.

This tour will be based at a centrally located hotel in Berlin, to be confirmed closer to departure.

The Rhine near Säckingen , Hans Thoma, 1873. Public domain via National Museums in Berlin, National Gallery / Jörg P. Anders

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1115 on British Airways, arriving Berlin 1410. Transfer to hotel for six nights. Introductory lecture.

Day 2 Tour of Berlin by coach including East Side Gallery, French Quarter, Gendarmenmarkt, Alexanderplatz (including the Fernsehturm and Stalinist architecture of former East Berlin), Unter den Linden, Kreuzberg, Kurfürstendamm, Embassy District, Potsdamer Platz and the Government Quarter around the Reichstag (exteriors). Visits to Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church and Pergamon Pavilion (panorama). Evening lecture.

Day 3 Morning lecture followed by visit to the Alte Nationalgalerie (19th and 20th century German painting and sculpture). Afternoon: boat trip and visit to the Bode Museum (European sculpture collections). Free evening.

Day 4 Morning: visit to the Gemäldegalerie (Italian Old Masters, early German and Flemish painting and 17th century Dutch and Flemish art). Afternoon: Boros Foundation (private collection of contemporary art displayed in converted bunker).

Day 5 Morning visits to Neues Museum and Reichstag (Dome and Rooftop - subject to confirmation). Afternoon: Humboldt Forum. Free evening.

Day 6 Morning excursion to the 16th century Jagdschloss Grunewald (hunting lodge with important collection of paintings by Lucas Cranach). Afternoon: Brucke Museum and Neue Nationalgalerie.

Day 7 Visits to Schloss Charlottenburg and Käthe Kollwitz Museum. Depart Berlin 1825, arriving Heathrow 1925.

Cost of £2995 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, six breakfasts, two lunches (one light), four dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £395.

Tour code: ABLN-24

Arles: From the Romans to Van Gogh

22 - 28 April, 2024 | With

Every day, opportunities arise in the atmospheric city of Arles to pause and absorb its extensive history, and consider how it emerged in this beautiful part of Provence. Our tour explores the city’s history, from its Roman origins to its connections with Van Gogh.

Juliet Heslewood

museum reopened in 2021 following eleven years of closure, during which time a major renovation took place. Our tour will also include opportunities to explore the city at leisure, sampling its cuisine and visiting its celebrated Provençal market.

Arles, favourite of Constantine, contained all that was essential for Roman life: a grid plan of streets gave access to a theatre, amphitheatre, circus and baths, as well as a burial ground outside the walls.

By the Middle Ages, these buildings had lost their use, but other monuments arose to meet the needs of a very different society. Arles was one of the major stops for Christian pilgrims travelling to Compostela in northern Spain. The carving on the façade and in the cloisters of St Trophime reveals the brilliant workmanship of Romanesque sculptors.

Later, Van Gogh stayed in Arles, having departed from Paris to seek a quieter life, and with the intention of founding a colony of artists in the south.

As well as exploring Arles’s key sites, our tour will include relaxed excursions out of the city, including to the asylum where Van Gogh created some of his finest paintings. Nearby lies Glanum, an evocative architectural site revealing a Roman settlement.

We also look forward to a visit to the Museon Arlaten, home to extensive collections illuminating many aspects of Provençal life and culture. The

We will stay throughout at the threestar Hotel Le Calendal, located in the heart of Arles opposite the amphitheatre.

Wheat Field with Cypresses, Vincent van Gogh, 1889. Public domain via the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart London Heathrow 1035 on British Airways, arriving Marseille 1330. Transfer to Arles for six nights at Hotel Le Calendal.

Day 2 Morning introductory lecture: Roman & Romanesque. Visits in Arles: Théâtre Antique, Roman amphitheatre and Cathedral of St Trophime (Romanesque pilgrimage church).

Day 3 Morning: excursion to Glanum (Roman site) followed by visits to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and Saint-Paul de Mausole (asylum where Van Gogh lived).

Day 4 Morning lecture: The Yellow House followed by visits to the site of the Yellow House and Les Alyscamps. Afternoon: Museon Arlaten (museum of Provençal culture, reopened after major renovation).

Day 5 Morning: visit to Musée de l’Arles Antique (Roman artefacts). Afternoon: excursion to Pont du Gard (museum and aqueduct). Free evening.

