British Isles, Europe, the Americas & the Middle East, 2017 by Martin Randall Travel

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

Telephone 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au Canada Telephone (647) 382 1644 Fax (416) 925 2670 canada@martinrandall.ca USA Telephone (toll-free, to the London ofﬁce) 1 800 988 6168

5085

2017

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF United Kingdom

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L A RT • A R C H I T E C T U R E • G A S T R ONO M Y • A R C H A E OLO G Y • H I S TOR Y • M U S I C

2017

& October– December 2016

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au

Canada Tel (647) 382 1644 Fax (416) 925 2670 canada@martinrandall.ca USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll-free, and connects to the London ofďŹ ce)

5085

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L A RT • A R C H I T E C T U R E • G A S T R O N O M Y • A R C H A E O L O G Y • H I S T O R Y • M U S I C • L I T E R AT U R E

Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London, United Kingdom W4 4GF T +44 (0)20 8742 3355 F +44 (0)20 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com Dear traveller, With my job, it’s fortunate that my passion for travel remains undimmed. I do remember with strange clarity as a student on a cross-Channel ferry in a gale concluding that I never wanted to go abroad again, but otherwise I have always looked forward to the next journey, the next opportunity to look and discover, examine and savour, observe and wonder. I derive pleasure simply from being somewhere other. All of us in the office travel as part of our work. It is vital, we believe, for all staff to participate in our own tours and events, to observe how they run and to glean our clients’ wants and needs. It is also absolutely essential regularly to go over the ground of established tours, checking hotels, restaurants and myriad other ingredients. Itineraries need to be constantly refreshed. Travelling is also, of course, a major part of the process of research and planning for new itineraries. We need new tours – not least because frequent travellers have exhausted our backlist – but also because the world changes. Some destinations fall out of fashion or slide into undesirability, others rise to the surface. So what’s new for 2017? Nearly thirty have made it to the launchpad so far. I mention just three, Czech Modernism, The Arabian Gulf and Early Railways: the North, a heterogenous trio with this in common: the research largely fell to me. Prospecting these tours provided me with journeys which were enthralling and revealing, with many moments of aesthetic delight and the endless interest of observing life outside SW6. They were also strewn with frustrations and disappointments, which is why we go over the ground before you do. It is commonly assumed that the challenge in our business is coming up with ideas for new product. Not so: there is always an unruly mob of half-formed ideas pushing and shoving and yelling at me to give them a chance of transmogrification into viable, enticing and saleable tours. The hard bit is finding the resources to make that happen, chief among which is the time to travel. If we didn’t insist on this level of familiarity with our destinations, we could manage with eight or nine fewer staff. We would save a lot of money (as would you), but the tours would be rubbish. Those described in the following pages are as meticulously researched and carefully worked out as any in the world, perhaps more so. With best wishes,

Martin Randall June 2016

Contents About us .............................................................................................. 4–5 Tours by country ................................................................................ 6–7 What is included? .................................................................................. 7 Our lecturers ....................................................................................8–14 More about our tours: Fitness requirements; Private groups; Amendments; Responsible tourism; Financial protection; Travel insurance ........ 15

Turkey .................................................................................................. 180 Middle East .................................................................................181–190 Asia...............................................................................................190–213 The Americas ..............................................................................214–233 Australia ......................................................................................234–235

British Isles .....................................................................................16–44

Booking details: Making a booking, Booking Conditions, Booking form ......236–238

Mainland Europe .........................................................................45–179

Tours by date ..............................................................................239–242

5085

Directors: Martin Randall (Chief Executive), Fiona Urquhart (Chief Operating Officer), Sir Vernon Ellis (Chairman), Ian Hutchinson, Neil Taylor, William Burton Registered office: Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF. Registered Company no. 2314294 England. VAT no. 527758803

Britain’s leading provider of cultural tours Leaders in the ﬁeld

First-rate lecturers

At Martin Randall Travel we are committed to providing the best planned, the best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours available.

Expert speakers are a key ingredient in our tours and events. Academics, curators, writers, broadcasters and researchers, they are selected not only for their knowledge but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly to a lay audience.

We offer an unequalled range of tours and events focusing on art, architecture, music, archaeology, history, gardens and gastronomy. Our mission is to deepen your understanding and enhance your appreciation of the achievements of civilizations around the world. For over two decades we have been the most influential organisation in the field of cultural travel. Pioneering and innovative, we have led the way with ideas and itineraries and by setting the benchmarks for customer service and administration. Martin Randall Travel is one of the most respected travel companies in the world, among both travellers and within the tourism community.

4 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Original itineraries, meticulously planned Rooted in knowledge of the destination and of the subject matter of the tour, the outcome of assiduous research and reconnaissance, and underpinned by twentyseven years of thought and experience, our itineraries are second to none. They are original and imaginative, well-paced and carefully balanced. Meticulous attention to practical matters ensures a smooth-running as well as an enriching experience.

Their brief is to enlighten and stimulate, not merely to inform. And they also have to be good travelling companions.

Special arrangements feature on nearly all our tours – for admission to places not generally open to travellers, for access outside public hours, for private concerts and extraordinary events.

We select our lecturers through reputation, interview and audition, and provide them with guidance and training.

In innumerable ways, large and small, we lift our clients’ experience far above standards which are regarded as normal for tourists.

Nearly all of our tours are also accompanied by a trained tour manager who unobtrusively attends to administrative matters.

Illustrations. Above left: Myanmar, temple architecture, lithograph c. 1850. Above right: Ghent, early-18th-century hand coloured copper engraving. Front and back cover: Paris, exhibition at the Louvre, engraving 1785 by Pietro Antonio Martini (1738–1797). Inside front cover: Venice, Interior of St Mark’s Basilica, detail from a lithograph by Samuel Prout c. 1835.

Travelling in comfort We select our hotels with great care. Not only have nearly all been inspected by members of our staff, but we have stayed in most of them. Hundreds of others have been seen and rejected. Obviously, comfort ranks high among our criteria, together with good service and warmth of welcome. We also set high priority on charm and style, and location is an important consideration. Most of the hotels we use are rated as 4-star, with some 5-star and a few 3-star (one is 2-star, but pleases every time). We invest similar efforts in the selection of restaurants, menus and wines, aided by staff with a specialist knowledge of these areas. For flights and trains we try to choose the most convenient departure times. Rail journeys are usually in first-class seats. We can provide a holiday without international travel if you prefer, allowing you to make your own arrangements. It is also usually possible to make other variations to the package.

Small groups, and congenial company Most of our tours run with between ten and twenty participants. We strictly limit numbers, specifying the applicable maximum in each tour description. The higher costs of smaller numbers are outweighed by the benefits of manoeuvrability, social cohesion and access to the lecturer. The small-group principle is diluted when there are private concerts or several speakers exclusively for our clients. Not the least attractive aspect of travelling with MRT is that you are highly likely to find yourself in congenial company, self-selected by common interests and endorsement of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ethos.

Care for our clients We aim for faultless administration from your first encounter with us to the end of the holiday, and beyond. Personal service is a feature. We won Best Holiday Company for Customer Service at the 2015 and 2014 British Travel Awards. And if anything does go wrong, we will put it right or compensate appropriately. We want you to come back again and again â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as most of our clients do.

Travelling solo We welcome people travelling on their own, for whom our tours are ideal, as many of our clients testify. There are usually several solo travellers on tour. On evenings when dinner is not included there is always the option of dining with the tour manager. Hotels usually charge a supplement for single occupancy of a room, but we never add anything to this â&#x20AC;&#x201C; indeed, most of the supplements we charge are subsidised by ourselves, sometimes by hundreds of pounds. Where we are able to, we assign those travelling on their own to rooms which are normally sold as doubles.

Value for money, and no surcharges The price includes nearly everything, not only the major ingredients such as hotel, transport and the costs of the lecturer and manager but also tips, drinks with meals and airport taxes. We do not levy surcharges for fuel price increases, exchange rate changes, additional taxes or for any other reason. The price published here is the price you pay. (Note that bookings paid for by credit card will have 2% added to cover processing charges. This brings us into line with standard travel industry practice. It does not apply to other forms of payment.) Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Tours by country BRITISH ISLES ENGLAND Mediaeval Kent NEW ............................................. 16 The Cathedrals of England..................................... 17 The Age of Bede ....................................................... 18 Yorkshire Churches & Cathedrals ........................ 19 Tudor England ......................................................... 20 The English Civil War NEW .................................. 20 Great Houses of the North ..................................... 21 Country Houses of Kent NEW ............................. 22 At home at Weston Park ......................................... 23 At home at Belvoir Castle NEW ........................... 24 Walking to Cornish Houses ................................... 25

Walking to Derbyshire Houses.............................. 26 Walking in the Cotswolds ...................................... 27 Literature & Walking in the Lake District........... 28 The Ryedale Festival ................................................ 29 Early Railways: The North NEW .......................... 29 Walking Hadrian’s Wall .......................................... 31 Walking a Royal River ............................................ 32 Constable & Gainsborough ................................... 33 Oxford & Oxfordshire............................................. 34 In Churchill’s Footsteps .......................................... 35 Connoisseur’s London ............................................ 36 Ballet in Paris & London NEW............................. 71

SYMPOSIUM: Empire & After ............................. 37 The Architecture of Bath ........................................ 37 LONDON DAYS ...................................................... 38 An Afternoon of Music & Lectures ...................... 39 MUSIC WEEKENDS ........................................40–41 Art History Weekend .............................................. 41

SCOTLAND At Home at Ardgowan ............................................ 42

WALES Puccini in Cardiff .................................................... 43 Strauss in Cardiff ..................................................... 44

MAINLAND EUROPE ALBANIA Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity NEW.............. 45

ARMENIA Sacred Armenia........................................................ 46

AUSTRIA Mozart in Salzburg .................................................. 48 THE MIRACLE OF SALZBURG NEW .............. 48 Vienna at Christmas................................................ 49 THE DANUBE MUSIC FESTIVAL ..................... 50 The Schubertiade ..................................................... 50 Grafenegg & Linz Festival ...................................... 50 Haydn in Eisenstadt ................................................ 50 Opera in Vienna....................................................... 51 Connoisseur’s Vienna ............................................. 52

GEORGIA

BELGIUM

Georgia Uncovered NEW ...................................... 88

Flemish Painting ...................................................... 53 Charlemagne to Charles V ..................................... 54 The Battle of Waterloo ............................................ 55

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, CROATIA The Western Balkans ............................................... 56

CZECH REPUBLIC Connoisseur’s Prague.............................................. 58 The Prague Spring Festival..................................... 59 Czech Modernism ................................................... 59 Great Houses of the Czech lands NEW ............... 60

DENMARK

TOURS BY REGION & COUNTRY 6

The Battle of Waterloo ............................................ 55 Brittany ...................................................................... 74 Le Corbusier ............................................................. 75 Mediaeval Burgundy ............................................... 76 Beaune Music Festival NEW ................................. 77 Anjou & the West..................................................... 78 Mediaeval Alsace ..................................................... 79 Wine, Walks & Art in Alsace ................................. 80 Provence & Languedoc ........................................... 81 THE RHÔNE MUSIC FESTIVAL........................ 82 Roman & Mediaeval Provence .............................. 83 Cave Art of France ................................................... 84 Gardens of the Riviera ............................................ 85 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur ............................ 86

Danish Art & Design............................................... 62 Opera in Copenhagen ............................................ 63 Vikings & Bog Bodies ............................................. 63 Danish Castles & Gardens NEW .......................... 64

ESTONIA Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania ................................... 64

FINLAND Finland: Aalto & Others ......................................... 66 The Sibelius Festival ................................................ 66 Savonlinna Opera .................................................... 66

FRANCE French Gothic........................................................... 67 Great French Gardens ............................................. 68 Versailles ................................................................... 70 Ballet in Paris & London NEW............................. 71 Van Gogh’s Journey NEW .................................... 150 Bartoli, Kožená, Netrebko, Villazón NEW ......... 72 Poets & The Somme ................................................ 73 book online at www.martinrandall.com

GERMANY THE DANUBE MUSIC FESTIVAL ..................... 50 Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden ...................................... 90 The Ring in Berlin ................................................... 91 Music in Berlin at New Year .................................. 93 The Hanseatic League NEW .................................. 94 Handel in Halle ........................................................ 94 Baden Baden Festival NEW................................... 94 Opera in Berlin ........................................................ 94 Frederick the Great NEW ...................................... 96 Strauss in Leipzig ..................................................... 97 Mitteldeutschland.................................................... 98 Mediaeval Alsace ..................................................... 79 THE JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH JOURNEY .................................................... 99 Rhine Masterpieces NEW ...................................... 99 Organs of Bach’s Time ............................................ 99 Munich at Christmas ............................................ 100 Opera in Munich ................................................... 101 Munich’s Masterpieces .......................................... 102 King Ludwig II ....................................................... 103 Franconia ................................................................ 104

GREECE Spring in Crete ....................................................... 105 Classical Greece ..................................................... 106

HUNGARY THE DANUBE MUSIC FESTIVAL ..................... 50

ITALY Palaces of Piedmont .............................................. 108 Gastronomic Piedmont ........................................ 109

Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes ................. 110 Gastronomic Lombardy NEW ............................ 111 The Venetian Hills ................................................. 111 Friuli-Venezia Giulia............................................. 112 Gardens of the Veneto NEW ............................... 114 VIVALDI IN VENICE.......................................... 115 Gastronomic Veneto ............................................. 116 Palladian Villas ...................................................... 117 Verona Opera ......................................................... 117 Art History of Venice ............................................ 118 Venetian Palaces .................................................... 120 The Printing Revolution NEW ........................... 121 Courts of Northern Italy ...................................... 122 Verdi in Parma & Busseto .................................... 123 Dark Age Brilliance ............................................... 124 Gastronomic Emilia-Romagna ........................... 125 Ravenna & Urbino ................................................. 127 Florence ................................................................... 128 Florence & Venice .................................................. 129 Walking in the footsteps of Leonardo & Michelangelo ...................................................... 130 Siena & San Gimignano........................................ 131 Walking in Southern Tuscany ............................ 132 A FESTIVAL OF MUSIC IN FLORENCE ........ 133 Southern Tuscany .................................................. 134 The Heart of Italy ................................................... 135 Piero della Francesca ............................................ 136 Footpaths of Umbria ............................................. 137 Umbrian Christmas............................................... 137 Villas & Gardens of Campagna Romana ........... 138 Connoisseur’s Rome.............................................. 139 Essential Rome ....................................................... 140 Pompeii & Herculaneum...................................... 141 Naples at Christmas .............................................. 141 Essential Puglia ...................................................... 142 Normans in the South ........................................... 143 Sicily ......................................................................... 144 Gastronomic Sicily ................................................ 146

LATVIA, LITHUANIA Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania ................................... 64

MALTA World Heritage Malta ........................................... 147 Valletta Baroque Festival ..................................... 148

MONTENEGRO The Western Balkans ............................................... 56

What is included in the price? The services of the lecturer; often also a tour manager and sometimes local guides. Hotel accommodation for the duration of the tour – hotel names are given under each tour description. All admissions to museums, galleries and sites included in the itinerary. If a music tour, good tickets to all of the performances listed on the itinerary (unless they are marked as optional).

Air travel or rail travel (return) between London and the destination, except for tours within the UK. Travel by private coach for all included excursions and, for tours with included flights, airport transfers. All breakfasts. Most lunches and dinners including wine or beer, water, soft drinks and tea or coffee.

All state and airport taxes. If a visa is required, this is often also included in the price – unless it is not possible for us to obtain it on your behalf. If you would like to see more detailed list of components for any individual tour, please visit our website, www.martinrandall.com. Alternatively, please contact us and we will post or e-mail a copy to you.

Gratuities for waiters, porters, drivers, guides.

TURKEY THE NETHERLANDS

Imperial Istanbul ................................................... 180

Art in the Netherlands .......................................... 149 Van Gogh’s Journey NEW .................................... 150 Rijksmuseum & Mauritshuis ............................... 151

MIDDLE EAST

NORWAY

THE GULF STATES

Opera in Oslo ......................................................... 151 The Bergen Festival ............................................... 151

The Arabian Gulf NEW ........................................ 181

IRAN

POLAND

Persia........................................................................ 183

Kraków & Silesia .................................................... 152

ISRAEL

PORTUGAL

Israel & Palestine ................................................... 185

Walking in Madeira............................................... 153 The Douro ............................................................... 155 Lisbon Neighbourhoods....................................... 156

JORDAN

ROMANIA

Oman ....................................................................... 188

Monasteries of Moldavia ...................................... 157

RUSSIA St Petersburg........................................................... 158

Essential Jordan ..................................................... 186

OMAN PALESTINE Israel & Palestine ................................................... 185 Palestine .................................................................. 189

Istanbul, watercolour by R. Hichens, publ. 1911.

SERBIA The Western Balkans ............................................... 56

ASIA

THE AMERICAS

The Road to Santiago ............................................ 160 Walking to Santiago .............................................. 161 Castile & León ........................................................ 163 The Pyrenees........................................................... 164 Bilbao to Bayonne.................................................. 165 Aragón ..................................................................... 166 Gastronomic Catalonia ........................................ 167 Barcelona 1900 ....................................................... 169 Art in Madrid ......................................................... 170 The Heart of Spain ................................................. 171 A FESTIVAL OF MUSIC IN TOLEDO NEW ............................................... 171 Goya ......................................................................... 172 Gastronomic Valencia........................................... 173 Extremadura ........................................................... 174 Roman Spain NEW ............................................... 174 Granada & Córdoba .............................................. 175 Essential Andalucía ............................................... 177 Gastronomic Andalucía ....................................... 178

CHINA

BELIZE, HONDURAS

Ceramics in China ................................................. 191 Essential China ...................................................... 192 China’s Silk Road Cities ........................................ 194 The Arts in China NEW ....................................... 195 Sacred China .......................................................... 196

Guatemala, Honduras, Belize .............................. 214

SWITZERLAND

MYANMAR

Le Corbusier ............................................................. 75 The Lucerne Festival.............................................. 179 Walking the Menuhin Festival NEW ................. 179

UZBEKISTAN

SPAIN

INDIA

JAPAN Art in Japan ............................................................ 209 The Heart of Japan ................................................. 210 Japanese Gardens NEW ....................................... 211 Myanmar NEW...................................................... 211 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities ............................ 212

Guatemala, Honduras, Belize .............................. 214 Lands of the Maya.................................................. 215

MEXICO Lands of the Maya.................................................. 215 Aztecs to Zapotecs NEW...................................... 217

PERU Peru .......................................................................... 219

USA East Coast Galleries .............................................. 221 New England Modern ........................................... 223 Frank Lloyd Wright ............................................... 224 Galleries of the American Midwest NEW......... 226 Art in Texas ............................................................. 228 New Orleans to Natchitoches NEW ................... 230 Cliff Dwellings & Canyons ................................... 232

AUSTRALIA The Melbourne Ring ............................................. 234

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

TOURS BY REGION & COUNTRY

Essential India ........................................................ 198 Indian Summer ...................................................... 200 The Indian Mutiny................................................. 202 Bengal by River ...................................................... 204 Kingdoms of the Deccan ...................................... 206 Gastronomic Kerala .............................................. 207 Essential South India NEW ................................. 208

GUATEMALA

Our lecturers Tom Abbott. Specialist in architectural history from the Baroque to the 20th century with a particular interest in German and American modern. Studied Art History in the USA and Paris and has a wide knowledge of the performing arts. Since 1987 he has lived in Berlin. Professor James Allan. Expert in Islamic art and architecture. He read Arabic at Oxford, worked as a field archaeologist in Jerusalem and at Siraf, and spent most of his career in Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, where he also lectured for the Faculty of Oriental Studies. Dr John Allison. Writer and music critic. He is Editor of Opera magazine, music critic for The Daily Telegraph and former critic for The Sunday Telegraph and The Times. He has written two books and has served on the juries of various international music competitions.

Dr Flavio Boggi. Art historian specialising in mediaeval and Renaissance Italian art. He trained both in Scotland and Italy and is now head of the department of Art History at University College Cork, Ireland. He has published on the artistic culture of Tuscany and has co-written two books on Lippo di Dalmasio.

Hugh Belsey MBE. Art historian, curator and lecturer. For 23 years he curated Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury where he formed one of the largest collections of the artist’s work and in 2004 was awarded an MBE. He is currently writing a catalogue of Thomas Gainsborough’s works for Yale University Press. He studied at Manchester and Birmingham Universities.

Monica Bohm-Duchen. Lecturer, writer and curator specialising in 20th-century art. She obtained her MA in Art History from the Courtauld and has lectured for the National Gallery, Tate, Royal Academy, Courtauld, Sotheby’s and Birkbeck College. Her latest book is Art & the Second World War.

Gail Bent. Expert on British architectural history and historic interiors. She studied at Toronto and Leeds Universities, where she has also taught, and Edinburgh College of Art. She lectures for The Art Fund, The National Trust, NADFAS and at Christ Church, University of Oxford Summer Programme. She has acted as an expert on country houses for the BBC.

Dr Paul Atterbury. Lecturer, writer and broadcaster specialising in the art, architecture and design of the 19th and 20th centuries. He has published widely on pottery, porcelain, canals, railways, and the Thames. He curated the V&A exhibitions Pugin and Victorian Vision and is an expert on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

Dr David Beresford-Jones. Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge University. His research interests include the ancient south coast of Peru, the origins of agriculture, Pre-Colombian textiles and the synthesis of archaeology and historical linguistics, particularly in the Andes.

Helena Attlee. Writer and lecturer with an expert knowledge of Italian gardens. Among her books are Italian Gardens: A Cultural History and most recently The Land Where Lemons Grow. She was Writer in Residence at the University of Worcester from 2009–12 and is a Consultant Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund.

Raaja Bhasin. Author, historian and journalist. He has published several books on the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and its capital Shimla and is a recognised authority on both. He is the state Co-convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.

Patrick Bade. Historian, writer and broadcaster. He studied at UCL and the Courtauld and was senior lecturer at Christies Education for many years. He has worked for the Art Fund, Royal Opera House, National Gallery, V&A. He has published on 19th- and early 20th-century painting and on historical vocal recordings. His latest book is Music Wars: 1937–1945.

Dr Paul Bahn. Archaeologist and Britain’s foremost specialist in prehistoric art. He led the team which discovered Britain’s only known Ice Age cave art at Creswell in 2003 and his books include Prehistoric Rock Art, Journey Through the Ice Age and Images of the Ice Age.

Lydia Bauman. Art historian, artist, and lecturer at the National Gallery. Lydia studied at Newcastle University and the Courtauld Institute, specialising in Matisse and 19th–20th century European and American art. She has lectured at the Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Arts Club of Chicago.

OUR LECTURERS

Richard Bassett. Journalist and historian. Foreign correspondent for The Times in the 1980s–early 90s, covering central and eastern Europe. His books include Austrians: Tales from the Vienna Woods, Hitler’s Spy Chief: The Wilhelm Canaris Mystery, Balkan Hours and A History of the Habsburg Army.

8 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Professor Tim Blanning. Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at Cambridge, Fellow of Sidney Sussex College and Fellow of the British Academy. Among his many books are The Culture of Power & the Power of Culture, The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648–1815, and The Triumph of Music in the Modern World. His most recent book is Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.

Dr Zahira Véliz Bomford. Senior Conservator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She completed her PhD at the Courtauld, where she has also lectured, in addition to Rice University, Houston, UCL and the V&A. She has worked in conservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Prado and the National Trust and has published extensively on Spanish art. Dr Xavier Bray. Art historian specialising in Spain. He is Chief Curator of Dulwich Picture Gallery where his recent exhibitions include Murillo & Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship. He was formerly at the National Gallery, London, and recently returned to curate Goya: The Portraits. Dr Steven Brindle. Read History at Oxford and worked for English Heritage for 27 years. He was also involved in the post-fire restoration of Windsor Castle, 1993–7. Publications include Brunel, the Man who built the World. His history of Windsor Castle for the Royal Collection is due to be published next year. Professor Dominic Brookshaw. Associate Professor of Persian Literature and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University. He holds a DPhil in pre-modern Persian poetry and a BA in Arabic with Persian from Oxford. His latest book is Ruse & Wit: The Humorous in Arabic, Persian & Turkish Narrative. He has travelled widely in the Middle East, and south west and central Asia. Professor John Bryan. Professor of Music at the University of Huddersfield, where he was also recently awarded a DMus (higher doctorate). A regular contributor to BBC Radio 3’s early music programmes and artistic adviser to York Early Music Festival. He is a member of the Rose Consort of Viols and Musica Antiqua of London.

Professor John Butt OBE. Lecturer, writer, musician, specialist in historical performance. Professor of Music at Glasgow University, Director of the Dunedin Consort, Principal Artist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, guest conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded the OBE in 2013. Dr Katie Campbell. Writer, garden historian and lecturer. She has taught at Birkbeck, Buckingham and Bristol Universities. Her books include British Gardens in Time (to accompany a BBC TV series), Icons of 20th-century Landscape Design and Paradise of Exiles: The Anglo-American Gardens of Florence.

Jon Cannon. Writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and specialist in historic religious architecture. He teaches at Bristol University and co-wrote and presented the BBC’s How to Build a Cathedral. He has also travelled extensively in China and has published on the country in the London Review of Books and in his The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces. Terry Charman. Leading authority on Churchill, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and VE and VJ Days, and frequent lecturer and broadcaster. Former Senior Historian at the Imperial War Museum, historical advisor for TV and radio, cocommentator for the BBCs VE and VJ coverage, and member of the IWM Academic Advisory Panel for the 1939–1945 gallery. ©Bill Knight

Professor Harry Charrington. Architect and Head of Architecture at the University of Westminster. He studied at Cambridge and obtained his PhD from the LSE. His research focuses on modernism, and his books include the award-winning Alvar Aalto: the Mark of the Hand and contributions to Artek & the Aaltos: Creating a Modern World (Yale University Press, 2016).

Felicity Cobbing. Executive and Curator of the Palestine Exploration Fund in London. She has excavated in Jordan with the British Museum and travelled throughout the Middle East. Widely published, she is coauthor of Beyond the River – Ottoman Transjordan in Original Photographs and Distant Views of the Holy Land. Dr R. T. Cobianchi. Art historian and lecturer. He completed his PhD at Warwick University, was a Rome Scholar at the British School in Rome and was fellow of both the Biblioteca Hertziana, Rome, and Villa I Tatti, Florence. His research includes iconography and patronage of the late Middle Ages to the Baroque. Dr Elizabeth Collingham. Food historian and writer. She obtained her PhD at Cambridge and is now an independent writer and Associate Fellow at Warwick University. Books include Imperial Bodies: the Physical Experience of the Raj. c. 1800– 1947, Curry: A Tale of Cooks & Conquerors and Around India’s First Table: Dining & Entertaining at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Ian Colvin. Historian and Byzantinist specialising in Late Antiquity and the South Caucasus. Trained at Oxford, he is now a researcher at Cambridge. He has directed an ongoing archaeological expedition to ancient Archaeopolis in the South Caucasus since 2001. Peter Cormack. Art historian and curator. He is the Honorary Curator of William Morris’s Oxfordshire home, Kelmscott Manor, and was formerly Keeper of the William Morris Gallery, London. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and VicePresident and Honorary Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass-Painters. Major Gordon Corrigan MBE. Military historian and former officer of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. The latest of his numerous books is Waterloo – A New History of the Battle & its Armies. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and a Member of the British Commission for Military History. Imogen Corrigan. Specialist in Anglo-Saxon and mediaeval history. She spent twenty years in the army, retiring in the rank of Major, then obtained a first-class degree in Medieval History from the University of Kent, and has been studying and lecturing ever since.

Misha Donat. Writer, lecturer and senior music producer for BBC Radio 3 for more than 25 years. He writes programme notes for Wigmore Hall and other venues, and CD booklets for many labels. Currently he is working on a new edition of the Beethoven piano sonatas being published by Bärenreiter. Dr Michael Douglas-Scott. Associate Lecturer in History of Art at Birkbeck College, specialising in 16th-century Italian art and architecture. He studied at the Courtauld and lived in Rome for several years. He has written articles for Arte Veneta, Burlington Magazine and the Journal of the Warburg & Courtauld Institutes. Dr Michael Downes. Director of Music at the University of St Andrews. He is a reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement and his publications include a study of British composer Jonathan Harvey. He has an interest in opera both as conductor and writer, and has lectured for companies including the Royal Opera and Glyndebourne. Ben Evans. Editor of HALI magazine – the leading specialist publication in antique carpets and textiles. In 2005 he also launched COVER magazine to represent the contemporary market. With extensive travel experience and strong relations with scholars and curators, Ben has a comprehensive knowledge of world weavings. Dr Karen Exell. Studied at Oxford University and St Andrews and obtained her PhD from Durham. She is Honorary Senior Research Associate at UCL Qatar, and a consultant at Qatar Museums. She has published several works on the cultural heritage of the Arabian Peninsula, including a monograph, Modernity & the Museum in the Arabian Peninsula, in 2016. Dr Andrew Farrington. Assistant Professor in Ancient History at the Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, in northern Greece. He also teaches for the Greek Open University and previously held academic posts in Australia and New Zealand. His specialism is the sporting life of the ancient Greeks, especially under the Roman Empire.

OUR LECTURERS

Professor Dawn Chatty. Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration at the University of Oxford. She has long been involved with the Middle East as a university teacher, development practitioner, and advocate for indigenous rights. She has carried out research among Bedouin sheep herders in Syria and Lebanon and camel nomads in Oman. She was made a Fellow of the British Academy in 2015.

Steven Desmond. Chartered Horticulturist specialising in the conservation of historic gardens, and architectural historian. He writes for Country Life and lectures for NADFAS. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, and a Professional Associate of the Royal Horticultural Society. His book Gardens of the Italian Lakes is published in 2016.

©Bill Knight

Sophie Campbell. Travel writer for the past 25 years, Sophie has written for The Telegraph, The Times, Guardian and Condé Nast Traveller among many others. She also lectures on travel writing and is a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide. Her book on the traditional events of the summer, The Season: A Summer Whirl Through the English Social Season was published in 2013.

9 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Our lecturers continued Dr Frances Fowle. Senior Curator of French Art at the Scottish National Gallery where she has curated several international exhibitions including, in 2016, Inspiring Impressionism: Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh. She is Reader in History of Art at the University of Edinburgh and her publications include Van Gogh’s Twin: The Scottish Art Dealer Alexander Reid. Dr Jana Gajdosova. Affi liated lecturer in History of Art at the University of Cambridge. She obtained her MA at the Courtauld Institute, and her PhD at Birkbeck College. Her research interests include late medieval art and architecture, especially in Central Europe, England, Germany and Italy. Dr Alexandra Gajewski. Architectural historian and lecturer specialising in the mediaeval. She obtained her PhD from the Courtauld and has lectured there and at Birkbeck College. She is currently in Madrid researching ‘The Roles of Women as Makers of Medieval Art and Architecture’. Dr Ffiona Gilmore Eaves. Read Archaeology at Cambridge and obtained her PhD from Nottingham. Her special interest is in the Adriatic and she is the co-author of Retrieving the Record: A Century of Archaeology at Porec. She has lectured extensively in adult education, especially for the WEA, and for various extra-mural departments. Dr Garth Gilmour. Biblical archaeologist based at Oxford University. His interests include eastern Mediterranean trade in the Late Bronze Age and the archaeology of religion in ancient Israel. He has excavated at the Philistine sites of Ekron and Ashkelon and is currently researching the Palestine Exploration Fund’s excavation in Jerusalem in the 1920s. David Gowan CMG. British Ambassador in Belgrade from 2003–6 and Minister and Deputy Head of Mission in Moscow from 2000–3. He was Kosovo War Crimes Co-ordinator in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1999 and has published papers on Serbia and Kosovo.

OUR LECTURERS 10

Dr Mark Grahame. Archaeologist and lecturer, whose research interests focus on Roman Pompeii. He has taught courses on the archaeology and history of the Roman Empire including for Cambridge University’s Institute of Continuing Education. Dr Jamie Greenbaum. Historian specialising in Ming dynasty cultural history. A Visiting Fellow in the School of Culture, History & Language at the Australian National University, he also lectures at the Renmin University, Beijing. He has published books on the late-Ming literary world and the early 20th-century political figure Qu Qiubai. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Dr David Griffiths. Specialist in Viking and early mediaeval archaeology. He is Reader and Associate Professor in Archaeology, University of Oxford, and Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford. His book Vikings of the Irish Sea was published in 2010. He also has extensive experience of fieldwork in Scandinavia. Sheila Hale. Writer and lecturer with a focus on the Italian Renaissance. Among her books are Titian: His Life & The Golden Age of Venice and Verona: An Architectural History. She has contributed to numerous newspapers in the UK and US including the New York Times and London Review of Books. Michael Hall. Historian and writer on British architecture and design. He was architectural editor of Country Life and his books include The Victorian Country House, Waddesdon Manor: The Biography of a Rothschild House and, most recently, George Frederick Bodley & the Later Gothic Revival in Britain & America. Professor Norman Hammond. Leading expert on Maya civilization. Senior Fellow at Cambridge and Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Boston University. Books include Ancient Maya Civilization, Nohmul: a Prehistoric Maya Community in Belize and Cuello: an early Maya community in Belize. He is Archaeology Correspondent for The Times. Gijs van Hensbergen. Art historian and author specialising in Spain and the USA. His books include Gaudí, In the Kitchens of Castile and Guernica. He studied Art History at the Courtauld and is a Fellow of the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies at the LSE. Dr Monika Hinkel. Lecturer and curator specialising in Japanese woodblock prints and Research Associate of the Japan Research Centre at SOAS. She studied at Bonn University, was curator for Japanese art at the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne, and a researcher at Gakushuin University, Tokyo. She has lectured at Birkbeck, the V&A and Morley College. Caroline Holmes. Garden historian, author of eleven books and design consultant. She lectures for Cambridge University’s ICE and ISSP, NADFAS and the RHS. Her latest book is Water Lilies & Bory Latour Marliac, the Genius behind Monet’s Water Lilies. She is also a specialist contributor on TV and radio in the UK and France.

Adam Hopkins. Journalist and author, now living in a mountain village in Spain. He studied at King’s College, Cambridge, and has contributed extensively to national newspapers in Britain on Spanish culture and travel. Among his many books: Spanish Journeys: A Portrait of Spain. Dr Jeremy Howard. Senior Lecturer in Art History at the University of St Andrews. He specialises in the art, architecture and design of central and eastern Europe, with a particular interest in the Baltic region. His books include Art Nouveau: International & National Styles in Europe and East European Art. Professor Maurice Howard. Professor Emeritus of Art History at the University of Sussex. Books include The Building of Elizabethan & Jacobean England. He has worked for the V&A and the National Portrait Gallery, is President of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain and former President of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Henry Hurst. Emeritus Reader in Classics at Cambridge University. His special interest is the archaeology of ancient cities and he has been an excavating archaeologist – working at Carthage for many years and more recently in Rome. He has travelled widely in Greece and Turkey. Professor John Irving. Musicologist, pianist and harpsichordist. He is Professor of Performance Practice at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, and previously taught at the Universities of London and Bristol. He has written six books on Mozart, including the award-winning The Mozart Project, and has made numerous recordings. Michael Ivory. After studying modern languages at Oxford, he qualified as a town planner and landscape architect. He taught these subjects at university level and now works as a writer and translator, specialising in Central Europe. His publications include guides to Prague and the Czech Republic, including the Berlitz Czech Republic. Luke Jennings. Author and the dance critic of The Observer. He trained at the Rambert School and worked for ten years as a dancer and choreographer before turning to writing. With Deborah Bull, he wrote The Faber Guide to Ballet and as a journalist he has written for Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Time, and various British titles. Dr Nicola Jennings. Art historian specialising in Renaissance Spain. She obtained her MA and PhD at the Courtauld, where she is now a Visiting Lecturer. She is a Research and Curatorial Associate at Colnaghi, London, and Spanish art dealer Coll y Cortés, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

James Johnstone. Organist specialising in the Renaissance and Baroque, and Professor of early keyboards at Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Trinity Laban. He has performed and recorded as a soloist and continuo player with all the major UKbased period instrument ensembles. Dr Philippa Joseph. For 20 years, publisher of journals and books for learned societies in the humanities. She is now an independent lecturer and researcher, and reviews editor for History Today. Her research looks at societies in Andalucía and Sicily where Christian, Jewish, and Muslim cultures flourished, each building on a Classical past. Dr Shona Kallestrup. Art historian specialising in Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe. She obtained an MA from the Warburg Institute, and an MA and PhD from the University of St Andrews, where she now teaches. She has worked at the Universities of Copenhagen, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Her most recent research focuses on artistic interaction between Scandinavia and Romania in the early 20th century. Yoko Kawaguchi. Writer and cultural historian specialising in the relationship between Japan and the West. She holds an MA from Kyoto University, and has undertaken postgraduate research at Newnham College, Cambridge. Books include Butterfly’s Sisters: The Geisha in Western Culture, Japanese Zen Gardens and Authentic Japanese Gardens. Jonathan Keates. Author, journalist and teacher. His books include Purcell: A Biography and The Siege Of Venice, and fiction includes short story collections Allegro Postillions and Soon to be a Major Motion Picture. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Trustee of the London Library and Chairman of Venice In Peril. Professor Hugh Kennedy. Professor of Arabic at SOAS. He studied at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies in Beirut, and read Arabic and Persian at Cambridge. He is author of The Early Abbasid Caliphate, The Prophet & the Age of the Caliphates, Crusader Castles and Muslim Spain & Portugal.

Rowena Loverance. Byzantine art historian specialising in sculpture, mosaics and icons. She studied History and Archaeology at Oxford and was Head of e-learning at the British Museum and a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College, London. Her publications include the illustrated history Byzantium, and Christian Art.

Caroline Knight. Architectural historian specialising in 16th- to 18th-century British architectural and social history. She studied History and History of Art at London University, followed by an MA at the Courtauld Institute. Former Director of the V&A’s High Renaissance-Baroque Year course, and author of many articles and of London’s Country Houses.

Dr Konstanze Knittler. Art historian and lecturer specialising in 19th- and 20th-century Chinese art and ceramics. She studied in Vienna and at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. She obtained her PhD at the University of Glasgow. She lectures at Sotheby’s Institute and has run short courses on Asian art.

Dr Jarl Kremeier. Art historian specialising in 17th- to 19th-century architecture and decorative arts. He teaches Art History at the Berlin College of Acting and Berlin’s Freie Universität. He is a contributor to the Macmillan Dictionary of Art and author of Die Hofkirche der Würzburger Residenz.

Andrew Martin. Journalist, novelist, historian and author of Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube (2012). During the 1990s he was ‘Tube Talk’ columnist for the Evening Standard. His most recent novel is The Yellow Diamond.

Anthony Lambert. Historian, journalist, travel writer. Has worked for the National Trust for almost thirty years. Books include Victorian & Edwardian Country House Life. He writes regularly for the Historic Houses Association magazine. He has written numerous travel and guide books, including over twenty on railway history and travel. Professor Richard Langham Smith. Music historian, broadcaster and writer specialising in early music and 19th/20th-century French music. He is Research Professor at the Royal College of Music. In 1993 he was admitted as a Chevalier to the ‘Ordre des arts et des lettres’ for services to French Music, and was awarded an FRCM in 2016. His new edition of Bizet’s Carmen is currently much in demand. Dr Luca Leoncini. Art historian specialising in 15th-century Italian painting. He obtained his degree and PhD from Rome University followed by research at the Warburg Institute in London. He has contributed to the Macmillan Dictionary of Art and has written on Mantegna and Renaissance drawings. Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. Chair of Ancient History at the University of Cardiff and specialist in the history and culture of ancient Iran, the Near East and Ancient Greece. Books include Ctesias’ History of Persia, Creating a Hellenistic World and King & Court in Ancient Persia. He has contributed to several TV documentaries and is a regular reviewer for The Times and Times Higher Education.

John McNeill. Architectural historian and a specialist in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He lectures for Oxford University’s Department of Continuing Education and is Honorary Secretary of the British Archaeological Association, for whom he has edited collections of essays on mediaeval Anjou, King’s Lynn and the Fens, Cloisters, and Romanesque and the Past. Professor Charles Melville. Professor of Persian History at Cambridge. He studied Arabic and Persian at Cambridge and Islamic History at SOAS. His main area of expertise is the history of Iran in the Mongol and Safavid periods. He is also Director of the Cambridge Shahnama Project and has travelled extensively in Iran. Patrick Mercer OBE. Military historian. He read History at Oxford and then spent 25 years in the army, achieving the rank of colonel, and subsequently worked for BBC Radio 4 as Defence Correspondent and as a journalist. He was MP for Newark from 2001 to 2014 and is the author of two books on the Battle of Inkerman.

OUR LECTURERS

Sir Nicholas Kenyon. Managing Director of the Barbican Centre since 2007; former Controller of BBC Radio 3 and Director of the BBC Proms. He has been music critic for The New Yorker and The Observer, music editor of The Listener and editor of Early Music. He is author of the Faber Pocket Guides to Bach and Mozart, and edited Authenticity & Early Music and The City of London: a companion guide.