Day 6 Morning: optional visit to Arles market or free time in Arles. Afternoon: excursion to Aigues Mortes for visit to Tour de Constance.

Day 7 Depart Marseille 1355, arriving Heathrow 1450.

Cost of £2495 includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, six breakfasts, one lunch, five dinners with wine, water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £345.

Tour code: ARLE-24

Glasgow: Patrons, Art & Innovation

14 - 20 May, 2024 | With Evelyn Silber

Glasgow has established itself as a vibrant cultural city with activity in every area of the arts, and several of the region’s museums and great country houses have benefitted from major conservation programmes.

The magnificent Burrell Collection, amassed by Sir William Burrell (1861–1958), was bequeathed to the City of Glasgow and its purpose-built home in the beautiful Pollok Country Park has recently undergone a major refurbishment. Reopened in spring 2022, the wide-ranging and eclectic collections of fine and decorative art – which include late Gothic and early Renaissance European art, important stained glass and 19th century French painting – have been beautifully redisplayed.

A visit to the Burrell Collection will be at the heart of our tour exploring Glasgow’s artistic highlights. We will consider the art, architecture, crafts and historical collectors of this great industrial city, and also take in the beautiful landscape settings of some of the grand houses of the Scottish aristocracy.

Highlights within Glasgow range from the modern Riverside Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid, to the splendid neoclassical interiors of Holmwood House. Outside the city, Dumfries House, rescued from sale and the dispersal of its contents through the intervention of His Majesty The King when Prince of Wales, is a little-altered gem designed by Robert Adam and home to Chippendale furniture made specifically for the house.

Mount Stuart, which we will visit on an excursion to the Isle of Bute, was built for the vastly wealthy 3rd Marquess of Bute, who also counted Dumfries House amongst his numerous properties. The interiors at Mount Stuart reflect the Marquess’s own distinctive taste and the influence of his friend, the architect William Burges, and embody the wonderful craftsmanship of Welsh workshops.

Further highlights of our tour will include a visit to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, and tea at the beautifully restored ‘Mackintosh at the Willow’ tearooms.

We will stay throughout at the recently refurbished four-star Radisson Blu Hotel, a smart and contemporary property conveniently situated in the city centre.

Designs for a reception and music room for a ‘House for an Art Lover’ competition by C R and M Mackintosh, 1901.

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Itinerary

Day 1 Tour assembles 1400 at Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow, for six nights. Afternoon visit to Riverside Museum (exhibits of late 19th and 20th century industrial and social history, in a striking building designed by Zaha Hadid). Welcome and introductory lecture: The Glasgow Story.

Day 2 Whole day excursion to Dumfries House (18th century Adam house with unrivalled collection of Chippendale furniture) with guided tour. Evening lecture: Art in Glasgow around 1900.

Day 3 Morning: Hill House (Mackintosh’s finest domestic work, temporarily preserved by an innovative ‘box’ enabling the exterior to be explored from roof to ground level during restoration project). Afternoon: Mackintosh Queen’s Cross (Mackintosh’s only church) and Tenement House (early 20th century decoration).

Day 4 Morning: House for an Art Lover (designed by Mackintosh as an international competition entry for an imaginary patron – visit subject to confirmation) and Holmwood House (19th century villa). Afternoon excursion to the Burrell Collection (encompassing 9000 objects from across the world, including Egyptian pottery, medieval stained glass and Impressionist paintings).

Day 5 Morning: Hunterian Art Gallery and Mackintosh House (subject to confirmation) followed by Hunterian Museum. Afternoon: tea at ‘Mackintosh at the Willow’ tearooms. Free evening.

Day 6 Whole day excursion by coach and ferry to the Isle of Bute for visit to Mount Stuart (guided tour followed by some free time to explore the gardens).

Day 7 Morning: Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. Tour disperses approx 1230 at Glasgow Central Station, approx 1245 at Glasgow Queen Street Station and approx 1330 at Glasgow International Airport.

Cost of £1995 includes: accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, six breakfasts, afternoon tea at ‘Mackintosh at the Willow’ tearooms, five dinners with water & coffee, excursions & admissions, gratuities & all taxes.

Not included: travel insurance, double room for single use supplement £480.

Tour code: GLAS-24

Great Art Collections of

Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington (Register Interest)

May, 2024 | With Sarah Burles

In spring 2024, we look forward to a brand new tour exploring the outstanding art collections to be found in the American cities of Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The rich holdings of paintings, sculpture and works of decorative art at important sites such as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Baltimore Museum of Art are a mustsee for any art lover, and our tour will also explore some lesser-known gems.

We begin our tour in Philadelphia, with a visit to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, founded in 1805 as America’s first art school. We will also explore the city’s extensive Museum of Art with its significant collection of works by Cézanne, Thomas Eakins, Marcel Duchamp and Cy Twombly. The small, tranquil Rodin Museum, which contains one of the world’s greatest collections of the artist’s work and occupies a beautiful Beaux Arts-style building and garden, will be a further highlight.

At the Barnes Foundation, some of the world’s most important Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Modern paintings by Seurat, Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse and Picasso are displayed alongside African masks, native American jewellery and Greek antiquities. The collection is now housed in an award-winning Philadelphia building by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners, close to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

In the American capital, the Renwick Gallery displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to the 21st centuries, and occupies a National Historic Landmark building constructed as Washington’s first art museum.

Also to be found in the city is the National Museum for Women in the Arts, which is undergoing an exciting transformation and is due to reopen in autumn 2023. Its collections range from works by Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt to Frida Kahlo and Louise Bourgeois.

The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore is considered one of America’s most distinctive museums, whilst the Winterthur Museum is filled with historical decorative objects collected and arranged according to the aesthetic principles of its passionate founder, Henry Francis du Pont. Baltimore is also home to the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art, home of the Wyeth family of artists.

Full details, including the confirmed dates, itinerary and cost, will be released later in 2023. Please contact the ACE office now to register your interest.

Tour code: GPBW-24

Wickford Harbor, Rhode Island, William

Glackens, c.1909. Public domain via the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Art & Architecture Tours - Tour Schedule

Here is an overview of our planned Art & Architecture tours across 2023 and 2024. For provisional schedules of our full tour programmes, encompassing all subjects, please see the ACE website.

Art on the Côte d’Azur

Isle of Wight

Country Houses of North Norfolk

Art Nouveau in Belgium

Piero della Francesca

The Arts & Crafts of Young Poland

Palladio: Venice & the Villas of the Veneto

Art & Architecture of Puglia

Eastern Slovakia: Artistic Treasures at the Foot of the High Tatra Mountains

Hidden Cambridge: Collections & Connections

Piero della Francesca

Japan in Autumn: History, Art & Landscape

From Bologna to Parma: A Feast for the Soul & Senses

Renaissance Florence: City of Wonders

On the Trail of Caravaggio: His Life, Work & Muses

Stained Glass in England: Style, Technique & Colour

The Bay of Naples

Venice: The Triumph of Light & Colour (additional departure)