Dr Rose Kerr. Honorary Associate of the Needham Research Institute in Cambridge, having retired as Keeper of the Far Eastern Department at the V&A. She graduated in Chinese studies and spent a year as a student in China during the last year of the Cultural Revolution, 1975–6. In 2014 she became an Honorary Citizen of Jingdezhen.

11 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Our lecturers continued Dr Jeffrey Miller. Art historian specialising in architecture of the Middle Ages. He teaches at the University of Cambridge and The Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL). He holds an MA from the Courtauld and a PhD from Columbia University. His research will feature in the forthcoming Decorated Revisited: English Architectural Style in Context, 1250–1400 (Brepols). Barry Millington. Writer, lecturer, broadcaster, specialising in Wagner. Founder/editor of The Wagner Journal and author of eight books on Wagner including The Wagner Compendium and Richard Wagner: The Sorcerer of Bayreuth. Chief Critic for the Evening Standard, and has acted as dramaturgical adviser at opera houses internationally. Marc Millon. Wine, food and travel writer. Born in Mexico, he was raised in the USA and then studied English Literature at the University of Exeter. He owns a business importing Italian wines from family estates and is author of The Wine and Food of Europe, The Wine Roads of Italy, The Food Lover’s Companion to Italy, and The Wine Roads of France. Dr Anna-Maria Misra. Lecturer in Modern History at Oxford University and a specialist on Indian history and the British Empire. She has published widely including Vishnu’s Crowded Temple: India Since the Great Rebellion and she wrote and presented Channel 4 series An Indian Affair. David Mitchinson. Former Head of Collections and Exhibitions at the Henry Moore Foundation. He has curated exhibitions of, and written extensively on Moore’s life and work including Henry Moore: Unpublished Drawings, Celebrating Moore and most recently Henry Moore: Prints & Portfolios. Dr Andrew Moore. Writer and curator, and a specialist in the study of country houses and their art collections. He is Keeper of Art at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery and recently co-authored a reassessment of Sir Robert Walpole’s art collection at Houghton Hall. Professor Louis Nelson. Specialist in American colonial architecture and the architectures and landscapes of the early modern Atlantic world. He is Professor of Architectural History at the University of Virginia. The majority of his work focuses on the early American South, the Greater Caribbean, and the Atlantic rim.

OUR LECTURERS

Professor Fabrizio Nevola. Chair and Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Exeter. His research focuses on the urban and architectural history of early modern Italy and he has published widely including Siena: Constructing the Renaissance City. He obtained his PhD at the Courtauld.

12 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Christopher Newall. Art historian, lecturer and writer. A specialist in 19th-century British art he also has a deep interest in southern Italy, its architecture, politics and social history. He studied at the Courtauld and has curated various exhibitions including John Ruskin: Artist & Observer at the National Gallery of Canada and Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

Amanda Patton. Garden designer, writer, broadcaster and artist. She has won awards for her work at Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows, and has designed nearly 200 gardens. As well as lecturing, she has broadcast regularly for BBC Somerset. Her main interest is in 20th-century and contemporary garden design.

Dr Charles Nicholl. Honorary Professor of English at Sussex University and the author of several books of biography, history and travel. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and recipient of the Hawthornden prize, the James Tait Black prize for biography and the Crime Writers’ Association ‘Gold Dagger’ award for non-fiction.

Dr Sarah Pearson. Architectural historian, writer and lecturer specialising in Italy. Her MA focused on Andrea Palladio and her PhD investigated convent building in Northern Italy with particular reference to the Duchy of Urbino and the architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini. She currently lectures at Madingley Hall at the University of Cambridge.

Professor Geoffrey Norris. Writer and broadcaster on BBC Radio 3. For many years he was Chief Music Critic of The Daily Telegraph, for which he still writes. He is Emeritus Professor at the Rachmaninoff Music Academy in Russia and his publications include Rachmaninoff and contributions to the New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians. Dr Cathy Oakes. Lecturer in History of Art at Oxford University with a focus on the mediaeval. She worked previously in the Education Department at the V&A and ran the art history programme for the Department for Continuing Education at Bristol. She has published on French and English Romanesque and on Marian iconography. Alan Ogden. Travel writer and historian. His books include Fortresses of Faith: The Kirchenburgen of Transylvania, Revelations of Byzantium: The Monasteries & Painted Churches of N.E. Moldavia and Moons & Aurochs: Romanian Journeys. He has written four histories of the Special Operations Executive covering Eastern Europe, Italy, Greece and the Far East. Dr Sophie Oosterwijk. Researcher and lecturer with degrees in Art History, Mediaeval Studies and English Literature. Her specialisms are the Middle Ages, Netherlandish and Dutch art. She has taught at the universities of Leicester, Manchester and St Andrews, and lectures at Cambridge. She is coeditor of the journal Church Monuments. Stephen Parkin. Curator at the British Library and specialist in early printing in Italy. He studied at Cambridge and UCL, and has a qualification in librarianship from the Vatican Library School in Rome. He has a particular interest in the history of bibliography and collecting and has published in these fields; he also works as a literary translator.

Dr Alan Peatfield. Archaeologist specialising in the Minoan Bronze Age Civilisation of Crete. He obtained his PhD from University College London. From 1984–90 he was Knossos Curator for the British School at Athens and has lectured at University College Dublin since 1991. He has excavated on Crete and he writes on Minoan religion and ancient Greek combat. Carolyn Perry. Lecturer and museum consultant. Taught Ancient History and Mythology in the Department of Mediterranean Studies at Queen Mary College, University of London and has excavated in Italy. Established the Arab World Education Programme at the British Museum. She is also Chair of The British Foundation for the Study of Arabia. Dr Richard Plant. Architectural historian and lecturer specialising in the Middle Ages with a strong interest in the modern. He studied at Cambridge, followed by the Courtauld, where he obtained his PhD. He was Deputy Academic Director at Christie’s Education and has published on English and German Romanesque architecture. Jane Pritchard MBE. Curator of Dance for the V&A and co-curator of the exhibition Diaghilev & the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes 1909–1929. She was Archivist for Rambert Dance Company and English National Ballet. Books include Anna Pavlova: Twentieth-Century Ballerina, and she has curated and written for BFI Southbank and the British Council. Asoka Pugal. Historian and lecturer. Born in Tamil Nadu, he graduated from the University of Madras followed by postgraduate studies at Madras Law College. He has worked in the tourist industry for many years and has produced TV documentaries. In 2001, he joined the Board of Studies in Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Madras.

Lesley Pullen. Art historian and lecturer, specialising in south-east Asian art. She was born in Sumatra and has lived in Asia for 25 years including latterly three years in India. She gained her Postgraduate Diploma and Masters at SOAS, where she is now researching for a PhD on the representation of textiles on Indonesian sculpture.

Sue Rollin. Archaeologist, interpreter and lecturer, widely travelled in the Middle East and India. She speaks three ancient Near-Eastern languages and several modern European ones. She has taught at UCL, SOAS and Cambridge, interprets for the EU and UN and is co-author of Blue Guide: Jordan and Istanbul: A Travellers’ Guide.

Christopher Purvis CBE. Former investment banker once based in Tokyo. He organised Japan 2001, a cultural festival in the UK and has served as Chairman of the Japan Society. He was appointed CBE in 2002 for services to UK–Japan relations, and has received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan.

Professor Timon Screech. Professor of History of Art at SOAS, University of London. He is an expert on the art and culture of the Edo period, including its international dimension, and has published widely on the subject. His books include Sex & the Floating World and Obtaining Images.

Professor Peter Wynne Rees CBE. City Planning Officer for the City of London 1985–2014 and a founder member and director of the British Council for Offices. He is Professor of Places and City Planning at UCL. He has an Honorary Fellowship from RIBA and Honorary doctorate from London SBU, and was awarded the CBE in 2015 for services to architecture and town planning. Simon Rees. Novelist, poet and librettist, from 1989 to 2012 he was dramaturg at Welsh National Opera. He writes programme articles and surtitles for many British opera companies, and reviews for Opera, Opera Now, Musical Opinion, Early Music Today, Bachtrack and a range of other publications. Mary Lynn Riley. Specialist in 19th- and 20th-century modern and contemporary art. She lives on the Côte d’Azur where she teaches art courses at the Musée Bonnard in Le Cannet and the Espace de l’Art Concret at Mouans-Sartoux. Previously she worked at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

Barnaby Rogerson. Writer and publisher with a particular interest in North Africa. Among his numerous works are North Africa, A Biography of the Prophet Muhammad and guide books to Morocco, Tunisia, Cyprus and Istanbul. He also runs Eland Books, home to over 100 great classic travel books of the world.

Dr Guus Sluiter. Art historian and Director of the Dutch Funeral Museum in Amsterdam. Prior to this he worked for the Mauritshuis in The Hague and the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. He has published widely in the Netherlands and Italy and is a Research Fellow of the Dutch Institute for Art History in Florence. Professor Jan Smaczny. Emeritus Professor of Music at Queen’s University, Belfast, and an authority on Czech music. An author, broadcaster and journalist, he has published books on the Prague Provisional Theatre, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, music in 19th-century Ireland and Bach’s B-minor Mass. He studied at the University of Oxford and the Charles University, Prague. Jerry Spangler. Archaeologist, author and leading expert in the American West on the preservation of archaeological sites. He is the Executive Director of the Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance and is a frequent lecturer on archaeological preservation issues. He has published widely on prehistoric peoples of Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Professor Anthony Spawforth. Historian, broadcaster, lecturer and writer specialising in Greek and Roman antiquity and in rulers’ courts. Books include The Complete Greek Temples, Greece: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (with C. Mee), and Versailles: A Biography of a Palace. He is Emeritus Professor of Ancient History at Newcastle University.

Professor Gavin Stamp. Architectural historian with an interest in 19th- and 20th-century British architecture. He has published on Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, the Gilbert Scott dynasty and Sir Edwin Lutyens. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and RIBA, and Honorary Professor at Glasgow and Cambridge Universities. Dr Susan Steer. Art historian and lecturer specialising in Venice. Her PhD focused on Venetian Renaissance altarpieces, followed by work as researcher and editor on the National Inventory of European Painting, the UK’s online catalogue. She has taught History of Art for university programmes in the UK and Italy. Graeme Stobbs. Archaeologist with over twenty years’ experience in field archaeology and an expert on Hadrian’s Wall. He is Assistant Curator of Roman Collections of English Heritage’s Hadrian’s Wall Museums and until recently worked as Archaeological Project Officer for Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. Professor Richard Stokes. Professor of Lieder at the Royal Academy of Music. His books include The Book of Lieder and The Penguin Book of English Song – Seven Centuries of Poetry from Chaucer to Auden. He has lectured at Edinburgh Festival, given masterclasses at Aldeburgh, and was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for services to German culture. Jane Streetly. Co-author of Blue Guide: Jordan and Istanbul: A Traveller’s Guide. She was born and raised in Trinidad, studied French and Spanish at university and now works as a conference interpreter and travel writer. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and has travelled widely throughout Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

OUR LECTURERS

Janet Sinclair. Art historian, curator and lecturer. She studied at the Courtauld and the Barber Institute, Birmingham. Has held senior management posts at several heritage sites and is currently Collections Manager at Petworth House, Sussex. She is a panel member of the Sustainable Communities Fund in the South Downs National Park.

Andrew Spooner. Military historian specialising in the Great War. He runs his own battlefield tours and organises specialist study days for colleges and museums throughout the country. He is a regular visiting lecturer at the Imperial War Museum Duxford and has appeared in documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. ©Bill Knight

Phillida Purvis MBE. Former diplomat who has spent the last twenty years working with the civil society sector in Japan. She studied Japanese at SOAS, University of London, and Japanese foreign policy at Tokyo University. She founded and runs Links Japan and is a trustee of several Japan-related and other international NGOs.

Dr Nigel Spivey. Senior Lecturer in Classical Art and Archaeology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Emmanuel College. Among his publications are Understanding Greek Sculpture, Greek Art, Enduring Creation, The Ancient Olympics and Classical Civilization: A History in Ten Chapters. He presented the BBC2/PBS series How Art Made the World.

13 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Our lecturers continued

“Travelling with Martin Randall Travel is always completely wonderful. The food and wine more outstanding and beyond expectations, access to private and privileged views, access to artefacts you would not get to see yourself, and an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, experienced and fun lecturer.” Tim Tatton-Brown. Former Consultant Archaeologist to Canterbury and Salisbury cathedrals, Westminster Abbey, Lambeth Palace and St George’s Chapel, Windsor. He has been Vice-President of the Royal Archaeological Institute. Books include Great Cathedrals of Britain and Salisbury Cathedral, the Making of a Medieval Masterpiece. Jane Taylor. Studied Mediaeval History and Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. Her books include Testament to the Bushmen (with Laurens van der Post), Imperial Istanbul, Petra & the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans, Yemen: Land & People (with Sarah Searight), Jordan Images from the Air and Beyond the Jordan (with Isabelle Ruben). Dr Lars Tharp. Ceramics historian and frequent broadcaster, including 30 years on the BBC Antiques Roadshow and two notable fi lms on Chinese ceramics. Also an authority on the life and works of William Hogarth; he is Hogarth Curator of the Foundling Museum and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Dr Giles Tillotson. Writer and lecturer on Indian architecture, art and history. His books include Taj Mahal, Jaipur Nama: Tales from the Pink City, and the novel, Return to Bhanupur. He is a Fellow, and the former Director, of the Royal Asiatic Society and was Chair of Art & Archaeology at SOAS. Dr Thomas-Leo True. Art historian specialising in Renaissance and Baroque architecture. He obtained his PhD at Cambridge University and studied at the British School at Rome where he is now Assistant Director. He has lived in Le Marche and is currently writing his first book on the Marchigian Cardinals of Pope Sixtus V.

OUR LECTURERS 14

Gail Turner. Art historian, lecturer and artist with a special interest in Spanish history and art. She read Modern History at Oxford and completed her MA at the Courtauld. She lectures for the National Trust and Art Fund, and teaches on courses at the V&A and the Courtauld Institute Summer School. Dr Geoffrey Tyack. Architectural historian with a particular interest in the 18th to 20th centuries in Britain and Europe. He is Fellow of Kellogg College, University of Oxford, and is the author of John Nash: Architect of the Picturesque. He is also Editor of the Georgian Group Journal.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Dr David Vickers. Author, journalist, broadcaster and lecturer. He is co-editor of The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia and is preparing new editions of several of Handel’s music dramas. He is a critic for Gramophone and BBC Radio 3 and an essayist for many record labels. He teaches at the Royal Northern College of Music. Dr Matthias Vollmer. Art historian specialising in the German Middle Ages and Renaissance. He read History of Art, Philosophy, and Orientalism at the Freie Universität Berlin; his PhD was on book illustration of the Middle Ages. He lectures at the Freie Universität Berlin, Courtauld Summer School and Berlin University of the Arts. Professor Emeritus Stephen Walsh. Music writer and broadcaster. He is the author of a major biography of Stravinsky, and, most recently Musorgsky & his Circle. Former deputy music critic for The Observer, he remains a contributor to other broadsheet newspapers. He is Professor Emeritus at Cardiff University’s School of Music. Giles Waterfield. Independent curator and writer, Director of Royal Collection Studies, and Associate Lecturer at the Courtauld. He has curated exhibitions for the Royal Academy and National Portrait Galleries (London and Edinburgh), among others. His publications include The Iron Necklace and The People’s Galleries. Dr Peter Webb. Arabist and historian, specialising in early and mediaeval Islam. Has travelled extensively in the Middle East and Central Asia and taught at SOAS and the American University of Paris. He is now a Lecturer in Arabic at Leiden University. Dr Adam White. Art historian and museum curator. He has worked at the Leeds Museums and Galleries since 1983. Since 1994 he has been based at Lotherton Hall and Temple Newsam House. He is Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and has published widely on British art, particularly sculpture. Dr Antonia Whitley. Art historian and lecturer specialising in the Italian Renaissance. She obtained her PhD from the Warburg Institute, University of London. She has lectured for the National Gallery and has taught in the War Studies department of King’s College, London. She organises adult education study sessions and has led many tours in Italy.

Dr Betsy Wieseman. Curator of Dutch and Flemish Painting at The National Gallery. Most recently she curated Rembrandt: The Late Works. She has also contributed to numerous publications and exhibition catalogues. Prior to the National Gallery she was Curator of European Painting and Sculpture at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Richard Wigmore. Writer, lecturer and broadcaster for BBC Radio 3. He writes for BBC Music and Gramophone and and has taught Lieder history and intepretation at Guildhall, Trinity Laban and Birkbeck College. Books include Schubert: The Complete Song Texts and Pocket Guide to Haydn. Professor Roger Wilson. Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire and Director of the Centre for the Study of Ancient Sicily at the University of British Columbia. Former posts include Professor of Archaeology at the University of Nottingham. His publications include Piazza Armerina and Sicily under the Roman Empire. Dr Matthew Woodworth. Art historian with a focus on mediaeval architectural history. He obtained his MA from the Courtauld and completed his PhD on Beverley Minster at Duke University, North Carolina. He has published articles on English Gothic architecture, French Gothic sculpture, and the re-use of Gothic in the post-mediaeval period. Sebastian Wormell. Art historian specialising in Central Europe and Byzantium. As a translator and editor, he has prepared art-historical guidebooks to countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, Yemen and the Holy Land. He studied at Cambridge and the Courtauld Institute and has lectured for London University. Dr Neil Younger. Lecturer in History at the Open University, and has previously taught at the Universities of Birmingham, Durham, and Vanderbilt in the US. He specialises in Tudor politics, government and court culture and is author of War & Politics in the Elizabethan Counties. He is currently writing a biography of the Elizabethan courtier Sir Christopher Hatton. Heike Zeke. Senior curator of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection of decorative art at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She gained her PhD at the Otto-Friedriech University in Bamberg and is currently heading a major study of the mosaics at St Paul’s Cathedral.

More about our tours Fitness Ours are active holidays. Walking, stair-climbing and standing around for lengthy periods are unavoidable aspects of every tour. They should not present problems for anyone of normal fitness but they are not suitable for those who are slow, need support or are low on stamina. On many tours there is a lot of walking on streets that may be steep or poorly paved. On others you may need to scramble over fallen masonry and very uneven ground. More usually it is just a case of moving from one place to another, and getting on and off coaches several times a day. The tours are also group events. The presence of even one person who is not fit enough to cope can spoil the experience for everyone else. We therefore ask people wishing to join a tour to take the quick and simple self-assessment tests described here to ascertain whether they have an adequate level of fitness. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have passed these tests. (It is not necessary to take the tests to attend our chamber music weekends and symposia in the UK.) If during the tour it transpires you are not adequately fit, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits, or invited to leave the tour altogether. This would be at your own expense. Tours do vary. Please refer to the How strenuous? paragraph in each tour description.

Responsible Tourism A certain level of fitness is a requirement for participation on our tours. We ask that all participants take these quick and simple tests to ascertain whether they are fit enough. 1. Chair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least eight times in thirty seconds. 2. Step test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone. Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least sixty times in two minutes. 3. Agility test. Place an object 3 yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under seven seconds. An additional indication of the fitness required, though we are not asking you to measure this, is that you should be able to walk unaided at a pace of three miles per hour for at least half an hour at a time, and to stand unsupported for at least fifteen minutes.

Walking tours Tours which are billed as walking tours, with hikes through hilly countryside of up to three hours, require a different scale of fitness and agility. Please attend to the descriptions of these tours carefully.

Many of our tours visit towns and villages off the beaten tourist trail, enabling you to experience local traditions and practices. We also strive to limit our impact on the environment. Our itineraries are designed to spend more time in places than on conventional tours; this often means there are days without travel. Martin Randall Travel contributes to Beyond Carbon, a travel industry scheme that assists development projects that encourage carbon savings (beyond-carbon.com). We make a donation to offset all the carbon in flights every time a lecturer, tour manager or member of staff takes a flight for a tour or a prospecting trip. You can choose to donate too, when you book online or pay your final invoice. Our policy is published on our website: www.martinrandall.com/responsible-tourism.

Financial security The Association of Independent Tour Operators. Martin Randall Travel Ltd is a member of AITO, an association of specialist travel companies most of which are independent and owner-managed. Admission is selective, and members are subject to a code of practice which prescribes high standards of professionalism and customer care. To contact the Association visit www.aito.com or call 020 8744 9280. ABTA – The Travel Association. Martin Randall Travel Ltd is a Member of the Association of British Travel Agents (membership number Y6050). ABTA and ABTA members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. For further information about ABTA, the Code of Conduct and the arbitration scheme available to you if you have a complaint, contact ABTA, 30 Park Street, London SE1 9EQ. www.abta.com.

Amendments

A growing part of our activities is tours for private groups – for university alumni, supporters and friends of museums and for various associations and institutions.

There is an amendment fee for changes to the basic package, such as moving the dates of flights, organising flight upgrades, or booking additional hotel nights.

We welcome enquiries. With our knowledge of a wide range of destinations, our unparalleled skills at designing tours and our long experience of working with private clients, Martin Randall Travel is well qualified to be the partner for a travel venture. The manager of our private client business is Hannah Wrigley, who first joined MRT twelve years ago. Please get in touch with her if you would like to discuss a travel possibility: hannah.wrigley@ martinrandall.co.uk.

Financial protection for holidays that do not include a flight is provided by a bond held with ABTA.

Travel insurance Experience tells us that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not reliable in the event of a claim.

Illustration: Sea of Galilee, lithograph c. 1850 after David Roberts RA (1796–1864). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MORE ABOUT OUR TOURS

Tours for private groups

ATOL. All of the flight-inclusive holidays in this brochure are financially protected by the ATOL (Air Transport Operators’ Licence) scheme. When you make your first payment you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please check it to know what is covered in your booking. For more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to www.caa.co.uk/ ATOLCertificate. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid us for an advance booking. See our booking conditions (page 236) for further details.

Mediaeval Kent Castles, cathedrals & churches ENglANd

Canterbury Cathedral, Chapter House, steel engraving c. 1850 by W. Deeble.

Itinerary Day 1: Rochester, Sandwich. The coach leaves from Tothill Street, London (near St James Park underground station) at 11.00am for Rochester. Lunch is included, after which we shall visit Rochester Cathedral, whose extravagant late Romanesque nave and austere choir stand in perfect juxtaposition, followed by the mighty keep of Rochester Castle. Overnight Sandwich. Day 2: Sandwich, Dover. Leisurely morning in Sandwich, a famously well-preserved town and the perfect setting in which to explore the dispositions of a former mediaeval port. Afternoon drive to Dover, to concentrate on the amazing group of buildings enclosed within the castle – including a former Roman lighthouse, late Anglo-Saxon Minster and Henry II’s magnificent keep. Day 3: Hythe, Lydd, Rye, Brookland, New Romney. The perfect opportunity for a day on Romney Marsh beginning with its grandest monument – St Leonard’s Hythe – and moving on to All Saints at Lydd, a church that juxtaposes one of the most spectacular of Kent’s perpendicular west towers with elements of the Romano-British basilica that preceded it. After a break for lunch in Rye, the afternoon will bring us gently back across the northern half of the Marsh – past Brookland’s freestanding belfry and lead font to the breathtaking ambition of New Romney.

26–30 June 2017 (md 333) 5 days • £1,360 Lecturer: John McNeill Well-balanced survey of the outstanding mediaeval monuments of Kent, with Romanesque particularly prominent. Based in one hotel throughout, in the lovely little town of Sandwich.

BRITISH ISLES 16

Includes beautiful drives through understated and varied landscapes. Tour led by a mediaeval architectural historian. The arrival of Augustine on the shores of Kent in 597 had far-reaching consequences for the geography of the Church in Britain. Not only did it establish Canterbury as the seat of an archbishop, later to become ‘Primate of All England’, but it ensured that Kent was the only county with two cathedrals, after Justin founded a second at Rochester in 604. The creation of an early infrastructure to support Augustine’s mission was important, and rather remarkably survives in part at Canterbury. However, it is the renewal of these churches after the Norman Conquest that is most striking from an architectural perspective. Kent boasts the richest collection of Romanesque churches – and castles – to survive in England. These run from book online at www.martinrandall.com

Gundulf’s great tower at Rochester – designed to control the Medway river crossing on Watling Street – to Henry II’s magnificent remodelling of Dover Castle, designed to dominate the northern end of the short sea crossing to France. The later phases of the post-Conquest reconstruction are wonderfully caught in Anselm’s crypt, in the nave of Rochester Cathedral, and in the parish churches of Sandwich, New Romney, and St Nicholas at Wade. The second of the tour’s themes is concerned with the type of architecture that developed from the second half of the twelft h century onwards. Following a catastrophic fire in the eastern parts of Canterbury cathedral in 1174 the opportunity presented itself for a dramatically new type of church interior – one that invested in architectural colour and combined slender supports, polished stone and stained glass. The impact of this new Anglo-French Gothic choir and shrine chapel was immense, the working out of which one can see at Rochester and Hythe. Indeed, English architecture was never the same again. Finally, there is one area where a significant amount of late Gothic building survives – Romney Marsh. What is remarkable here is that no one church looks like any other. In most regions the tendency is for churches to cluster in stylistic families. Romney Marsh is different, and a great feature of the Mediaeval Kent itinerary.

Day 4: Canterbury, Wingham. Morning devoted to Canterbury Cathedral, starting with Lanfranc’s early Norman cathedral and Anselm’s ‘glorious choir’, and diversifying via the epoch-making early Gothic Choir and Trinity Chapel to the little-visited monastic precinct. The afternoon opens with St Augustine’s Abbey, a multi-church monastery originally founded by Augustine himself, before walking up to the tiny early AngloSaxon church of St Martin. Return to Sandwich via the splendid parish church at Wingham. Day 5: St Nicholas at Wade, Cobham. Morning visits to the lovely ragstone and flint church of St Nicholas at Wade and the stunning manorial church and college at Cobham – home to the most extensive set of in-situ mediaeval brasses to survive in England. After lunch in Cobham, the coach returns to Tothill Street by 4.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,360. Single occupancy: £1,480. Included meals: 2 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. The Bell Hotel, Sandwich (bellhotelsandwich.co.uk): 19th-century building beside the quay, in the historic town centre. This informal, relaxed hotel has been renovated in muted colours and offers excellent service. How strenuous? This tour involves quite a lot of getting on and off coaches and standing. There are steps in the castles and uneven surfaces. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Walking to Derbyshire Houses, 3–8 July 2017 (p.26); At home at Ardgowan, 6–11 July 2017 (p.42).

The Cathedrals of England Ely, lincoln, durham, York, Coventry, gloucester, Bristol, Wells, Salisbury, Winchester

18–26 October 2017 (me 604) 9 days • £2,610 Lecturer: Jon Cannon A study of ten of England’s greatest buildings – their history, architecture, sculpture, stained glass and current life. Built between the Norman Conquest and Henry VIII’s Reformation, with Coventry Cathedral a moving exception. Organ recitals exclusively for us, and many other special arrangements. Five hotels and quite a lot of driving, but an uncrowded itinerary includes time for rest and independent exploration.

bulwark in the frequently hostile North. Largely completed in the decades from 1093 and little altered since, the nave and quire with their great cylindrical pillars, distinguished by their engraved patterns, constitute one of the world’s greatest Romanesque churches.

Itinerary

Day 4: York. York Minster is the largest of English mediaeval cathedrals. Above ground it is all Gothic, from Early English to Perpendicular but predominantly 14th-century, demonstrating an exceptional knowledge of the latest French Rayonnant ideas. It is a treasure trove of original stained glass, and the polygonal chapter house is without peer. The city retains its mediaeval walls and an exceptional quantity of historic buildings.

Day 1: Ely. The coach leaves King’s Cross, London at 9.30am for Ely, a surprisingly remote and rural location for one of England’s greatest cathedrals. The mighty Norman nave and transepts (c. 1110–30), with their thick walls, tiers of arches and clusters of shafts, leads to the crossing and its unique 14th-century octagonal lantern, a work of genius. The detached Lady Chapel, also in the Decorated style, is the largest and perhaps the finest in the country; the Early English quire a ravishing setting for the lost shrine to St Etheldreda. Overnight Lincoln. Day 2: Lincoln. Also largely by-passed by modern urban development, Lincoln’s hilltop site above the broad Witham valley renders this enormous cathedral even more imposing. Largely rebuilt from 1192, it has always been revered as one of the finest of Gothic cathedrals, its fascinations enhanced by myriad minor inconsistencies and variations which reveal the struggle for solutions at the frontiers of artistic fashion and technological capability. The steep streets of the ancient town are a delight. First of three nights in York. Day 3: Durham. By train to Durham (40 mins), where the topography and riverside walk provide the most exciting approach to any English cathedral. Massive towers rise above the trees which cling to the steep embankment, a defensible

Day 5: Coventry. Coventry Cathedral is perhaps internationally Britain’s best-known 20th-century building. Built to designs by Sir Basil Spence beside the ruins of its predecessor, destroyed in 1940, it is both a showcase for some of the best art of the time (Graham Sutherland, John Piper, Jacob Epstein). In the evening, a walk through Stratford-upon-Avon, which has retained many buildings Shakespeare would have known. Overnight Stratford. Day 6: Gloucester, Bristol. The procession of tall cylindrical pillars in Gloucester’s nave is unadulterated Norman, but, following the burial of Edward II in 1327, the eastern parts are exquisitely veiled in the first large-scale appearance of Perpendicular architecture. The east window, which retains its mediaeval stained glass, is one of the largest in Europe. Bristol cathedral is a muchoverlooked gem with fine work of every era, from the lavishly patterned walls of the Romanesque chapter house to G. E. Street’s great Victorian nave. But its highlight is the east end, among the most

BRITISH ISLES

This is an architectural journey that would be hard to equal for intensity of aesthetic delight and as a way into the minds and lives of the people of the Middle Ages it would be difficult to surpass. Personalities of extraordinary capability and vision will be discovered, and the thought processes and techniques used by craftsmen of genius revealed and decoded. The tour ranges across England – north, south, east and west – to see some of the most glorious mediaeval architecture to be found anywhere. Connoisseurs may carp at the omissions, but logistics exclude only a couple of cathedrals of comparable beauty, magnificence and interest. With an average of little over one cathedral a day, there is plenty of time to really get to know, assimilate, appreciate and contemplate each one. All but one are mediaeval, Norman (as Romanesque is generally called in Britain) and Gothic. It is easy to underestimate the length of time the Middle Ages encompasses: the span from the earliest work we see on the tour to the latest, from the Norman Conquest to the Reformation, equals that from the Reformation to the present day. There was huge variety in the building arts and historical circumstances during those 460 years. The one non-mediaeval cathedral on the itinerary is Coventry. Rebuilt after the Second World War, not only is it a treasure house of midtwentieth-century art but it is a moving monument to rebirth and reconciliation. There are many special arrangements to enable you to see more than most visitors. Organ recitals are organised for us at some cathedrals. There are also opportunities to hear some excellent choirs at Evensong. Cathedrals come with cities, and many of these were relatively little changed during the era of industrialisation and now rank among the loveliest in England. Much beautiful countryside is traversed as well. For centuries, British scholars and critics laboured under an inferiority complex, believing English Gothic to be a defective derivative of the thoroughbred French version, inferior according to the degree to which it departed from the soaring, clean-limbed and impeccably rational paradigms across the Channel. That cultural cringe has all but evaporated in the last couple of generations, not least because evidence has been piling up

that masons and architects in England had entire confidence in their inventiveness and deliberately chose to shun French conventions in favour of England’s own distinctive and fascinating imaginative universe.

ENglANd

19–27 April 2017 (md 244) 9 days • £2,610 Lecturer: Jon Cannon

York Minster, early-20th-century etching by Tom Whitehead. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

The Cathedrals of England continued

The Age of Bede Anglo-Saxon Northumbria

england

innovative and beautiful of early 14th-century buildings. First of two nights in Wells. Day 7: Wells. An exceptionally unspoilt little city, Wells has a fortified bishop’s palace, 14th-century houses of the Vicars Choral and much else of charm and interest. The cathedral was one of the first in England to be built entirely in Gothic style. Its screened west front, eastward march of the nave, sequence of experimental contrasted spaces of the Decorated east end, serene chapter house and Perpendicular cloisters all contribute to the cathedral’s exceptional allure. The strainer arches supporting the sagging tower are among the great creations of the Middle Ages. Day 8: Salisbury. One of the most uplifting experiences in English architecture, Salisbury is unique among the Gothic cathedrals in England in that it was built on a virgin site and largely in a single campaign, 1220–58. To homogeneity are added lucidity of design and perfection of detail. Completed a century later, the spire at 404 feet is the tallest mediaeval structure in Britain. The close is the finest in the country, and the town beyond has an extensive expanse of historic fabric. Overnight Winchester. Day 9: Winchester. Winchester Cathedral is one of Europe’s longest churches, reflecting the city’s status intermittently from the 9th to the 17th centuries as a seat of English government. The transepts are unembellished early Norman (1079), raw architecture of brute power, whereas the mighty nave was dressed 300 years later in suave Perpendicular garb. The profusion of chantry chapels constitutes an enchanting collection of Gothic micro-architecture. Wall paintings, floor tiles, the finest 12th-century Bible. Return to Tothill Street in central London by 4.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,610. Single occupancy: £2,930. Included meals: 1 lunch and 6 dinners with wine.

BRITISH ISLES

Accommodation. The Castle Hotel, Lincoln (castlehotel.net): historic building close to the cathedral. The Grange, York (grangehotel. co.uk): also in an historic building with a new wing, within walking distance of the city centre. The Stratford (Q Hotels), Stratford-upon-Avon (qhotels.co.uk): modern hotel, located on the edge of the historic centre of the town. The Swan, Wells (swanhotelwells.co.uk): in a building of 15th-cent. origin in a narrow street close to the cathedral. The Wessex, Winchester (mercure.com): excellently located overlooking the cathedral in a 1960s building. Rooms at all the hotels, being city-centre historic properties, vary in size and outlook. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking on the tour. You ought to be able to walk at about three miles an hour for up to half an hour. There are also a lot of steps and uneven surfaces. Roof and tower visits are optional of course, but at Salisbury there are 332 stairs to climb. Two of the hotels do not have lifts. There are three days without any coach travel, but there is an average on the remaining five days of 73 miles.

Durham Cathedral is the last resting place of Cuthbert and Bede. In the opinion of some the finest Romanesque church in Europe, its massive size and defensibility express the often tenuous hold on the region by institutions representing southern-based royal government.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

Itinerary Day 1: Jarrow and Monkwearmouth. The tour begins with a lecture in the hotel in Newcastle (where all three nights are spent) at 1.30pm. The monasteries at Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, ten miles apart but one institution, were founded in 674 and 681 by Benedict Biscop, whose five journeys to Rome resulted in a unique network of international contacts and awareness of European artistry. Parts of the original chapels survive, with stained glass and stone carvings.

24–27 June 2017 (md 373) 4 days • £970 Lecturer: Imogen Corrigan 16–19 September 2017 (me 526) 4 days • £970 Lecturer: Imogen Corrigan Examines the remarkable efflorescence of culture and learning in Anglo-Saxon northern England. Jarrow, Monkwearmouth, Holy Island, Hexham and other Anglo-Saxon sites. Studies Durham Cathedral, perhaps the greatest Romanesque building in Europe, with private visits by special arrangement. Imogen Corrigan, a specialist in Anglo-Saxon and mediaeval history, leads the tour. For a few decades around ad 700, a handful of monasteries in Northumbria became beacons of culture and learning in a Britain that was largely tribal, warlike and unstable. Within a century Viking raiders extinguished these fragile flickers of civilization, and destruction and division again ruled the land. England – as it can now be called – steadily recovered, and on the eve of the Norman Conquest had become one of the best-governed and most prosperous territories in Europe. The tour visits some of the most significant Anglo-Saxon remains in the area – Jarrow and Monkwearmouth, the two-campus monastery to which Bede was given as a child oblate and where he became a monk; church architecture at Escomb and Hexham; and sites of powerful resonance – the royal court at Yeavering and Lindisfarne, now known as Holy Island. The tour introduces a cast of remarkable men – Benedict Biscop, Aiden, Cuthbert, Wilfrid and Bede, characters of extraordinary tenacity, learning, piety and courage. One of the great intellectuals of the Middle Ages, the Venerable Bede (c. 673–735) wrote on science and the measurement of time and on languages and literature as well as compiling a work of inestimable value, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

Day 2: Yeavering, Holy Island. On the journey to Lindisfarne, visit Yeavering, evocative site of a royal settlement. The monastery on the little island of Lindisfarne (later ‘Holy Island’) was founded in ad 635 by an Irish monk from Iona, St. Aidan, and became an important centre for scholarship and missionary activity. A place of remarkable charm and tranquillity, there are Anglo-Saxon fragments, ruins of the Norman priory, and a castle, turned into a home by Edwin Lutyens. Day 3: Durham. A day spent in and around Durham Cathedral, one of the greatest Romanesque churches in Europe and one of the most impressive of English cathedrals. Mighty towers rise above the encircling river Wear, while the interior cannot but move with its power and piety. Most of the building is little altered since the 40-year building campaign, begun 1093. There is the opportunity to attend Evensong or Evenprayer. Day 4: Escomb, Hexham. The tiny Saxon church at Escomb was built c. ad 675, a rare survival. A lovely market town on a bluff above the Tyne, Hexham grew around a monastery founded in 671 by St Wilfrid. The magnificent mediaeval church is post-Conquest except for the crypt, the largest surviving expanse of Anglo-Saxon architecture in England. The coach sets down at Newcastle Central Railway station by 3.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £970. Single occupancy: £1,080 Included meals: 2 dinners with wine. Accommodation: The Crowne Plaza, Newcastle (crowneplaza.com): new, stylish and comfortable 4-star hotel overlooking Newcastle railway station. How strenuous? This tour would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and who cannot stand for long periods of time. Some of the terrain is cobbled and hilly. Average distance by coach per day: 64 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with At home at Belvoir Castle, 30 June–3 July 2017 (p.24); In Churchill’s Footsteps, 21–24 September 2017 (p.35). Illustration: Anglo-Saxon illuminated letter, engraving c. 1860.

Yorkshire Churches & Cathedrals Abbeys, cathedrals & parish churches ENglANd

31 July–5 August 2017 (md 440) 6 days • £1,530 Lecturer: Dr Jana Gajdosova Short but comprehensive survey of mediaeval ecclesiastical building in Yorkshire. Based in York throughout. Monastic ruins across the North Yorkshire Moors at Lastingham, Rievaulx and Byland. Famed for its Cistercian ruins and the quality and virtuosity of its fourteenth-century architecture, Yorkshire boasts the richest collection of mediaeval churches to survive in northern England. Unusually, it is also an area where one might pick out examples from every important phase of church building in mediaeval northern England – from the early Anglo-Saxon crypt surviving from Wilfrid’s Ripon to Marmaduke Huby’s magnificent early sixteenth-century tower at Fountains Abbey. That said, the tour develops around two overlapping themes. The first is monasticism, or at least the type of monasticism that was reestablished in northern England, at Lastingham and St Mary’s York, following the Norman Conquest. This monasticism took a dramatic turn in the twelft h century with the establishment of the great Cistercian houses of Yorkshire. We visit the three most significant abbeys, Rievaulx, Byland and Fountains. The second tour theme is aesthetic and concerned with the type of architecture that developed in the later Middle Ages. As with much of eastern England, Yorkshire experienced a large-scale rebuilding during the period c. 1290–c. 1420, the greatest evidence for which is to be found in the churches of York, Beverley, Howden and Selby. Distinctive approaches to the ‘Decorated’ interior are a great feature of Yorkshire churches, immeasurably enhanced by the survival of considerable quantities of stained glass. Good examples of glass are encountered in profusion at York Minster and survive in a number of the smaller parish churches. Time is allowed for indepth study of York Minster, and to visit other sites in the city.

Itinerary

Day 2: Lastingham, Rievaulx, Byland. Venture up into the North Yorkshire Moors to Lastingham, and an exquisitely sited small monastery with a tiny early Romanesque crypt. In Rievaulx, see the major Cistercian monastery whose choir still rises majestically above the River Rye. The second of the day’s Cistercian ruins, in Byland, has enthralling remnants of an early Gothic choir and west front. Day 3: Howden, Selby. Howden is an important late thirteenth-century collegiate church and Selby, a wonderfully rangy and ramshackle Benedictine abbey church. Free afternoon in York.

Dr Jana Gajdosova. Affiliated lecturer in History of Art at the University of Cambridge. She obtained her MA at the Courtauld Institute, and her Phd at Birkbeck College. Her research interests include late medieval art and architecture, especially in Central Europe, England, germany and Italy. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Day 6: Fountains Abbey. A morning to the west of York at Fountains Abbey, a monastery originally founded by a dissident community of monks from St Mary’s, York. By the Dissolution, it had grown to become the richest Cistercian house in Britain. It is quite simply the greatest of all English mediaeval ruins. The coach returns to York station by 3.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,530. Single occupancy: £1,760. Included meals: 3 dinners with wine.