Art on the Côte d’Azur

South Korea

Venice: The Triumph of Light & Colour

Art Treasures of Dresden: Porcelain & Paintings

Art Treasures of Manchester

Art in Berlin

Flemish Painting: From Van Eyck to Rubens

The Riviera di Levante

Seine River Cruise: From Honfleur to Paris

20th Century Yorkshire: Art & Architecture

Bavarian Baroque

Arles: From the Romans to Van Gogh

Romney Marsh Churches

Great Bardfield & Beyond: Mid-Century Art & Design in East Anglia

Lucca

Villas & Gardens in Lazio

Dutch Masters: Rembrandt & His Legacy

Glasgow: Patrons, Art & Innovation

September 4 – 11, 2023

September 10 – 15, 2023

September 11 – 16, 2023

September 21 – 26, 2023

September 25 – October 2, 2023

October 2 – 11, 2023

October 5 – 14, 2023

October 9 – 15, 2023

October 9 – 17, 2023

October 16 – 19, 2023

October 23 – 30, 2023

October 24 – November 9, 2023

November 6 – 12, 2023

November 6 – 13, 2023

November 14 – 25, 2023

November 20 – 24, 2023

February 19 – 26, 2024

February 27 – March 4, 2024

March 4 – 11, 2024

March 4 – 18, 2024

March 5 – 11, 2024

March 18 – 23, 2024

March 25 – 28, 2024

April 8 – 14, 2024

April 9 – 14, 2024

April 11 – 18, 2024

April 14 – 20, 2024

April 16 – 21, 2024

April 16 – 23, 2024

April 22 – 28, 2024

April 29 – May 3, 2024

May 7 – 11, 2024

May 10 – 16, 2024

May 11 – 17, 2024

May 13 – 18, 2024

May 14 – 20, 2024

Houses & Gardens of Northern Ireland

Cornwall Calling: The Artists of Newlyn, Lamorna & St Ives

Jewels of the Loire: Medieval & Renaissance Chateaux

Great Art Collections of Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington

Art on the Côte d’Azur

Citadels of Transylvania

Bauhaus: German Modern Art & Design

Hungary: Kingdom of the Magyars

Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels

Churches of Suffolk

Medieval Burgundy

Art & Landscape in Switzerland

Swedish Palaces & Castles

Herefordshire & the Welsh Borders

The Hanseatic League: An Artistic Legacy

Constable & Gainsborough in Suffolk

Art Collections & Stately Homes of the West Country

The Industrial Revolution in Middle England

Northumbria in the First Millennium

Dorset Country Houses

Northumbria in the First Millennium

Art & Ceramics in Copenhagen & North Zealand

Artists’ Houses in Sussex

Churches of Norfolk: An Appointment with Angels

Isle of Wight

Country Houses of North Norfolk

Art Nouveau in Belgium

Romney Marsh Churches

Art in Turin

Art on the Côte d’Azur

Palladio: Venice & the Villas of the Veneto

Connoisseur’s Cambridge

The Arts & Crafts of Young Poland

Eastern Slovakia: Artistic Treasures at the Foot of the High Tatra Mountains

On the Trail of Caravaggio: His Life, Work & Muses

Piero della Francesca

Japan in Autumn: History, Art & Landscape

Bruges

Ceramics in Sèvres

Roussillon

Bologna, Mantua & Parma

Renaissance Florence: City of Wonders

Vienna 1900

Art & Architecture of Puglia

May 17 – 22, 2024

May 20 – 25, 2024

May 21 – 28, 2024

TBC

June 3 – 10, 2024

June 5 – 12, 2024

June 18 – 23, 2024

June 24 – July 4, 2024

June 25 – 28, 2024

July 1 – 5, 2024

July 4 – 11, 2024

July 8 – 13, 2024

July 9 – 16, 2024

July 15 – 19, 2024

July 17 – 25, 2024

July 22 – 25, 2024

July 23 – 27, 2024

August 2 – 6, 2024

August 12 – 16, 2024

August 19 – 23, 2024

August 19 – 23, 2024

August 20 – 27, 2024

TBC

September 3 – 6, 2024

September 9 – 14, 2024

September 16 – 21, 2024

September 19 – 24, 2024

September 23 – 27, 2024

September 23 – 29, 2024

September 23 – 30, 2024

October 3 – 12, 2024

October 7 – 10, 2024

October 7 – 15, 2024

October 7 – 15, 2024

October 8 – 18, 2024

October 21 – 28, 2024

October 22 – November 7, 2024

October 28 – 31, 2024

TBC

November 4 – 11, 2024

November 11 – 17, 2024

November 11 – 18, 2024

November 17 – 21, 2024

November 19 – 25, 2024

Tour Director Biographies

For a full list of Tour Directors and their biographies, please see the ACE website.

Tom Abbott, BA, MA, is an art and architectural historian associated with the Foundation of Prussian Palaces & Gardens. A proficient lecturer and tour leader, he has resided in Berlin for over 30 years and has extensive knowledge of European art and architecture.

Christopher Bourne, BA, is an expert in 19th and 20th century art who has been leading tours for over 20 years. He has specialist knowledge of the art and architecture of Belgium, as well as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the Arts & Crafts Movement. He is a member of several societies including the William Morris Society.

Cosmo Samuel Brockway is a travel and interiors journalist, tour leader and award-winning author of the book Glorious Hotels of India (2019). He writes for leading publications on interiors, culture and design, including Architectural Digest and The Telegraph.

Sarah Burles, MA, studied History of Art at Cambridge and gained a Masters at University College London before developing a career in museum and gallery education, including 12 years at the Fitzwilliam Museum. She is an accredited Arts Society lecturer.

Rupert Dickens, BA, MA, is an expert in art history with a particular interest in Dutch and Flemish painting, and the history of art collecting. He has a Masters in Dutch Golden Age Studies, and works as a guide lecturer at the Wallace Collection and for the Arts Society.

Suzanne Fagence Cooper, MA, PhD, is a curator and historian who specialises in 19th and 20th century art. Accredited with the Arts Society, she worked at the V&A for 12 years and is the author of How We Might Live: At Home with Jane & William Morris (2022).

Julia Griffin, MA, PhD, is an art historian, curator and expert in 19th and 20th century British and Polish art. She was Young Poland Project Curator at the William Morris Gallery, and joint winner of the Association for Art History’s 2022 Curatorial Award for best UK exhibition.

Juliet Heslewood, MA, is an expert in art history who studied in London and Toulouse. Juliet lived in France for 30 years and now lectures for the Arts Society and the Ashmolean Museum. Her books include Van Gogh: A Life in Places (2022), and she appeared on the TV series Art on the BBC.

Charles Hind, MA, FSA, is an architectural historian and experienced tour leader who holds the positions of Chief Curator and H J Heinz Curator of Drawings at the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is a Trustee of the Georgian Group and Deputy Chairman of the Lutyens Trust.

Alex Koller, PhD, is an expert in art and architectural history as well as an accomplished linguist. He has lived and studied in Vienna, Salzburg and Cambridge, and gained his PhD in history of art at Magdalene College, where he has also lectured and supervised.

Alan Powers, PhD, is a leading architectural historian and expert in 20th century architecture and design. A former Chairman of the 20th Century Society, he studied at Cambridge and his books include Bauhaus Goes West: Modern Art & Design in Britain & America (2019).

Evelyn Silber, MA, PhD, FMA, FSA, an art historian and the former Director of the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow. A resident of the city, she is an expert in Glasgow’s artistic and cultural history, and has also written extensively on modernist sculpture.

Andrew Spira, MA, has worked as a curator at the V&A and as Programme Director at Christie’s Education. He has led cultural tours across Europe for over 20 years and has written several books, including Foreshadowed: Malevich’s Black Square and its Precursors (2022).

Lucrezia Walker, BA, MA, lectures at the National Gallery and teaches the London Art History Programme for the University of North Carolina. She has over 20 years’ experience leading cultural tours in Europe, and has previously lived and studied in Italy. Lucrezia is the author of several books.

Christopher Wellington, MA, read History at Cambridge, and has spent much of his career working in Italy, where he lives with his family in Piacenza. He is a recognised guide in Emilia Romagna, and is an expert in history, the Church and art and architecture, especially of the Middle Ages.

Terms & Conditions

Bookings can be made online at www.aceculturaltours.co.uk or by phone on 01223 841055.

Upon receipt of your deposit we will send you a confirmation/invoice with, in most cases, a reading list. An itinerary, practical information and travel documents (if applicable) will be sent to you three weeks before the commencement of the tour.

INTRODUCTION

ACE Cultural Tours meets or exceeds all the requirements of the Package Travel Regulations 2018, full details of which can be found online at: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made

In addition, flight-inclusive tours benefit from the financial protec- tion afforded by our Air Travel Organiser’s License (ATOL 10204), whilst UK and other tours without flights are protected through the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT). We are also long-term members of the Association of Independent Tours Operators (AITO). For your own safety and financial security we do not recommend you book a holiday that does not benefit from the above protection.

The Package Travel Regulations 2018 together with the following booking information and our promotional material form the basis of your contract with ACE Cultural Tours. We have tried to keep this as concise and simple as possible, so please read all the following para- graphs to make sure you understand and are happy with the terms of your booking.

PAYMENT

All tours and courses costing up to £250 per person must be paid in full at the time of booking. If you are booking 10 weeks or more before departure, the following deposits are payable at the time of booking:

£250 per person for UK tours.

£350 per person for all European tours.

£450 per person for Worldwide tours.

£500 per person for all cruises.

The balance must be received by us not less than 10 weeks prior to departure. This date will be shown on the confirmation invoice. We do send an email reminder but ask that you also make a note of the date in your diary.