Day 4: York. As befits a major mediaeval city, York played host to a plethora of monasteries and parish churches over and above its Minster. Three of these form the core of the day. St Mary’s Abbey, whose stunning chapterhouse vestibule and portal have been remounted in the Yorkshire Museum, along with the two most appealing, and revealing, of the city’s parish churches, Holy Trinity, Goodramgate and All Saints, North Street. Day 5: Beverley. Beverley Minster’s magnificent marble-enriched choir acts as a superb foil for the extravagances of the later Middle Ages, see the Percy Tomb, stalls and famously historicising nave. St Mary’s, Beverley, is an ambitious giant of a parish church. Some free time in York.

Accommodation. The Grange Hotel, York (grangehotel.co.uk): 4-star hotel in a converted Regency townhouse a short walk from the Minster. Rooms are elegantly decorated, but some are not large, and some are noisy from passing traffic. There is no lift. Dinners are in the hotel restaurant or at good restaurants within walking distance.

BRITISH ISLES

Day 1: York. The coach leaves at 1.30pm from York railway station for the short drive to York Minster, the pre-eminent church of Yorkshire, and an obvious starting point for any serious tour. We concentrate on the work above ground, addressing the forms and rhythms of transepts, chapter house, nave and choir.

Byland Abbey, watercolour by Gordon Home, publ. 1908.

How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking. You ought to be able to walk at about 3 miles an hour for up to half an hour. There are a lot of steps and uneven surfaces. Average coach travel per day: 33 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Great Houses of the North, 7–16 August 2017 (p.21). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Tudor England Monarchs & subjects, bridging mediaeval & modern ENglANd

6–11 September 2017 (me 518) 6 days • £1,730 Lecturer: Professor Maurice Howard Tudor England studied through a variety of architecture, artefacts and artworks. Dynastic houses and rustic cottages, seats of learning and merchants’ mansions, artisan plasterwork and world-beating stained glass. Accompanied by a leading Tudor specialist, historian and art historian. One day prior to the tour is the option to add a London Day: Tudor London, which studies the Tudors through visits to Westminster Abbey, the National Portrait Gallery and Hampton Court – please contact us to register your interest. The defeat of Richard III by Henry Tudor in a Leicestershire field on August 22 1485, heralded a glorious age over which the Tudor monarchs would preside for the next 118 years. Out of the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses a new social and economic order emerged: an age of discovery, trade and commerce, in which the old mediaeval aristocracy was joined by a prosperous new class of bureaucrats at court and a wealthy merchant class in towns and cities. This tour explores the legacy and interests of the Tudor gentry and nobility through the prism of some of their

finest surviving monuments in the south-eastern counties. Many of them owe their existence to the flourishing wool trade. Under Henry VIII vast estates of the monasteries passed into new hands; housebuilding was now dominant rather than lavish spending on churches. The ambition to demonstrate wealth through these buildings is clear from all levels of society down to even the lesser gentry. Gainsborough Old Hall is one of the largest and most complete brick and timberframed manor houses in England; Ellys Manor House contains rare survivals of sixteenth-century interior decoration; the immense gatehouse at Layer Marney has delicate Renaissance ornament in the form of its windows. The list goes on. The visual arts were complemented by a great flourishing of the musical and literary arts that have made some of the great works of the latesixteenth century stand out as the quintessential products of the Elizabethan age. The achievements of John Caius at Cambridge, manifest in a series of gateways to his college, mark the absorption of new approaches to classical learning into English education, while the great house at Burghley, completed by William Cecil, uses tradition and innovation in design and ornament fit for Elizabeth’s first minister and ready to receive the Queen herself.

Itinerary Day 1: Hatfield. Leave London at 10.15am. Henry VIII’s three children spent much of their childhoods at Hatfield, and of the palace the great hall survives. A collection of Tudor portraits reveals the creation of a dynasty. First of three nights in Rutland. Day 2: Kirby Hall, Burghley House. In taste and ambition these great houses, owned by two of Elizabeth I’s closest and most powerful courtiers, epitomise the standing achieved by the Queen’s favourites. Magnificent Burghley House, perhaps the finest Elizabethan house in England, was built by William Cecil in a palatial compound of mediaeval, classical and pseudo-classical styles. Kirby was completed with precocious classicism by Sir Christopher Hatton; though now partly ruined, it remains extraordinarily impressive. The handsome Cecil funerary monuments are in St Martin’s Church, Stamford.

BRITISH ISLES

Day 3: Gainsborough Old Hall, Ellys Manor. Dating from the mid-15th century, Gainsborough Old Hall played host to Richard III in 1483 before the owner, Sir Thomas Burgh, switched allegiance to Henry Tudor. Sources suggest that Henry VIII may also have spent a night here. In addition to the formal rooms a remarkably intact suite of service interiors has survived. Built by an international wool merchant in the late-15th century, Ellys Manor has continental influences throughout and exceptional 16th-century wall paintings, ‘a rare English interpretation of French verdure tapestries’ (Pevsner). Final night in Rutland.

Cambridge, King’s College Chapel, after a drawing by Herbert Railton in ‘Cambridge & its Story’, 1903. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 4: Cambridge. Though begun in 1446 by Henry VI, King’s College Chapel acquired its present form during the reign of Henry VIII. Combining the very best of Tudor era architecture, stained glass, sculpture and furnishings, this is one of the world’s greatest buildings. The three

splendid gateways created in the 1550s–70s at Gonville & Caius College are remarkable for their Renaissance design and symbolism. Trinity was founded by Henry VIII in 1546; the university’s largest and wealthiest college was endowed with land from dissolved monasteries. (Visits on this day are subject to change as Cambridge colleges may close to the public at short notice). First of two nights in Lavenham. Day 5: Coggeshall, Paycocke’s House, Layer Marney. The village of Coggeshall, Essex, has many fine Tudor buildings of which Paycocke’s House (1509–10) is the most impressive; fine beam-work, panelling and other rare survivals. The abbey was granted to Sir Thomas Seymour, brother to Jane, by Henry VIII, and the 16thcentury manor house incorporates elements of the monastic complex. Had it been completed, Layer Marney would have rivalled Hampton Court in splendour. The spectacular Tudor gatehouse with its Italianate decoration is the tallest in England. Henry VIII and Elizabeth both visited. Day 6: Otley Hall. Beautiful, moated Otley Hall was the seat of Bartholomew Gosnold, who rallied support to plant an English colony in north Virginia; in 1602 he landed on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, named after his deceased daughter. Set in 10 acres of gardens, Otley’s exterior has splendid chimneys, brickwork and vine leaf pargetting. Inside, wall paintings commemorate a marriage of 1559, and the Great Hall and Linenfold Parlour are unequalled in Suffolk. The tour finishes at Ipswich Railway Station by 1.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,730. Single occupancy: £1,980. Included meals: 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Barnsdale Lodge Hotel, Rutland (barnsdalelodge.co.uk): housed in an extended old farmhouse close to Rutland Water. Public rooms and bedrooms are arranged around a courtyard and have a traditional, country décor. The Swan, Lavenham (theswanatlavenham. co.uk): dating from the 15th century, The Swan has been an inn since 1667; rooms have been recently renovated yet retain their historical character; excellent restaurant. How strenuous? Unavoidably, there is quite a lot of walking on this tour. Coaches can rarely park near the houses, many of the parks and gardens are extensive and the houses visited don’t have lifts. Average distance by coach per day: c. 77 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with The Age of Bede, 16–19 September 2017 (p.18).

The English Civil War 2017 • Dates to be confirmed Please contact us to register your interest

Great Houses of the North derbyshire, Yorkshire, Co. durham, Northumberland

The finest country houses and gardens in northern England, from mediaeval to Victorian, with an emphasis on the eighteenth century. All aspects of the country house are studied – architecture, furniture, decoration, works of art; gardens and parks; historical context and daily life; conservation and custodianship. Unrushed: there is plenty of time to rest, relax and absorb. Only two hotel changes. Some of the most glorious countryside in England, plus a few items other than houses. Excellent hotels and good food. The country house is Britain’s most distinctive contribution to the world’s cultural heritage. Other countries have them of course, but none in such profusion, such variety, and in such a state of completion and preservation. Cutting a swathe through the northern half of England, from Derbyshire to Northumberland, this tour includes a remarkable number of the greatest and grandest. One feature of the English country house is that it usually resides in the country; on the Continent the town often presses around the forecourt. And the countryside in England is among the loveliest in the world, and the most varied; on this tour you pass by gently rolling farmland with green fields, ancient hedges, majestic trees and contented livestock, and by the rugged beauty of upland moors. All aspects of the country house are studied – architecture, furniture, decoration, works of art; gardens and parks; historical context and daily life; conservation and custodianship. Many of the houses have marvellous gardens. The leisurely pace is a feature, with an average of two houses per day and the inclusion of a few visits other than country houses. There is time for relaxing, reflecting and exploring on one’s own. Special arrangements comprise another significant feature with many out-of-hours openings and access to parts not normally seen by visitors.

Itinerary

Day 2: Chatsworth, Haddon (Derbys). The home of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth House was rebuilt in the 1690s with the scale and sumptuousness of a palace and further augmented in the 1820s. The steady acquisition of fine furniture, sculpture and pictures created one of

Day 3: Hardwick, Bolsover (Derbys). Hardwick Hall (1590) is the finest of all Elizabethan great houses, a highpoint of the English Renaissance, the façade famously more glass than stone. The unaltered interiors are decorated with stucco reliefs and fi lled with contemporary textiles and furniture. Bolsover Castle is an elaborate Jacobean folly, a splendid late-Renaissance sequence of rooms in mediaeval fancy dress. Day 4: Harewood (W Yorks). Harewood House is one of the grandest and most beautiful of English country houses, architecture by John Carr (1772) and Charles Barry (1843), interiors by Adam, furniture by Chippendale, park by ‘Capability’ Brown; excellent paintings, Italian Renaissance to modern. First of three nights in York. Day 5: Burton Agnes (E Yorks), Castle Howard (N Yorks). Burton Agnes Hall is a final flourish of the Elizabethan age, red brick and cream stone, topiary, marvellous carving and plasterwork, Impressionist and modern paintings: ‘the perfect English house’. Designed by John Vanbrugh in 1699, Castle Howard is one of the few major Baroque buildings in England and the most palatial house on the tour. Excellent works of art and park with famous temples and follies. Day 6: Newby, York (N Yorks). A William-andMary house (1693), Newby Hall was subject for the next two centuries to refurbishment and extension of the highest quality, one set of rooms (by Adam) designed to house a collection of Roman sculpture. 25 acres of fine gardens. Free time in York. Private dinner at Fairfax House in York, a Georgian town house (to be confirmed January 2017).

(1869–84) designed by Norman Shaw for William Armstrong, inventor and manufacturer. Day 10: Alnwick (Nthumb), Newcastle. Since 1309 the seat of the Percys, Dukes of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle externally remains a striking mediaeval fortress while the interiors are a lavish exercise in Victorian mediaevalism. There is a superb painting collection and a new 12-acre garden. The coach takes you to Newcastle railway station by 3.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,240. Single occupancy: £3,630. National Trust: members (with cards) will be refunded c. £43. Included meals: 7 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Cavendish Hotel, near Chatsworth (cavendish-hotel.net): located on the Chatsworth Estate it has been an inn for centuries. The Grange, York (grangehotel.co.uk): 10 minutes on foot from the Minster; beautifully converted from a Georgian town house. Jesmond Dene House, Newcastle (jesmonddenehouse.co.uk): 19th-century mansion in a quiet wooded suburb. How strenuous? Unavoidably there is quite a lot of walking. Coaches can rarely park near houses, many of the parks and gardens are extensive, the houses visited don’t have lifts (nor do all the hotels). Average coach travel per day: c. 60 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Yorkshire Churches & Cathedrals, 31 July–5 August 2017 (p.19).

Day 7: Raby, Bowes Museum, Auckland (Co. Durham). Within the formidable 14th-century fortifications of Raby Castle are suites of rooms of the 18th and 19th centuries. There are good paintings, furniture and Meissen animals and a deer park. Excellent art collections in a vast building in the guise of a French château make the Bowes Museum one of the surprises of the north. Grandest of English episcopal palaces, Auckland Castle was refitted in Neo-Gothic style and contains 12 superb paintings by Zurbarán. First of three nights in Newcastle.

BRITISH ISLES

Day 1: Kedleston (Derbys). The coach leaves Derby railway station at 1.45pm. One of the supreme monuments of Classical architecture and decoration in England, recreating the glories of Ancient Rome in the foothills of the Peak District, Kedleston Hall (1759–65) was the creation of Sir Nathaniel Curzon and, initially, three architects, of whom Robert Adam emerged the victor. The sequence of grand rooms for entertainment and show are homogeneous and complete (with furnishings designed by Adam), an impeccable manifestation of aristocratic wealth, education and taste. First of three nights near Chatsworth.

the finest private art collections in the world. ‘The most perfect English house to survive from the Middle Ages’, Haddon Hall evolved from c. 1370 to the 17th century after which nearly 300 years of disuse preserved it from alteration. The gardens are exceptionally lovely.

Day 8: Belsay, Wallington (Nthumb). After Sir Charles Monck’s return from Greece in 1805 he built Belsay Hall in a severely Grecian style. Delightful woodland gardens lead to a mediaeval castle. Wallington Hall dates to 1688 but was refurbished in the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries, the latter resulting in an arcaded twostorey hall with scenes of Northumbrian history painted by William Bell Scott. Day 9: Seaton Delaval, Cragside (Nthumb). On a cliff-top site outside Newcastle, Seaton Delaval was the last of Vanbrugh’s magnificent mansions. Innovatory management has followed its acquisition by the National Trust in 2009. A wonderful sequence of late-Victorian taste and technology, Cragside is a romantic Tudor-style pile

ENglANd

7–16 August 2017 (md 450) 10 days • £3,240 Lecturer: Gail Bent

Haddon Hall, watercolour by Ernest W. Haslehurst, publ. 1910. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Country Houses of Kent Mediaeval, Tudor, Stuart & more england

“These tours enable me to learn, do and experience more than I could ever hope to do as an independent traveller and I can see the thought and care that has gone into preparing a varied and interesting itinerary.” had become a decrepit farm by the time William Waldorf Astor applied his fortune to its renovation. Now it has sumptuous interiors, outstanding tapestries, Tudor portraits and a mock-Tudor village for guests. For Nikolaus Pevsner, ‘there is no finer or more complete 14th-century manor house than Penshurst Place’. The ancestral home of the Sidney family has fine furniture, porcelain, needlework, armour and portraits. The garden was restored in the 1860s to its appearance around 1700.

4–8 September 2017 (me 534) 5 days • £1,440 Lecturer: Anthony Lambert A wonderfully varied selection of country houses and their gardens in a single county. Inhabited mediaeval castles, Tudor palaces and Stuart manor houses, properties improved in the last great age of country house building. Among the special arrangements are two dinners and a lunch in houses visited.

BRITISH ISLES 22

in the case of Astor’s enlargement of Hever, and the collections reflect both the acquisitions of families over many centuries and the application of great wealth to the quick assembly of items to populate an empty house. In this selection, there is an above average rate of properties rescued, restored and furnished by Americans both wealthy and discerning. Visits to the smaller houses benefit from private tours, allowing a fuller appreciation of the work required to maintain and sustain a country house in the twenty-first century.

One hotel throughout, a characterful 17th-century country house in 22 acres of parkland.

Itinerary

Led by country house writer Anthony Lambert.

Day 1: St Clere. Leave central London by coach at 11.15am. St Clere, influenced by Inigo Jones, though with two rather anomalous Jacobean octagonal turrets, was built 1628–33 for the Parliamentarian Sir John Sedley. It has been in the current family since 1878 when acquired by the Governor of the Bank of England. We begin with lunch before a tour of the house and garden providing insight into the challenge of making a country house earn its keep. Dinner at the hotel.

The county known for centuries as the ‘Garden of England’ for its orchards, hops and oast houses still boasts remarkably unspoilt landscapes and villages, despite its proximity to London and the transport links to south-east ports. That closeness to the metropolis lay behind the creation of most of them, being built by courtiers who needed to be within a day or two’s ride to the capital. Some played a part in affairs of state at the highest level: the woman indirectly responsible for the creation of the Church of England lived at Hever Castle, where Henry VIII’s frequently unannounced visits placed an almost insupportable burden on Anne Boleyn’s mother. Knole was decorated with the cast-offs from royal palaces as a perquisite of office, helping to fill its reputed 365 rooms. At the other end of the scale are the elegant but more modestly sized houses built and enlarged by men with the proceeds of merchant adventuring, finance or trade. Chilham Castle was built by Sir Dudley Digges who had early links with Virginia and Canada, and St Clere and Squerryes were owned by men who became Governors of the Bank of England. The date of buildings ranges from twelfthcentury Leeds Castle to the twentieth century book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 2: Knole, Ightham Mote, Allington Castle. Knole sprawls around half-a-dozen courtyards. Built by an Archbishop of Canterbury, it was briefly one of Henry VIII’s palaces before being granted to the Sackville family who have lived here ever since. Restoration work means that only a few rooms are seen in 2017. One of England’s most picturesque moated mediaeval manor houses, the rooms of Ightham Mote range from the Great Hall with 16th-century stained glass to the drawing room with 18th-century Chinese wallpaper. Return to the hotel mid-afternoon for a couple of hours before setting off for dinner at Allington Castle, still moated and still largely mediaeval though restored for habitation in the early 20th century. Day 3: Hever Castle, Penshurst Place. The castle where Henry VIII wooed Anne Boleyn

Day 4: Leeds Castle, Squerryes Court. One of Britain’s most idyllically sited houses was the strategic fortress of mediaeval queens, and palatial enough to host the Holy Roman Emperor. The Anglo-American heiress Olive, Lady Baillie, employed French designers to decorate the castle, introducing Flemish tapestries and Impressionist paintings. In the late afternoon we visit Squerryes Court, and stay for dinner. This fine brickwork William and Mary mansion contains artworks collected by the family since 1731. The estate produces wine, and there is a visit to the vineyard. Day 5: Chilham Castle. The foundations of Chilham date from the 11th century, while the red-brick Jacobean house now on the site has the peculiar plan of five sides of a hexagon. The private tour visits the garden as well as the principal rooms. There is some free time in the highly attractive village before returning to central London by 4.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,440. Single occupancy: £1,670. Included meals: 3 dinners and 1 lunch, with wine. Accommodation. Chilston Park Hotel, Lenham (handpickedhotels.co.uk/chilstonpark): an extended 17th-century manor house set in 22 acres of parkland. Each bedroom is decorated in an individual style; public rooms have an elegant, country house ambiance. How strenuous? Unavoidably, there is quite a lot of walking on this tour. It would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Coaches can rarely park near the houses, many of the parks and gardens are extensive and the houses visited don’t have lifts. Average distance by coach per day: c. 80 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Walking in the Cotswolds, 11–18 September 2017 (p.27).

Above left: Knole House, wood engraving c. 1880.

At home at Weston Park Historic houses in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Shropshire

Stay in a 16th-century coaching inn and then as guests at Weston Park, a 17th-century house set in 1,000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown landscape. Country houses, gardens and parks in four counties in the West of England. Important examples of a range of styles from the twelfth to twentieth centuries, many with fine pictures, furniture, silver and porcelain. Special arrangements and out-of-hours visits.

Day 3: Ragley Hall, Hanbury Hall. Of several great houses designed by the scientist and architect Robert Hooke, Ragley is the sole survivor, though it was not completed until long after his death with additions by James Gibbs and James Wyatt. There are good paintings, ceramics and furniture and a modern sculpture park. Described as ‘every Englishman’s idea of a substantial squire’s red brick home of the age of Wren’, Hanbury was built c. 1700 and decorated with wall- and ceilingpaintings by Sir James Thornhill. The garden and orangery were designed by George London. First of three nights at Weston Park. Day 4: Weston Park. Today is spent at Weston Park with its curator Gareth Williams. The basically 17th-cent. house has an excellent picture collection, outstanding furniture, including choice pieces by Chippendale, and good ceramics. An in-depth tour includes items not usually on display. There is time also to explore at leisure and walk in the ‘Capability’ Brown park. Overnight Weston Park. Day 5: Wightwick Manor, Shugborough. Wightwick Manor is one of the finest examples of the Victorian penchant for an ‘Old English’ amalgam of stone, brick, half-timbering and tile-hanging, but it is also distinguished by its collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings and

William Morris furnishings. Shugborough has all the elements of a substantial country estate: a magnificent Georgian house with a fine collection of paintings, silver and ceramics; Grade I-listed parkland peppered with classical monuments; a working model farm; and a lively family history. Overnight Weston Park. Day 6: Attingham Park. Set in parkland designed by Humphry Repton, Attingham has magnificent Regency interiors and one of the first picture galleries to be built in a country house. It is fi lled with the collection of Italian furniture, paintings and silver formed by the diplomatist 3rd Lord Berwick. The tour ends at Shrewsbury Railway Station by 3.20pm and at Wolverhampton Railway Station by 4.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,880. Single occupancy: £3,020. Included meals: 3 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. The Lygon Arms, Broadway (thehotelcollection.co.uk): 16th-century coaching inn in the high street; some parts date to the 14th century. Weston Park, Weston-underLizard (weston-park.com): set in 1,000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown parkland. A country house, rather than a hotel, offering the experience of being a guest while the family is away. How strenuous? Unavoidably, there is quite a lot of walking on this tour. Coaches can rarely park near the houses, many of the parks and gardens are extensive and the houses visited don’t have lifts. Average distance by coach per day: c. 47 miles. Group size: between 12 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Walking Hadrian’s Wall, 8–14 May 2017 (p.31).

BRITISH ISLES

Along the Welsh borders are some of the most enchanting landscapes in Britain, largely unspoilt thanks to being beyond the reach of metropolitan commuters. Its agriculture remains small in scale, family farms and artisan food producers maintaining earlier field systems with hedges and an abundance of trees. The houses visited illustrate the evolution of taste over many centuries. Hellens perfectly demonstrates the adaptation of a small monastery into one of Britain’s most atmospheric houses, deeply rural yet playing its part in national affairs. Ragley is the only surviving example of a country house designed by the polymath Robert Hooke, colleague of Sir Christopher Wren. Classicism shaped Hanbury, Shugborough and Attingham. Eastnor combines Norman and Gothic Revival elements while Madresfield’s many reconstructions have produced a house resembling a moated Elizabethan mansion but, like Wightwick, it is celebrated for its Arts & Crafts interiors. Important parks surround some of the houses: Weston Park has one of the few remaining ‘Capability’ Brown pleasure grounds, several are by Repton and the magnificent group of mostly Greek-inspired monuments in the park at Shugborough is a landmark in 18th-century architecture. A very special feature of this tour is that participants stay for three of the five nights in one of these houses. Weston is basically a late seventeenth-century mansion fi lled with fine paintings – Holbein, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Stubbs – and furniture and other arts. Formerly the property of the Earls of Bradford, it belongs to a private charitable trust. It is not a hotel, but caters for high-end special events. Our group has exclusive access, and while there this great country house is your home. You are free to wander through the house and grounds at leisure.

lived in ever since by his descendants. Edward the Black Prince dined in the stone-flagged hall and the Tudor, Jacobean and Stuart additions contain paintings and heirlooms from the Civil War, fine 17th-century woodwork and Cordoba leather wall hangings. The novelist Evelyn Waugh was a frequent guest at Madresfield, where the oldest part is the 12th-cent. Great Hall. Rebuilt in the 16th, 19th and 20th cents., the house is famous for its Arts & Crafts chapel and library. Overnight Broadway.

Itinerary Day 1: Eastnor Castle. The coach leaves Gloucester Railway Station at 12.00noon. Spectacularly situated above a lake, early-19thcentury Eastnor is a splendid example of the Norman and Gothic revival, with a drawing room by Pugin. The sumptuous and beautifully restored interiors are hung with paintings by Van Dyck, Reynolds, Romney and Watts. First of two nights in Broadway. Day 2: Hellens, Madresfield Court. Transformed from a monastery into a fortress in 1292 by Mortimer, Earl of March, Hellens has been

ENglANd

16–21 May 2017 (md 311) 6 days • £2,880 Lecturer: Anthony Lambert

Eastnor Castle, chromolithograph c. 1880. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

At home at Belvoir Castle A weekend at one of England’s great stately homes england

“What distinguishes Martin Randall from other tour operators is the participants it attracts; always congenial.” Itinerary Day 1, history and house. Transport is arranged from Grantham Station, and parking is available at the Castle. The weekend begins with a reception at 12.30pm, followed by a picnic lunch in the Rose Garden. In the afternoon, there is a talk on the history of the Castle and its owners by the archivist. Tours of the main rooms with the head guide follow. A talk by the recently retired butler precedes dinner in the Old Servants’ Kitchen, and drinks are served after dinner in the Private Library.

30 June–3 July 2017 (md 380) 4 days • from £1,860 to £2,960 Tour manager: Anthony Lambert A truly exceptional experience, staying as guests in one of the most spectacular stately homes in England. Your host is the Duchess of Rutland, your accommodation is Belvoir Castle – absolutely not a hotel but a (rather grand) family home. Dinners in different rooms in the Castle, picnics in the park. Talks and tours with estate staff and the Duchess focusing both on history and contents and on the management of the estates today. Private visits to two nearby country houses.

BRITISH ISLES 24

Belvoir Castle presents to the approaching traveller a sight as dramatic as any country house in England. Towers and turrets and bastions rise from the top of a hill which dominates the otherwise rolling lowlands of rural Leicestershire. The home straight – a challenging haul before motorised transport – confirms the vastness of the edifice, the variety of its massing, and the regal scale of its windows and ornaments. In fact it is not a castle proper, though the first of four dwellings on the site was, built by William the Conqueror’s standard bearer at Hastings (hence it’s name, now pronounced ‘beever’). The Manners family arrived in the sixteenth century, and this martial heritage was acknowledged during rebuilding at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The exterior is more picturesque than defensive, and the interiors are a mix of splendid Gothic Revival and lavish late Georgian, with a strong flavour of ancien régime France. book online at www.martinrandall.com

For three nights you live here as guests. Your hostess is Emma, Duchess of Rutland, who has made a name for herself for the energy, imagination and business sense she has brought to the management of a great estate and the maintenance of a stately home. Quite a lot of the weekend is devoted to learning about the business of running an aristocratic estate of 8,000 acres. Keeping the roofs in order – all two acres of them – and maintaining and restoring the rooms below is possible only through enlightened exploitation of the estate and its resources. You will hear about this and more from the butler, the master of the foxhounds, the head gardener, the archivist and others who work here. Bedrooms range from the very comfortable and beautifully designed (the Duchess was a professional decorator) to a vast three-room suite got up to accord with the taste of George IV when he came to stay. Some have absurdly high gilded stucco ceilings, 200-year-old Chinese wall paper and antique four-poster beds with ostrich feather finials. All have an abundance of fine furniture, pictures, books and odd objets. Many have stunning views. Emphatically, this is not a hotel. There are hairdryers, dressing gowns, excellent toiletries, drinks and tea & coffee making facilities, but there are no televisions, wifi is weak to non-existent, there is no air-conditioning, no lift, no safe and no receptionist (though there are staff around). And in true country house style, while every room has exclusive use of a bathroom, most are across the corridor. Please regard these absences as advantages, an aspect of authenticity which is a feature of the weekend. As the Duchess and estate employees are giving talks and tours, we are not supplying a lecturer – uniquely for our tours. There is, however, an MRTappointed tour manager, and it so happens that he is a distinguished country-house expert.

Day 2, park and estate. A visit to the archivist features the recently discovered Capability Brown proposals for the park – which are being implemented now; a drive through the park with the head gardener shows the progress. Lunch is in a lakeside dell. In the afternoon there is a demonstration of hawking and a tour of the estate with a commentary on estate management. Dinner is in the Steward’s Room. Day 3, Doddington, gala dinner. Morning excursion to Doddington Hall, a fine but very different country house, basically Elizabethan though most interiors date to the 1760s. Textiles, ceramics, furniture, pictures and gardens. Back at Belvoir, afternoon tea is followed by a talk by the Duchess on country house weekends through the centuries. The gala dinner takes place in the State Dining Room. Day 4: Grimsthorpe. Visit Grimsthorpe Castle. Like Belvoir, it began as a mediaeval fortress, but successive rebuilding culminated in the monumental Baroque architecture begun in 1715 by Sir John Vanbrugh. The coach arrives at Grantham Station around 3.00pm and finishes at Belvoir shortly after.

Practicalities Price, per person: there are six price bands, from £1,860 to £2,960 (two sharing), with two rooms allocated for single occupancy, £2,160 or £2,490. Descriptions of the rooms and prices are on our website; alternatively, ask us to post you the details. All meals are included, from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 4. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking and stair climbing is involved. Group size: between 16 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Connoisseur’s London, 25–29 June 2017 (p.36); At home at Ardgowan, 6–11 July 2017 (p.42). Illustration: Belvoir Castle, guard room and grand staircase, wood engraving from ‘Historic Houses of the United Kingdom’, 1892.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Walking to Cornish Houses landscapes & history between Fowey & Padstow

20–26 September 2017 (me 533) 7 days • £2,070 Lecturer: Dr Paul Atterbury Five walks of up to 6½ miles through delightful Cornish countryside followed by visits to country houses. A mixture of grand and smaller country houses and gardens, many visited by special arrangement. Stay in Fowey and Padstow, among the most vibrant and picturesque Cornish seaside towns, with charming hotels and modern British food.

Day 2: Fowey, Lanhydrock. Topped and tailed with ferry crossings, this moderate to strenuous walk begins with the splendid cliffs of Lantic Bay and continues with undulating farmland, the soaring mediaeval parish church at Lanteglosby-Fowey, a secluded wooded river valley and views across the estuary to Fowey. 6½ miles. In the afternoon walk 1 mile through woodland to Lanhydrock House. A fine Jacobean mansion surrounded by gardens, park and landscape, the opulent interiors display the entire spectrum of life in a top-end Victorian household. Day 3: Caerhays Castle, Trewithen. 3-mile coastal cliffs and woodland walk to Caerhays Castle, with some steep ascents and descents, short stony sections and a long, stepped descent at the end (130 steps). There is a guided tour with the head gardener of this Grade II* listed estate. Return to Fowey for the afternoon to explore the port and town, whose literary associations include Daphne du Maurier. Day 4: Trerice to Padstow. Cross the peninsular towards the north coast, breaking the journey for a short walk and to visit Trerice, an Elizabethan manor house. In the afternoon there is a 5-mile coastal walk, before continuing to Padstow, a picturesque fishing port that has long attracted visitors, the allure recently enhanced by Rick Stein’s restaurants. First of three nights in Padstow. Day 5: the Camel Trail, Pencarrow. Drive to begin walking a 4-mile section of the level Camel Trail. After lunch drive to Pencarrow, the home of the Molesworth-St Aubyn family for 500 years; the current house is Georgian, delightful inside and out and with fine gardens. Return to Padstow for some free time. Day 6: St Enodoc’s Church, Rock. Drive out to Polzeath before a 3-mile walk across Daymer

Bay to Rock; John Betjeman is buried in the tiny church at Trebetherick. Return by passenger ferry from Rock to Padstow. Visit St Petroc’s Church and Prideaux Place, a gorgeous manor house, Elizabethan and Strawberry-Hill Gothic, still a private home (visit subject to confirmation). Day 7: Tremanton Castle. Set high on a hill, Tremanton Castle has spectacular views eastwards towards Plymouth. It dates back at least to the Domesday Book, and has been in the hands of the Duchy of Cornwall since the 14th century. The coach returns to Plymouth train station by 3.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,070. Single occupancy: £2,460. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Fowey Hall (foweyhallhotel. co.uk): late Victorian mansion, set above the town centre with extensive estuary views from the grounds. Elegant public rooms compliment the comfortable bedrooms; rooms with a view are allocated on a first come, first-served basis. In Padstow we occupy the rooms above Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant (rickstein.com): rooms vary in size and outlook, but throughout decor is fresh and modern and the service is excellent. How strenuous? This tour should only be considered by those who are used to regular country walking, with some uphill content; some steep rises and falls are unavoidable, and walking sticks are recommended. Strong knees and ankles are essential, as are a pair of well-worn hiking boots with good ankle support. There are five walks of between 1 and 6½ miles. Average distance by coach per day: 43 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Walking Hadrian’s Wall, 8–14 May 2017 (p.31); Walking in the Cotswolds, 11–18 September 2017 (p.27).

BRITISH ISLES

‘Cornwall is a land beyond England’, in Simon Jenkins’s happily ambiguous phrase. First, prosaically, it protrudes: with a coastal path of 300 miles and with no village more than 16 miles from the sea, the Cornish peninsula extends mainland England far to the south and west. Second, in some less definable way, it feels palpably distinct. Much of the landscape and streetscape is unmistakably and intensely English, but equally unmistakable is a pervasive all-enveloping Cornishness. The physical reality of slate and granite gave rise to tough economic realities; except at the height of the Industrial Revolution, Cornwall has usually been among the least prosperous parts of the country, mining and fishing and marginal farming providing hard ways to earn a living. Redolent of struggle and privation, the county provides a less luxuriant version of the traditional English scene – reminiscent in many ways of the England of a generation or two ago. There are moorland and coastal landscapes of rugged beauty, but also vistas of heart-stopping charm. There are dramatic cliffs, becalmed valleys with patchwork emerald fields, fecund gardens in sub-tropical microclimates, dour yet impossibly pretty fishing villages, architectural gems among country mansions, and proud little towns. The added charm of these walks is that at the end of each one is a country house or garden of distinction. We have chosen a selection based on their proximity to first-class countryside or coastal landscapes, but also to offer a variety of architectural periods and styles. Many are still privately owned and open to us by prior appointment or outside usual opening hours. The tour stays in Fowey and Padstow, both bustling holiday destinations in the summer months, but which exude a quieter charm and sense of purpose in the spring and autumn seasons. They are also both home to restaurants building their reputations on locally sourced and well-cooked British food.

now decorated with Robert Lenkiewicz’s mural The Condition of Man. Visit St German’s Priory, once the bishop’s seat for Cornwall. Continue to Fowey for the first of three nights.

ENglANd

17–23 May 2017 (md 303) 7 days • £2,070 Lecturer: Dr Paul Atterbury

Itinerary Day 1: St Germans, Port Eliot. The tour starts at Plymouth railway station at 1.00pm. Drive to the picturesque village of St Germans from where we begin a 1½-mile walk to Port Eliot, a Grade I listed house, substantially remodelled in the 18th-century, in part by Sir John Soane; the Round Room here is considered one of his masterpieces,

Padstow, Place House, steel engraving 1832. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Walking to Derbyshire Houses Magnificent countryside & great country houses ENglANd

3–8 July 2017 (md 384) 6 days • £2,130 Lecturer: Dr Paul Atterbury Daily walks over hills, dales and landscaped parks followed by visits to country houses. A mixture of grand stately homes and smaller mansions: Kedleston, Haddon, Tissington, Chatsworth, Sudbury and Hardwick. Stay throughout in a comfortable hotel on the Chatsworth Estate. One of the joys of a walk in the English countryside is glimpsing a great house in the distance. At first just dimly perceived chimneys and roofs, the rest screened by trees, but as the walk continues more is revealed, and beauty beckons. But after further progress along the path, foliage and land mass reassert themselves and the mansion passes from sight. Unless the house is the goal of the walk. Then it continues to grow in size, in detail, in magnificence, until one is examining it from the front lawn. Maybe next one mounts the steps and passes over the threshold; or peel away for refreshments or lunch – on this tour the more frequent course, given that arrival follows a country walk of an hour or two, or three. This tour includes some of the greatest houses in the country, outstanding representatives of their period, laden with treasures – Haddon, Hardwick, Chatsworth, Sudbury and Kedleston. Tissington also features, for contrast but also for its intrinsic delight. Famously, the Peak District offers wonderful walking country, and all but one of our walks are within the boundaries of this, the oldest National Park in Britain. Most consists of rumpled hills and their covering of little green fields, dry stone walls, deciduous trees and a dense population of cattle and sheep. There are only occasional hints of moorland.

Landscaped parks are another feature, with their carefully composed arboreal clumps syncopated with grassy hillsides, serpentine lakes and grand avenues. River valleys provide another pleasure. Romantic poets delighted in Dovedale, for over two hundred years one of the most famous walks in the world. Wordsworth explored the valley as a young man and crystallised his recollections many years later in The Prelude: ‘In summer, making quest for works of art, / Or scenes renowned for beauty, I explored / That streamlet whose blue current works its way / Between romantic Dovedale’s spiry rocks’.

Itinerary Day 1: Derby, Kedleston Hall, Baslow. Leave Derby Station at 12.30pm for the 20-minute drive to Kedleston. Starting at the Doric gateway to the estate, walk through meadows, woodland and the ‘Capability’ Brown park to one of the supreme monuments of Classical architecture and decoration in England (40 minutes, cumulative elevation gain 15 metres). Inside and out Kedleston Hall has hardly changed since the 1760s. Continue to Baslow where all five nights are spent. Day 2: Bakewell, Haddon Hall. Drive to the lovely historic town of Bakewell. Walk out into fields and gradually up through farmland to the village of Over Haddon (c. 55/60 mins, elevation gain 125m). After refreshments, descend through fields, gently at first, with views of the hillsides beyond the Wye and Lathkill Valleys, with tantalising glimpses of Haddon Hall in the valley (60/70 mins). Late mediaeval and Tudor, and with exquisite terraced gardens, Haddon Hall is for some the most arrestingly beautiful and atmospheric house in England. Return to Baslow by coach. Day 3: Tissington, Parwich. Sir Richard FitzHerbert gives commentary during a walk through his estate (1½ hours, negligible elevation gain). The landscape is enchanting, quintessential

Derbyshire, the hills gentle, trees plentiful, fields bounded by hedges or stone walls. Tissington is an extraordinarily pretty village, and the largely Jacobean Hall is a delight; Georgian interiors, family documents and terraced gardens. After lunch and time in the village there is a walk along an enchanting rural route to the village of Parwich (1 hour, elevation gain 50m). Day 4: Chatsworth House. Walk for half an hour from the hotel along the valley to Chatsworth House. Dating largely from around 1700 and the 1840s, Chatsworth is not only one of the grandest country houses in Britain but also an extraordinary treasure-house of art and furnishings, brilliantly presented as refurbishment continues. A tour in the morning is followed by about three hours of free time, to revisit the house and to explore the gardens. Leave for an afternoon walk (75 mins, elevation gain 105m) past an inhabited Elizabethan tower back to the hotel. Day 5: Dovedale, Sudbury Hall. The River Dove has carved a spectacular limestone gorge which has delighted walkers for generations. Our route leads up Hall Dale and out into the open countryside where livestock graze and the views stretch for miles across Ilam and the Manifold Valley. The 3-hour (with stops) walk shows all the diversity of the White Peak (6.2 miles, elevation gain 170m). Rebuilt in the 17th century, Sudbury Hall features an English-made, richly decorated Great Staircase. It is now owned by the National Trust and houses the Museum of Childhood. Day 6: Hardwick Hall. The final walk is another which begins at the edge of an estate and winds through varied terrain to reach the house, which sits atop a high scarp. It includes two magnificent avenues and a woodland walk laid out by Lady Spencer, mother of Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire. (1½ hours, elevation gain 90m). Built in the 1590s by the richest woman in England, Hardwick Hall ranks among the greatest Elizabethan architecture and most memorable interiors. Return to Derby station by 5.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,130. Single occupancy: £2,310. Included meals: 2 lunches, 3 dinners with wine.

BRITISH ISLES

Accommodation. The Cavendish Hotel, near Chatsworth (cavendish-hotel.net): located on the Chatsworth Estate, it has been an inn for centuries. All bedrooms have good views and elegant décor with original artwork.

How strenuous? This is a walking tour, with 8–10 country walks (two could be omitted) of between 40 minutes and 3 hours. Two are on fairly level terrain but some are moderately strenuous with cumulative elevation gain of up to 170m. You must be used to regular country walking with significant uphill element (see the itinerary for cumulative elevation gain). A feature of the Peak District are squeeze stiles, gaps in drystone walls too narrow for livestock. Some step stiles require walkers to raise the foot as high as their knee. Participants require fitness, stamina and agility. Chatsworth House, engraving from ‘The English Provinces’, 1888. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Walking in the Cotswolds Gardens, manor houses & fine parish churches england

11–18 September 2017 (me 527) 8 days • £2,440 Lecturer: Dr Steven Blake Six walks through some of the loveliest countryside in the world with stops to enjoy buildings and landscape features. A carefully selected itinerary which favours the lesser-visited and less accessible places over some of the more touristy ones. Several outstanding gardens are a feature, as are manor houses and a handful of the finest parish churches in the country. Stay in a former 17th-century coaching inn. Dr Steven Blake leads, a historian specialising in the history of Gloucestershire.