If you are booking less than 10 weeks before departure, full payment for all tours must be made at the time of booking.

NO SURCHARGES

Tour prices are confirmed at the time of booking and thereafter will not be subject to any surcharge. We have forward purchase of currency and other precautions in order to guarantee your holiday is not affected by fluctuations in fuel or currency rates. In the event of extraordinary circumstances making the tour unviable we would offer you a full refund or credit note or an alternative tour.

CANCELLATION BY YOU

You may cancel your booking at any time before departure. Notice of cancellation must be in writing and because we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking, the following charges will apply (for which we suggest you purchase appropriate insurance):

CANCELLATION BY YOU DUE TO COVID-19

Please note that if you are personally prevented from travelling as a result of COVID-19 our normal cancellation charges will apply. For this reason we highly recommend that you take out travel insurance at the time of booking that specifically includes cover in the event that you are personally unable to travel. In addition you should have insurance to cover additional accommodation/transport/repatriation costs incurred due to local/national quarantine requirements.

CANCELLATION BY US

We reserve the right to cancel your booking if there are insufficient bookings on your tour (this will depend on tour type and destination) or for other unforeseen operational reasons. In such an event, we will provide you with at least 70 days’ notice of cancellation and provide you with a full refund.

Very occasionally, due to extraordinary circumstances in the imme- diate vicinity of the destination, it may be necessary to cancel the tour with less than 70 days’ notice, in which case we will likewise provide you with a full refund.

Note that in either situation we cannot reimburse any incidental expenses you may have incurred (for example, train fares, additional accommodation or connecting flights). If you are buying your own flights, please liaise with the office before committing to significant expenditure.

CANCELLATION BY US DUE TO COVID-19

We also wish to reassure all our customers that if it is not possible for us to proceed with a tour due to COVID-19, we will transfer your booking to a future tour of your choice, provide a refund credit note or offer you a full refund.

CHANGES BY US

We do our utmost to ensure that all the arrangements and visits are as described. However, it is in the nature of travel that changes are some- times inevitable, although most of these will be minor in nature. In the event that a particular visit is not possible, we will aim to replace it with another of equal interest. If we have to make more significant changes to the itinerary in advance of departure, we will provide you with a choice of a refund, credit note or an alternative itinerary.

ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation in hotels is in twin/double bedded rooms, the majority of which have private bath/shower and toilet.

On cruise ships, accommodation is in cabins with shower and toilet only.

Single rooms: As a general rule, we aim to provide our solo travellers with double/twin rooms for sole use. However, this is not possible on all tour departures, and occasionally, despite a supplement being pay- able, only single rooms may be available, and such accommodation may not meet exactly the same standard as double/twin accommoda- tion or be located in the same area of the hotel. ACE Cultural Tours very much welcomes single travellers and we make no profit from single room supplements. The costs are simply down to the economics of running a hotel.

Porterage is included on overseas tours where available.

FLIGHTS & TICKETS

Specific instructions relating to the departure and travel arrangements will be sent with your air and/or other travel tickets approximately 2 weeks before departure. It is essential that you check your tickets care- fully immediately upon receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. Occasionally carriers will make late changes to departure times but we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs.

We will always aim to provide you with the name of your likely airline and flight times when you make a booking. However, flight schedules are set by the airlines and outside our control. We therefore reserve the right to change the actual carrier and flight times for your tour. In accordance with the regulations, we are required to bring your attention to the Community List of air carriers subject to an operating

ban within the UK & EU: port-themes/eu-air-safety-list_enhttps://transport.ec.europa.eu/trans-

HEALTH & SAFETY

We operate a safety audit system and work hard with our suppliers to ensure the safety and comfort of our travellers. However, please note that some of the destinations to which we travel have lower require- ments and standards than those of the UK. It is therefore essential that you follow any instructions and guidance provided by your tour manager or director.

FITNESS

All tours involve a significant amount of walking, often over uneven paths, hillsides or steps.You should be prepared to walk at a reasona- ble pace for at least 60 minutes and additionally stand for at least 30 minutes without requiring a rest.