Itinerary Day 1: Coln Valley. The tour starts at Cheltenham Spa railway station at 2.00pm. Leaving luggage on the coach, walk for five miles following the path of the River Coln, past the picturesque villages of Coln St Dennis, Coln Rogers and Winson. Approach Bibury and the hotel on foot, passing Arlington Row, the renowned terrace of cottages that led William Morris to refer to Bibury as the most beautiful village in England. Day 2: north Cotswolds. A morning visit to the 4,000-year-old Neolithic burial chamber of Belas

Kelmscott Manor, after a drawing by Charles G. Harper from ‘Thames Valley Villages’, 1910.

Knap, the finest long barrow in Gloucestershire, followed by a walk along the Cotswold Way (2 miles) to Sudeley Castle, famous for its honeyed stone and magnificent gardens. After a break for lunch there is another walk (3 miles), through the attractive town of Winchcombe to Hailes, to visit the ruins of a 13th-century Cistercian abbey and a Romanesque church with wall paintings. Day 3: the Eastleaches, Fairford, Kelmscott. Visit the churches of Eastleach Martin and Eastleach Turville. The magnificent Perpendicular St Mary at Fairford is Britain’s only parish church with a complete set of mediaeval stained glass windows, and of the highest quality too. Visit Kelmscott Manor, the Tudor house acquired by William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts movement. Day 4: Stanway and Sezincote. Visit Stanway House, one of the Cotswolds’ loveliest manor houses. Walk from Stanway to Stanton (2 miles) and have lunch at a local pub. Drive to Sezincote, built in the Mogul style of Rajasthan and the inspiration for the Brighton Pavilion. Day 5: Painswick and Quenington. Visit the unfinished Victorian Woodchester Mansion and then Painswick for a walking tour. Return for a while to Bibury before driving to Quenington for a late afternoon exploration of the village, followed by dinner at a private manor house. Day 6: central Cotswolds. Beginning and ending in Sapperton, walk (5 miles) through undulating woodland and pasture, with periodic open vistas. Pass a number of buildings in the Arts and Crafts style. Cirencester is a flourishing market town with modern metropolitan businesses and streets with many 17th- and 18th-century delights. The soaring magnificence of St John the Baptist is of cathedral-like proportions, while the Corinium Museum houses a fine collection of RomanoBritish antiquities. Day 7: Chipping Campden. Walk to Chipping Campden from Dover’s Hill (1 mile), enjoying spectacular views over the escarpment. Possibly the most beautiful of all Cotswold towns, it is a gilded masterpiece of limestone and craftsmanship and home to one of the very finest wool churches in the area. Some free time here. Continue to Hidcote Manor Gardens, one of the most inventive

Dr Steven Blake. Historian and lecturer, specialising in the history of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and mediaeval architecture. He worked for 30 years at Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum and has served on many society councils in the West Country. He obtained his PhD from Reading University and is a Fellow of the Museums Association and Society of Antiquaries. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. and influential gardens of the 20th century, before visiting the gardens at Kiftsgate Court. Day 8: southern Cotswolds. A special visit to the gardens at Highgrove, country house of the Prince of Wales (subject to confirmation). The coach returns to Cheltenham Spa station by 4.00pm

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,440. Single occupancy: £2,790. Included meals: 1 lunch and 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation: The Swan, Bibury (cotswoldinns-hotels.co.uk): 4-star hotel set in a former 17th-century coaching inn. How strenuous? This tour should only be considered by those who are used to regular country walking, with some uphill content. Paths are usually on grassy tracks or through woodland, with some paved road. Climbing and crossing stiles are a regular feature. Strong knees are essential, as are a pair of well-worn hiking boots with good ankle support. There are 6 walks of 1–5 miles. Average coach travel per day: 45 miles.

BRITISH ISLES

The Cotswolds famously encompasses some of the loveliest countryside in England. Loveliness belongs not only to the countryside but also to the buildings that go with it – viscerally pretty villages, farmsteads, manor houses and market towns. An essential ingredient of the winning formula is the building stone, seemingly 80% honey and 20% lichen, extruded from the hills on which they stand and sculpted by generations of masons who honed their craft with instinctive good taste. The vernacular is timeless and utterly beguiling, though it incorporates some of the grandest and proudest town houses in England. Some could almost have been designed by Andrea Palladio – and some practically were, the designs transmitted to Gloucestershire artisans through innumerable copycat pattern books which buoyed up English provincial building for a couple of centuries. Parish churches are a particular glory of the Cotswolds. Mostly mediaeval, they range from the diminutive, artless and additive – often blessedly under-restored and un-modernised – to the great churches in the larger villages and towns with soaring arcades, acres of glass, elaborately sculptured tombs and towers and spires to rival any in the country. Where did the money come from? Wool. Prized as the best in Europe by the Merchant of Prato in the fourteenth century, wool and cloth manufacturing was the basis for solid prosperity from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution – when the water power of the hills and valleys pushed the region to the forefront before the advent of steam power knocked it back again. Thus the Cotswolds slumbered, ripe for discovery as a rural idyll by the bicycle-mounted aesthetes and romantics of the late Victorian era.

Group size: between 12 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Oxford & Oxfordshire, 4–9 September 2017 (p.34); Walking to Cornish Houses, 20–26 September 2017 (p.25); In Churchill’s Footsteps, 21–24 September 2017 (p.35). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

literature & Walking in the lake district Following Wordsworth & Ruskin in spectacular countryside ENglANd

10–14 July 2017 (md 395) 5 days • £1,430 Lecturer: Christopher Newall Wordsworth, Ruskin and Beatrix Potter, their homes and surrounding countryside, combined with five country walks. Led by Ruskin specialist Christopher Newall. Stay in hotel overlooking Lake Windermere. For over two hundred years, tourism, agriculture and industry have enjoyed a synergy in the English Lakes thanks in part to its rich and diverse geology. The striking contrasts between fell and dale are apparent to all visitors, the result of glacial action during the last few thousand years, when the snow and ice melting around very hard rocks formed lakes in the valleys left below. This sheer natural splendour caught the attention of the wider world by two revolutions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; firstly artistic, as learned English gentlemen travelled to the Lake District to see the ‘picturesque’ landscapes of European masters like Poussin, Lorraine and Rosa, and secondly industrial. A network of roads was built to improve communications, and by 1768 a road north through Westmorland and Cumberland had been built, providing open road to privately-owned carriages. The idea of touring the Lakes for artistic purposes took hold – the poet Thomas Gray travelled between Keswick and Lancaster in late 1769, observing and commenting on the scenery. His account of 1775 was received to great acclaim and the region soon became a popular destination for the ‘touring’ classes, particularly as travelling to continental Europe was impossible.

William and Dorothy Wordsworth returned to their childhood roots (he was born in Cockermouth and educated at Hawkshead) when they moved to Dove Cottage in Grasmere in 1799. From this modest two-storey house he spent many hours walking: to and from Rydal, to Ambleside and to Keswick, the home of Coleridge and Robert Southey. Dorothy recorded his many walks in her Journal; indeed the day that they first saw those daffodils on the shores of Ullswater Lake in April 1802 is immortalised with her diary entry: ‘I never saw daffodils so beautiful’. Wordsworth’s poetry and essays had a deep impact on other artists, notably John Ruskin. His long poem The Excursion, an essay on the virtues of mankind, and in particular Wordsworth’s social concern and eagerness to promote respect between humans and the rural landscape, chimed with Ruskin’s conservationist views. Ruskin had visited the Lakes many times before making his home at Brantwood on Coniston Water, from where he would observe the colour of the sky and bemoan changes to the rural idyll that he attributed to human intervention through the local quarrying industry. The arrival of the steam engine and the first railway into the Lakes in 1847 vexed both men, and as the tourist numbers accumulated year on year, they became increasingly vocal about man-made structures damaging and destroying what they considered the delicate balance between man and nature that defined the Lake District. Beatrix Potter also championed traditional artisanship, and after settling in Hawkshead in the 1900s, used the proceeds from her books to buy properties and land to save them from development. A large part of her estate was left to the National Trust, which was co-founded by her friend H.D. Rawnsley in the 1880s.

Itinerary Day 1. The coach leaves Oxenholme Lake District Railway Station at 2.40pm (c. 2 hours 40 minutes from London on the West Coast line). Blackwell was designed by architect M. H. Baillie Scott in 1898 as a holiday home for Manchester brewer, Sir Edward Holt. With spectacular views of Lake Windermere, it is a wonderful example of Arts and Crafts architecture. In 1999 it was saved by the Lakeland Arts Trust. Drive to Waterhead hotel where all four nights are spent. Day 2. A full day in the footsteps of Wordsworth. Beginning at Rydal Mount, the Wordsworth family home from 1813–50, this elegant house and fine gardens welcomed many literary visitors. Walk along the ‘Coffin Route’: coffin bearers used this path from Rydal to Grasmere before the main road was built and heavy flattened stone slabs still intermittently line the path. Following a lecture at the Jerwood Centre from an expert, visit Dove Cottage, the Wordsworths’ first Lakes home which subsequently belonged to Thomas de Quincey. Walk to the thriving town of Grasmere, rich with literary connections, for some free time. Return to Rydal Mount along Loughrigg Terrace, a raised footpath which traverses the slope of Loughrigg Fell above Rydal Water. Total for both walks along footpaths and country lanes of 5½ miles, moderate–strenuous in places with some uneven ground and two short climbs. Day 3. Drive to the pier at Coniston for the passenger ferry across Lake Coniston, the setting for Arthur Ransome’s Swallows & Amazons, and the best way to arrive at John Ruskin’s home from 1872–1900. The house has an extensive literary history and a major collection of Ruskin’s drawings, paintings, and scientific collections; it also contains his original furniture and his boat and Brougham carriage are displayed in outhouses. Afternoon walk of 4 miles mostly level on footpaths and country tracks with a short ascent from Brantwood through Monks Coniston and the restored walled garden to Coniston.

BRITISH ISLES 28

The Lake District became one of the UK’s first National Parks in 1951, after nearly a century of campaigning. Today its enduring beauty and rich history continue to attract many visitors, but the vast landscapes ensure there is space for reflection and rejuvenation for everyone. This short tour picks the region’s literary highlights and intersperses them with moderate walks, no more than four miles in distance, and with limited ascents, so that it can be enjoyed by everyone who is used to country walks of up to three hours.

Day 4. Tarn Hows is a picturesque man-made lake built on land donated by Beatrix Potter. A moderate walk around the lake, with a refreshment break en route, before descending to Hawkshead. Visit Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s 17th-century farmhouse, before driving to Hawkshead to see Wordsworth’s grammar school. There is also the opportunity to visit the Beatrix Potter gallery.

Dove Cottage (Wordsworth’s house), watercolour by Francis S. Walker, publ. 1907. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 5. Set in 17 acres above Windermere, Holehird Gardens are some of the finest in England and home to the national collections of Astilbe, Hydrangea and Polystichum Ferns. Walk 2 miles along grassy paths through fields (steep ascents

Early Railways: the North History, technology, architecture, landscapes ENglANd

in places) up to Orrest Head, at 784 feet above sea level, with magnificent views of Lake Windermere. Return to Oxenholme train station by 2.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,430. Single occupancy: £1,590. Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Waterhead,Ambleside (englishlakes.co.uk/hotels/): comfortable, modern 4-star hotel on the shore of Lake Windermere. How strenuous? This is a walking tour: it is essential for participants to be in good physical condition and to be used to country walking. There are some short but steep uphill sections and terrain can be uneven and slippery in wet weather. There are 5 walks (two on one day) of no more than 4 miles or 2½ hours in length. Average distance by coach per day: 21 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Walking to Derbyshire Houses, 3–8 July 2017 (p.26).

11–18 June 2017 (md 329) 8 days • £2,840 Lecturer: Dr Paul Atterbury 17–24 September 2017 (me 542) 8 days • £2,840 Lecturer: Anthony Lambert

The Ryedale Festival July 2017 Details available in November 2017 Please contact us to register your interest

The pioneering periods of railway history– social, political and economic aspects, civil and mechanical engineering, architecture and art. Includes a high proportion of the world’s earliest surviving steam locomotives, rolling stock, stations, bridges and viaducts. Most journeys are by train, some through outstanding scenery, some on historic railways, some steam traction likely. Hotels in Newcastle and York beside stations. Led by lecturers already well known to MRT clients who are also prominent railway writers.

BRITISH ISLES

Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire, aquatint 1820.

It’s arguable whether any previous event had a more transformatory impact on the lives of inhabitants of this island than the coming of the railways. But whatever else could be suggested – the Norman Conquest, the Henrician Reformation – would be of merely local significance: the British invention of railways went on to change the lives of much of the population of the world. This tour examines the beginnings of this extraordinary development, of which there are surprisingly many physical remains, many visually stunning, many still in use. It is commonly but erroneously believed that railways were a Victorian phenomenon. The fact is that the first inter-city passenger service dates to the reign of William IV, the first public railway to use steam locomotives opened under George IV, the first viable steam engines were built while George III was still king, the first major railway bridge opened during the reign of George I, the eariest stationery steam engines started pumping while a Stuart, Queen Anne, was still on the throne and the earliest documented wagonways in England take railway history back to a Tudor, Elizabeth I. Victoria’s

reign saw massive extension of the the railways, but not its genesis. The scale of pre-twentieth-century railway engineering is almost inconceiveable, especially given the limited mechanical aids available. Digging, blasting, tunnelling, embanking, bridging; thousands of navvies and skilled artisans employed on each major project; carving up the countryside, thrusting cacophonously into towns and cities, absorbing great wealth, yielding even greater riches, creating a vast penumbra of supporting businesses. A couple of the railway companies were for a while the world’s biggest public companies (one of many world records which will pepper the lecturers’ commentaries). Railways transformed the world, transformed the way we live and think and imagine. And it all began in the North of England. Impelled by the need to transport coal and ore from mine to wharf, Tyneside and vicinity became the crucible in which the assorted ingredients of the modern railway were finally fused together. Connecting inland Manchester with coastal Liverpool was an incentive on the other side of the country; London, soon to be the world’s biggest city, was irrelvant to the story in these pioneering years. While plenty of twentieth-century developments are seen in passing, the focus is earlier. The most recent major item on the tour is the Forth Bridge, opened in 1890. Though engineering and technology are of course central to the tour, much of the input from the lecturers is about social and political context, financial and economic factors and architectural and artistic matters. A number of attractive towns and cities are visited, and there are some splendidly scenic rail journeys.

Itinerary Day 1: Newcastle, Tanfield. Drive at 2.00pm from the hotel in Newcastle the few miles to the Tanfield Railway. With a claim to be the oldest working railway in the world, it opened in 1727 using gravity and horse power on wooden rails. Part of this extraordinary engineering enterprise was the Causey Arch, the world’s first Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Early Railways: the North continued

ENglANd

Dr Paul Atterbury. lecturer, writer and broadcaster specialising in the art, architecture and design of the 19th and 20th centuries. He has published widely on pottery, porcelain, canals, railways, and the Thames. He curated the V&A exhibitions Pugin and Victorian Vision and is an expert on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Berwick-upon-Tweed, wood engraving from ‘The Art Journal’ 1887.

railway bridge and the widest span in Britain for 30 years. Join a train at Andrews House Station and alight at Causey before returning. First of three nights in Newcastle. Day 2: Beamish, Shildon. By coach to Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum, where the world’s finest collection of working replicas of early steam engines (Locomotion, Steam Elephant, Puﬃng Billy) plies the Pockerley Wagonway. The Shildon branch of the National Railway Museum is on the site of the engine works of the Stockton & Darlington Railway; among the many exhibits is Timothy Hackworth’s Sans Pareil, runner-up in the Rainhill Trials of 1829. To avoid rushhour road congestion, the last leg is by rail from Durham. Overnight Newcastle.

BRITISH ISLES 30

Day 3: Edinburgh, Firth of Forth. By train to Edinburgh, a scenic route running beside the sea and crossing the viaduct at Berwick (Robert Stephenson 1849). Change at Waverley Station for the Forth Bridge (Fowler and Barlow 1882–90), of importance for engineering innovations and sheer size. Disembark at North Queensferry and examine the structure from underneath and the water’s edge. In Edinburgh, visit the National Museum of Scotland where a new wing (2016) gives prominence to Puﬃng Billy (Hedley and Hackworth 1814). Some free time. Overnight Newcastle. Day 4: Newcastle, Darlington. Visually dramatic and historically important, the bridges spanning the Tyne includes R. Stephenson’s innovatory High Level Bridge for both road and rail (1845–9). There is some free time in Newcastle, which has the most impressive late Georgian architecture of any regional city, good Victorian buildings and art galleries. Drive to the Head of Steam Museum in Darlington whose prize exhibit is George Stephenson’s Locomotion which inaugurated the Stockton & Darlington in 1825. First of four nights in York. Day 5: North Yorkshire Moors Railway. By coach to the attractive market town of Pickering, the book online at www.martinrandall.com

terminus for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Planned by G. Stephenson and opened in 1846, it was a victim of the Beeching cuts but was brought back to life as a heritage railway using vintage rolling stock and engines. Travel for an hour (by steam maybe) through exceptionally lovely countryside to Grosmont. After lunch, return to Pickering for a little free time. Overnight York. Day 6: Manchester, Marple. By rail to Manchester. The Liverpool & Manchester Railway opened in 1830 and the original station, the world’s oldest, survives. Castlefield has an extraordinary, Pirenesian conjunction of viaducts and canals, including the pioneering Bridgewater Canal (1761). A semi-rural afternoon near Marple outside Manchester along the towpath of the Peak Forest Canal to see the beautifully engineered flight of locks and astonishing 100 ft-high aqueduct (1800) across the River Goyt; the adjacent railway viaduct is even higher. Overnight York. Day 7: Settle-Carlisle Railway. ‘The most spectacular piece of railway engineering in Britain’, the Settle-Carlisle Railway (built 1869–75) traverses the moorland hills of the Yorkshire Dales. Twice last century it faced closure, but it survives as England’s most scenically exciting rail journey. Today’s itinerary: by train via Leeds to Settle, train to Ribblehead, walk around the viaduct and lunch, continue by rail to Kirkby Stephen, and then do the journey in reverse without stops except at Leeds. Overnight York.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,840. Single occupancy: £3,260. Included meals: 4 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Crowne Plaza, Newcastle (crowneplaza.com): a new hotel on the site of the Stephenson Works in Forth Street next to the station. The Royal York Hotel, York (hotelroyalyork.co.uk): built beside the station in 1878 by the North Eastern Railway, recently refurbished by the Principal Hayley group. Travelling: some by coach, more by rail, first-class where available, otherwise standard class. How strenuous? Days start between 8.40 and 9.30am and most finish at the hotel 5.30–6.30pm, so not a strenuous schedule. There is quite a lot of walking including steps and short hills, so not suitable for people unused to daily walking and stair climbing. The option for keen walkers of a two-mile moorland walk at Ribblehead requires stout footware. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Day 8: York. The National Railway Museum at York is the world’s greatest such collection, possessing hundreds of engines, rolling stock and miscellaneous items – royal carriages, Mallard, a replica Rocket and many other fascinating treasures. The lecturer finishes his tour by the end of the morning. As you are only a few minutes from the hotel and York Station you leave when you want.

Illustration, previous page: Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Walking Hadrian’s Wall Roman civilization at the edge of an Empire Day 3: walk Housesteads to Steel Rigg; Chesters. Again for much of the route the Wall rides the crest of the faultline of dolerite crags, dipping and climbing. There are spectacular stretches, excellently preserved milecastles, staggering views: moorland, lakes, conifer forests to the north, richly variegated greens, plentiful livestock, distant vistas to the south (4½ miles, up to 3 hours). Pub lunch. Chesters, the most salubrious of the forts (lavish bath house), built for 500 Asturian cavalrymen, in enchanting river valley setting.

The archaeology and history of the largest Roman construction in northern Europe. The most spectacular stretches accessible only on foot, this is also a walking tour through some of the most magnificent scenery in England. Excursions from coast to coast include all the major Roman sites and relevant museums.

Day 4: Vindolanda, Newcastle. The fort and town of Vindolanda is the site of ongoing excavations which are revealing everyday artefacts including, famously, the ‘postcard’ writing tablets which uniquely document details of everyday life. Drive to a couple of archaeological remains, the Mithraic temple at Brocolitia and the bridge abutments across the river from Chesters.

One hotel throughout, the best in the region. The lecturer is Graeme Stobbs, curator for the Hadrian’s Wall Museums.

Day 5: walk Gilsland to Birdoswald; Chesters, Brocolitia. Walk through low-lying and pretty farmland with streams and wild flowers. The only mile with both milecastles and turrets visible, and good lengths of Wall (2 miles, 1½ hours). In Newcastle, the Great North Museum has the best collection of objects excavated along the Wall.

“Historically riveting, lodgings and meals fabulous, tour manager and tour guide flawless, professional and nurturing. It could not have been better or more fun.” and often aided by rough-hewn stone steps recently made for the Hadrian’s Wall Path. It is not a tough trek but nevertheless it should only be attempted by people whose regular country walks include some uphill elements. A coach takes you to the start of each walk and meets you at the end, eliminating the need to retrace steps or carry much except water and waterproofs. Each day has been planned to provide a balanced mix of archaeology, general sight-seeing and cross-country trekking, and for this reason the walks do not constitute a linear progression. On most days you return to the hotel by 5.00pm, allowing plenty of time to relax before dinner.

Itinerary Day 1: Housesteads. The coach leaves Newcastle Central Station at 2.15pm (or from the hotel at 1.30pm) and takes you straight out to Housesteads. With standing remains of up to 10 feet, this is the best preserved of the Wall’s forts and evocatively reveals the usual panoply of perimeter walls and gateways, headquarters building, commander’s palatial residence, granaries, hospital, latrines. Remote and rugged, there are superb views. Day 2: walk Steel Rigg to Cawfields; Corbridge. The first walk is perhaps the most consistently rugged as it follows long, well-preserved stretches of the Wall through moorland above the cliffs of the Whinsill Crag; a thrilling walk (2¾ miles, over 2½ hours). Pub lunch. Corbridge began as a fort in the chain built in c. ad 85 but left to the south by Hadrian’s Wall it became a large civilian town.

Day 6: walk Walltown to Cawfields; Carlisle, Bowness-on-Solway. The final walk is spectacularly varied, from rocky hilltops to lowland pasture (5 miles, 2½ hours). Great Chesters fort has good remains of gates and other structures, with lengths of the Wall up to two metres high. Drive to Carlisle to see the Wall collections in the Tullie House Museum, and continue to the evocative estuarial landscape of the Solway Firth. The Wall ended at the remote village of Bowness-on-Solway. Day 7: South Shields, Wallsend. At South Shields, Arbeia is a fine reconstruction of a fort gateway, as well as reconstructions of a soldier’s barrack block and an opulent house belonging to the Commanding Officer. At aptly named Wallsend and now engulfed in the Tyneside conurbation, Segedunum was the most easterly of the forts, the layout clearly seen from a viewing platform. The coach returns to Newcastle station by 2.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,860. Single occupancy: £1,990. English Heritage members (with cards) will be refunded c. £20. Included meals: 3 lunches, 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Matfen Hall Hotel (matfenhall. com): 19th-century Jacobean-style mansion and fine country house hotel offering excellent service. How strenuous? Please read the last two paragraphs before the itinerary. You should not consider this tour unless you possess a well-used pair of walking boots, are more than averagely fit, have good balance and a head for heights.

BRITISH ISLES

Traversing England from the Tyne estuary to the Solway Firth, the Wall was conceived and ordered by Emperor Hadrian in ad 122 to mark and control the northernmost limit of the Roman Empire. The ambition was extraordinary, its fulfilment – far from the pool of skills and prosperity in the Mediterranean heartlands of the Empire – astonishing: a fifteen-foot-high wall 73 miles long through harsh, undulating terrain with 80 milecastles, 161 intermediate turrets and flanking earthwork ditches and ramparts. Fifteen or sixteen forts, many straddling the Wall, housed a garrison of 12–15,000 soldiers from radically different climes elsewhere in the Empire, including Syria, Libya, Dalmatia, Spain and Belgium. A populous penumbra of supply bases and civilian settlements grew up nearby. As a feat of organisation, engineering and willpower, Hadrian’s Wall ranks among the most extraordinary of all Roman achievements. Its story does not end with its completion within Hadrian’s reign because for the remaining three centuries of Roman control there were constant changes to the fabric, and to its administration and occupation. A study of the Wall leads to an examination of practically every aspect of Roman civilization, from senatorial politics in Rome to the mundanities of life for ordinary Romans – and Britons – who lived in its shadow. But the Wall itself remains the fascinating focus, and the subject of endless academic debate. For the modern-day visitor the Wall has the further, inestimable attraction of passing some of the most magnificent and unspoilt countryside in England. Happily, archaeological interest is greatest where the landscape is at its most thrilling, and it is in this central section, furthest from centres of population, that the tour concentrates. The principal excavated sites can be visited with no more exertion than on an average sightseeing outing, but to see the best surviving stretches of the Wall, and to appreciate the vastness of the Roman achievement, to view many of its details and to immerse fully in the scenic beauties, there is no substitute for leaving wheels behind and walking along its course. How strenuous are the walks? On each of the five full days there is a walk of between two and three hours, covering up to four miles. The slow progress is in part due to stops to examine the archaeology and to take in the wonderful views. But also the terrain is often quite rough, and periodically there are rises and falls, sometimes quite steep, though rarely of more than 50 metres

england

8–14 May 2017 (md 265) 7 days • £1,860 Lecturer: Graeme Stobbs

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: At home at Weston Park, 16–21 May 2017 (p.23); Walking to Cornish Houses, 17–23 May 2017 (p.25). Illustration: bust of Hadrian, engraving c. 1840. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Walking a Royal River Art, architecture & history from the source to Hampton Court ENglANd

4–10 September 2017 (me 521) 7 days • £2,440 Lecturer: Dr Paul Atterbury Walk between two and five miles a day from the source of the Thames to Hampton Court. Along the towpath and through the gentle hills which flank the valley. Visit villages, churches, country houses, gardens and palaces with regal connections from the Middle Ages to the present day. ‘The Thames is no ordinary waterway. It is the golden thread of our nation’s history.’ It is not to disparage Churchill’s irresistibly orotund metaphor to assert nevertheless that, by comparison with the other great rivers of the world, the Thames is puny. But therein lies its enchantment.

examples are as well-preserved as they are various. Parish churches and Iron Age forts, manor houses and major mansions, rapturous gardens and leafy churchyards, mediaeval, classical and railway-era bridges, associations with artists and writers, and of course quintessential riverine landscapes: these are chief among the attractions of the tour. It omits the larger towns, as a travel writer put it in 1910, ‘You cannot rusticate at Reading’. Even Oxford is by-passed; to cram the city into an afternoon would be cruel.

Itinerary Day 1: Thames Head. Leave The Swan Hotel, Bibury, at 2.15pm or Kemble Railway Station at 3.00pm. The tour begins with the source of the Thames. A soaring rockface, a majestic spurt: an awesome spectacle. Actually, no. A damp patch, the trickle varying with yesterday’s weather,

Day 4: Wittenham Clumps, Dorchester, Ewelme. Begin at the river at Shillingford and then walk up to Wittenham Clumps, a pair of hillocks with views over a particularly attractive stretch of the Thames Valley. Descend through woods and across farmland, passing an Iron Age fort, to Dorchesteron-Thames. Total walk: c. 4½ miles. Visit the abbey church here, one of the finest mediaeval buildings in Oxfordshire, where St Birinus baptised King Cynegils of Wessex in 635. Continue to Ewelme, site of a Saxon palace, and today a unique complex of 15th-century church, almshouses and school, all still functioning. First of three nights in Marlow. Day 5: Hardwick, Henley-on-Thames, Cliveden. Mapeldurham House is an Elizabethan stately home that has been in the same family for about five hundred years. It is open by special arrangement. See the River and Rowing Museum at Henley-on-Thames with its extensive collection of art, photographs and boats relating to river history. Cliveden’s magnificent formal gardens and woods beside the Thames have been admired for centuries. Cliveden was once the glittering hub of society, visited by virtually every British monarch since George I, home to Waldorf and Nancy Astor in the early 20th century and renowned for its parties and political gatherings. Day 6: Cookham, Windsor. Walk from the hotel beside the river (4½ miles on a level path along tarmac or grass) to Cookham, life-long home of painter Stanley Spencer (1891–1959); there is a gallery of his work and a fine parish church. Visit Windsor Castle, founded by William I and occupied by every monarch since. The Queen spends most of her private weekends at the Castle, which is also used for State occasions.

Windsor Castle from the Thames, watercolour by E. Haslehurst, publ. 1910.

BRITISH ISLES 32

While in its lower reaches the river passed through what was for a couple of centuries the largest city in the world and host to its largest port, above the tidal limit at Teddington it was too narrow, too shallow and too meandering to contribute much to the industrial or commercial might of Britain in the early modern era. A vital channel of communication when oars and poles were the locomotive forces – not least to transport rulers and courtiers to their country retreats upstream of the capital – for much of its length the Thames is now a bucolic backwater. This tour selects some of the most attractive stretches of the river to walk along, but it does not follow a linear journey from one end to the other. While resorting regularly to the towpath (now a designated long-distance trail, the Thames Path), the itinerary also ranges through varied countryside and gentle hills, and includes a representative spread of the best of the buildings, artefacts and art in the region. As much as anything, this tour is an exploration of the English village. The numerous book online at www.martinrandall.com

reached by walking across three fields. Total walk: 3½ miles on grassy, level paths. First of three nights in Bibury. Day 2: Inglesham, Lechlade, Great Coxwell. Begin the day with Inglesham church, a beautifully isolated church dating to Saxon times. Continue on foot and walk c. 3 miles along the river to Lechlade-on-Thames, a vibrant small town with a fine Gothic church and a handsome bridge. Visit the masterful mediaeval barn at Great Coxwell, which King John gave to the Cistercian monks in 1203 as part of the Manor of Faringdon. Return to Bibury with a 2½-mile walk along grassy paths and through woodland from Coln St Aldwyns. Day 3. Buscot, Kelmscott. Begin the walk at Buscot, whose church has a Burne Jones window, and continue c. 2½ miles on a level, grassy path beside the Thames. Visit Kelmscott Manor, the Tudor house acquired by William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts movement. In the afternoon visit Buscot Park, a Palladian mansion with Burne Jones paintings and outstanding gardens.

Day 7: Hampton Court Palace, London. Hampton Court was begun by Cardinal Wolsey, enlarged by Henry VIII and 150 years later partly rebuilt by Christopher Wren for William III and Mary II. The most sumptuous of surviving Tudor palaces is joined to the most magnificent of 17th-century buildings in Britain; great interiors, fine works of art, beautiful gardens, a formal park. Drive to London, arriving by c. 3.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,440. Single occupancy: £2,740. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. The Swan, Bibury (cotswoldinns-hotels.co.uk): former 17th-century coaching inn in the heart of the village. The Compleat Angler, Marlow (macdonaldhotels.co.uk): very comfortable hotel, well-positioned beside the Thames with excellent views. How strenuous? 6 walks of 2–5 miles, usually on flat, trodden grassy paths or tracks through woodland, with some paved roads and towpaths. Some include ascent and descent, climbing over stiles and on day 4, a climb of 230 feet. You should be accustomed to countryside walking and prepared for possible inclement weather. Average distance by coach per day: 38 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Walking in the Cotswolds, 11–18 September 2017 (p.27).

Constable & gainsborough Stour Valley landscapes & london galleries

Visit sites associated with both Constable and Gainsborough in London and the Stour Valley. Travel through beautiful unspoilt scenery that both artists would still recognise. Visits to major London collections which house the largest density of each artist’s œuvre. Stay in the charming village of Dedham. The idyllic pastoral landscape of the Stour Valley was the birthplace and inspiration for two of Britain’s best known and most influential artists: Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable. Tractors may have replaced peasant workers but the gently undulating countryside checkered with hamlets and fields where livestock graze remains largely unchanged from the time both artists studied the area. Thomas Gainsborough, although primarily known as a portrait artist, was greatly moved by this scenery and its influence can be seen in the background of his most famous works. He always maintained that he preferred landscape painting and consequently produced numerous studies of the Suffolk countryside. Many of these are on display at Gainsborough House in his home town of Sudbury, which holds the largest collection of his works outside London. The majority of John Constable’s seminal works were studied and sketched along a three mile stretch of the river Stour where he lived and worked between 1816 and 1821. The works he produced here include The Hay Wain, one of Britain’s most recognisable paintings. Little has changed in the small hamlets of Dedham, Flatford and East Bergholt since Constable lived there, allowing the viewer to explore the scenes immortalised in paint. The bucolic landscape plays a central role in the tour, sandwiched between visits to the major galleries in London to view and digest the great masterpieces of each artist’s oeuvre and then to explore the landscapes that inspired them.

Dedham (1½ miles). View Constable’s Ascension in Dedham Church. Day 3: Sudbury, Ipswich. Drive to Gainsborough House in Sudbury, the artist’s birthplace and family home, now a museum holding the largest collection of his works outside London, with particular focus on his Suffolk works. Images include: Mrs Mary Cobbold with her daughter Anne in a landscape with a lamb and ewe and Portrait of Harriet, Viscountess Tracy. Continue to Ipswich to visit the Wolsey Art Gallery, in a wing of Christchurch Mansion designed specifically to house the town’s collection of works by Constable and Gainsborough. Day 4: London. Return to London and visit the prints and drawings collection at the British Museum by special arrangement. The tour ends in central London by 3.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,110. Single occupancy: £1,230. Included meals: 3 dinners with wine.

ENglANd

14–17 August 2017 (md 478) 4 days • £1,110 Lecturer: Hugh Belsey mbe

Accommodation. Milsom Hotel, Dedham (milsomhotels.com) modern hotel on the banks of the river Stour, overlooking Dedham Vale. How strenuous? This tour would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and who cannot stand for long periods of time. The tour includes a walk (1½ miles) along a river bank which requires a good level of fitness. Average distance by coach per day: 51 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2017 (p.50).

Itinerary

Day 2: East Bergholt, Flatford, Dedham. A day exploring the three charming villages in which Constable lived and worked. St. Mary’s Church in East Bergholt has changed little since he painted The Church Porch, East Bergholt. The site of his family home and his studio are also here. The hamlet of Flatford, seat of the family business, provided a convenient location for Constable to study and is the inspiration for many of his most famous works. Walk a waymarked footpath, a level, grassy trail following the River Stour to

BRITISH ISLES

Day 1: London, Dedham. Meet in central London at 10.00am. Visit the National Gallery, the location of many of Constable’s and Gainsborough’s most famous works including The Hay Wain and Mr & Mrs William Hallett (‘The Morning Walk’). Continue to Tate Britain to view drawings not normally on display, as well as the permanent collection. Drive to ‘Constable Country’.

Steel engraving c. 1850 after John Constable’s ‘The Cornﬁeld’ (1826) depicting part of the Dedham Vale. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Oxford & Oxfordshire Art & architecture ENglANd

grateful nation to John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, and of John Vanbrugh’s genius. After a private visit to the state apartments there is time to enjoy the gardens and the ‘Capability’ Brown park. Rousham Park is an early exercise in the Picturesque, almost unchanged since it was laid out in the mid-18th century against the backdrop of a house designed by William Kent. Day 4: Oxford. New College was built on a lavish scale by William Wykeham in the 14th century, while 15th-century Magdalen College is set in its own deer park and has one of the most beautiful mediaeval towers in England. The 17th-century chapel in Trinity College is a perfect example of Carolean architecture and decoration; William Butterfield’s Keble College is one of the most strident and famous examples of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. Designed in the 1960s by Arne Jacobsen, St Catherine’s is Oxford’s tribute to the Modernist movement. The Ashmolean Museum is one of the most important art museums in the country. Oxford, Merton College, watercolour by George F. Carline, publ. 1922.

4–9 September 2017 (me 515) 6 days • £1,880 Lecturer: Dr Cathy Oakes Oxford, one of the world’s great historic cities: a dense accumulation of architecture in every style. A wide variety of architecture, interiors and gardens in glorious settings. Special arrangements and out-of-hours visits. One hotel throughout, a country inn in the historic market town of Burford. Led by Dr Cathy Oakes, architectural historian and Oxford resident.

BRITISH ISLES 34

Gerard Manley Hopkins described it as ‘cuckooechoing, bell-swarmèd, lark-charmèd, rookracked, river-rounded’, Chaucer set one of his most raucous tales there and Matthew Arnold’s ‘Scholar Gypsy’ haunted its surrounding countryside. Oxford is a jewel in a magnificent setting which has stimulated countless intellects and imaginations and which still bears the marks of well over a thousand years of history. It is as a university town, and one of the most ancient in Europe, that Oxford is renowned and most of its historic buildings are connected with this aspect of its heritage. Nevertheless we will be probing even deeper into its past as we visit Christ Church cathedral and Iﬄey parish church, both of which predate the university’s foundation in the late twelft h century. The university buildings on our list demonstrate the development of mediaeval collegiate life at foundations such as Merton, New and Magdalen and go on to represent the work of many of the most famous English architects from Wren, Hawksmoor and Gibbs to Butterfield and Cockerell; St Catherine’s College bears witness to the university as a patron of great architecture into the modern period. Oxfordshire provides a gentle foil to the intense historical and cultural experience which is Oxford. An undulating pastoral landscape dotted with golden limestone towns, villages and grand houses, book online at www.martinrandall.com

is the heritage of an area which enjoyed enormous prosperity in the late mediaeval and early modern periods. The town of Burford with its huge parish church and handsome high street dropping steeply down to the River Windrush, the theatrical might of Vanbrugh’s Blenheim, the gardens at Rousham, a remarkable survival of the Picturesque, and Broughton Castle, which Pevsner describes as ‘the finest and most complete medieval house in the country’, are among the delights. Beyond Oxford itself our wanderings will take us to castles, churches and villages where hopefully, like the ‘Scholar Gypsy’ we will be able to enjoy ‘the live murmur of a summer’s day’.

Itinerary Note that some appointments cannot be confirmed until early 2017 and it may be that not all the visits mentioned will be possible. Day 1: Oxford, Burford. The coach leaves Oxford Railway Station at 1.30pm. The large number of late mediaeval merchants’ houses and ancient inns derive from Burford’s prosperity as a centre for the wool trade in the 15th and 16th centuries. Continue to the Lamb Inn, Burford. Day 2: Oxford. The Divinity School is a glorious 15th-century lecture hall surmounted by a library built for the manuscripts given to the university by the younger brother of Henry V, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Other libraries are the circular Radcliffe Camera (exterior) by James Gibbs and the mediaeval one at Merton College, which has the oldest collegiate buildings in the university. Christ Church was founded by Cardinal Wolsey but incorporated the Norman church of an Augustinian Priory, now a cathedral. Christopher Wren’s first major commission, the Sheldonian Theatre, was designed to stage the university’s ceremonies. Day 3: Blenheim, Rousham. Blenheim Palace is the grandest house in Britain, and the country’s greatest Baroque building. It is the outcome of a huge sum of money given in 1705 by a

Day 5: Broughton, Bloxham, Chastleton. Broughton is a moated and fortified manor house still occupied by the Fiennes family who have lived there since the 15th century. In an attractive village which still retains much of its mediaeval street plan, Bloxham church is one of the largest parish churches in the country; sculpted 14thcentury Last Judgement, painted rood screen, wall-paintings. A fine late-16th-century manor house, Chastleton was boldly designed and lavishly decorated with wood carving and plaster work. Day 6: Iffley, Ewelme, Dorchester. The parish church in Iﬄey, on the banks of the Isis, is rich in Romanesque sculpture and has a window by John Piper. A monument to the patronage of Chaucer’s granddaughter, Alice, Duchess of Suffolk, the 15thcentury complex of school, almshouses and church at Ewelme is unique, and still functioning. The magnificent church of Dorchester Abbey survives with 14th-century stained glass windows with remarkable tracery, carved in the shape of a Jesse Tree. Return to Oxford Railway Station by 3.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,880. Single occupancy: £2,130. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. The Lamb Inn, Burford (cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk): 3-star hotel in a historic Cotswolds market town. Originally a 15th-century weaver’s cottage, it is a comfortable country inn with 17 individually decorated bedrooms and a small garden. The hotel restaurant has been awarded two AA rosettes. How strenuous? A lot of walking and standing around. Coaches cannot park near the house at several properties. Paths are often uneven so surefootedness is essential. Quite a lot of time is spent on the coach on narrow, country roads. Average distance by coach per day: 45 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Walking in the Cotswolds, 11–18 September 2017 (p.27).

In Churchill’s Footsteps Oxfordshire, london & Kent

Visit places key to Churchill’s life in the company of Churchill historian Terry Charman. The tour includes several special arrangements and out-of-hours visits. Two nights in a country house in Oxfordshire where Churchill regularly stayed and one night in central London. ‘Winston Churchill was the greatest Englishman and one of the greatest human beings of the twentieth century, indeed of all time.’ So Max Hastings began Finest Years: Churchill as Warlord (2010). Roy Jenkins concluded his 2001 biography with the verdict that Churchill was ‘the greatest human being ever to occupy 10 Downing Street’. These are the views of first rate historians, not of hagiographers or eccentrics, and are shared by millions around the globe. It has not always been thus. In 1932 a British delegation in Moscow was being questioned by Stalin about contemporary politics. ‘What about Churchill?’ he asked. ‘Oh,’ replied Nancy Astor with a scornful little laugh, ‘he’s finished.’ Detractors were legion for much of his political career, the years of his wartime premiership being no exception. A steady flow of revisionist historians have followed suit. Churchill was more right about more things than an average handful of statesmen put together. It is also true that his judgement was intermittently badly flawed, the consequence perhaps of the huge range of matters to which he turned his attention, his exceptionally long political career, his boundless energy, his boldness and his ambition. Anti-Churchill myths are strangely tenacious (no, he didn’t order troops against the strikers at Tonypandy), but on most of the major issues of his time, not only was his judgement sound but it was

frequently in defiance of prevailing wisdom, and often demonstrated almost preternatural foresight. The use of ‘human being’ in both the quoted encomia is striking: alternative substantives are inadequate for such a towering – and humane – personality. Compassion was the virtue he ranked highest, a belief in decency the bedrock of his political life, liberty his goal. Yes, he was possibly the greatest war leader the world has known; but for the quantity and impact of progressive social legislation he shepherded through Parliament he was probably unsurpassed by any other British politician of the twentieth century. He had a will of iron, colossal courage and the intellect of a genius, but he was lovable and approachable, easily moved to tears by the sight of suffering or forbearance. His famous wit was rarely acerbic and never cruel. This unique tour illuminates Churchill and his tumultuous times through visits to places which played a key role in his life.

Itinerary Day 1: London, Harrow. Meet in central London by 9.50am and visit the Churchill Museum in Whitehall, an excellent presentation of his life. Next visit Harrow School, where he spent five years with famously mixed fortunes. Churchill stayed at Ditchley Park in Oxfordshire for 15 weekends 1940–42 when the moon was high (Chequers being feared visible to the Luft waffe). Built in the 1720s, it is one of the finest country houses of its time. Two nights are spent here. Day 2: Blenheim, Bladon, Ditchley. Blenheim Palace, Churchill’s birthplace, is the grandest house in Britain. It was given by the nation in 1705 to John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough. Special out-of-hours visit to the WSC collection and state apartments; time to enjoy the gardens and the ‘Capability’ Brown park. Visit the nearby church at Bladon where WSC was buried (1965).

Day 3: London. Designed by Barry and Pugin, the House of Commons is one of the most richly ornamented Victorian buildings. Walk around Whitehall passing key Churchill sites including the Admiralty, Downing Street, St Margaret’s and Westminster Abbey (for evensong). A private visit to the Cabinet War Rooms with dinner in the Switch Room. Overnight London.

ENglANd

21–24 September 2017 (me 552) 4 days • £2,060 Lecturer: Terry Charman

Day 4: London, Chartwell. On the way to Kent, digress via Sidney Street of ‘Siege’ fame (1911). Then to Chartwell, his beloved family home in the country from 1924 to the end of his life. ‘I love the place – a day away from Chartwell is a day wasted.’ The house, studio, gardens and outhouses are maintained as during the Churchill occupancy with photographs, sound recordings and numerous memorabilia. Return to central London by 5.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing and single occupancy: £2,060. There is no single supplement. Included meals: 3 lunches, 3 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire (ditchley.co.uk): built in the 1720s by James Gibbs and William Kent, it is now used for discreet political conferences. Not a hotel, visitors are treated as house guests and are able to use several drawing rooms and extensive grounds. The Royal Horseguards, London (guoman.com): a 5-star hotel in the heart of Whitehall adjacent to the National Liberal Club. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking and should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 58 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: The Battle of Waterloo, 13–17 September 2017 (p.55); The Age of Bede, 16–19 September 2017 (p.18).

BRITISH ISLES 35

Blenheim, aquatint 1793 after Joseph Farington (1747–1821). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Connoisseur’s London Less accessible & lesser known treasures england

25–29 June 2017 (md 375) 5 days • £1,880 Lecturers & guides: various specialists

Several different lecturers and specialist guides and many special arrangements.

out to be houses and homes, among them the wonderfully eccentric Soane Museum, the Palladian perfection of Chiswick House, Wellington’s Apsley House and the newly restored Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath. Most days are over between 4.30 and 5.30pm, giving opportunity to attend a concert or play. We will buy a few tickets for choice events as they come on sale and offer them to participants, subject to availability.

Most evenings are free. Participants are offered theatre or concert tickets or dinners.

Itinerary

Great art and architecture and places of interest off the beaten track, not generally accessible or simply overlooked amid London’s vast riches.

Very centrally located 5-star hotel. London’s riches of art and architecture are both multitudinous and widely dispersed. Has even the most assiduous of Londoners seen everything that merits a visit? Surely not, so the good news for visitors and short-term residents is that there are plenty of delights awaiting discovery. This tour is intended for those who have some familiarity with the main sights and museums but have seen fewer of the innumerable lesserknown or out-of-the-way treasures. One major item is included – St Paul’s Cathedral – but special arrangements lift the visit above the ordinary. During the planning of this tour, themes emerged, and many of the places visited turned

Day 1: Chiswick, Kensington. Leave the hotel near Whitehall at 11.00am by coach. Chiswick House in west London is a key work in the history of English architecture, a jewel-like Palladian villa of the 1720s in gardens of comparable historical importance. Then visit the mansion Lord Leighton built for himself in Kensington which is of a lavishness surprising even for the leading establishment artist of his day. Day 2: The City. London’s Livery Halls constitute a unique group of secular buildings of splendour and interest, and we visit one of the grandest. The Guildhall Art Gallery has a little-visited collection of largely 19th- and 20th-cent. paintings and, recently discovered below, evocative remains of

the Roman amphitheatre. The visit to St Paul’s Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest work and one of the great classical buildings of the world, includes parts not generally open to visitors. There is opportunity to attend Choral Evensong or Evening Prayer at 5.00pm. Day 3: Holborn, Westminster. Sir John Soane’s Museum is one of the most extraordinary in the world: adjacent town houses adapted by the eponymous architect and filled with his eclectic art collections. At the Wallace Collection the holding of French 18th-cent. painting, furniture and porcelain is second only to the Louvre, and there are great works by Titian, Rembrandt, Velasquez and others. The Banqueting House in Whitehall, the first truly classical-style building in Britain, designed by Inigo Jones in 1619, the ceiling painted by Rubens in 1636. Day 4: Hampstead, Bloomsbury. Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath is a very fine 18th-cent. mansion by Robert Adam with a marvellous picture collection, re-opened in 2013 after restoration. Hampstead is perhaps the loveliest of London’s villages; visit 17th-cent. Fenton House and its collection of keyboard instruments before descending to the Georgian squares of Bloomsbury and the Foundling Museum. With Handel and Hogarth as benefactors, the art here is remarkable. Day 5: Whitehall, Hyde Park Corner. The day begins with a walk through parks and quiet streets from the hotel to Hyde Park Corner, viewing historic buildings and monuments along the way. Apsley House is the magnificent home of the Dukes of Wellington and possesses one of the finest art collections in England. There follows lunch at one of the grandest of London’s historic clubs as guests of a member. The tour ends at the Whitehall hotel at c. 3.00pm. Note that appointments for some visits cannot be confirmed until January 2017.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,880. Single occupancy: £2,280. Included meals: 2 lunches and 1 dinner with wine.

BRITISH ISLES

Accommodation. The Royal Horseguards, London (guoman.com) 5-star hotel in the heart of Whitehall. The style is that of an international hotel and bedrooms are very comfortable with all mod cons. All have a bath and shower. How strenuous? Participants need to be good walkers and have stamina. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with The Miracle of Salzburg, 18–24 June 2017 (p.48); At home at Belvoir Castle, 30 June–3 July (p.24).

Left: Banqueting House, copper engraving c. 1750.

Ballet in Paris & London, 28 March–2 April 2017. See page 71.

36 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Empire & After A history symposium in Bath ENglANd

4–6 November 2016 (md 930) 3 days • Prices from £490 Contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com/empire-and-after Speakers: Richard Bassett • Professor Simon Dixon Professor Robin Lane Fox • Tom Holland Dr Tristram Hunt mp • Dr Philip Mansel Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones Stephanie Williams Continuing our highly successful series of symposia, Empire & After brings together eight historians for a dozen talks on one of the most controversial of historical issues. The speakers have been chosen for their pre-eminence, their mastery of their subject and their calibre as speakers. There are also panel discussions, Q&A slots and plenty of opportunities to engage with the speakers informally. It needs hardly to be said that Bath is the best preserved and most beautiful Georgian city in England. The symposium itself takes place at the Assembly Rooms, which opened in 1771 and are architecturally outstanding even by Bath standards (and made famous by their Jane Austen associations). This is a fully inclusive residential weekend, with three hotels to choose from to suit different budgets. Breakfasts, lunches, mid-session refreshments and a dinner are included in the package, and there is also an exclusive drinks reception in the Victoria Art Gallery.

The Programme Day 1, Friday 4 November 2016 Afternoon session 3.15pm–6.45pm: Robin Lane Fox: Alexander: Macedonian Conqueror or Persian Heir? Lloyd Llewellyn Jones: Persian Past & Iranian Present: Cyrus the Great in the Iranian Mind.

Bath, Abbey and Pump Room, watercolour by Walter Tyndale, publ. 1927.

Day 3, Sunday 6 November 2016

Afternoon session 2.00pm–3.30pm:

Morning session 9.30–1.00pm:

Tristram Hunt: When Will We Stop or Start Apologising for Empire? – Imperialism, History and Modern Britain.

Tristram Hunt: Ten Cities that Made an Empire: A History of British Imperialism through some of the world’s greatest cities. Richard Bassett: Austria-Hungary’s Last War revisited: success and failure in a multinational army. Simon Dixon: The Collapse of the Soviet Empire: The USSR after Stalin. Dr Philip Mansel: The painful death of the Ottoman Empire: from Sarajevo to Aleppo. Lunch

Robin Lane Fox: Pax Romana: History’s Golden Age? Tom Holland: When did the Roman Empire fall? Evening, from 8.00pm: dinner for all participants. Day 2, Saturday 5 November 2016 Tom Holland: The Caliphate: Executioner of Antiquity? Lloyd Llewellyn Jones: Timur & the Art of Princes: Timurid-Mongol Legacies in Iran. Simon Dixon: The Russians & their Empire: from Ivan the Terrible to Nicholas II. Lunch Afternoon session 1.30pm–3.00pm: Stephanie Williams: White Stalkers on the Beach: personal stories of British Empire builders from the Gold Coast to Fiji. Panel discussion with the speakers Evening, 6.30pm–7.30pm: Private reception in the Victoria Art Gallery, followed by an optional dinner.

Practicalities Prices, per person. Travelodge Bath Waterside: £490 or £570 single occupancy. Hilton Bath City Hotel: £660 or £770 single occupancy; £700 for a deluxe double. The Francis Hotel: £790 or £920 single occupancy; £830 for a superior double. Included: room and breakfast, admission to talks, refreshments at the conference, two buffet lunches, drinks reception and Friday dinner.

The Architecture of Bath Pre-symposium tour 3–4 November 2016 2 days • Please contact us for prices Lecturer: Dr Geoffrey Tyack Bath first became a resort town in Roman times, but its modern reincarnation dates from the 18th century. It was then that a succession of architects and entrepreneurs, most of them from the city itself, succeeded in creating one of the supreme achievements of European architecture and urban design, inspired by the memory of the Roman past but adapted to satisfy the taste and desires of the Georgian aristocracy and merchant classes. The city owes much of its character to its riverside situation, within a bowl of limestone hills from which the honey-coloured stone of its 18th-century buildings was quarried. Several of the finest of these buildings will be visited - Queen Square, the Circus and the Royal Crescent; Great Pulteney Street with the recently-expanded Holburne

Museum at its far end; the Pump Room and Assembly Rooms – and we will also explore some of the lesser-known but equally attractive corners of this most fascinating of cities.

Practicalities The tour starts at 1.45pm on Thursday 3rd November and finishes at 1.00pm on Friday 4th November. Access to the tour is exclusive to those who are participants on the symposium.

BRITISH ISLES

Morning session 9.30am–12.15pm:

Panel discussion with the speakers

Note there is quite a lot of walking involved. Prices are dependent on your chosen hotel and room type for the Symposium. Please contact us for full details. Included: 1 dinner with wine and 1 night’s hotel accommodation; the services of the lecturer and a tour manager. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

lONdON dAYS ‘dear, damn’d, distracting town’ – Alexander Pope ENglANd

Details and dates are released on an ongoing basis, throughout the year. If you would like to receive fortnightly e-mail updates on the latest range of London Days, e-mail: info@martinrandall.co.uk Our London Days explore the art, architecture and history of the most varied and exciting city in the world. Each of these days is led by a carefully chosen expert who provides informative and enlightening commentary. Meticulously planned with special arrangements and privileged access being significant features. Radio guides enable lecturers to talk in a normal conversational mode while participants can hear without difficulty. All are accompanied by an administrator to ensure arrangements run smoothly. These are active days, often with a lot of walking and standing. Travel is mainly by Underground, sometimes taxi, occasionally by private coach or bus.

The London Backstreet Walk Hyde Park to The Tower

The South Bank Walk Famous & forgotten sites

Sculpture in London Art in streets, squares & parks

Wednesday 13 July 2016 (lc 755) Lecturer: Professor Gavin Stamp

Thursday 14 July 2016 (lc 756) Thursday 13 October 2016 (lc 902) Lecturer: Sophie Campbell

Saturday 20 August 2016 (lc 809) Lecturer: David Mitchinson Price: £170

Thursday 11 August 2016 (ld 789) Lecturer: Dr Jeffrey Miller

Visit the former Time & Life building by special arrangement. An exploration of diverse public sculpture including works by Moore, Hepworth, Gill and Epstein. Travel by Underground, taxi and on foot.

Tuesday 11 October 2016 (ld 895) Lecturer: Barnaby Rogerson Friday 21 October 2016 (ld 921) Lecturer: Giles Waterfield Price: £195 (July); £205 (all others) Traverse the capital through its parks, gardens and backstreets. Architecture, picturesque vistas and intriguing quiet corners with time for some visits. Champagne at the Savoy and lunch at Middle Temple Hall. Combine the July day with The South Bank Walk, Thursday 14 July; the 11 October day with Hawksmoor, Monday 10 October.

BRITISH ISLES

Hawksmoor The six london churches Wednesday 20 July 2016 (lc 770) Monday 10 October 2016 (lc 894) Lecturer: Andrew Martin Price: £210 From the West End to Greenwich by coach to see all six extant churches: St George’s Bloomsbury, St Mary Woolnoth, Christ Church Spitalfields, St George-in-the-East, St Anne’s Limehouse and St Alfege. Also visit Thomas Archer’s contemporaneous St Paul’s Deptford.

London, Regent Street, after a drawing by Joseph Pennell in ‘A London Reverie’, 1928.

Combine the July day with The Age of Bede, 16–19 July 2016 (visit www.martinrandall.com for details or contact us); the October day with The London Backstreet Walk, Tuesday 11 October. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Price: £220 From Victorian warehouses and Georgian terraces to cutting edge contemporary architecture. Visit City Hall, Southwark Cathedral and the Rose theatre, finishing atop The Shard for unsurpassable views over the city. Lunch in a restaurant overlooking the hustle and bustle of Borough Market. Combine the July day with The London Backstreet Walk, Wednesday 13 July; the August day with Shakespeare’s London, Tuesday 9 August; the October day with The London Backstreet Walk, Tuesday 11 October.

Shakespeare’s London london’s greatest Writer Tuesday 9 August 2016 (lc 794) Lecturer: Dr Charles Nicholl Price: £265 View Shakespeare’s 1623 First Folio by special arrangement at Guildhall library. An evening performance of Romeo & Juliet starring Lily James, Richard Madden and Derek Jacobi. Private visit of the Rose Theatre. Combine this day with The South Bank Walk, Thursday 11 August.

Byzantine Glories golden mosaics in london Wednesday 24 August 2016 (lc 811) Lecturer: Dr Heike Zech Price: £205 Mosaics in lesser-visited marvels as well as familiar landmarks, some by special arrangement. Travel by Underground and taxi. Combine this day with: London Gardens Walk, Thursday 25 August.

London Gardens Walk The City & its borders Thursday 25 August 2016 (lc 812) Lecturer: Amanda Patton Price: £215 Explore old and new gardens and public spaces. Contemporary landscaping and planting by Nigel Dunnett, Piet Oudolf and Arabella Lennox-Boyd. Lunch at The Charterhouse and a tour of their private garden by special arrangement. Combine this day with Byzantine Glories, Wednesday 24 August.

The Ever-Changing City Skyline | Wren’s Cathedral to Rees’s Towers

Monday 12 September 2016 (ld 862) Wednesday 19 October 2016 (ld 918) Lecturer: Andrew Martin Price: £205

Tuesday 4 October 2016 (ld 891) Lecturer: Professor Peter Wynne Rees cbe Price: £210

An anecdotal and affectionate approach to studying the history, architecture and design of the Underground. Travel the network to stations as diverse as Arnos Grove and Canary Wharf. Visit London Transport’s historic headquarters at 55 Broadway, by special arrangement. Combine the September day with Connoisseur’s London, 13–17 September 2016 (visit www. martinrandall.com for details or contact us); the October day with Seven Churches & a Synagogue, Tuesday 18 October.

The Tudors | Portraits, tombs & Hampton Court Thursday 16 September 2016 (ld 859) Lecturer: Dr Neil Younger Price: £205 Study the politics and culture of the dynasty through its art and architecture. The day starts at Westminster Abbey and the Henry VII chapel and culminates at Hampton Court Palace. Portraits of royals and courtiers at the National Portrait Gallery where we also have lunch.

John Nash | The man who transformed London Monday 19 September 2016 (ld 865) Lecturer: Dr Geoffrey Tyack Price: £210 A walk studying the magnificent buildings and landscapes of John Nash’s London. Visit Buckingham Palace and All Souls Church.

The London Squares Walk London’s greatest glory

Almost entirely intact squares from Belgrave Square to Collingham Gardens. Saturday departure. Led by Martin Randall.

Combine this day with Great Railway Termini, Wednesday 5 October.

Great Railway Termini Paddington, King’s Cross & St Pancras Stations Wednesday 5 October 2016 (ld 897) Lecturer: Professor Gavin Stamp Wednesday 9 November 2016 (ld 942) Lecturer: Dr Steven Brindle Price: £190

Saturday, 3 December 2016 Stationers’ Hall, London Join us for an afternoon of music and lectures at one of the City’s most prestigious livery halls. Our programme includes music from some of the world-class singers and players performing on our 2017 music festivals in Florence, Toledo, Salzburg, on the Bach Journey and along the Danube and Rhône rivers, as well as talks from some of our accompanying musicologists. Book now at martinrandall.com or by telephone on +44 (0)20 8742 3355.

The Genius of Titian National Gallery & Wallace Collection Tuesday 1 November 2016 (ld 934) Wednesday 7 December 2016 (ld 964) Lecturer: Sheila Hale Price: £195

An exploration of the architecture of the three magnificent Victorian stations. Special arrangements to visit Queen Victoria’s waiting room at Paddington, the old Granary building at King’s Cross and the Renaissance hotel, St Pancras. Morning refreshments and lunch in a station pub and tea in a station hotel.

Study a selection of the fifteen unquestioned Titians at the National Gallery. Perseus & Andromeda and tea at the Wallace Collection. Travel by taxi.

Combine the October departure with The EverChanging City Skyline, Tuesday 4th October.

Ancient Greece at the British Museum

Seven Churches & a Synagogue | Some of London’s finest historic buildings

Thursday 1 December 2016 (ld 961) Lecturer: Professor Antony Spawforth Price: £195

Tuesday 18 October 2016 (ld 911) Lecturer: Professor Gavin Stamp Price: £205 Visit an eclectic selection of religious buildings in central London from mediaeval to Gothic Revival. Wren, Gibbs, Hawksmoor, Butterfield and Ninian Comper explored. Lunch at Middle Temple Hall and travel by coach throughout. Combine this day with London’s Underground Railway, Monday 17 October.

Combine this day with Walking a Royal River, 26 September–2 October 2016 (visit www. martinrandall.com for details or contact us).

Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com/london-days The selection of days here was up to date on the 27 May 2016 when it was compiled. More may have been launched since publication.

Combine the December day with The Italian Renaissance, Thursday 8 December.

Art and artefacts from before the Classical period to Roman copies of Greek sculpture made centuries after the originals, viewed in four sequential sessions. Exclusive entry to the Bassae Room. Lunch and refreshments at the Great Court restaurant.

The Italian Renaissance in the National Gallery Thursday 8 December 2016 (ld 965) Lecturer: Dr Antonia Whitley

BRITISH ISLES

Saturday 24 September 2016 (ld 867) Lecturer: Martin Randall Price: £190

A walk surveying the City with its charismatic former chief planning officer. Understand the square mile’s business development through its architecture, streetscapes and watering-holes. End the day drinking cocktails in the WalkieTalkie’s Sky Garden.

An Afternoon of Music & Lectures

england

London’s Underground Railway | A History & Appreciation of the Tube

Price: £190 A full day studying the finest collection of Italian Renaissance art outside Italy. Time for sustenance and reflection during refreshments and lunch in the National Dining Rooms. Group size limited to twelve participants. Combine this day with The Genius of Titian, Wednesday 7 December.

39 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MUSIC WEEKENDS At The Castle Hotel in Taunton & The Swan Hotel in Lavenham england Prices: from £700 per person Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com A music weekend arranged by Martin Randall Music Management is a very special experience. There is the pleasure, first, of hearing music performed by artists of the highest calibre, and who are all among the very best in their fields. Second, the music is performed in an intimate setting, a small hall little bigger than a large drawing room – just the sort of size which composers used to have in mind for chamber music. The audience is rarely more than a hundred, and consists mainly of those who stay throughout the weekend and attend all concerts. Third, the weekends take place in excellent hotels. The Castle Hotel in Taunton and The Swan in Lavenham are among the most agreeable and comfortable hotels in England. We often have exclusive use during these music weekends, and there is the added opportunity for artists and audience to mingle.

The Heath Quartet

BRITISH ISLES

7–9 October 2016 (md 889) The Swan Hotel, Lavenham Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven 3 days • Price: from £700 Speaker: Misha Donat See opposite for full details

The Schubert Ensemble 18–20 November 2016 (md 948) The Castle Hotel, Taunton Great Piano Quintets 3 days • Price: from £750 With musically-embellished talks by the musicians.

While these events are undeniably indulgent and leisurely retreats, they are also intended to stimulate the mind and enchant the aesthetic sensibilities. Within an over-arching theme, the music is carefully chosen and programmed to provide an illuminating sequence – while each concert is satisfyingly self-sufficient. Pre-concert talks are also included, by a musicologist or by the musicians themselves. Prices include accommodation, most meals, admittance to the concerts and talks, and much else besides. We begin our 2016–17 season in October 2016 with The Heath Quartet, who are international prize-winners and one of the best string quartets of today. The Schubert Ensemble offers a programme of piano quintets in November, taking us on a journey from the early works for this medium to the rich repertoire of Romantic quintets for piano and string quartet.

Photographs, above left: The Castle Hotel, Taunton. Above right: The Swan Hotel & Spa, Lavenham.

The Wihan Quartet & Friends 13–15 January 2017 (md 111) The Castle Hotel, Taunton Quintets, Sextets & Cypresses 3 days • Price: from £730 Speaker: Richard Wigmore

The Vienna Piano Trio 14–17 April 2017 (md 223) • Easter The Castle Hotel, Taunton Complete Schubert Trios 4 days • Price: from £960 Speaker: Richard Wigmore

London Bridge Trio & Friends 3–5 March 2017 (md 161) The Castle Hotel, Taunton A weekend of Schumann & Mendelssohn 3 days • Price: from £750 Speaker: Richard Wigmore

Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com book online at www.martinrandall.com

In January, the ever-popular Wihan Quartet are joined by additional players to present quintets and sextets by Dvořák, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms. We also hear Dvořák’s Cypresses for string quartet. March sees the London Bridge Trio and guests perform a weekend of music by Mendelssohn and Schumann. As with their highly successful Mozart weekend in 2015, the programme has been jointly curated by Richard Wigmore and Daniel Tong, pianist with the Trio. The season finishes in April 2017 when the Vienna Piano Trio perform five concerts of complete Schubert trio works over the Easter weekend. Some of the composer’s duo works are also included, as are several works by other major composers. Individual concert tickets are also available to purchase. Please contact us for more details.

Illustration: ‘The Tortoises’, after a drawing of 1860.

The Heath Quartet Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven at The Swan Hotel in Lavenham england

7–9 October 2016 (md 889) The Swan Hotel, Lavenham 3 days • Price: from £700 The Heath Quartet Oliver Heath violin Cerys Jones violin Gary Pomeroy viola Christopher Murray cello Speaker: Misha Donat The award-winning Heath Quartet joins us for a weekend of quartets by Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart and others. Pre-concert talks are given by musicologist, lecturer and writer Misha Donat. Our first weekend at the historic Swan Hotel in Lavenham – concerts and dinners take place in its half-timbered hall, which seats 90. Our package includes accommodation, admittance to concerts and talks, dinners, afternoon teas and interval drinks. A small number of tickets are also available to purchase for the concerts only. We have exclusive use of the hotel throughout.

The Programme Concert 1: Friday 7 October 2016, 5.00pm Pre-concert talk at 4.30pm Haydn, String Quartet in B minor, Op.33 No.1 Debussy, String Quartet in G minor, Op.10 Mozart, String Quartet No.19 in C, K.465, Dissonant Concert 2: Saturday 8 October 2016, 11.00am Pre-concert talk at 10.30am J.S. Bach, Chorale Preludes: Liebster Jesu, wir

Concert 3: Saturday 8 October 2016, 5.00pm Pre-concert talk at 4.30pm Haydn, String Quartet in F minor, Op.20 No.5 Mozart, String Quartet No.16 in E flat, K.428 Beethoven, String Quartet No.15 in A minor, Op.132 Concert 4: Sunday 9 October 2016, 11.00am Pre-concert talk at 10.30am Beethoven, String Quartet No.12 in E flat, Op.127 Dvořák, String Quartet in G, Op.106

Practicalities Prices, per person. Single occupancy: single room (single bed) £700; double for sole use £750. Two sharing: standard double or twin £720; superior double or twin £790; junior suite £830; suite £930. Included: hotel accommodation (2 nights); breakfasts, 2 afternoon teas and 2 dinners with wine, water and tea or coffee; admission to the concerts and pre-concert talks; interval drinks; gratuities for hotel staff; a detailed programme booklet. Optional coach transfers. For an additional charge (£30 per person), we are offering return coach transfers between Colchester Station and the hotel, timed to meet the following trains: On Friday 7 October: 13.02–14.04, London Liverpool Street (LST)–Colchester Station (COL). On Sunday 9 October: 14.30–15.44, Colchester (COL)–London Liverpool Street (LST). Please note that we cannot make the train ticket booking on your behalf. The train times above are based on the timetable as of March 2016, and are subject to change. We will adjust our coach departures accordingly if they change by the time tickets are on sale, c. 12 weeks before departure.

Tickets to individual concerts Morning concerts: £24. Evening concerts: £25. This includes an interval drink (wine or soft drink for the evenings; coffee, tea or a soft drink for the mornings) and a programme booklet. Please contact us to book these.

BRITISH ISLES

Formed in 2002 at the Royal Northern College of Music, the dynamic and charismatic Heath Quartet are fast earning a reputation as one of the most exciting British chamber groups. Recipients in 2013 of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artists Award, they have won various other prizes and appear regularly at major centres, often collaborating with leading artists and composers. They have established a relationship with London’s Wigmore Hall which sees them perform a complete cycle of Bartók quartets there in 2015–16, and at least two further series are planned. All four members of the Quartet hold teaching positions at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Their programme at Lavenham focuses mainly on the works of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven – those of the two latter composers being indebted to the first. Debussy and Dvořák also each make an appearance, and we hear three Chorale Preludes by J.S. Bach, which the Quartet performed recently on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. Lavenham is only around 60 miles from London and yet it feels a world apart, and an age away. Surrounded by gently rolling farming country, this Suffolk village is noted for its outstanding 15th-century church and halftimbered mediaeval houses. The buildings of the Swan Hotel date to the 15th and 16th centuries – it has been an inn since 1667.

sind hier BWV731; Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Her BWV662; In dulci jubilo BWV608 Haydn, String Quartet in F sharp minor, Op.50 No.4 Beethoven, String Quartet in B flat, Op.130

Art History Weekend 17–19 February 2017 The Castle Hotel, Taunton Full details available late-summer 2016 Please contact us to register your interest Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

At home at Ardgowan A country house tour in the west of Scotland SCOTlANd

6–11 July 2017 (md 387) 6 days • £2,780 Lecturer: Caroline Knight Stay as guests at Ardgowan, a grand 18th-century country house which remains a private home, not a hotel nor a museum. Visit other country houses in the vicinity, some not generally open to the public, all by special arrangement or with privileged access. Pass through the wonderful coastal and Lowland landscapes of western Scotland. A country house party as much as a study tour, there is time for leisure around the house and garden of Ardgowan. There is no single supplement. Led by architectural historian Caroline Knight. The key feature of this tour is that the participants are not accommodated in a hotel. They are guests in a private home. A biggish home admittedly, an architecturally distinguished eighteenth-century country house with excellent pictures, exceptional furniture, and gardens which spread out to the coast overlooking the Firth of Clyde. Some negatives. You will find no minibar in your room, no laundry service, no television, let alone air-conditioning. Rugs may reveal generations of use, the bathroom may be a few yards down the corridor, the shower may be Edwardian and there is no Reception desk (although staff are on hand). If you are not put off so far, the compensations include bedrooms the size of an average sitting room laden with antiques and books, and the opportunity to roam at leisure through the hall,

conservatory, drawing room, library and dining room, and investigating the rich archive material. You are also free to wander in the adjoining gardens, woods and shoreline. Ardgowan is a superb mansion of the 1790s designed by a follower of Robert Adam. For this very special tour it is the base for excursions to other country houses in the vicinity, at nearly all of which special arrangements will have been made exclusively for this group. In journeying between them, you pass through some heart-stoppingly lovely landscapes – lochs and sea, lowland heath and mountains, rolling farmland and forests. As much country house party as study tour, there is plenty of time at leisure at Ardgowan. The house is a textbook case of the challenges facing current owners of historic properties of the first rank. Our hosts are Sir Ludovic Shaw Stewart and the Hon. Mrs Christopher Chetwode. The latter is an art historian and a prominent figure in the field of historic buildings in Scotland. The lecturer, Caroline Knight, an architectural historian with a speciality in the country houses, is her sister.

Itinerary Day 1: Ardgowan. The coach leaves Glasgow Railway Station at 2.15pm and leaves Glasgow Airport at 3.00pm. Continue west to the coast of the Firth of Clyde and reach Ardgowan in time for afternoon tea. After settling in to your rooms, there is a tour of the house and gardens followed by some free time, drinks and dinner. Day 2: Mount Stuart. Cross by ferry to the Isle of Bute. Magnificent in scale and in the lavishness of decoration and furnishing, Mount Stuart was built in the last two decades of the 19th century by one of the richest men in the world, the third Marquess of Bute. The picture collection is superb.

Beautifully maintained by the current Marquess, the house is surrounded by extensive gardens and noble woods. Day 3: Culzean, Dumfries House. A leisurely start allows time for independent exploration of Ardgowan. Then drive to the clifftop Culzean Castle, Robert Adam’s boldest creation, with oval stair hall and round drawing room with views out to sea. Also by Adam, Dumfries House, famously saved for the nation with the help of the Prince of Wales in 2007, is a perfect Palladian composition which retains unspoilt interiors and a unique set of Chippendale furniture. We have an after-hours tour followed by dinner in the house. Day 4: Ardgowan, Kelburn. The morning is spent at Ardgowan, entirely free or with the option of an in-depth tour to study some aspects of the house. In the afternoon visit Kelburn Castle, property of the Earl of Glasgow and in the same family for 800 years. Part remains a defensible tower house, and there is a lovely set of rooms of c. 1700. Day 5: Strachur, Inveraray. Take a ferry across the Firth of Clyde to the Cowal Peninsula and drive to Strachur House. The property of Sir Charles and Lady Maclean is a fascinating 18th-century mansion of middling size; its 20thcentury history is entwined with the western Balkans. Inveraray Castle is the ancestral home of the Dukes of Argyll. Despite its four corner towers and Gothic windows, it is entirely 18th-century, and inside are some extraordinarily fine rooms and a very good art collection. Day 6: Glasgow. Holmwood House was designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson and was built in 1857–8 for James Couper, a local businessman. From here the coach takes you to Glasgow Railway Station by 12.30pm and to Glasgow Airport by 1.00pm or 4.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person: £2,780. No single supplement. Included meals: 3 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine.

BRITISH ISLES

Accommodation. Ardgowan (ardgowan.co.uk): it cannot be emphasised enough that Ardgowan is a private house, not a hotel – keys to bedrooms are not provided. Bedrooms vary in size, furnishings and facilities. While each room has its own bathroom, in some cases this is a few yards along a corridor. All have baths, some have showers over the bath as well. Towels, bathrobes and toiletries are provided. There is a lift to the first floor. Single rooms have single beds in them. Closer to departure, double rooms may be offered for single occupancy at a supplement of £150. How strenuous? A fair amount of walking is unavoidable. Coaches can rarely park near the entrance to houses and grounds are often extensive. Most of the houses visited do not have lifts. However, the pace is relatively leisurely with more free time than is usual for a short tour. Average distance by coach per day: 56 miles. Group size: 10 to 18 participants.

Combine this tour with: At home at Belvoir Castle, 30 June–3 July 2017 (p.24). Ardgowan, drawn and engraved by William Daniell, 1817. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Puccini in Cardiff La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, & Frank Martin’s Le Vin Herbé WAlES

15–18 February 2017 (md 148) 4 days • £1,080 (Including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturer: Simon Rees Two legendary productions of two of the best loved operas by Giacomo Puccini, La Bohème and Madama Butterfly. Also a rare opportunity to hear Frank Martin’s Le Vin Herbé, a 20th-century variant on the Tristan and Isolde legend. Stay in a 5-star hotel within walking distance of the opera house, and see some of the highlights of Cardiff ’s arts and heritage. Led by Simon Rees, writer, lecturer and former dramaturg of Welsh National Opera.

Cardiff, National Museum of Wales, after a drawing by Joseph Pike, 1927.

Itinerary Day 1. The tour begins at 4.00pm with a short walk from the hotel across the Cardiff Bay development to the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) for a lecture and pre-opera dinner. Opera: La Bohème, Annabel Arden (original director), Stephen Brimson Lewis (designer), Manlio Benzi (conductor), Tim Mitchell (lighting designer), Nina Dunn (video designer), Philippe Giraudeau (choreographer), Marina Costa-Jackson, Dominick Chenes, Gary Griﬃths, Lauren Fagan, Gareth Brynmor John. Day 2. By boat along the River Taff to the city centre. Cardiff Castle has some Roman and mediaeval masonry but it is celebrated for its extraordinary Victorian interiors, a creative collaboration by the Marquess of Bute and the architect William Burgess. Return to Cardiff Bay for some free time before a back-stage tour of the WMC, a lecture and the opera: Le Vin Herbé (Frank Martin 1941), Alexander Martin (conductor), Polly Graham (director), April Dalton (designer), Jurgita Adamonytė (Isolde), TBA (Tristan). Dinner is in the hotel.

the world’s richest man at the time. The coach arrives at Cardiff Central Station by 3.00pm and at the hotel shortly after.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,080. Single occupancy: £1,270. Included meals: 3 dinners with wine. Music: 3 first category opera tickets are included. Accommodation: St David’s Hotel & Spa, Cardiff (thestdavidshotel.com): a striking new building on the waterfront at Cardiff Bay, 15 minutes on foot from the opera house. The AA gives it a 5-star rating, rooms are pleasingly contemporary in design and service is excellent. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Opera in Berlin, 23–27 February 2017 (p.94); Bartoli, Kožená, Netrebko, Villazón, 25 February–1 March 2017 (p.72).

Day 3. Cardiff ’s civic centre is perhaps the grandest in regional Britain, with a number of magnificent Edwardian buildings around a rectangular park. Visit the City Hall and the National Museum of Wales which has an art collection outstanding for French Impressionists and British 20th-century painting. Some free time, lecture, dinner, opera: Madama Butterfly, Joachim Herz (director), Caroline Chaney (revival director), Reinhart Zimmermann (designer), Eleonore Kleiber (costume designer), John Waterhouse (lighting designer) Lawrence Foster (conductor), Linda Richardson, Paul Charles Clarke, David Kempster, Rebecca Afonwy-Jones. Day 4. Begun in 1268, Caerphilly Castle was the first in Britain to adopt concentric defences, and is the second largest castle in the country. It remains immensely impressive and its moats are fi lled with water. Intended as an occasional summer retreat, Castell Coch is another Gothic fantasy confected by Burgess for Bute, reputedly

BRITISH ISLES

‘Fresh, open and heartfelt, Annabel Arden’s lovely new production of La Bohème is marked by a fi lmic fluidity and simplicity. Parisian landscapes and images of night skies and snowfalls are projected on to gauzy scrims, with minimal props and costuming suggesting the fin de siècle era…. There are no tricks, nothing seems faux or grafted… Arden’s unassertive direction makes the joy and disillusion of these young people real and their tragedy immediate.’ So wrote Rupert Christiansen in 2012, when the production was new and praised universally. Joachim Herz’s Madama Butterfly is another hugely successful Welsh National Opera (WNO) production; it has been repeatedly revived for nearly four decades. The staging is classic, traditional even, with each scene like a sepia photograph through which we glimpse a vanished world. ‘It now seems a model production… stylishly Japanese when required in the first act, cleverly westernising later as Cio-Cio San practises being Mrs Pinkerton. Reinhart Zimmermann’s delicate sliding screens are ideal as design and perfection as a practical, mobile setting… expressive of the culture clash which… is both the landscape and the cause of its tragedy.’ (John Walsh, 2013.) David Pountney, who has led WNO since 2011, programmes seasons which bring together thematically linked works, often with two familiar operas and one rarity. Frank Martin (1890–1974) is an unjustly neglected Swiss composer who composed Le Vin Herbé in 1941 to a libretto based on Joseph Bédier’s Roman de Tristan et Iseut from 1900. The result is an intimate, exquisite and elegant tragedy. In its programming and productions WNO strives to combine adventurousness with accessibility, and commitment to developing new audiences with musical and dramatic integrity. The company punches far above its weight and it is one of the most admired centres of operatic exellence in Europe. In 2004 WNO moved into their current home, the Wales Millennium Centre. The architectural brief was to build something ‘unmistakeably Welsh and internationally outstanding.’ The winning firm, Percy Thomas, came up with a monumental yet accessible structure of slate, glass, steel and timber built to withstand the lashings of the elements on its coastal location.

Puccini, photograph 1900. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Strauss in Cardiff Der Rosenkavalier by Richard & Die Fledermaus by Johann II wales

10–12 June 2017 (md 337) 3 days • £760 or 4 days • £1,040 (Including tickets to 2 performances) Lecturer: Simon Rees The Welsh National Opera in their home theatre, the acoustically and architecturally excellent Wales Millennium Centre. Opera and operetta, two contrasting but complementary productions. Stay in a 5-star hotel 15 minutes on foot from the opera house, and see some of the highlights of Cardiff ’s arts and heritage. The option of preceding the two-night weekend with an extra 24 hours to see more of Cardiff. Led by Simon Rees, writer, lecturer and former dramaturg of Welsh National Opera. To have paired any other opera by Richard Strauss with any other operetta by Johann Strauss would have been a study of contrasts, of incompatibility even. Despite sharing a surname, few composers who have spoken the same language and whose lives overlapped for 35 years have created such different musical and theatrical worlds. But this partnering of Rosenkavalier with Fledermaus is genius. Ostensibly a comic opera, Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (1911) has melancholic depths and is suffused with a sense of loss. It also has a cast of some of the most loved of all operatic characters and ‘a score of unsurpassed warmth and tenderness’ which make it is one of the most richly satisfying operas in the repertoire. This is a new production, directed by Olivia Fuchs and conducted by Tomáš Hanus, the WNO’s new Music Director. Rebecca Evans makes her much anticipated debut in the role of the Marschallin.