DIETARY AND SPECIAL REQUESTS

Please advise us at the time of booking of any food allergies or special dietary requirements you may have for medical or religious reasons and we will do our very best to assist. We are also happy to cater for vegetarians or pescatarians. It is not, however, possible to offer exten- sive choices at every meal to cater for food preferences as many of our menu selections are fixed. Inclusion of the dietary or special request on your booking confirmation or any other documentation is not a guarantee that the request will be met.

HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

Whilst we will provide details of any compulsory health requirements applicable to British citizens for your tour, it is your responsibility to ensure you are aware of all recommended vaccinations and health precautions in good time before departure. Please check with a doctor or clinic not less than ten weeks prior to departure to ensure that you have met the necessary requirements and have the applicable informa- tion.The following website may also be helpful: travelhealthpro.org.uk For tours in the EU/EEA you should obtain an GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card) prior to departure from https://services.nhsbsa.nhs. uk/cra/start. Please note that an GHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance.

You must be in possession of all necessary travel and health docu- ments before departure (and pay for any related costs). We regret that we cannot accept any liability if you incur fees or are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry all required documentation.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS OR DISABILITY

We aim to provide authentic cultural experiences and to provide ex- cellent value for money. As a result, the majority of itineraries are quite intensive and can be tiring. They may involve a significant amount of walking, uneven surfaces at outdoor sites or in historic buildings, long journeys, and uncomfortable climatic conditions which might exacerbate existing medical or mobility issues. Destinations include many countries with lower standards of health and safety than the UK and limited adaptations for people with reduced mobility. Some destinations do not (and cannot reasonably be expected to) provide emergency and/or health care to the standard that travellers with mo- bility and/or health conditions may require in the event of any form of incident or emergency.

For the above reasons, our holidays may not be suitable for people with certain disabilities, medical conditions or significantly reduced mobility.

If you suffer from any medical condition, disability or reduced mobility (including any which affect the booking process) or have any special requirements as a result, please tell us before making your booking so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the arrangements and in order that we can assess the potential risks to your welfare and health and safety.

If we feel that we cannot reasonably accommodate your needs, we reserve the right to decline your booking or, if full details are not given at the time of booking or the condition of disability develops after booking, cancel when we become aware of these details. When we refer to reduced mobility, this means any material reduction in mobility whether this is permanent or temporary and whether caused by age or by physical or mental disability or impairment or other cause of disability.

INSURANCE

We consider comprehensive travel insurance essential for all tours (UK and abroad), including cover for medical expenses, infectious dis- eases including Covid, quarantine, repatriation and personal liability, as well as cancelled, delayed and missed departure and loss or damage to personal possessions. Whilst accidental damage is a rare occur- rence, your insurance should also cover any damage or loss caused by you and cover any resultant claims made against you or us. For overseas tours, you must give us details in writing of your insurance, preferably on your booking form but in any case no later than before the departure date of your tour. If you fail to do so, we reserve the right to cancel your booking.

We recommend that insurance premiums are paid as soon as you receive your booking confirmation as cover (in particular cancellation cover) will not be effective until you have done so. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is suita- ble and adequate for your particular needs.

We cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of this contract, for example, any additional services or facilities that you agree directly with a local hotel or other supplier. Please make sure you have adequate insurance to cover such services and the acts of other third parties.

CONSIDERATION FOR FELLOW TRAVELLERS

One of the great pleasures of ACE tours is meeting other people with shared interests and making new friends. This has always depended on mutual consideration for your fellow travellers. We therefore reserve the right that in the unlikely event you cause danger, upset or distress to any third party, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate your tour without liability for any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.

PASSPORTS & VISAS

Whilst we will provide guidance for each individual tour and help where we can, your specific passport, visa and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant embassy or consulate. In particular, if you are not a British Citizen or hold a non-British passport, you must check the requirements for all countries to or through which you are intending to travel. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

For some tours and destinations we will require a copy of the picture page of your passport.

ISSUES

If you are unhappy with any element of your tour or the arrangements, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can attempt to resolve the issue. If you are on tour you should speak directly to your tour manager or tour director and not wait until you return home, when it may be impossible for us to help. In the unlikely event that we cannot agree on a satisfactory outcome between us, we will ask AITO’s Inde- pendent Dispute Settlement Service to find an amicable solution. Our contract with you is subject to English law (and no other) and the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales only.

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