Johann Strauss worried that the popularity of Die Fledermaus might result in it being performed by opera companies, with consequent loss of lightness and humour. As one of the greatest of operettas, Fledermaus can out-froth all-comers. When this production of Die Fledermaus was new in 2011, Rupert Christiansen wrote that ‘in operetta-land all that matters ultimately is that the audience comes out smiling and humming the tunes. Which in Cardiff it does’. Where is the melancholy or sense of loss here? It was composed in the immediate aftermath of the 1873 financial crash in Austria-Hungary (when champagne consumption fell by 95%) and in its joy, silliness and pure escapism is a poignant marker in the inexorable decline of the empire.

Pre-tour extension, 9–10 June Day 1. Leave the hotel by coach at 1.45pm for the afternoon excursion. Begun in 1268, Caerphilly Castle is the second largest castle in Britain and the first to adopt concentric defences. With its water-filled moats and massive walls, it remains immensely impressive. Castell Coch was a summer retreat, a Gothic fantasy confected in the 1870s by William Burgess for the 3rd Marquess of Bute, the world’s richest man at the time. Day 2. St Fagans is an open-air museum of vernacular architecture, crafts and trades with many re-erected buildings from around Wales. Adjacent is an Elizabethan manor house with fine gardens, the interiors conserved as they were c. 1900. Return to the hotel by 12.45pm, independent lunch before the lecture at 2.30pm.

Itinerary Day 1 (10th June). The tour begins at 2.30pm at the hotel with a talk on Rosenkavalier. After a break to prepare for the evening, leave at 4.15pm for the

Simon Rees. Novelist, poet and librettist, from 1989 to 2012 he was dramaturg at Welsh National Opera. He writes programme articles and surtitles for many British opera companies, and reviews for Opera, Opera Now, Musical Opinion, Early Music Today, Bachtrack and a range of other publications. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. short walk across the Cardiff Bay development to the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) for an early pre-opera dinner. 6.00pm: Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss), Olivia Fuchs (director), Tomáš Hanus (conductor), Rebecca Evans, Brindley Sherratt, Lucia Cervoni, Louise Alder, Adrian Clarke, Paul Charles Clarke, Madeleine Shaw. Day 2. Take the boat from Cardiff Bay to visit Cardiff Castle – a mediaeval keep, a Victorian recreation of the perimeter wall of the Roman Fort and a residence with wonderful Gothic Revival interiors created by Burgess for the Marquess of Bute. Return to the hotel, lecture, and at 4.00pm: Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss II), John Copely (director), Tomáš Hanus (conductor), Mary Elizabeth Williams, Mark Stone, Ben McAteer, Rhian Lois, Justina Gringyte, Paul Charles Clarke. Day 3. Llandaff Cathedral is situated in a peaceful suburban setting, mediaeval, Victorian and post-war with sculpture by Epstein. Around Cathay Park is a splendid collection of Edwardian buildings including the National Museum of Wales. This has, among much else, one of the finest collections of Impressionist paintings in the UK. The tour finishes at Cardiff Central Station by 3.00pm and at the hotel shortly after that.

Practicalities Price for 3 days, per person. Two sharing: £760. Single occupancy: £880. Price for 4 days, per person. Two sharing: £1,040. Single occupancy: £1,100. Included meals: 2 dinners with wine. Music: 2 first category opera tickets are included.

BRITISH ISLES

Accommodation. St David’s Hotel & Spa, Cardiff. St David’s Hotel & Spa, Cardiff (thestdavidshotel.com). This is a striking new building on the waterfront at Cardiff Bay, 15 minutes on foot from the opera house. The AA gives it a 5-star rating, rooms are pleasingly contemporary in design and service is excellent. Single rooms are doubles for sole use. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Opera in Berlin, 31 May–4 June 2017 (p.94); Strauss in Leipzig, 16–19 June 2017 (p.97).

Cardiff Castle, wood engraving from ‘Historic Houses of the United Kingdom’, 1892. book online at www.martinrandall.com

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity Archaeology, history & art

27 September–6 October 2017 (me 579) 10 days • £2,570 Lecturer: Carolyn Perry Discover a forgotten history of conflict, culture and economic power. Explore the remains of once-flourishing Greek, Roman and Ottoman cities. Stay in the unesco World Heritage towns of Berat and Gjirokastra. Led by archaeologist, Carolyn Perry.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 5.00pm (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Tirana. Dinner and overnight in Tirana. Day 2: Durrës, Apollonia. Dürres was a key port for both the Greeks and the Romans, and a vital link on the route from Europe to Asia. We visit its amphitheatre, the largest in the Balkans, as well as the Roman forum, the ancient city walls and the archaeological museum. Then it’s time for Apollonia. Founded by colonists from Corinth around 600 bc, it was later home to a famous Academy, where Octavian was studying in 44 bc. Finds are displayed in the cloisters of a 13th-century Byzantine monastery. First of two nights in Berat. Day 3, Berat. A unesco world heritage site, Berat is one of Albania’s oldest and most attractive cities, with many Ottoman houses scattered across the hills above the river. A walking tour of the lower town includes the 15th-century mosque and the 18th-century Halvati Teqe. Meanwhile, the Byzantine citadel above shelters the Church of St Mary – home to the dazzling Onufri Icon Museum where 16th- and 17thcentury Christian art and a beautiful iconostasis are displayed. Overnight in Berat. Day 4: Byllis, Vlora. Once the largest city in southern Illyria, Byllis is a vast and atmospheric archaeological site, perched on a hilltop and commanding spectacular views. In Late Antiquity Byllis became an important Christian centre, and

several basilicas were built. Vlora is the country’s second port; the first parliament convened here following the declaration of independence in 1912. Here, we see the Muradie Mosque; built in 1537 by the greatest of Ottoman architects, Mimar Sinan. Overnight in Vlora. Day 5: Himara, Saranda. The day is spent travelling through Llogara National Park and along the breathtaking Ionic coast. The journey is broken in the bay of Porto Palermo, a few kilometres from the small town of Himara, where we visit a Venetian fort and castle. Arrive in Saranda for a panoramic view of the bay before continuing to the hotel for a one-night stay. Day 6: Butrint, Gjirokastra. Situated by a lake close to the Greek border, Butrint (Buthrotum) was settled by Greeks from nearby Corfu in the 6th century bc. It became an important Roman colony, declined in Late Antiquity and was abandoned in the Middle Ages. Lords Sainsbury and Rothschild set up the Butrint Foundation in 1991 to protect and examine the site. Excavation has revealed substantial elements of the late Roman and Byzantine town including a basilica, baptistery and a palace. First of two nights in Gjirokastra. Day 7: Gjirokastra, Labova e Kryqit. The steep cobbled streets and stone-roofed Ottoman houses of Gjirokastra are best appreciated from the castle. We visit the Old Bazaar, a traditional Ottoman house and the former home of dictator Enver Hoxha, now an ethnographic museum. In the afternoon, the remote village of Labova e Kryqit (Labova of the Cross) is our destination – to see one of the oldest Byzantine churches in Albania, dating back to the 6th century. Overnight Gjirokastra.

MAINLAND EUROPE

It may seem a backwater now. But Albania’s importance in the ancient world is writ large in the historical sources. Greek historian Thucydides describes how a dispute over the city of Epidamnus (modern Durrës) helped ignite the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 bc. Nearly 400 years later, much of Rome’s civil war between Caesar and Pompey was played out along the Albanian coast. And it was in the city of Apollonia that Octavian learned of the assassination of his great-uncle Caesar – and launched a bid for power that ultimately made him emperor. Why was Albania so important? One look at its geography will tell you. This is a country blessed with natural harbours, and a short sea crossing to the Italian port of Brindisi. It is also the start of the most direct overland route from the Adriatic to Istanbul, which in Roman times was traced by the Via Egnatia. A natural staging post between the eastern and western Mediterranean, Albania flourished under Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans. It is this rich and forgotten history that forms the backbone of our tour. We visit ancient cities that once had glittering reputations, but have since falling into ruin and have only ever been partially excavated. Meanwhile, the unesco World Heritage towns of Berat and Gjirokastra shine a light onto the civilisation that developed under five centuries of Ottoman rule. Berat, known as ‘the town of a thousand windows’, is home to the museum of the sixteenth-century iconographer Onufri, while Gjirokastra, birthplace of the novelist Ismail Kadare, is believed to be the setting for his celebrated Chronicle in Stone. Not all the sites are easy to access: but that just adds to the sense of exploration and discovery. The drive to Labova e Kryqit (Labova of the Cross), for example, involves venturing off the beaten track, to be rewarded by an exquisite Byzantine church, complete with dazzling icons and execeptional frescoes. To reach Saranda, we travel through the pristine landscapes of the Llogara National Park and along the undeveloped Ionic coast. Last stop is the capital Tirana. Albania wriggled free of the Ottomans on 28 November 1912, but since then has endured occupation by the Austro-Hungarians, Italians and Germans, among others – as well as a repressive Communist regime that outlasted all others in Europe. Thankfully, the past two decades have seen great changes, and the country is now a candidate for entry to the European Union. Tirana is modernising at

breakneck speed, and its bustle and optimism provide an upbeat end to the tour.

AlBANIA

26 April–5 May 2017 (md 226) 10 days • £2,570 Lecturer: Carolyn Perry

Berat, lithograph 1851 by Edward Lear. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity continued

Sacred Armenia Early Christian Monasteries & modern-day Yerevan

albania, armenia

Day 8: Ardenica, Tirana. Drive north to the Monastery of Ardenica, built in 1282 by Byzantine Emperor, Andronikos II Palaiologos and famous as the site of the wedding in 1451 of Albania’s national hero, Skanderbeg. From here, we continue to the capital, Tirana. The afternoon is spent in the vast National Historical Museum where displays span from antiquity to the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha. First of two nights in Tirana. Day 9: Lezha, Kruja. Drive to Lezha to see the Skanderbeg memorial, built on the site of the ruined cathedral where the hero is buried. Next stop is Kruja, Albania’s medieval capital, clustered around its restored bazaar, above which sits a ruined citadel and castle. It is also home to an excellent Ethnographic Museum and a modern museum dedicated to the life of Gjergj Kastrioti (aka Skanderbeg). After some free time, we return to Tirana for the final night. Day 10. Tirana. A morning tour of Tirana includes some of the city’s grand central boulevards, lined with relics of its Ottoman, Italian and Communist past. There is also a visit to the National Art Gallery. We fly from Tirana, arriving at London Gatwick at c. 3.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,570 or £2,330 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,820 or £2,580 without flights. Included meals: 8 lunches, 8 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Kotoni, Tirana (hotelkotoni.com): boutique hotel in a restored government building located on a quiet sidestreet off the main boulevard. Hotel Mangalemi, Berat (mangalemihotel.com): small, traditional, family-run hotel in several converted Ottoman townhouses with a central courtyard and roof terrace. Room sizes and furnishings vary. Hotel Partner, Vlora (hotelpartner.al): large, modern hotel in a central location. Santa Quaranta, Saranda (santaquaranta.al): luxury resort hotel away from the main centre with sea-views. Hotel Kalemi, Gjirokastra (kalemihotels.com): converted Ottoman houses with traditonal features. Rooms vary in size. Single rooms throughout are doubles or twins for sole use.

MAINLAND EUROPE 46

How strenuous? This is a fairly demanding tour and a good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. There are some long coach journeys, sometimes on uneven terrain. On one occasion a steep ascent by jeep is necessary to reach a site. There are several hotel changes. Average distance by coach per day: 59 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Classical Greece, 16–25 September 2017 (p.106).

What else is included in the price? See page 6. book online at www.martinrandall.com

22–30 June 2017 (md 370) 9 days • £3,090 Lecturer: Ian Colvin Monasteries and other sacred buildings from as early as the seventh century. Outstanding mountainous landscape. Time to get to know Yerevan, with its squares, cafés and street-life. Comfortable hotels and surprisingly good food. Of all the lands straddling east and west, the nation of Armenia is perhaps least like a gateway and most like a frontier. ‘Unique’ is a lazy and unenlightening epithet with which to characterise distant lands, but Armenia, both ancient and new, both Asian and European, both a melting-pot and defiantly individual, is fully deserving of the description. Its long and tenacious history is one of frequent tragedy and renewal. At its apogee in the first century bc, Armenia stretched from the Mediterranean to the Caspian, and almost to the

Black Sea. For the next three centuries, however, it would suffer conquest and reconquest as the Romans and the Parthians traded blows in the southern Caucasus, with intermittent periods of self-rule keeping the flame of independence alive. It was in large part to keep themselves distinct from the two vast surrounding empires that the Armenians adopted the new religion of Christianity in ad 301, developing a new alphabet a hundred years after that. These two markers of Armenian identity survived domination by Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Turks and Russians, as did many spectacular religious buildings, which were built to withstand not just invasions but earthquakes too. Armenia’s sacred architecture was a greater influence on mediaeval Europe than is commonly assumed, after its round towers and cross-plans were noted by returning crusaders. Thick-walled, built from local tuff or basalt, and housing a particularly severe strain of eastern Christianity, there is a resplendent austerity about these churches which is only heightened by their frequently spectacular natural surroundings.

armenia

Ian Colvin. Historian and Byzantinist specialising in Late Antiquity and the South Caucasus. Trained at Oxford, he is a researcher at Cambridge. He has directed an ongoing archaeological expedition to ancient Archaeopolis in the South Caucasus since 2001. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. the seventh. In the afternoon, drive to Dzoraget. First of two nights here. Day 5: Akhtala, Alaverdi. The 13th-century frescoes in Akhtala are strongly influenced by Byzantium. The monasteries at Haghpat and Sanahin, both unesco-listed sites, are both fine examples of Armenian sacred architecture. Day 6: Vanadzor, Dilijan, Lake Sevan. Visit a stone-carver who continues the tradition of cutting khachkars (cross-stones), characteristic of Medieval Christian Armenian art. Drive to Lake Sevan, and the peerlessly situated Sevanavank monastery that overlooks it. Transfer back to Yerevan for the first of three nights. Day 7: Khor Virap, Noravank, Yerevan. Visit the Khor Virap monastery in the foothills of Mount Ararat, where St Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned. Hidden from view in a remote valley, Noravank, the masterwork of the architect and sculptor Momik, is perhaps the most beautiful of Armenia’s 13th-century monasteries. Day 8: Geghard, Garni. Much of the monastery at Geghard is carved out of the cliffside. There is a performance here of the Armenian Divine Lithurgy by the Garni Choir. The Hellenic temple at Garni is the last remaining pre-Christian building in Armenia. Day 9. Fly back to Heathrow, arriving at c. 1.45pm.

Practicalities

Illustration: Yerevan, copper engraving c. 1750.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.50am from London Heathrow to Yerevan via Paris (Air France), where there is a 55 minute-stop, arriving c. 8.00pm. Transfer to the hotel in Yerevan for the first of three nights. Day 2: Yerevan. A leisurely start this morning. The day begins with a visit to the comprehensive and fascinating State Museum of Armenian History. At the National Art Gallery see collections from Armenia, Russia and Western Europe. Day 3: Echmiadzin, Yerevan. In the morning, visit the Matenadaran, a repository of 17,000 illuminated manuscripts. The Museum of the Armenian Genocide is all the more powerful for its simplicity. After lunch, drive to Echmiadzin, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, also a unesco world heritage site. The vast ruined cathedral at neighbouring Zvartnots tells of the extraordinary ambition of early architects. Day 4: Amberd, Dzoraget. The ruins of Amberd Fortress, dramatically located on the southern slopes of Mount Ararat, date back to the 12th century, although it has been a stronghold since

Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,090 or £2,520 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,490 or £2,920 without flights. Included meals: all lunches, all dinners with wine. Visas: UK nationals do not require a visa. Other nationalities should obtain a visa on arrival, at the airport (c. £5). Passports must be valid for at least six months after the tour ends. Accommodation. The Armenia Marriott Hotel, Yerevan (marriottarmenia.am): recently-renovated 5-star hotel, impersonal but excellent facilities. The Avan Dzoraget (tufenkianheritage.com): small, stylish hotel on the riverside, equivalent to a 4-star. How strenuous? You will be on your feet for long periods. Many of the sites are reached by steep, uneven steps often without handrails. There are 220 steps to a monastery. There are 4 coach journeys of over 2 hours. Average distance by coach per day: 72 miles.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Many of the finest, including the rock-hewn Geghard and the unesco world heritage site of Echmiadzin, are easily visited from the capital, Yerevan. And while calling Yerevan the most sensitively-remodelled of all Soviet cities may sound like damnation with the faintest praise imaginable, today it is attractive and confident, its proliferation of cafés, galleries and public spaces making it a truly pleasant place to spend time. In the north of the country are two more unesco-listed monasteries, at Sanahin and Haghpat; both tell the story of Armenian religion and cultural endurance. Meanwhile Yerevanis live, work and socialise in the literal and metaphorical shadow of Ararat, still Armenia’s most emotive symbol despite now being on Turkish land. A few hundred yards from the border, the monastery of Khor Virap, which proudly boasts the dungeon where St Gregory the Illuminator was incarcerated, defiantly advertises the indomitable Armenian Christian tradition.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Georgia Uncovered, 1–10 July 2017 (p.88). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Mozart in salzburg the annual winter festival AustriA

28 January–2 February 2017 (md 105) 6 days • £3,340 (including tickets to 8 performances) Lecturer: Richard Wigmore Daily attendance at the Mozartwoche, the annual festival celebrating the composer’s work in the town of his birth. An outstanding programme, performed by leading orchestras, chamber groups and soloists. The best-preserved Baroque city in northern Europe in a wonderful alpine setting. Five-star hotel close to the Mozarteum. Led by Richard Wigmore, music writer, lecturer and broadcaster for BBC Radio 3. Salzburg is that rare thing, a tiny city with world-class standards in nearly everything the discerning visitor – and resident – would want. It is miraculous that such charm, and such grandeur, and, above all, such unparalleled weight of musical achievement, should be concentrated in so small a place. A virtually independent city-state from its origins in the early Middle Ages until its absorption into the Habsburg Empire in the nineteenth century, Salzburg’s days of glory had all but slipped into the past by the time Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born there. He became the unwitting instigator, post-mortem, of Salzburg’s transformation from minor ecclesiastical seat to the world’s foremost city of music festivals. There are five of them. The Mozartwoche (Mozart Week) held in January every year celebrates Salzburg’s most famous son with musicians famed worldwide for their Mozart interpretations.

Our tour allows the concerts to be interspersed with a gentle programme of walks and visits to see some of the finest art and architecture in the city. But there is also plenty of free time to relax and gather energies for the performances, and for individual exploration. The city has several museums – a recent addition is a Museum of Contemporary Art in a cliff-top location overlooking the city, and the city’s principal museum has been re-established in a part of the Archbishop’s palace known as the Neue Residenz.

Day 4. Morning concert at the Mozarteum with Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski (conductor), Johannes Hinterholzer (horn): Haydn, Symphony No.83 in G (Hob.I/83), ‘The Hen’; Mozart, Horn Concerto No.3 in E flat, K.447; Haydn, Symphony No.92 in G (Hob.I/92), ‘Oxford’. Afternoon visit to Mozart’s birthplace, now an excellent museum. Evening concert at the Mozarteum with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Robin Ticciati (conductor) and Maria João Pires (piano): Dvořák, Legends, Op.59; Mozart, Piano Concerto No.21 in C, K.467; Haydn, Symphony No.104 in D (Hob.I/104).

Itinerary

Day 5. Morning concert at the Mozarteum with Renaud Capuçon (violin) and Kit Armstrong (piano): Mozart, Sonatas for piano and violin in F, K.376; in E, K.380; in G, K.379; in A, K.526. Optional afternoon visit to the Alte Residenz, a complex dating back to the 16th century, housing a sequence of a dozen impressive state rooms, of which several were redesigned in the Baroque style by Erlach and Hildebrandt. The adjoining Residenzgalerie contains a collection of 16th–19thcentury European painting, including works by Rembrandt and Rubens. Evening concert at the Großes Festspielhaus with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Yannick Nézet Séguin (conductor), Roland Villazón (tenor): Mozart, Symphony No.39 in E flat, K.543; Symphony No.40 in G minor, K.550; a selection of arias for tenor and orchestra.

Day 1. Fly at c. 9.30am from London Gatwick to Salzburg (British Airways). Introductory lecture and early dinner. Evening concert at the Großes Festspielhaus: Thomas Hengelbrock (conductor), Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra: Mozart, Overture from Don Giovanni K.527, Piano Concerto in D minor K.466; Beethoven, Symphony No.3 in E flat Op.55, ‘Eroica’. Day 2. Morning concert at the Mozarteum with Sir András Schiff (conductor & piano) and Cappella Andrea Barca: Haydn, Piano Concerto No.11 in D (Hob.XVIII/11); Mozart, Symphony No.38 in D K.504, ‘Prague’; Haydn, Symphony No.101 in D (Hob.I/101), ‘The Clock’; Mozart, Piano Concerto No.23 in A K.488. An afternoon walk through the heart of the old city with a local guide includes a churche by the greatest master of Austrian Baroque, Fischer von Erlach, the late-Gothic Franciscan church and the mighty cathedral, the first major Baroque building north of the Alps. Evening concert at the Mozarteum with Pablo Heras-Casado (conductor) and the Orchestra of the Mozarteum Salzburg: Haydn, ‘Surprise’ Symphony No.94 in G (Hob.I/94), Symphony No.96 in D (Hob.I/96), ‘Miracle’, Symphony No.100 in G (Hob.I/100), ‘Military’. Day 3. A second guided walk includes a visit to the 18th-century Mirabell Gardens and the former Mozart family home. Then a private guided tour of the Mozarteum’s Autograph Vault, containing original letters and manuscripts. Evening concert at the Mozarteum with Camerata Salzburg and Fazil Say (piano): Haydn, Symphony No.22 in E flat (Hob.I/22), ‘The Philosopher’; Mozart, Piano Concerto No.4 in G, K.41; Piano Concerto No.5 in D, K.175; Piano Concerto No.6 in B flat, K.238; Haydn, Symphony No.8 in G (Hob.I/8), ‘Le Soir’.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,340 or £3,230 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,630 or £3,520 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine. Music: tickets (top category) for 8 performances are included, costing c. £1,100. Accommodation. Hotel Bristol (hotel.bristolsalzburg.at): 5-star family-run hotel, two minutes walk from the Mozarteum and just across the river from the Festspielhaus (600 metres). How strenuous? A fair amount of walking within the old town centre where vehicular access is restricted. You will therefore be expected to walk to and from the concert venues. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

MAINLAND EUROPE

the Miracle of salzburg 18–24 June 2017 • Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com A unique and unprecedented music festival: all the music performed was written in Salzburg for Salzburg, and most will be in the places in which they were first heard. Venues include the cathedral, Archiepiscopal Residence, Mirabell Palace and the University Great Hall.

Day 6. The flight from Salzburg arrives at London Gatwick c. 11.30am.

Salzburg, etching by Luigi Kasimir. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the largest contributor; other composers are Leopold Mozart (the father), Michael Haydn (the brother)

and Johann Ernst Eberlin, all in the employ of successive archbishops. Among the pieces by W.A. Mozart are two operas, Apollo et Hyacinthus and Il Rè Pastore, the Haffner Serenade, piano trios, string quartets and a quintet, and 21 symphonies. Ian Page and Wolfgang Redik are the principal conductors, and ensembles include Classical Opera, Mozart Chamber Ensemble and the Sandor Vegh Chamber Orchestra.

Vienna at Christmas Art, architecture & music in the Habsburg capital

Comprehensive overview of Vienna’s art and architecture, including a day dedicated to the Secession movement. Led by Dr Jarl Kremeier, an art historian specialising in 17th- to 19th-century architecture and decorative arts. Perfectly located 5-star heritage hotel. Two performances: Bach, Christmas Oratorio (Parts 1–3 and 6) at the Wiener Konzerthaus and The Magic Flute (Mozart) at the Staatsoper. Vienna was once the seat of the Habsburgs, the centre of the Holy Roman Empire and capital of a multinational agglomeration of territories which encompassed much of Central and Eastern Europe. Today she is an imperial city without an empire. She is a relic, but a glorious relic, and one of the world’s foremost centres of art, architecture and music. The Kunsthistorisches Museum ranks with the best of Europe’s art collections, and the Court Treasury is without peer for its display of historic regalia and objets d’art. The great Gothic cathedral bears witness to the city’s status in the Middle Ages as the most important city in Danubian Europe; the Church of St Charles and numerous Baroque palaces demonstrate that by the beginning of the eighteenth century Austria had become one of the great powers.

During the nineteenth century, when the Empire reached a peak of extent and prestige, a splendid range of historicist buildings was added, notably on the Ringstrasse, the grand boulevard which encircles the mediaeval core. Around the turn of the century there was an explosion of artistic and intellectual activity which placed Vienna in the forefront of Art Nouveau – here known as Secession – and the development of modernism. Not all is on a grand scale. Tucked behind the imposing palaces and public buildings are narrow alleys and ancient courtyards which survive from the mediaeval and Renaissance city. In Vienna the magnificent mixes with the unpretentiously charming, imperial display with the Gemütlichkeit of the coffee houses. As home for Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler and countless other composers, Vienna is pre-eminent in the history of music. Musical activity of the highest order continues and we hope to include two performances (tickets have been requested and are due to be confirmed early autumn 2016) . As with all our tours, careful planning to take account of seasonal closures enables us to provide a full programme of visits. There will be some special arrangements to see places not generally accessible.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Vienna (British Airways). Drive (30 minutes) to the city centre and check in. After lunch the lecturer leads a walk in and around the Hofburg,

the Habsburg winter palace, a vast agglomeration from six centuries of building activity. Within the complex are the Great Hall of the library, one of the greatest of Baroque secular interiors, and the collection of precious regalia in the Treasury. Adjacent is the court church of St Augustine.

AustriA

21–28 December 2016 (md 987) 8 days • £3,130 (including tickets to 2 performances) Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier

Day 2. Drive to the outskirts to see buildings by Otto Wagner, the richly decorated apartment blocks in the Linke Wienzeile, the emperor’s personal railway station at Schönbrunn and the hospital church ‘Am Steinhof’, the most beautiful example of Secessionist art and architecture. After lunch visit the decommissioned railway station pavilions by Wagner and Olbrich and the Secession building, built in 1898 as an exhibition hall for avant-garde artists, with Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze. Concert at the Wiener Konzerthaus with Freiburger Barockorchester, RIAS Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph Rademann (conductor), Anna Lucia Richter (soprano), Anke Vondung (alto), Maximilian Schmitt (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone): Bach, Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 (Parts 1–3 & 6). Day 3. Morning visit to the recently opened winter palace of Prince Eugene, begun in 1696 by Fischer von Erlach and expanded into one of the finest Baroque aristocratic palaces in Vienna by Lukas von Hildebrandt. The Museum of Applied Arts has international and Viennese collections, which are strikingly displayed. A visit to the Baroque Jesuit church follows, with it’s outstanding illusionistic ceiling paintings. Day 4, Christmas Eve. Spend the morning in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the world’s most important art collections, particularly rich in

Vienna, Hofburg, copper engraving 1773.

MAINLAND EUROPE 49 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Vienna at Christmas continued

the Danube Music Festival Music from Austria, Hungary & the Czech lands

AustriA

Italian, Flemish and Dutch pictures. An afternoon walk through some of the loveliest of Vienna’s streets and squares passes various imposing palaces and, on the Ringstrasse, the Gothic Revival Town Hall and the Neo-Classical Parliament. Christmas dinner. There are several musically embellished midnight masses. Day 5, Christmas Day. The morning is free, though Mass at St Augustine’s is recommended, and some museums are open. Spend the afternoon in the Museumsquartier, a recently developed arts centre in the former imperial stables, whose most interesting museum is the Leopold Collection of Secessionist art. Performance at the Staatsoper: Die Zauberflöte (Mozart): Adam Fischer (conductor), Moshe Leiser (dir.), Patrice Caurier (dir.) FranzJosef Selig (Sarastro), Joseph Dennis (Tamino), Albina Shagimuratova (The Queen of the Night), Olga Bezsmertna (Pamina), Georg Nigl (Papageno). Day 6. Visit the Church of St Charles, the Baroque masterpiece of Fischer von Erlach. See the palace and garden of Schloss Belvedere, built on sloping ground overlooking Vienna for Prince Eugene of Savoy, which constitutes one of the finest residential complexes of the 18th century. It now houses the Museum of Austrian Art with paintings by Klimt and Schiele. Visit the Stephansdom, the magnificent Gothic cathedral adorned with fine paintings and sculpture. Day 7. Free morning: a visit to the Albertina is recommended. Afternoon coach excursion to Klosterneuburg Abbey, once the seat of the Babenbergs. Largely Romanesque and Gothic, the church contains an altarpiece by Nicholas of Verdun, one of the greatest surviving metalworks of the middle ages. Return to Vienna for dinner. Day 8. Private visit to the magnificent Liechtenstein Palace which was built at the turn of the 17th & 18th centuries by the richest family in the Habsburg Empire and houses the princely art collection. Time for a leisurely lunch before driving to the airport for the flight to London Heathrow, arriving c. 6.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,130 or £2,910 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,520 or £3,300 without flights. Included meals: 3 lunches, 5 dinners with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Vienna, Hotel Bristol (bristolvienna.com): 5-star hotel in a superb location on the Ringstrasse near the opera house, traditionally furnished and decorated. Music: tickets to 2 performances are included (to be confirmed early autumn 2016). How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing around in museums, and navigation of metro and tram systems. Average distance by coach per day: 6 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Krems, mid-19th-century steel engraving.

20–27 August 2017 Details available in September 2016 Please contact us to register your interest Nine private concerts in beautiful and appropriate historic buildings alongside the River Danube. A wide variety of music of the region – Austria, Hungary and the Czech Lands. Musicians of the highest calibre, from the same countries and from Britain. Most participants are accommodated on a ship on the Danube; some stay in hotels and enjoy country walks between the concerts. The venues are generally of the same period as the pieces performed in them, and in some places there are specific historical associations between the two. Matching music and place – that is the governing principle of this festival. 2017 will be its twenty-fourth year. Michael Collins and the Heath Quartet play in the tiny 1791 theatre at Grein. The Vienna Chamber Choir sing in the Baroque abbey church in Dürnstein.

Beethoven’s 4th and 7th symphonies are performed by Orchester Wiener Akademie in the halls in Vienna where they were first heard. The Wihan Quartet from Prague perform Dvořák and Suk in a Bratislava palace. Cappella Savaria perform a spectacular Haydn Mass in the church where it was first heard. Benjamin Appl and Graham Johnson perform Die Schöne Müllerin in a rural manor house The English ensemble Zum Rote Igl present their unique version of a Brahms quintet. Daniela Lehner and Richard Egarr (fortepiano) with songs by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven in the Music Room of St Florian Abbey. The audience is small – no more than 140 – which when taken with the relatively intimate size of most of the venues results in a rare intensity of musical experience. To this exceptional artistic experience is added a further pleasure, the comfort and convenience of a first-class river cruiser which is both hotel and principal means of travel. There is also the option of staying in hotels along the route and enjoying walks through countryside between the concerts.

the schubertiade June & August 2017 Details available in August 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Grafenegg & linz Festival August 2017 Details available in November 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Haydn in Eisenstadt 50

What else is included in the price? See page 6. book online at www.martinrandall.com

September 2017 Details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Schloss Grafenegg, engraving 1895.

opera in Vienna rossini, Gounod, Wagner, strauss AustriA

16–21 March 2017 (md 174) 6 days • £3,070 (including tickets to 4 performances) Lecturer: Barry Millington Three performances at the Staatsoper, one of the world’s greatest opera houses and one at the historic Theater an der Wien. Elisabetta, Regina d’Inghilterra (Rossini), Faust (Gounod), Tristan und Isolde (Wagner) and Arabella (Richard Strauss). Daily talks by a musicologist, and a programme of walks and visits in the city. Based at a venerable and very comfortable hotel perfectly located beside the Staatsoper. Not content with being the most important city in the history of western music, Vienna continues to nurture an exceptionally active cultural life of a high level of excellence. Music and opera are cherished (and paid for) by government and citizens perhaps more than anywhere else in the world. Vienna is notoriously wedded to tradition, and Staatsoper productions are generally not what could be called progressive by standards prevalent in the German-speaking world. But stagecraft, stage design and dramatic portrayal are of the highest order, and the house continues to attract the world’s finest singers and conductors. And of course it enjoys the supreme skills and sumptuous sound of the Vienna Philharmonic, the orchestra in residence. Highly sophisticated audiences and critics give no quarter to complacency or laziness; opera at the Staatsoper is a fairly safe bet. The Theater an der Wien was built by the impresario who first staged Mozart’s Magic Flute, Emanuel Schikenader, in 1801. Each day there is a session of talks and discussions about the evening’s opera. There are also guided tours on foot to a choice selection of Vienna’s art and architecture and musical heritage, but also plenty of free time for rest, recuperation and preparation for the next performance.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c.2.45pm from London Heathrow to Vienna (British Airways). Arrive at the hotel in time to settle in before dinner.

Day 3. A morning walk through the centre of the inner city includes the Stephansdom, the great Gothic cathedral, the Baroque church of St Peter and an apartment where Mozart lived. There is some free time before a late-aftenoon talk and early dinner. Performance at the Staatsoper: Faust

(Gounod). Simone Young (conductor), Stephane Roche (director), Jean-François (Borras (Doctor Faust), Luca Pisaroni (Méphistophélès), Orhan Yildiz (Valentin), Anita Hartig (Marguerite). Day 4. The morning walk studies monuments to composers – Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner and Johann Strauss – and examines these images in the light of the subject’s posthumous reputations. This finishes near the excellent Museum of Applied Arts, especially rewarding for Secessionist (Art Nouveau) furniture and design. Free time is followed by a talk and dinner. Performance at the Staatsoper: Tristan und Isolde (Wagner). Mikko Franck (conductor), David McVicar (director), Stephan Gould (Tristan), Kwangchul Youn (Marke, King of Cornwall), Petra Lang (Isolde), Matthias Goerne (Kurwenal), Sophie Koch (Brangäne). Day 5. The daily talk precedes a visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the world’s greatest art galleries. Then walk through a series of gardens to a restaurant for lunch. Free time afterwards, or visit an apartment lived in by Beethoven. Evening performance at the Staatsoper: Arabella (R. Strauss). Peter Schneider (conductor), Sven-Eric Bechtolf (director), Wolfgang Bankl (Count Waldner), Camilla Nylund (Arabella), Chen Reiss (Zdenka), Bo Skovhus (Mandryka), Joseph Kaiser (Matteo). Day 6. Free morning before the flight to London Heathrow, which arrives at c. 3.30pm.

“The lecturer was, truly, a reference in musical knowledge and the tour manager managed the reservations everywhere in a wonderful and efficient way.”

Barry Millington. Writer, lecturer, broadcaster, specialising in Wagner. Founder/editor of The Wagner Journal and author of eight books on Wagner including The Wagner Compendium and Richard Wagner: The Sorcerer of Bayreuth. Chief Critic for the Evening Standard, and has acted as dramaturgical adviser at opera houses internationally. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,070 or £2,890 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,370 or £3,190 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Music: tickets (first category) for 4 operas are included, costing c. £570. Due to be confirmed in November 2016. Accommodation. Hotel Bristol (bristolvienna. com): 5-star hotel in a superb location on the Ringstrasse near the opera house, traditionally furnished and decorated. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking on this tour, mainly through the town centre where vehicular access is limited. Average distance by coach per day: 5 miles.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 2. A talk on the music is followed by a visit to the Hofburg, the sprawling Habsburg palace where we see inter alia the splendid library hall and imperial apartments. Evening opera at the Theater an der Wien: Elisabetta, Regina d’Inghilterra (Rossini). Jean-Christophe Spinosi (conductor), Amélie Niermeyer (director), Ensemble Matheus Orchestra, Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Alexandra Deshorties (Elizabeth I of England), Norman Reinhardt (Earl of Leicester), Ilse Eerens (Matilda), Natalia Kawalek (Henry), Barry Banks (Duke of Norfolk), Erik Årman (Captain of the Royal Guard).

Vienna, Staatsoper, wood engraving c. 1880.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

51 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Connoisseur’s Vienna Art, architecture, music & private visits austria

19–25 June 2017 (md 352) 7 days • £1,480 (including tickets to 2 performances) Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier Art, architecture, music: the main sites as well as lesser-known ones. Several special arrangements for out-of-hours visits or private buildings. Perfectly located heritage hotel. One included concert by the Vienna Piano Trio and Mark Padmore at the Wiener Konzerthaus, and one included performance at the world class Staatsoper: Elektra (Richard Strauss). With visits to the chief sights as well as lesser ones and little-visited treasures, with privileged access to places not normally accessible and two musical evenings, this tour provides an exceptionally rich and rounded cultural experience. Whether or not you have been to the city before, it will present Vienna in a truly memorable way. Grandiloquent palaces and labyrinthine mediaeval streets; broad boulevards and quiet courtyards; at times embattled on the frontier of Christendom, yet a treasury containing some of the greatest of European works of art; an imperial city without an empire: Vienna is a fascinating mix, a quintessentially Central European paradox. The seat of the Habsburgs, pre-eminent city of the Holy Roman Empire and capital of a vast multinational agglomeration of territories, Vienna is magnificently equipped with buildings which were created by imperial and aristocratic patronage. But the history of Vienna is shot through with diversity, difference and dissent, and some of the choicest items we see were created in defiance of mainstream orthodoxy.

A feature of this tour is the number of specially arranged visits to private palaces or institutions which are not generally open to the public or are off the beaten track. Because of the privileged nature of these visits we can only name a few of them here, but they include Baroque palaces, nineteenth-century halls, pioneers of modernism, churches and a synagogue. And then there is the music. As home for Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler and countless other composers, Vienna is pre-eminent in the history of music. We have chosen to include a concert at the Wiener Konzerthaus and a performance at the Staatsoper.

Itinerary This is only a summary of the visits; there are many more which are not mentioned here. Because it is also dependent on a number of appointments with private owners, the order and even the content of the tour may vary. Day 1. Fly at c. 9.30am from London Heathrow to Vienna (Austrian Airlines). An afternoon walk in and around the Hofburg, the Habsburg winter palace, a vast agglomeration from six centuries of building activity. See the incomparable collection of precious regalia and objets d’art in the Treasury, and the glorious library hall by Fischer von Erlach. Day 2. Walk through the Roman and mediaeval core to see a cross-section of architecture including Gothic and Baroque churches and some of Vienna’s most enchanting streetscapes. Guided tour of the Synagogue (Josef Kornhäusel, 1824), followed by a visit to a private chapel. Another special arrangement to see a grand 18thcentury hall. The Jesuit church was spectacularly refurbished c. 1700 by the master of illusionist painting, Andrea Pozzo. Performance at the Konzerthaus with the Vienna Piano Trio & Mark Padmore (tenor): Schubert, Auf dem Strom, D943; Thomas Larcher, a new work for tenor and piano trio; Beethoven, Piano Trio No.7 in B flat, Op.97.

Day 3. Drive to the outskirts to see buildings by Otto Wagner; the richly decorated apartment blocks in the Linke Wienzeile, the emperor’s personal railway station at Schönbrunn and the hospital church ‘Am Steinhof’, the finest manifestation of Viennese Secessionism. The Liechtenstein collection in the family’s great Baroque palace is perhaps the finest in private hands in Europe, currently not open to the public. Day 4. Drive around the Ringstrasse, the boulevard which encircles the old centre and is the locus classicus of historicist architecture. The magnificent Liechtenstein Palace was built at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries by the richest family in the Habsburg Empire and has magnificent Rococo interiors and original furnishings. Visit to and dinner at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the world’s greatest art collections, particularly rich in Italian, Flemish and Dutch pictures. Day 5. Visit the palace and garden of Schloss Belvedere, built on sloping ground overlooking Vienna for Prince Eugene of Savoy, which constitutes one of the finest residential complexes of the 18th century. It now houses the Museum of Austrian Art with paintings by Klimt and Schiele. Performance at the Staatsoper: Elektra (R. Strauss). Michael Boder (conductor), Waltraud Meier (Clytemnestra), Nina Stemme (Elektra), Regine Hangler (Chrysothemis), Herbert Lippert (Aegisthus), Alan Held (Oreste). Day 6. A tour of the Parliament building, a splendid example of enriched Neo-Classicism, and visit a late-19th-century town house on the Ringstrasse. Afternoon at the Museumsquartier, an art centre in the imperial stables. In the evening, eat at Michelin-starred Restaurant Bauer. Day 7. The Secession building, built in 1898 as an exhibition hall for avant-garde artists, contains Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze. Visit the great hall of the Academy of Art and the Church of St Charles, the Baroque masterpiece of Fischer von Erlach. The flight arrives at Heathrow at c. 6.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,480 or £1,310 without flights. Single occupancy: £1,900 or £1,730 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 4 dinners with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Hotel Bristol (bristolvienna. com): 5-star hotel in a superb location on the Ringstrasse near the opera house, traditionally furnished and decorated. Music: tickets (first category) to 2 performances are included, costing c. £195. Due to be confirmed in late 2016. How strenuous? This tour involves a lot of walking in the town centre. Public transport (metro or tram), is used on some occasions. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Great French Gardens, 28 June–7 July 2017 (p.68).

Left: Vienna, Secession Building, wood engraving 1898 (the year of its completion). book online at www.martinrandall.com

Flemish Painting From van Eyck to Rubens: Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels belgium

6–10 September 2017 (me 516) 5 days • £1,760 Lecturer: Dr Betsy Wieseman Immersion in the highlights of Flemish painting in the beautiful, unspoilt cities where they were created. The main centres of Flemish art: Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels. Based in Ghent, which is equidistant to the other places on the itinerary. First-class train travel from London.

Itinerary Day 1: Ghent. Depart at c. 11.00am from London St Pancras by Eurostar for Lille, and from there drive to Ghent. Visit Ghent cathedral to see the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb polyptych by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, one of the greatest masterpieces of Netherlandish painting (undergoing restoration, not all panels are visible at once). Day 2: Ghent, Bruges. With its canals, melancholic hues and highly picturesque streetscape, Bruges is one of the loveliest cities in northern Europe.

A major manufacturing and trading city in the Middle Ages, decline had already set in before the end of the 15th century. The Groeninge Museum has an excellent collection by Flemish masters including Jan van Eyck and the Church of Our Lady is home to Michelangelo’s marvellous marble Madonna and Child. St Salvator’s cathedral contains a triptych by Dirk Bouts. Day 3: Antwerp. The great port on the Scheldt has an abundance of historic buildings and museums and churches of the highest interest. Four of Rubens’s most powerful paintings are in the vast Gothic cathedral, joined for the first time since 1799 by a dozen major altarpieces dispersed by Napoleon. The house and studio Rubens built for himself are fascinating and well stocked with good pictures, and the Mayer van der Bergh Museum has a small but outstanding collection including works by Bruegel. Day 4: Bruges. See the mediaeval Hospital of St John, now a museum devoted to Hans Memling and contains many of his best paintings. See the market place with its soaring belfry, Gothic town hall and Basilica of the Holy Blood. Back in Ghent visit the Museum of Fine Arts, principally to see a work by Hieronymus Bosch. Day 5: Brussels. The Fine Arts Museum in Brussels is one of the best in Europe, and presents a comprehensive collection of Netherlandish painting as well as international works. Take the Eurostar from Brussels to London St Pancras, arriving c. 6.00pm.

MAINLAND EUROPE

One might argue that Western art began in the southern Netherlands. In the context of 40,000 years of human artistic endeavour, painting which gives primacy to the naturalistic depiction of the visible world was an eccentric digression. Yet the illusionistic triad of solidity, space and texture first came together early in the fifteenth century in what is now Belgium, and dominated European art for the next five hundred years. The Flemish cities of Bruges and Ghent were among the most prosperous and progressive in mediaeval Europe. Brussels and Antwerp peaked later, the latter becoming Europe’s largest port in the sixteenth century. All retain tracts of unspoilt streetscape which place them among the most attractive destinations in northern Europe. Jan van Eyck and his brother Hubert stand at the head of the artistic revolution in the fifteenth century. Their consummate skill with the hitherto unexploited technique of oil painting resulted in pictures which have rarely been equalled for their jewel-like brilliance and breathtaking naturalism. The tradition of exquisite workmanship was continued with the same tranquillity of spirit by such masters as Hans Memling in Bruges and with greater emotionalism by Rogier van der Weyden in Brussels and Hugo van der Goes in Ghent, while Hieronymus Bosch was an individualist who specialised in the depiction of human sin and hellish retribution. The sixteenth century saw a greater focus on landscape and a shift towards mannerist displays of virtuoso skill and spiritual tension, although the outstanding painter of the century was another individualist, Pieter Bruegel. A magnificent culmination was reached in the seventeenth century with Peter Paul Rubens, the greatest painter of the Baroque age. His works are of an unsurpassed vigour and vitality, and are painted with a breadth and bravura which took the potential of oil painting to new heights. This tour presents one of the most glorious episodes in the history of art.

Combine this tour with The Heart of Italy, 11–18 September 2017 (p.135).

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,760 or £1,590 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £1,990 or £1,820 without Eurostar.

Illustration: Reliquary of St Ursula by Hans Memling 1489 (housed in the Hospital of St John, Bruges), lithograph c. 1850. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Charlemagne to Charles V The Southern Netherlands in the Middle Ages belgium

Diadem of Charlemagne, engraving from ‘The Arts in the Middle Ages’, 1878.

the seat of a powerful bishopric at the junction of France, the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire, and a mediaeval centre of metalwork production. There are fine buildings in the spacious centre: St Jacques is one of the most elaborate of Late Gothic churches; Eglise Ste-Croix is Belgium’s only hall church; in St Barthélemy, the bronze font rests on oxen by Renier de Huy (1118). There are good collections in the Museum of Religious Art and the Curtius Museum. Day 4: Mons, Nivelles, Mechelen. At Mons (Bergen) are the untrumpeted Late-Gothic splendours of the collegiate church of Ste-Waudru. Ste-Gertrude at Nivelles (Nijvel), with its spatial clarity, is one of the great buildings of early mediaeval Europe. Continue to Mechelen for the first of three nights.

4–10 July 2017 (md 385) 7 days • £2,280 Lecturer: Dr Jeffrey Miller Superb Carolingian, Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture. Places somewhat off the beaten track, now spread through three countries – Germany, Belgium and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Based in Maastricht and Mechelen, two wellpreserved historic towns. Led by Dr Jeffrey Miller, art historian and expert in the architecture of the Middle Ages.

MAINLAND EUROPE 54

Jovial, approachable, and of immense physical strength and energy, Charlemagne epitomises the early mediaeval prince who ruled by force of personality. Confident of his grip on his sprawling empire, in later life he settled his court at Aachen. Though it would be hard to argue that the rise of the great trading cities of the Netherlands could be traced directly to the favour Charlemagne showed the area, the two occurrences are not without connection. The empire didn’t last, and little survives of the capital monuments from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. The palace chapel at Aachen is the most prominent survival, and well indicates the quality of what has been lost, as does the great collegiate church of Ste-Gertrude at Nivelles. The metalworking centres of the Meuse made a most significant contribution to the Romanesque era. Tournai cathedral is not only one of the seminal buildings of twelfth-century Europe, but also preserves one of the masterpieces of mediaeval reliquary art. But the touchstones of southern Netherlandish culture are to be found among the monuments of the later Middle Ages, in the prodigious energy generated by her urban and mercantile instincts, and in the range and quality of her artistic ambitions. This can be seen at a number of levels – in the unruffled calm of the Beguinhof at Mechelen, or the Late-Gothic invention of book online at www.martinrandall.com

Ste-Waudru at Mons or St-Jacques at Liège; in the brilliance and virtuosity of the town halls of Brussels and Ghent; and in the cool naturalism of the painting of Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Dirk Bouts. The arts of sculpture, metalwork and tapestry were no less important to a late-mediaeval audience, and in the museums and church treasuries of Brussels and Liège lie some of the finest collections of Late-Gothic and sixteenthcentury work in northern Europe. Emperor Charles V was born in Ghent in 1500, on the cusp of the modern world. During his reign Habsburg control of this area was consolidated, the once mighty and independent city states of the Netherlands subordinated within the largest empire in Europe since Charlemagne’s.

Itinerary Day 1: Brussels. Eurostar (1st class, standard premier) at c. 11.00am from London St Pancras to Brussels. See the work of goldsmiths, sculptors and painters in the Low Countries throughout the mediaeval and Renaissance periods in the Musée Cinquantenaire, which has staggering collections of Carolingian ivories, Mosan and Rhenish metalwork, furniture, tapestries and retables. Continue to Maastricht for the first of three nights. Day 2: Aachen (Germany), Maastricht (Netherlands). Cross into Germany to Aachen (Aix-en-Chapelle), Charlemagne’s favourite capital; the Centre Charlemagne museum places his legacy in context. The cathedral has a remarkable rotonda based on San Vitale, Ravenna (for Charlemagne symbolically important as the last capital of the Roman Empire); the Treasury has outstanding mediaeval works of art. Return to Maastricht to visit St Servaaskerk, a vast Romanesque edifice with crypt of c. 950, burial place of the last of the Carolingian Kings. See also the Church of Our Lady, with its ambulatory around the apse and defensive west front. Day 3: Liège (Belgium). Spread along the valley of the Meuse, Liège was for over a thousand years

Day 5: Tournai. The nave and transepts of the cathedral of Notre-Dame at Tournai constitute one of the supreme statements of 12th-cent. architectural thinking to survive in the Low Countries (the exterior is undergoing renovation). Its Rayonnant choir, 13th-cent. wall paintings, 16th-century choir screen and Nicolas of Verdun’s superb shrine, constitute a most important ensemble of mediaeval work. Visit the late 12thcentury parish church of St-Quentin and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Day 6: Mechelen, Ghent. Mechelen boasts one of the finest market squares to survive in Brabant, lined by 16th-century guild houses, the cathedral and the Stadhuis. See the west tower of Sint Romboutskathedraal, the founding statement of Netherlandish ‘Florid Gothic’. In Ghent, visit the restored shell of the Gravensteen, Flanders’s greatest feudal redoubt, and the luminous interiors of Sint Baafskathedraal, abode of Jan van Eyck’s Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (currently being restored, not all panels are visible at once). Day 7: Leuven, Brussels. By coach to Leuven (Louvain) where the church of St Peter contains a triptych within by Dirk Bouts. Continue to Brussels and the Grote Markt (Grand Place), the most ebullient town square in the Low Countries, and the cathedral of St Michel-et-Gudule with a recently rediscovered 10th-cent. church under the central space. The late afternoon Eurostar arrives at London St Pancras at c. 5.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,280 or £2,070 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £2,570 or £2,360 without Eurostar. Included meals: 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Beaumont Hotel, Maastricht (beaumonthotel.nl): modern, elegant 4-star hotel, conveniently located. Mercure Mechelen Vé (mercure.com): comfortable, central 4–star hotel. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking and standing around. Coaches are often not able to access the historic centres. Average distance by coach per day: 77 miles. Group size: between 12 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: French Gothic, 26 June–2 July 2017 (p.67); At home at Belvoir Castle, 30 June–3 July 2017 (p.24).

the Battle of Waterloo With Crécy & Agincourt

A study of the most written-about battle in British history, and one of the best-preserved battlefields. Prefaced by visits to Crécy and Agincourt. Led by an outstanding military historian who has published on both periods.

Day 5: Plancenoit, Waterloo. Prussian troops entered the village of Plancenoit south of the battlefield and soaked up Napoleon’s reserves; the fighting was so fierce that little of the village survives. Visit the Napoleon museum in the house where he spent the night before the fateful battle. Return to London by Eurostar from Brussels arriving St Pancras c. 5.00pm.

Day 3: Quatre Bras, Ligny. The Wellington Museum is in the inn where the Duke spent the nights before and after the battle. During the day of 16th June some of the scattered allied contingents converged at Quatre Bras, but numerical inferiority led to a well fought defensive engagement and, on the 17th June, an orderly withdrawal admirably screened by cavalry. At the same time a much bigger battle was taking place 7 miles to the East at Ligny where the Prussians were badly defeated by Napoleon; this proved to be his last victory. Overnight Waterloo.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,690 or £1,520 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £1,890 or £1,720 without Eurostar.

Day 4: Waterloo. A day spent walking the battlefield, with stops for talks at key positions. Included are the farmstead of Hougoumont, held by the Guards throughout the day during the fiercest fighting, and the sweep of terrain across which the British cavalry drove back the advance of the French but exhausted themselves in the process. Also visit the panoramic painting of the battle (1912) and climb the Lion Mound. Finish the day by walking the course taken by Napoleon’s Guards towards the allied lines before they turned and fled in the face of deadly fire and bayonet charges. Overnight Waterloo.

Practicalities

Included meals: 1 lunch, all 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Hermitage, Montreuilsur-Mer (hermitage-montreuil.com): 19th-cent. building in the centre of Montreuil converted into a 3-star hotel. Superior bedrooms are of a good size; modern décor. Martin’s Grand Hotel, Waterloo (martins-hotels.com): located close to the battlefield, this 4-star hotel is in a converted 19th-cent. sugar refinery. How strenuous? There is a lot of standing on exposed sites for extended periods of time. There is quite a lot of walking; Waterloo day includes c. 5 miles on foot along country lanes, footpaths and fields. A long drive from Agincourt to Waterloo. Average distance by coach per day: 115 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Sicily, 18–30 September 2017 (p.144).

MAINLAND EUROPE

The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 terminated twentythree years of fighting and ushered in ninety-nine years of relative peace and political equilibrium. Waterloo can also be seen as marking Great Britain’s coming of age as a superpower. The event became absolutely key for British self-identity, epitomising the championship of liberty over tyranny, victory of the weaker over the stronger, and the value of the virtues of courage, composure, discipline and perseverance. Despite its far-reaching consequences, Waterloo was far from being the biggest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, or the bloodiest, or even, in terms of imbalance of casualties, the most decisive. It was not even a particularly British victory – two-thirds of the allied army was German, Dutch and Belgian, and that is without including the Prussians, whose intervention late in the day ensured victory. Much of the enduring fascination of the battle – probably the most written-about in history – derives from these controversies and because it was ‘the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life’. Wellington’s ‘infamous army’, though of similar size to Napoleon’s, contained a high proportion of inexperienced troops and citizen militia, and some who only a year previously had been marching under the imperial eagle. But they stood their ground tenaciously and finished the day in triumph. This was Wellington’s ultimate test, his chance to measure his abilities against Napoleon, whom he had never met in battle before. His generalship proved to be the superior. Amazingly, fortuitously, all three battlefields are very well preserved. Crécy (1346) and Agincourt (1415) were also scenes of British victories over superior French forces and are major ingredients in the fading national myth. But it is not jingoism which brings these three battles together in this tour, but the contingency of geographical proximity – that and their fame. As a trio of events in British (pre-Victorian) history, their combined resonance is unsurpassed. A proper study of the battlefields leaves little room for partiality; ‘Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.’

Day 2: Agincourt. Similarly remote and rural, the little-altered terrain helps explain how Henry V and his exhausted followers brought catastrophe to the much larger French army. However, the traditional national myth and Shakespearean spin veils a more complex and controversial reality. After a brief visit to the visitors’ centre, have lunch in the vicinity before driving across Flemish France and Walloon Belgium to Waterloo. First of three nights in Waterloo.

Itinerary Day 1: Crécy. Take the Eurostar at 11.00am from St Pancras to Lille. Drive south through rolling countryside to the village of Crécy-en-Ponthieu. It was here in August 1346 that an English army commanded by Edward III and the Black Prince inflicted a crushing defeat on a numerically superior French and international force, victory of the longbow over knights in armour. The battlefield has changed little in topography and planting in 650 years. Overnight Montreuil.

BElGiuM

13–17 September 2017 (me 523) 5 days • £1,690 Lecturer: Major Gordon Corrigan mbe

‘Wellington at Waterloo’, drawn June 18 1815, chromolithograph after the painting by Robert Hillingford 1896. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

the Western Balkans Croatia, serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina & Montenegro BosNiA & HErzEGoViNA, CroAtiA

The smaller Bosnian towns on our route (Višegrad, Mostar and Trebinje) have great charm. Kotor – in Montenegro – is a small fortified Venetian port city with a Romanesque cathedral on the shore of a fjord. Visits to the old capital, Cetinje, and the coast will offer insights into Montenegro’s history and strongly independent national character. One particular feature of this journey is that it takes in remote and functioning Serbian Orthodox monasteries that are of exceptional architectural and artistic interest, and include unesco World Heritage sites. This tour is emphatically a journey, with some long days and much driving through hilly terrain. The late-spring and summer departures will show the magnificent countryside at its best.

Itinerary Day 1: Zagreb. Fly at c. 8.30am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Zagreb. Lunch is served upon arrival followed by an orientation walk, including a visit to the State Archives. First of two nights in Zagreb (Croatia). Day 2: Zagreb. The westernmost place on this tour, the capital of Croatia ranks with the loveliest cities of Central Europe. The Meštrović Atelier displaying the works of the renowned Croatian sculptor, private viewing of the Golden Hall, the Gothic Cathedral of the Assumption. Walk to the upper town, the Kaptol district, via the bustling market. After lunch there is free time to visit the Modern Art Gallery and Museum of Arts and Crafts. Overnight Zagreb. Kotor, watercolour by William Tyndale, publ. 1925.

3–16 October 2016 (md 880) 14 days • £4,210 Lecturer: David Gowan cmg 8–21 May 2017 (md 266) 14 days • £4,260 Lecturer: David Gowan cmg 2–15 October 2017 (me 591) 14 days • £4,260 Lecturer: David Gowan cmg MAINLAND EUROPE 56

A ground-breaking journey through one of the most politically complex and fissiparous yet fundamentally similar regions of Europe. A political and historical tour, led by a former British ambassador in Belgrade, David Gowan. Rural villages, little-visited towns, imposing capitals; magnificent mountainous landscapes; little tourism. Exquisite Byzantine wall paintings in the fortresslike monasteries of Southern Serbia, Ottoman mosques, Art Nouveau architecture. This journey takes us to borderlands where, for much of their history, the South Slavs have been divided by competing empires and cultures. In Serbia, the Nemanjić dynasty flourished from the twelft h until the fourteenth centuries and built monasteries that combined Byzantine book online at www.martinrandall.com

and Romanesque influences. But from the early fifteenth century (following the defeat of Prince Lazar in 1389) until the mid-nineteenth century, the Ottoman Turks ruled Serbia, Bosnia and much of Slavonia. Meanwhile, the Habsburg Empire reached south into Croatia, and Venice dominated the cities of the Adriatic coast. The modern politics and structure of the Western Balkans were defined by the Congress of Berlin in 1878; the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, which created the first Yugoslavia; the Second World War, which ravaged the region and gave birth to Tito’s Yugoslavia; and, most recently, the maelstrom of the 1990s and the emergence of the present seven independent states. What are the Western Balkans like now? There has been a major change in the past decade. The capitals and main cities that we shall visit are all lively and welcoming, but each retains a distinct character. Croatia is prosperous and joined the EU in the summer of 2013. Its historic links to Vienna and Budapest can be seen clearly in Zagreb and Osijek. Our other destinations are more complex and multi-layered. Belgrade is historically the extension of a strategic Ottoman citadel overlooking the Danube and Sava. It has fine and varied architecture (including some from the Art Nouveau period) and a cosmopolitan feel. Sarajevo combines mosques, Orthodox churches, squares and kafanas in a mountainous setting. Its troubled history is not far below the surface.

Day 3: Zagreb, Osijek. Drive through Croatia’s rustic north-eastern region of Slavonia via lunch at a vineyard to Osijek. Located on the River Drava amid gently undulating countryside, Osijek is the administrative centre of Slavonia. There is a remarkably unspoilt 18th-century quarter built by the Austrians as their military and administrative headquarters when they pushed back the Turks, with cobbled alleys and fortress walls. Overnight Osijek (Croatia). Day 4: Ilok, Novi Sad. Pass through Vukovar, the Croatian town worst damaged by the 1991 war. Stop near Ilok, a picturesque fortified settlement on a bluff high above the Danube. Cross the river into Serbia and spend the afternoon in Novi Sad. This has a picturesque core with buildings from the 18th century. Onwards and, across the Danube, the massive fortress of Petrovaradin which was pivotal in Prince Eugene’s wars with the Turks. First of two nights in Belgrade (Serbia). Day 5: Belgrade. With its broad avenues and imposing public buildings, Belgrade is unmistakably a capital and instantly recognisable as a Balkan one. After Diocletian divided the Roman Empire in the late third century ad, it became the westernmost stronghold of the eastern portion. Its kernel is a citadel on a hill above the meeting of the Danube and Sava rivers, which holds the record for the number of times it has changed hands between hostile powers. Most of the city’s architecture dates from the late 19th century onwards. Liveliness is provided by the café culture typical of the Balkans. Final night in Belgrade.

Day 7: Studenica, Sopoćani. This includes a drive through spectacular mountain scenery. We visit two more superb mediaeval monasteries, Studenica and Sopoćani. Both are located in remote and beautiful valleys, both have amongst the finest 13th-and 14th-century Byzantine frescoes to survive anywhere. We stop briefly near the Bosniak town of Novi Pazar in the Sandžak. Day 8: Višegrad, Sarajevo. Cross from Serbia to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Stop at the beautiful late 16th-century Višegrad bridge before continuing to the capital, Sarajevo. First of two nights here. Day 9: Sarajevo. Famously squeezed by high treeclad hills at the head of a river valley, Sarajevo was founded in the 15th century by the Ottoman Turks in the wake of their steady conquest of the Balkan Peninsula. The various assorted mosques, churches and synagogues highlight the pluralist nature of the city. It is possible to stand where Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand; in the adjacent museum it is strangely moving to see the trousers of the man who started the First World War. Final night in Sarajevo. Day 10: Mostar. Driving over the mountains that encircle Sarajevo and following the Neretva river, we arrive in Mostar in the late morning. A thriving trading town since Herzegovina came under Ottoman rule in 1482, this is Bosnia-Herzegovina’s most picturesque town, an open-air museum with narrow cobbled streets and original Ottoman architecture. At its heart is the Old Bridge, shelled until it collapsed in 1993 and rebuilt in 2004. Overnight Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina).

Day 14: Kotor. Fly from Dubrovnik, arriving London Gatwick at approximately 1.00pm.

Practicalities Price in 2016, per person. Two sharing: £4,210 or £3,980 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,600 or £4,370 without flights. Price in 2017, per person. Two sharing: £4,260 or £4,070 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,680 or £4,490 without flights. Included meals: 9 lunches, 10 dinners with wine. Accommodation. The Regent Esplanade Hotel, Zagreb (esplanade.hr): grand 5- star hotel within walking distance of the city centre. Hotel Osijek, Osijek (hotelosijek.hr/en): modern and comfortable high-rise hotel on the bank of the river Drava. Hotel Moskva, Belgrade (hotelmoskva.rs): a well-located and comfortable hotel built in 1926 with a great deal of character, recently renovated. Hotel Crystal, Kraljevo (hotelcrystal.rs): simple but adequate and with welcoming service, the only acceptable hotel in a region with little tourism. Hotel Europe, Sarajevo (hoteleurope.ba): a centrally located 5-star hotel, the best in the city, built in the late 19th century but comprehensively renovated. Hotel Mepas, Mostar (mepas-hotel. ba/en) a modern business hotel just a short drive from the historic centre. Hotel Cattaro, Kotor (cattarohotel.com): located within the old city walls, this hotel provides an excellent base from which to explore. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking in the city centres, some of it on uneven ground and up and down steep flights of steps. Though the average distance by coach per day is 65 miles, many roads are slow and mountainous and some travelling days are long. Border crossings may entail minor delays. There are six hotel changes.

See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Illustration: Sarajevo, from ‘Balkan Sketches’, 1926.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

What else is included in the price? See page 6. H U N G A RY

S L OV E N I A Zagreb

Virovitica

RO M A N I A Osijek

C ro a t i a

Ilok

Day 12: Kotor, Perast. Kotor nestles at the foot of high hills, a harbour on a sheltered fjord off the Adriatic. This diminutive city retains its fearsome ramparts, much unspoilt streetscape and an astonishing Romanesque cathedral incorporating Roman columns. In the later afternoon drive around the fjord to Perast, perched between towering mountains and the water, with large mansions, mediaeval to Baroque. A short boat ride allows a visit to an island church, Our Lady of the Rock, before lunch on the water’s edge. Day 13: Cetinje, Budva. A mountain drive to the Cetinje which until the end of the First World War was the capital of Montenegro, and still retains the echo of uniforms, a royal court and Balkan diplomacy. Visit the Palace of King Nikola, the Art

David Gowan CMG. British Ambassador in Belgrade from 2003–6 and Minister and Deputy Head of Mission in Moscow from 2000–3. He was Kosovo War Crimes Co-ordinator in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1999 and has published papers on Serbia and Kosovo.

Novi Sad Belgrade

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Serbia

Sarajevo

Višegrad

Stolac Dubrovnik

M o n t e n e g ro

Trebinje Perast Cetinje

c. 100 km

Sopoćani

Kosovo

Kotor

I TA LY

Kraljevo Studenica

Mostar

Adriatic Sea

Manasija

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 11: Stolac, Trebinje, Kotor. This is wine country, and after a stop in the quiet Ottoman town of Stolac lunch is at a winery in Trebinje, the southernmost city of BosniaHerzegovina. Walk around the historic walled town and a country market. In the afternoon cross from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Montenegro and descend into the Bay of Kotor. First of three nights in Kotor (Montenegro).

and History Museum and former embassies. In the afternoon visit the historic old town of Budva on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast. Final night in Kotor.

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia

Day 6: Belgrade, Manasija. Free morning in Belgrade. Then begin three days visiting what Serbia does best, mediaeval Orthodox monasteries. Tucked in a wooded valley, Manasija is ringed by surely the highest and stoutest walls of any monastery anywhere, built in the early 15th century in expectation of the inevitable Turkish assault. Frescoes of the highest quality – a late flowering of Byzantine art – survive well. First of two nights in Kraljevo (Serbia).

ALBANIA

M AC E D O N I A

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Connoisseur’s Prague Art, architecture & design, with privileged access CzECH rEPuBliC

hilltop Royal Castle is one of the many monuments of that golden age, and the exquisite panel paintings from this era, now excellently displayed in the Convent of St Agnes, are among the chief glories of the city. Subordination within the Habsburg Empire from the sixteenth century curtailed Bohemia’s power but not its wealth or architectural achievements: some of the finest Renaissance buildings in Central Europe arose here. In the eighteenth century, some of the richest landowners of the Baroque age built palaces here. In the city where Mozart had his most enthusiastic audiences and where Smetana and Dvořák reached fulfi lment, there is still a rich musical life in a range of beautiful historic opera houses and concert halls. There will be the opportunity to attend performances. The itinerary given below does not list by any means all that you see. Nor does it indicate all the slots for free time, which is necessarily a feature of a tour of such richness and variety.

Itinerary

Prague, Old Town Square, lithograph by Samuel Prout 1839.

10–16 September 2017 (me 537) 7 days • £2,770 Lecturer: Michael Ivory Includes inaccessible and hidden glories as well as the main sights of this endlessly fascinating city. Special arrangements and private visits are major features. Also museum tours with curators. Museums and galleries have been transformed in recent years, and new ones added.

MAINLAND EUROPE 58

Particular focus on art and architecture around the turn of the 19th century. The lecturer, Michael Ivory, has led many tours to the Czech Republic. Can be combined with Czech Modernism, 4–9 September 2017 (see opposite). This is an experience of Prague like no other. The capital of Bohemia needs no introduction as the most beautiful city in Central Europe, with plenty to delight the cultural traveller for a week or more. Yet many a façade screens halls and rooms and works of art of the highest interest which can scarcely ever be seen except by insiders. Other fine places are open to visitors but hard to get to. Gaining access to the inaccessible is a major strand of this tour. Pursuing the private and straying off the beaten track will not be at the expense of book online at www.martinrandall.com

the well-known sights, among which are some of the most fascinating buildings and artworks. But here participants are enabled to focus on the essentials and as far as possible to visit when crowds have subsided. Prague enjoys an unequalled density of great architecture, from Romanesque to modern, but it is the fabric of the city as a whole rather than individual masterpieces which makes it so special. The city has the advantage of a splendid site, a crescent of hills rising from one side of a majestic bend in the River Vltava with gently inclined terrain on the other bank. A carapace of red roofs, green domes and gilded spires spreads across the slopes and levels, sheltering marvellously unspoilt streets and alleys and magically picturesque squares. Though the whole gamut of Czech art and architecture is viewed, the tour has an emphasis on the period from the 1870s to the 1920s. The spirit of national revival and the achievement of independence (in 1918) inspired a ferment of creativity among artists, writers and composers. A bewildering variety of styles drew on earlier Bohemian traditions, led Art Nouveau into highly innovatory directions and pioneered some radical and unique features at the dawn of modernism. Another high point in Prague’s history was the fourteenth century, when Kings of Bohemia were also Holy Roman Emperors and the city became one of the largest in the western world. The Gothic cathedral rising from within the precincts of the

Day 1. Fly from London Heathrow to Prague at c. 9.45am (British Airways) and drive to the hotel. A first exploration of the ancient core of the city on the right bank of the Vltava. A dense maze of dazzlingly picturesque streets and alleys converges on Old Town Square, surely the prettiest urban space in Europe, with shimmeringly beautiful façades – mediaeval, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau. Then a special visit to the Obecní dům (‘Municipal House’) to see the glorious suite of assembly rooms created 1904–12, a unique and very Czech mélange of murals and ornament. Day 2. Continue the tour of the Old Town with the Gothic Týn church, at the heart not only of Prague but also of Czech history. There follows the 13thcentury Convent of St Agnes, where one of the world’s greatest collections of mediaeval painting is brilliantly installed. A walk in and around Wenceslas Square, threading through a succession of arcades, takes in some outstanding turn-ofthe-century architecture and decoration and early modernist masterpieces. Day 3. Drive up to Prague Castle for a first visit to this extensive and fascinating hilltop citadel, residence of Dukes and Kings of Bohemia from the 10th century and now of the President. The Old Royal Palace rises from Romanesque through Gothic to Renaissance, the chief glory being the largest stone hall in Europe and its extraordinary vaulting. There follows privileged access to a wonderful sequence of halls not open to the public, dating from the 1570s to the 1930s (state occasions permitting). Walk through a sequence of delightful gardens on the south slope down to the Lesser Town. Day 4. Begin with the Moorish style Jubilee Synagogue of 1908 and the rare Rondo-Cubist Legion’s Bank of the 1920s. The Veletržni (Trade Fair) Palace of 1928 now houses fascinating Czech art of the 19th and 20th centuries and a remarkable holding of modern French art. Return to the Castle District to see the delicately arcaded Belvedere in the Royal Gardens, the finest Renaissance building in Prague, and the cathedral of St Vitus, a pioneering monument of High

Czech Modernism inter-war architecture in Prague, Brno, Hradec Králové & zlin

Day 5. The Klementinum is a vast Jesuit complex with library halls and chapels. See also in the Old Town the church of St James, a Gothic carcass encrusted with Baroque finery after a fire in 1689. Walk across 14th-century Charles Bridge, the greatest such structure in Europe, wonderfully adorned with sculptures. In the Lesser Town visit St Nicholas, one of the finest of Baroque churches in Central Europe. Free afternoon. Day 6. See the treasures south of the centre by coach, among them St John Nepomuk ‘on the Rock’, a little Baroque masterpiece (rarely accessible), the bizarre phenomenon of Cubist houses and the fortress of Vysehrad, rising high above the river and enclosing a cemetery with the graves of many great Czechs. There is a special tour of the National Theatre (1869–83) to which all the leading Czech artists of the time contributed, and a quick visit to the Prague City Museum to see the extraordinarily detailed model of the city made in the 1830s. A riverside country retreat, Villa Troja is a 17th-century Italianate mansion with a French formal garden. Day 7. Strahov Monastery has commanding views over Prague and two magnificent library halls, which by special arrangement we enter. Then walk down the hill, passing the formidable bulk of the Černín Palace and the delightful façade of the Loreto Church. The flight returns to London Heathrow at c. 2.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,770 or £2,580 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,240 or £3,050 without flights. Included meals: 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Paris Prague (hotelparis.cz): 5-star hotel built in 1904 that retains an Art Nouveau theme throughout. Comfortable and elegant but not fussy with a good restaurant and café. Very well located in the Old Town close to Obecní dům (Municipal House). How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking, much of it on roughly paved streets, some on inclines. The tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stairclimbing. Fitness is essential. Combine this tour with: Czech Modernism, 4–9 September 2017 (see opposite). We offer accommodation and a walking tour for the day between the two tours: see page 60 for information.

Early twentieth-century architecture in the (then) new nation of Czechoslovakia, a highly creative crucible of modernism. See the transformation of Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau and some of the most handsome and original modernist designs in Europe. Much of the itinerary is far from the regular tourist trail. Dismembered, occupied and marginalised for fift y years from 1938, and an oppressed province of Austria-Hungary before 1919; perhaps it is not surprising that Czechoslovakia’s brilliant contribution to the art and design of the twentieth century has tended to be overlooked. All branches of the visual arts and architecture flourished during the short period between the wars – the only period of political independence before 1990 – and during the twenty years before this, when the struggle for self-determination was rolling inexorably towards its climax. As much as in any European country and more than in most, the avant-garde was lively, creative and mainstream in the new, forward-looking country of Czechoslovakia. While in all disciplines practitioners were at the forefront of international movements and ideas, what is particularly exciting is that so much was original, idiosyncratic and distinctively Czech. Modernism had its roots in Art Nouveau, while some architects, by complete contrast, digressed into an unparalleled application of Cubism to buildings and furniture. This briefly morphed in the 1920s into Rondo-Cubism, a mix of richly sculpted surfaces and geometric forms. Meanwhile, Functionalism and International Modernism were becoming the orthodoxy, producing some distinguished and beautiful results, though idiosyncrasy continued in the imaginative variations of classicism practised by Josip Plečnik. Modernism and experimentation found such fruitful soil here because Czechoslovakia was highly developed industrially (80% of the Habsburg Empire’s industrial might had been concentrated in the Czech lands), society was meritocratic and liberal and politics left-leaning but robustly democratic (it was the only Central European nation not to succumb to totalitarianism before the War). Even in the Communist era there was much good design; since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 some excellent buildings by international as well as Czech architects have been added.

transforming the historic complex into the centre of government, wholly original and utterly beautiful. The Museum of Czech Cubism in the House of the Black Madonna by Josef Gočár well displays this idiosyncratic phenomenon. The Baba estate is a model colony of modernist villas planned by Pavel Janak and built 1928–40 with many architects contributing. Finally, visit the Villa Müller, the masterpiece of Adolf Loos and one of the best houses of the era, excellently restored. Day 3: Prague. The Legions’ Bank is the outstanding example of that unique Czech style, Rondo-Cubism, here a national memorial enriched with sculpture. Josip Plečnik’s Church of the Sacred Heart in the suburb of Vinohrady is a quirky but serene masterpiece. Return to the centre to see the Mánes Building by Otakar Novotný and the Trade Fair Building (Veletržní Palác), a major piece of Modernism that now houses the modern art branch of the National Gallery. Overnight Prague. Day 4: Hradec Králové. An extensive new town spreads across the river from the historic kernel of Hradec Králové in eastern Bohemia, planned by

MAINLAND EUROPE

Group size: between 10 and 19 participants.

4–9 September 2017 (me 514) 6 days • £2,440 Lecturer: Professor Harry Charrington

Itinerary

the Prague spring Festival May 2017 Details available in November 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

CzECH rEPuBliC

Gothic, richly embellished with chapels, tombs, altarpieces and stained glass.

Day 1: Prague. Fly at c. 10.00am from London Heathrow to Prague. There is an afternoon walk in and around Wenceslas Square, where there are some choice early modernist buildings as well as Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and historicist predecessors. Overnight Prague. Day 2: Prague. Visit Prague Castle to see Josip Plečnik’s restorations and additions in

Prague, by V.V. Stech, 1928. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Czech Modernism continued

Great Houses of the Czech lands Country houses & town palaces in Bohemia & Moravia

CzECH rEPuBliC

Josef Gočár 1909–11. The Museum, one of the best buildings of its time, was designed by Jan Kotěra, father of Czech modernism. Rondo-Cubism is evident in the bank buildings in Masaryk Square, glass walls in the railway offices, red brick in the school and concrete in the austerely expressive Hussite church. Overnight Brno. Day 5: Brno. The Czech Republic’s second city and capital of Moravia, Brno was a major player in Central European industry and design between the wars. A walk takes in some of the modernist buildings in the city centre. Depart mid-morning for Zlín, the ultimate company town, the creation of Tomáš Baťa, the shoe manufacturer. Despite post-War vicissitudes, many of the factories, offices, houses and civic amenities survive in good order and major restoration has recently been completed. Overnight Brno. Day 6: Brno. In the Exhibition Centre several buildings survive from the 1928 trade fair. Designed by Mies van der Rohe, Villa Tugendhat is one of the finest modernist family homes in Europe. Drive to Prague Airport and return to Heathrow c. 9.00pm. Those combining this tour with Connoisseur’s Prague continue by coach to the Hotel Paris in Prague on the 9th September (day 6 above). The following morning (10th September), take a morning walking tour with a local guide, and join the rest of the group at the hotel at c. 3.45pm. Please see ‘Practicalities’ below for the price including these additional arrangements.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,440 or £2,250 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,700 or £2,510 without flights. Price, if combining this tour with Connoisseur’s Prague. Two sharing: £2,510 or £2,370 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,820 or £2,490 without flights. This includes the extra night in Prague in between the two tours and a walking tour on the morning of the 10th September. Flights (if you are taking them) are charged with this tour, so you will pay the ‘without flights’ price for Connoisseur’s Prague. Please state on your booking form if you wish to take up this option. Included meals: 3 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Hotel K + K Central Prague (kkhotels.com/en/prague/hotel-central): recently built 4-star hotel installed in a 1902 building excellently situated in a quiet street in the Old Town. Pleasingly understated décor and well-equipped rooms. A newly opened 4-star boutique hotel, the luxurious Grandezza Hotel (grandezzahotel.cz) is located in the heart of Brno’s historic centre, The Green Market. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking, much of it on roughly paved, cobbled and steep streets, some on inclines. Fitness is essential. Music. It is usually possible to obtain tickets for concerts and opera. Details will be sent to participants as soon as they are available. Group size: between 10 and 20 participants.

Combine this tour with: Connoisseur’s Prague, 10–16 September 2017 (p.58). book online at www.martinrandall.com

Hluboká, wood engraving c. 1880.

11–19 August 2017 (md 455) 9 days • £2,930 Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier A selection from one of the densest collections of country houses and town palaces in Europe. Prosperous and progressive for most of their history, Bohemia and Moravia were favoured territories for aristocratic estates. Renaissance houses and decoration of the 16th century are a particular delight, Baroque is brilliantly represented, Neo-Classical and Gothic Revival not far behind. With an exceptional density of great houses, the Czech Republic, comprising the historic provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, is an essential destination for anyone who cares for country houses and town palaces. With variety also being as much a feature as profusion, visitors are invariably surprised and delighted by the riches that are to be seen in the relatively undiscovered countryside beyond Prague. The Middle Ages had an impact on the appearance of some of the houses where incorporation of the masonry of a castellar predecessor affected the present plan or appearance. Reception of Italian Renaissance architecture was precocious, and there are arcaded courtyards of an elegance and scale which are unparalleled elsewhere in Europe. There is also some outstanding decoration of the sixteenth century. Around the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a period of renewal after a time of troubles, there was a veritable mania for building. Houses in rumbustious Baroque styles arose, sometimes sophisticated, often provincial, usually delightful, always impressive. The Age of Neo-Classicism is also handsomely represented. Many parks and gardens succumbed

at this time to the fashion for the English landscaped style. Also partly of British inspiration was the Gothic Revival, and the nineteenth century produced a large number of mansions shaped by the spirit of Romanticism. Nearly all the houses retain first-rate furnishings and works of art. On the whole state custodianship has been adequately caring, but since the collapse of Communism a number of properties have been returned to their pre-1948 owners. Every year there are improvements to be seen as growing prosperity allows for restoration and more enlightened curatorship. Natural beauty is also a feature of the tour, with ravishing countryside and a deep rurality which has vanished from much of the rest of Europe.

Itinerary Day 1: Prague. Fly at c. 10.00am from London Heathrow to Prague and drive to Mělník. Situated on a bluff above the River Vltava and surrounded by vineyards, Zámek Mělník is a charming country house of several periods. The rooms with unrestored 18th-century decoration are outstanding. First of two nights at a country house hotel near Liblice. Day 2: Veltrusy, Nelahozeves. Veltrusy is a delightful 18th-century house on an unusual X–plan. Chinoiserie interiors, and one of the Continent’s earliest ‘English’ landscaped parks. The formidable and apparently defensible bulk of Nelahozeves melts in the courtyard into a graceful Italianate dwelling with classical arcades, revealing itself as one of the first monumental Renaissance buildings in the region. A property of the Lobkowitz family, there is a fine collection of pictures and furniture. Overnight Liblice. Day 3: Chlumec, Kačina. Karlova Koruna (‘Charles’s Crown’) at Chlumec nad Cidlinou is a fascinating design by the brilliant if eccentric Baroque architect Santini-Aichel. It was built for

Day 4: Valtice, Lednice. Adjoining the Austrian border are two great houses which were the property of the Liechtenstein family from the 13th century to 1945. The redoubtable residence at Valtice is largely of the 17th and 18th centuries, while the house at Lednice is a magnificent Gothic Revival building with outstanding woodwork interiors. Here also are monumental Baroque stables designed by Fischer von Erlach and an extensive park with large-scale follies and pavilions. Overnight Brno. Day 5: Bučovice, Kroměříž. Bučovice is a Renaissance treasure, with a splendid tripletiered arcaded courtyard and stucco interiors of a quality virtually without equal in northern Europe. Kroměříž is a lovely small town which was an episcopal seat. The Bishop’s Palace has a magnificent Rococo hall and other fine rooms as well as an outstanding art collection (Titian’s The Flaying of Marsyas). The 17th-century walled garden with pavilion and immense colonnade is an astounding survival. Overnight Brno.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,930 or £2,740 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,230 or £3,040 without flights. Included meals: 5 lunches, 6 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Château Liblice, Liblice (chateau-liblice.com): 4-star hotel and conference centre converted from an 18thcent. country house. Grandezza Hotel, Brno (hotelgrandezza.cz): a newly opened luxury boutique hotel, located in the heart of Brno’s historic centre Green Market. Hotel U Hraběnky, Telč (hotel-uhrabenky.cz/en): the only usable hotel for many miles around, this 4-star hotel is fairly old-fashioned, if adequately equipped. Hotel Stekl, Hluboká nad Vltavou (hotelstekl.cz): a 4-star hotel converted from an auxiliary building belonging to the neighbouring mansion. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking on this tour, some of it up slopes or up steps. To be able to enjoy the tour it would be essential

to manage daily walking and stair-climbing without any difficulties. There is also a fair amout of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 87 miles. Group size: between 10 and 20 participants. Combine this tour with: The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2017 (p.50).

czech republic

the the Kinsky family, to which it was restituted after the collapse of the communist regime. Dating to the early l9th century, Kačina is a fine synthesis of English Palladianism and Continental Neo-Classicism. Fine rooms, remarkable cylindrical library, landscaped park. First of three nights in Brno.

Below: Ceský Krumlov, 20th-century woodcut.

Day 6: Vranov, Jaroměřice. The great house at Vranov, perched above a ravine, was transformed in the 1690s by Fischer von Erlach, greatest of 18th-century Austrian architects. The oval Hall of Ancestors, with frescoes by Johann Rottmayr and views across hills, is one of the finest creations of the Baroque Age. Vast and rambling, the Baroque palace at Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou has some delightful untouched 18th-century interiors, an enormous chapel and fine gardens. Overnight Telč. Day 7: Telč, Jindřichův Hradec. The tiny town of Telč has the loveliest square in Central Europe. The aristocratic residence was rebuilt in phases in the 16th century with arcaded courtyards and a series of halls with richly carved ceilings and decoration which verge on the bizarre. More Renaissance arcades follow at the castle at Jindřichův Hradec; we limit our visit to the interiors of the beautiful garden rotonda. First of two nights in Hluboká nad Vltavou.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 8: Český Krumlov, Kratochvíle. Built up around a bend in the River Vltava, Český Krumlov is an exceedingly picturesque and well-preserved town. The castle looms above – mediaeval in origin, in large part 16th-century, endowed in the 18th century with a hall painted with scenes of a masked ball and a theatre which has survived fully equipped with scenery and costumes. Secluded within a walled garden amid particularly lovely countryside, Kratochvíle is the finest Renaissance villa in the country. Overnight Hluboká. Day 9: Hluboká. Its white tower visible from afar, Hluboká had mediaeval and Baroque incarnations before the lavish Gothic Revival refurbishment inspired by visits to Britain. Splendid carved wood interiors and a profusion of furniture and works of art. Drive to Prague for the flight to London, arriving Heathrow c. 9.00pm.

61 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Danish Art & Design The Golden Age & the hygge of Danish cities, coast & countryside denmark

Itinerary Day 1: Copenhagen. Fly at c. 10.00am from London Heathrow to Copenhagen. A walk along the waterfront and through Frederiksstaden, an 18th-century development, unfurls the postmediaeval history of the city. Pass the 1750s palaces of the Amalienborg, the finest such group outside France, the English church, Gefion Fountain, the Little Mermaid, the bastions of the Kastellet and (across the water) the amazing new opera house. First of three nights in Copenhagen. Day 2: Copenhagen, Humlebæk. The Hirschsprungske Collection is perhaps the finest assembly of 19th-century Danish painting and retains its early 20th-century hang. North of the city in Humlebæk the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art has a permanent collection of international modern art and changing exhibitions in half-buried galleries in parkland beside the sea; a magical combination. Ordrupgaard Museum has French Impressionists and Danish art in a 19thcentury mansion and a bold extension by Zaha Hadid, surrounded by woodland and gardens. Grundtvig’s Church (Peter and Kaare Klint 1920–40) is one of the finest brick Expressionist edifices of the 20th century.

6–14 July 2017 (md 386) 9 days • £3,830 Lecturer: Shona Kallestrup A range of excellent art galleries, many with exciting new buildings or fine settings, showing international as well as Danish art. Focus on Danish painting of the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially the Golden Age. Historic and modern architecture, city and provinces, town and country. Aspects of design in everyday life.

MAINLAND EUROPE 62

Memorable museums, superb art of international and Danish provenance, historic architecture and modern design are features of this tour. While the visual arts are the focus, this is also an opportunity to gain an understanding of the wider history and culture of Denmark. Diversity is augmented by visiting a selection of attractive provincial towns, as well as the capital, and by glimpsing both countryside and coast to appreciate the landscapes that inspired Danish artists. A major theme is Danish painting of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Occasional exhibitions grant British gallery-goers a glimpse of this phenomenon, but its full glory can only be viewed in the land of its origin. Danish artists found their distinct expression with surprising suddenness during the Napoleonic wars, and the next thirty years are regarded as the Golden Age of Danish painting. Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg and Christen Købke are but two of a plethora of artists who produced perfectly delineated streetscapes, charmingly inconsequential landscapes and scenes of daily life radiant with contentment, stylistically distinguished by brilliant naturalism and an inimitable rendering of light – crisp and warm in book online at www.martinrandall.com

Greek and Italian views (many artists travelled south) but pale, pellucid and unmistakably Scandinavian in scenes of their native land. Later in the 19th century the mood darkened under the impulses of social commitment (Brendekilde, Henningsen), the deification of Nature (Janus La Cour) or a deeper exploration of the human psyche (Hammershøi was a sort of post-Hegelian Vermeer). Towards the turn of the century Symbolism had its proponents but many artists again turned their gaze towards their native land. The painters of Skagen on northernmost Jutland, led by P. S. Krøyer and Michael Ancher, and those of the Funen School, principally Johannes Larsen and Fritz Syberg, celebrated the low-key beauties of Denmark’s shores and countryside drenched in ineffable light of the North. As is to be expected of a prosperous and outward looking nation, there is much high quality art from the rest of the world to be seen here. And as is to be expected of a country which is virtually synonymous with good design, recent museum buildings would merit a pilgrimage even if empty. Several are enhanced by a parkland or seaside setting. Curatorship – hanging and interpretation – is exemplary. Some attention is paid to architecture of earlier times – whitewashed brick Gothic churches, the flamboyant Renaissance of Christian IV’s patronage, the handsome patrician streetscapes of the capital, the unassuming geometric perfection of Arne Jacobsen and his fellow modernists, the half-timbered vernacular of town and country. Low lying but rarely flat, the sensual topography of Denmark was laid down by glaciers at the end of the Ice Age. Now, as when depicted by the painters of the Golden Age, it is picturesquely clothed with patches of fertile farmland interspersed with hedges and clumps of trees.

Day 3: Copenhagen. Explore Slotsholmen, the original core of the city: Christiansborg Palace housing the Parliament, the Renaissance stock exchange, Thorvaldsen Museum dedicated to the eponymous Neo-Classical sculptor (1770–1844). The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, magnificent benefaction of a brewer, has collections of Mediterranean antiquities, particularly Roman portrait sculpture, Impressionists and PostImpressionists, Golden Age paintings and much else. Some free time: choices include the Viking section in the National Museum and shops selling classic Danish design in the pedestrianised Strøget. Day 4: Copenhagen. The morning is spent at the Statens Museum for Kunst, the Danish National Gallery, which possesses an extensive collection of Danish art from the Golden Age to the present day and a fine holding of European Old Masters excellently displayed in a new wing overlooking a park. Christian IV’s private palace of Rosenborg, gradually augmented 1605–33, has excellently preserved and richly decorated rooms and the royal treasury in the cellars. Leave Copenhagen by coach and cross the straits between Zealand and Funen on the 12-mile Storebælt Bridge. First of three nights in Odense. Day 5: Fåborg, Egeskov. Drive to Fåborg on the south coast where there is an excellent museum, a private collection of recent art opened to the public in 1915, particularly strong on the Funen School. The charming old town centre is well preserved. Egeskov is a 17th-century moated mansion, well furnished, with park and gardens. Day 6: Odense, Kerteminde. A walk around Odense, a delightful town where old and new blend well with little cobbled streets, rehabilitated industrial buildings, riverside park and a Gothic cathedral. The Funen Art Museum has a comprehensive collection of Danish painting, the best outside Copenhagen. Visit the Hans Christian Andersen birthplace museum before driving to the fishing village of Kerteminde, which was

Vikings & Bog Bodies Ancient Denmark DENMArK

home to Johannes Larsen (1867–1961), leader of the Funen school. His house, studio and gardens are preserved with a new gallery building (Danish Museum of the Year 2007). Day 7: Mosegård, Århus. Drive in the morning to Mosegård. In a charming countryside setting, the state-of-the-art museum designed by Henning Larsen Architects opened in 2014. Continue to Århus, Denmark’s second city, crossing by bridge to Jutland. There is a choice between visiting the influential university campus, a prime example of Danish Modernism (1930s), or the Old Town Museum, 16th- to 19th-century buildings from all over Denmark reassembled to form an enchanting little town. First of two nights in Århus. Day 8: Århus. At the heart of the city a trafficclogged thoroughfare has been replaced by a river, long confined to a culvert, the embankments now burgeoning with café culture. Arne Jacobsen’s town hall (finished 1942) is one of Modernism’s icons, mathematically precise, perfectly poised, defiantly unmonumental. The ARoS Art Museum (2004) is a brick and glass cube with a curvaceous white interior housing historic Danish art, as well as some significant pieces of modern art. Free time.

Watercolour by A.R. Hope Moncrieff, publ. 1920.

18–25 July 2017 (md 400) 8 days • £3,340 Lecturer: Dr David Griffiths

Day 9: Copenhagen-Ishøj. Re-cross the Storebælt Straits and traverse Zealand again. Above a fine beach south of Copenhagen, the Arken Museum of Modern Art is outstanding for its striking architecture (nautical, angular), unexpected location and adventurous exhibitions. Fly from Copenhagen, returning to Heathrow c. 5.00pm.

The most important Viking sites in Denmark including Roskilde, Copenhagen and Jelling.

Practicalities

Journey through idyllic countryside and visit the environmentally precious wilderness of the Wadden Sea.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,830 or £3,650 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,350 or £4,170 without flights. Included meals: 5 dinners, 2 lunches with wine. Accommodation. 71 Nyhavn (71nyhavnhotel. com): traditional hotel close to some of the museums and the Amalienborg Palace. Rooms are small but comfortable. Radisson Blu H.C. Andersen Hotel, Odense (radissonblu.com): modern 4-star hotel, a few minutes’ walk from the town centre, the best in town. Hotel Oasia Aarhus (hoteloasia.dk): boutique 3-star hotel, a 15 minute walk to the ARoS museum. Hotels in Denmark generally do not have air-conditioning.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Vikings & Bog Bodies, 18–25 July 2017 (p.63).

opera in Copenhagen June 2017 Details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest Opposite page: Egeskov Castle, illustration by Andreas Friis in ‘Danmarks Store Øer’, publ. 1935.

Stay in central Copenhagen, the charming mediaeval town of Ribe and the important regional city of Aarhus.

Led by Dr David Griffiths, a leading expert in Viking and early mediaeval archaeology. A country with a fierce and proud national history, but which today is renowned for its excellent food, world-class museums and high standards of art, architecture and design, Denmark is a pleasure to visit. Its archaeological treasures include the collections of the National Museum in Copenhagen, the Viking ships at Roskilde and the exceptionally well-preserved Iron Age ‘bog bodies’ known as Tollund Man and Grauballe Man. The peaceful and prosperous image of modern Denmark belies its roots as northern Europe’s first, and most aggressive, nation state. Between the eighth and the eleventh centuries ad, Danes attacked, conquered and colonised a wide swath of Europe. Bands of well-armed warriors spread out from its fjords and islands in ships of unrivalled quality and effectiveness. They travelled the northern seas, wreaking terror on indigenous populations and causing political chaos. Treaties and buy-offs, such as ‘Danegeld’ paid by the English under Æthelred ‘The Unready’, consolidated their power. The keys to understanding Denmark’s rise as a centralised state are its compact geography and the ease of communication across its waterways and gently contoured landscape. Emerging from warring Iron Age tribes, a succession of ambitious and successful rulers established national defences, roads, bridges,

Itinerary Day 1: Copenhagen. Fly at c. 9.00am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Copenhagen. Much of the surviving artistic finery of Denmark’s Viking Age, in metal, wood, bone and semiprecious stone, can be found in the National Museum, Copenhagen. One of the great museums of the world, it hosted the first stage of the Vikings: Life & Legend exhibition, which went on to the British Museum and Berlin. The museum’s prehistoric exhibits are also exceptional, and it has played a key role in the history of European Archaeology. First of two nights in Copenhagen. Day 2: Roskilde. Excursion to the small historic city of Roskilde to see the extraordinary Viking Ship Museum, where several original vessels and many reconstructions can be viewed. There is an opportunity to be part of the crew and sail a reconstructed Viking long ship into the Roskilde Fjord. Day 3: Trelleborg, Ribe. The well-preserved circular military fortress at Trelleborg is part of a network of similar ‘command and control’ sites across Denmark. Picturesque mediaeval Ribe is Denmark’s oldest town, and one of the earliest in post-Roman Europe. First of two nights in Ribe.

MAINLAND EUROPE

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing in museums. There are also some long coach journeys; average distance per day: 87 miles.

See some of the best-preserved ‘bog bodies’: Tollund Man and Grauballe Man.

canals and a network of towns. Trade and the new religion of Christianity prospered. The high-point of the Viking Age occurred under the Jelling dynasty, which began with the reign of Gorm the Old in the early decades of the tenth century. Gorm’s son Harold Bluetooth, his grandson Svein Forkbeard and his great-grandson Cnut the Great presided over a ‘golden age’ of Danish achievement, marked by the construction of spectacular dynastic monuments and accompanied by astonishing artistic endeavour. Under Cnut, Denmark’s conquests extended to parts of Norway, Sweden, Germany and, its greatest prize, the Kingdom of England.

Day 4: Wadden Sea, Ribe. Spend the morning at the environmentally precious wilderness of the Wadden Sea. In the afternoon visit the excellent Viking Museum in Ribe. Some free time. Day 5: Ravning, Jelling, Silkeborg. There is a short walk to Ravning, the site of the Viking bridge built Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Vikings & Bog Bodies continued

Estonia, latvia & lithuania Art, architecture & history of the Baltic nations

DENMArK, EstoNiA

by Harold Bluetooth across the Vejle valley, 760 metres long and over five metres wide. The small eastern Jutland town of Jelling, a World Heritage Site, preserves a vast stone ship-setting, two immense burial mounds and the rune-stones of Gorm and Harold which record the early history of their dynasty. These stand outside a stone church, emblematic of the rise of Christianity. In Silkeborg see the best-preserved Iron Age bog body known as Tollund Man. First of three nights in Aarhus. Day 6: Moesgaard, Aarhus. In a charming countryside setting, the state-of-the-art museum at Moesgaard, designed by Henning Larsen Architects, opened in 2014. It houses exhibitions on prehistory, including Grauballe Man who was discovered in a peat bog in 1952 and dates to the 3rd century bc. Return to Aarhus for free time. Day 7: Lindholm Høje, Aalborg, Fyrkat. Head north to Lindholm Høje, a major late-Viking burial site. Rare ship monuments (burial sites demarcated by stones in the shape of ships) are found as well as hundreds of burial sites marked with stones or mounds. Stop in the pleasant market town of Aalborg for lunch before visiting the Viking fortress of Fyrkat. Day 8: Ladby, Copenhagen. The only ship burial discovered in Denmark, the Ladby boat is a Viking chieftain’s burial vessel. The wood of the 22-metre ship has long since rotted away but left a perfect impression in the earth. Buried with 11 horses and many valuables and possessions, the skeletal remnants of the animals are all that remain of the contents. Fly from Copenhagen to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 6.20pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,310 or £3,060 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,720 or £3,470 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 5 dinners with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. 71 Nyhavn, Copenhagen (71nyhavnhotel.com): traditional 4-star hotel close to some of the museums and the Amalienborg Palace. Rooms are small but comfortable. The Dagmar Hotel, Ribe (hoteldagmar.dk): characterful 3-star hotel on the town square with views of the cathedral. Hotel Royal, Aarhus (hotelroyal.dk): 4-star in the centre of Aarhus, public rooms are opulent and luxurious while bedrooms are classic and comfortable. How strenuous? Walking is necessitated over the uneven terrain of Viking sites. There is quite a lot of standing, and two hotel changes. The optional boat trip in Roskilde involves manning the oars. Average distance by coach per day: 92 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Danish Castles & Gardens 64

July 2017 Details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest book online at www.martinrandall.com

Tallinn, view from Castle Hill, 20th-century etching.

21 July–3 August 2017 (md 435) 14 days • £3,710 Lecturer: Dr Jeremy Howard Three countries with different languages, diverse histories and distinct cultural identities. An extensive legacy from eras under German, Polish, Swedish, Russian and Soviet rule. The focus of the tour is art, architecture and general culture, with due attention paid to the fascinating history of the region. The lecturer, Jeremy Howard, is a leading expert on the art of the Baltic region. Though geographical proximity conventionally leads Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to be lumped together as a single entity, the degree of difference between these three Baltic countries is surprisingly great in terms of ethnicity, language, historical development, religion and culture. The Estonians are of Finno-Ugric origin and their language has nothing in common with their Latvian or Russian neighbours. Estonia and Latvia were early recipients of Protestantism, while Lithuanian history has for much of the postmediaeval era been yoked with Catholic Poland. Paganism, Russian Orthodoxy and Judaism have also played vital roles in the development of the cultures of the Baltic countries. Having variously been under Germanic, Polish and Swedish dominion until the Romanov victories that began in the seventeenth century,

it was not until the early twentieth century that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania emerged as independent states. That they were deprived of this status by the Soviet Union in the wake of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Second World War and only restored to independence in 1991 has meant that the three countries have woven into their modern ways of life a deep sense of struggle and identity. With strong traditions in the arts and crafts, from textile design to amberware, stained glass to porcelain manufacture, painting to sculpture, the Baltic countries have much to offer art lovers. The astute graphic work of Eduard Viiralt, decorated ceramics of Romans Suta and ‘musical’ paintings of Mikolajos Ciurlionis are but three, early twentieth-century, examples from the plethora of great artistic talents born and nurtured in the area. Furthermore, the remarkable architecture of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian cities and countryside contains an intriguing wealth of stylistic variety from the Gothic to the Baroque, vernacular to urban eclectic, neo-classical to Art Nouveau, and neo-Byzantine to modernist. Their arts and architecture reveal intimate connections with central, east, west and nordic Europe and at the same time a very special local specificity. Surprise ranks high among the responses of the visitor now – surprise that there is so much of interest and beauty and surprise that the Iron Curtain was indeed so opaque a veil that it was possible for so long to remain largely ignorant of these countries and their heritage.

Day 1: Tallinn (Estonia). Fly at c. 10.00am from Heathrow to Tallinn via Helsinki (Finnair, Flybe). First of three nights in Tallinn. Day 2: Tallinn (Estonia). Upper Tallinn has a striking situation on a steep-sided hill overlooking the Baltic Sea, and a fine set of historic buildings. These include the Gothic cathedral, 15th-century town hall and Toompea Palace (Parliament). Within the mediaeval walls of the Lower Town there is some highly picturesque streetscape with gabled houses and churches. Set in parkland, the Baroque Kadriorg Palace is home to the city’s foreign art collection. The KUMU Art Museum houses works by Estonian artists from the 19th century to the present. Overnight Tallinn.

Day 6: Cesis (Latvia). Drive from Estonia to Latvia through hilly landscape renowned for its beauty. Cesis is a well-preserved mediaeval town and former stronghold of the Livonian Order. Visit the impressive ruined castle, one of the key political, administrative and economic centres of the Teutonic Order. Destroyed in 1577, it was rebuilt following the Livonian War. Thirteenthcentury St John’s Parish Church is the largest mediaeval basilica outside the capital. First of three nights in Riga.

Day 8: Riga (Latvia). The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design celebrates the wide-ranging Latvian traditions in applied arts. A visit to the fascinating outdoor ethnographic museum develops the theme with vernacular housing from Latvia’s four provinces. Free afternoon in Riga; possibilities include the Museum of the History of

Tallinn Baltic Sea

Day 11: Pazaislis, Vilnius (Lithuania). At Pazaislis is a magnificent Baroque nunnery and pilgrimage church, one of the architectural gems of Eastern Europe. Continue to Vilnius which, far from the sea, has the feel of a Central European metropolis, with Baroque the predominant style. Afternoon walk to the bishop’s palace (now the Presidential Palace), the university and the Church of St John. First of three nights in Vilnius.

Estonia

Day 14: Vilnius. Fly from Vilnius to London Heathrow via Helsinki, arriving c. 3.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,710 or £3,460 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,090 or £3,840 without flights. Included meals: 5 lunches, 8 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Palace, Tallinn (tallinnhotels.ee/hotel-palace-tallinn): comfortable 4-star hotel on the edge of the old town, recently reopened after a smart refurbishment. London Hotel, Tartu (londonhotel.ee): modern, centrally located 4-star hotel with a good restaurant; decor is quite bright. Radisson Blu Ridzene, Riga (radissonblu.com): 5-star hotel though more akin to a 4-star, well-located with views over the park. Hotel Daugirdas, Kaunas (daugirdas. lt): 19th-century mansion with modern features. Novotel Centre, Vilnius (novotel.com): plain but comfortable 4-star chain hotel in a good location on the edge of the old town.

Tartu

Cesis

Day 12: Vilnius. Walk to the ‘Gates of Dawn’ (sole surviving gate in the 16th-century defensive wall), the Carmelite church of St Theresa, the former Jewish ghetto, the cathedral and the exquisite little Late-Gothic church of St Anne. Visit the church of Saints Peter and Paul with outstanding stucco sculptural decoration, and the newly restored Grand Dukes’ Palace. Day 13: Vilnius. Visit the Church Heritage Museum; Kazys Varnelis House Museum, an eclectic private collection of art and map, and the Vilnius Picture Gallery. In the afternoon some free time; suggestions include the Vytautas Kasiulis Museum, or the Theatre and Music Museum.

Lahemaa National Park

Riga

Latvia

Rundale

Lithuania Kaunas c. 50 km

Pazaislis Vilnius

B E L A RU S

POLAND

How strenuous? This is a long tour with four hotel changes and some long coach journeys. There is a lot of walking, some of it on cobbled or roughly paved ground. Average distance by coach per day: 56 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Great Houses of the North, 7–16 August 2017 (p.21).

“A very well thought through and planned tour. I now have a very clear impression of each individual country.”

What else is included in the price? See page 6. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 7: Riga (Latvia). Within the extensive Old Town there are mediaeval streets, Hanseatic warehouses, Gothic and Baroque churches and 19th-century civic buildings. Beyond the walls is a residential quarter laid out at the end of the 19th century with grand boulevards and classical, historicist and Art Nouveau façades. In the Esplanade Park, the recently renovated National Museum of Art houses a collection of paintings by the finest Latvian artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

psi

Day 5: Lake Peipsi (Estonia). Drive to the shores of Lake Peipsi and visit Alatskivi, Raja, Kolkja and Varnja, all villages which provided refuge for the Old Believers, persecuted for their disaffection with the Orthodox Church. Overnight Tartu.

Day 10: Kaunas (Lithuania). A historically diverse town with a wealth of architecture. Near the central square are a number of churches and the Town Museum. The Ciurlionis Art Museum has works of Lithuania’s most famous composer and artist. Other afternoon visits include the Resurrection Church and the neoBaroque Synagogue.

Pe i

Day 4: Tartu (Estonia). Drive through a gently undulating mix of woodland and fertile fields, with traditional vernacular farmsteads. Tartu is in some ways the cultural capital of Estonia, the university having been founded in 1632. There are fine 18th- and 19th-century buildings, especially the town hall and university, and there is a visit to the restored Jaani church. First of two nights in Tartu.

Day 9: Rundale (Latvia), Kaunas (Lithuania). Rundale was one of the most splendid palaces in the Russian Empire, built from 1736 by the architect Rastrelli for a favourite of Empress Anna. Lunch is in the palace restaurant. Lithuania is entered via the town of Bauska and there is a stop in Kedainiai to visit the regional museum. First of two nights in Kaunas.

Dr Jeremy Howard. Senior Lecturer in Art History at the University of St Andrews. He specialises in the art, architecture and design of central and eastern Europe, with a particular interest in the Baltic region. His books include Art Nouveau: International & National Styles in Europe and East European Art.

Day 3: Lahemaa National Park (Estonia). Drive east into an area now designated as a national park. The charming manor houses of Palmse and Sagadi have full 18th-century classical dress disguising the timber structure, and are fully furnished. Lunch is at an inn, with wooden buildings – a former postal service station on the road to St Petersburg.

Riga and Navigation, established in 1773, and Riga Bourse Art Museum, a collection of paintings, porcelain and silver collections.

estonia

Itinerary

Finland: Aalto & Others 20th-century architecture & design finland

colour and texture provide a spectrum of beauties forbidden to hard-line modernists, and his buildings have a strong sense of place, exemplified by widespread use of that very un-modern but quintessentially Finnish material, wood. Aalto is the poet of International Modernism. Some of the twentieth century’s finest furniture, glass, ceramics and textiles have been created in Finland, much of it inspired by the principles that imbued Aalto’s work.

a special arrangement to see the Villa Mairea (1939) in Noormarkku, the most beautiful of Aalto’s private houses. First of two nights in Turku.

Itinerary

Day 9: Hvitträsk, Helsinki. Drive to Hvitträsk, Saarinen’s home and studio built in 1903, with pretty gardens overlooking a lake. The flight from Helsinki to Heathrow arrives at c. 6.10pm.

Day 1: Helsinki. Fly at c. 10.20am (Finnair) from London Heathrow to Helsinki. Begin with a walk through the Neo-Classical heart of the city: Senate Square, the domed cathedral and the colourful Market Square by the old harbour. First of four nights in Helsinki.

29 June–7 July 2017 (md 378) 9 days • £3,390 Lecturer: Professor Harry Charrington Journey through Finland surveying the works of Alvar Aalto, ‘the poet of International Modernism’. See also major buildings by other twentiethcentury Finnish architects and look at other areas of design and art. Finland commemorates the centenary of its independence in 2017. A special programme of events nationwide will celebrate this anniversary. Led by Professor Harry Charrington who worked in Aalto’s office and is author of the award-winning Alvar Aalto: the Mark of the Hand.

MAINLAND EUROPE 66

Design is as associated with Finland as bacon with eggs. It is extraordinary what impact such a small country – which only gained independence in 1917 – has had on the look of things in the twentieth century. Finland was a late starter. From its time at the periphery of European civilization and in the following period as a remote part of the Swedish empire, there is not much to show other than vernacular domestic architecture and castles. Only in 1812, when the territory became a Russian grand duchy, did Helsinki acquire a spacious and monumental Neo-Classical centre to rank among the most impressive. Really interesting art and architecture begins in the later nineteenth century with National Romanticism, a manifestation of aspiration towards national self-determination. The music of Sibelius is well enough known, but the architecture of Eliel Saarinen deserves wider acclaim, and the brilliant, haunting paintings of Albert Edelfelt and Akseli Gallén-Kallela will come as a revelation. These are not isolated figures, for the turn of the century was a highly productive time. But one name stands out: Alvar Aalto. Revered by architects around the world, it is not inconceivable that he will come to be regarded as the greatest architect of our era. His designs differ radically from mainstream mid-twentieth-century modernist architecture in that they are imbued with humanity and an organic beauty. His employment of curved forms and concern with book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 2: Helsinki, Seurasaari. Morning walk including the Art Nouveau Katajanokka district, Saarinen’s Railway Station (1919) and Aalto’s Rautatalo office building (Iron House; 1951–5). The Ateneum, Finland’s foremost art museum, houses a collection of brilliant National Romantic pictures. Afternoon visit to the National Pension’s Institute (Aalto, 1952–6), considered by many members of the Aalto atelier to be its finest construction, followed by a guided tour of Aalto’s Finlandia Hall (1961–75). Day 3: Otaniemi, Helsinki. Begin at Aalto’s Technical University in Helsinki’s Otaniemi area. Continue to The Aalto House, the family home and office, completed in 1936. On the coast at Seurasaari the open-air museum shows the whole history of Finnish vernacular building. Kiasma holds Finland’s main contemporary art collection in a building by Steven Holl (2000). Dinner in the Savoy Restaurant designed by Aalto. Day 4: Tuusula, Helsinki. Visit Tuusula Lake with its turn of the century villa for Sibelius as well as the Kokkonen Villa by Aalto. Afternoon boat trip to Suomenlinna, a cluster of islands off Helsinki converted into a massive fortress in the 18th century, now with several museums. Day 5: Säynätsalo, Muuratsalo, Jyväskylä. Drive north into the increasingly scenic Finnish Lakeland. See Aalto’s town hall at Säynätsalo (1952), perhaps his greatest synthesis of a vision of European civic life and the immediacy of the Finnish forest landscape. At nearby Muuratsalo, his summer house (also 1952) is set in woodland on the shores of a lake. Overnight Jyväskylä. Day 6: Jyväskylä, Petäjävesi, Seinäjoki. Aalto went to school in Jyväskylä and set up his first independent practice here. Representative of his early, ‘pre-functionalist’ buildings is the Worker’s Club (1923–5), his first important commission. The Teachers’ Training College (1952-7, now university), is one of the finest manifestations of his ‘red’ period, with warm-hued bricks. Visit the Alvar Aalto Museum with a display of Aalto’s life and works. See the unesco-listed wooden church by Leppanen in Petäjävesi. Overnight Seinäjoki. Day 7: Seinäjoki, Noormarkku, Turku. Seinäjoki has a striking complex by Alvar Aalto (1960–8): the Cross of the Plains church that dominates the townscape, parish hall, town hall-cum-theatre, clad in dark blue tiles, and library. In the afternoon

Day 8: Turku, Paimio. Morning walk through Turku, Finland’s oldest city, including the market square and mediaeval cathedral. Visit to the cemetery by Aalto’s contemporary Erik Bryggman. In Paimio is Aalto’s Sanatorium (1929–33), a classic of modern architecture for which he designed widely-imitated timber furniture.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,390 or £3,170 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,790 or £3,570 without flights. Included meals: 6 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Haven, Helsinki (hotelhaven.fi): smart, boutique hotel close to the harbour. Boutique Hotel Yöpuu, Jyväskylä (hotelliyopuu.fi): small, friendly, traditional. Sokos Hotel Vaakuna, Seinäjoki (sokoshotels.fi): simple, bland, but well-located. Radisson Blu Marina Palace Hotel, Turku (radissonblu.fi/hotelli-turku): comfortable hotel overlooking the river. All hotels have a local 4-star rating. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking on this tour and four hotel changes. It should not be undertaken by anyone who would have difficulty with this. Average coach travel per day: 76 miles. Group size: between 12 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: The Miracle of Salzburg, 18–24 June 2017 (p.48); Vikings & Bog Bodies, 18–25 July 2017 (p.63).

Above left: woodcut by Albert Edelfelt (1854–1905).

The Sibelius Festival August 2017 Details available in September 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Savonlinna Opera July 2017 Details available in July 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

French Gothic Cathedrals of Northern France

The cradle of Gothic, northern Europe’s most significant contribution to world architecture. Nearly all the most important buildings in the development of Early and High Gothic, with an entire day at Chartres. Unparalleled examples of stained glass, sculpture and metalwork. The tour is led by architectural historian Dr Matthew Woodworth. Gothic was the only architectural style which had its origins in northern Europe. It was in the north of France that the first Gothic buildings arose, it was here that the style attained its classic maturity, and it is here that its greatest manifestations still stand. From the middle of the twelfth century the region was the scene of unparalleled building activity, with dozens of cathedrals, churches and abbeys under construction. Architects stretched their imaginations and masons extended their skills to devise more daring ways of enclosing greater volumes of space, with increasingly slender structural supports, and larger areas of window. But Gothic is not only an architectural phenomenon. Windows were filled with brilliant coloured glass. Sculpture, more life-like than for nearly a thousand years yet increasingly integrated with its architectural setting, was abundant. The art of metalwork thrived, and paint was everywhere. All the arts were coordinated to interpret and present elaborate theological programmes to congregations which included both the illiterate lay people and sophisticated clerics. Nearly all the most important buildings in the development of the Early and High phases of Gothic are included, and the order of visits even follows this development chronologically, as far as geography allows. A whole day is dedicated to the cathedral at Chartres, the premier site of the building arts of the mediaeval world.

the light Early-Gothic choir. Soissons Cathedral is a fine example of the rapid changes which took place in architecture at the end of the 12th century. Day 4: St-Denis. On the outskirts of Paris, the burial place of French kings, St-Denis was an abbey of the highest significance in politics and in the history of architecture. In the 1140s the choir was rebuilt, and the pointed arches, rib vaulting and skeletal structure warrant the claim that this was the first Gothic building. 100 years later the new nave inaugurated the Rayonnant style of Gothic with windows occupying the maximum possible area. First of two nights in Chartres. Day 5: Chartres. The cathedral at Chartres, begun in 1145 and recommenced in 1195 after a fire, is the finest synthesis of Gothic art and architecture. Sculpture and stained glass are incorporated into an elaborate theological programme. The full day here provides time for unhurried exploration of the building and space to reflect and absorb. See also the church of St Pierre. Day 6: Mantes-la-Jolie, Beauvais, Amiens. Visit the 12th-century collegiate church at Mantes-laJolie. Beauvais Cathedral, begun 1225, was, with a vault height in the choir of 157 feet, the climax in France of upwardly aspiring Gothic architecture and the highest vault of mediaeval Europe. Overnight Amiens.

Day 7: Amiens. The cathedral in Amiens is the classic High-Gothic structure, its thrilling verticality balanced by measured horizontal movement. Drive to Lille for the Eurostar to London St Pancras, arriving c. 7.15pm.

france

26 June–2 July 2017 (md 330) 7 days • £2,170 Lecturer: Dr Matthew Woodworth

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,170 or £2,030 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £2,380 or £2,240 without Eurostar. Included meals: 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hôtel du Golf de l’Ailette, Chamouille (ailette.fr): comfortable 3-star located a short drive from Laon in an attractive position by a lake. Hotel Le Grand Monarque, Chartres (legrandmonarque.com): centrally located 4-star hotel. Hotel Mercure Amiens (mercure.com): modern 3-star hotel near the cathedral. How strenuous? There is a fair amount of walking and standing around. Some long coach journeys. You should be able to lift your luggage on and off the train and wheel it within the station. Average distance by coach per day: 89 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Charlemagne to Charles V, 4–10 July 2017 (p.54).

Beauvais Cathedral, etching by A. Hugh Fisher c. 1910.

Itinerary

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 1. Travel by Eurostar train (1st class, Standard Premier) at c. 11.00am from St Pancras to Lille. Continue by coach to Laon and the hotel, in an attractive lakeside setting. First of three nights near Laon. Day 2: Noyon, Laon. One of the earliest Gothic cathedrals (c. 1150), Noyon’s four-storey internal elevation marks the transition from the thickwalled architecture of the Romanesque to the thinwalled verticality of Gothic. Laon is spectacularly sited on a rock outcrop. Begun c. 1160, the cathedral is the most complete of Early-Gothic churches and one of the most impressive, with five soaring towers. Day 3: Reims, Soissons. Reims Cathedral, the coronation church of the French monarchy, begun 1211, is a landmark in the development of High Gothic with the first appearance of bar tracery and classicising portal sculpture. At the church of St Rémi the heavy Romanesque nave contrasts with

67 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Great French Gardens Historic & contemporary FrANCE

28 June–7 July 2017 (md 379) 10 days • £3,490 Lecturer: Steven Desmond A selection of the finest gardens in northern France, from the Renaissance to the present day. Selected for visual impact, horticultural interest and historical importance. Led by Steven Desmond, landscape consultant and architectural historian, specialist in the conservation of historic parks and gardens. Unrushed: 16 gardens in 10 days. Four hotels, two of which are converted châteaux. This tour presents a selection of the finest and most famous gardens in France – which means some of the best in the world. Variety, visual impact, horticultural interest and historical importance are among the criteria for inclusion. They range from Renaissance to contemporary, and include flower gardens, woodland gardens, walled potagers, landscaped parks, arboreta and, of course, a French speciality, formal gardens. This last category, reaching a climax in the seventeenth century, is impressively expressive of

MAINLAND EUROPE 68

Chateau de Versailles, copper engraving c. 1750. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Ancien Régime absolutism, symbolic of the royal and aristocratic dominance of both the body politic and of Nature. Avenues of lime and plane, hedges of yew and hornbeam, broderie parterres of box, vast expanses of water and the hydraulic wonders of cascades and fountains: they were intended to delight and overawe both subjects and foreign visitors, as indeed they still do. It is not all axiality and gigantism; there are subtleties and surprises and many breathtaking beauties. André Le Nôtre might have been the greatest and most influential of Baroque garden designers, but another hero of the tour is Achille Duchêne, who restored many of these gardens in the early years of the twentieth century. Reaction against overbearing formality set in during the eighteenth century; two of the most important manifestations of this are Marie Antoinette’s fauxrustic Hameau, and the park at Ermenonville, one of the most enchanting of all English-style landscaped parks on the continent. Renaissance gardens of the sixteenth century are also a very important part of France’s horticultural patrimony, even if most of them are recreations, as at Villandry and Chenonceau. But Renaissance ingredients – box-hedge compartments and broderie, fi lled with coloured gravel or flowers – are a recurrent ingredient of

modern and contemporary gardens. Modern informality, however, is beautifully done, with curvaceous beds and winding paths an inducement to find hidden dells and pleasing surprises. Le Jardin d’Atmosphère and Le Vasterival are among the most brilliant examples. For floral abundance, it would be hard to do better than among the poppies and water lilies at Monet’s garden at Giverny, at the exquisite Lutyens and Jekyll garden at Bois des Moutiers, at the contemporary Jardin Plume outside Rouen and at the Renaissance hybrid at Villandry.

Itinerary Day 1: Versailles. Leave London St Pancras by Eurostar train (1st class, standard premier) for Paris at c. 10.30am. Drive to Versailles and settle into the hotel before visiting the Potager du Roi, the walled produce garden of the royal palace. Vast and with multiple divisions, it is still a working enterprise, and a staggering array of fruit and vegetables are grown here, many of them historical cultivars. First of four nights in Versailles. Day 2: Versailles. Intended to express the virtually divine status of Louis XIV (1638–1715), the sheer scale of both palace and garden is overwhelming.

Day 3: Vaux-le-Vicomte, Courances. Vaux-leVicomte preceded Versailles; Louis XIV was so piqued by the magnificence of his finance minister’s residence that he imprisoned its patron and transferred its creators, who included Le Nôtre, into royal employment. Both house and garden rank as among the most influential creations of early modern Europe. Courances is even earlier; slabs of green – broad lawns, high box hedges, loft y plane trees, parterre de broderie – and great expanses of water; an extraordinarily lovely place, with a Japanese garden too. Day 4: Versailles, Chèvreloup, Saint-Jean-deBeauregard. Choose between a free morning (another opportunity to visit the state apartments) or an excursion to the Arboretum Chèvreloup. Converted from hunting forest to a scientific plantation in 1759, there are 2,500 species spread across 200 hectares. Domaine de Saint-Jeande-Beauregard is a privately owned potager, 2 ha within 17th-cent. walls, a lovingly tended profusion of fruit, vegetables and ornamental plants, reared for historical importance and gustatory value. First of two nights near Tours. Day 5: Villandry, Chenonceau. The 1530s Château de Villandry is equipped with one of the most spectacular gardens in the world, created in the early 20th cent. in accordance with 16th-cent. designs and principles. Tiers of terraces, brilliant planting, impeccable maintenance, and the startling visual effects and amorous symbolism of the vegetable parterres. Famously straddling the River Cher, the Château de Chenonceau was progressively enlarged and beautified during the 16th century for Diane de Poitiers and Cathérine de Medici. The plantings in the walled gardens are a modern interpretation of Renaissance design.

Day 7: Le Bois des Moutiers, Le Vasterival. Two gardens on the Normandy coast. Le Bois des Moutiers is a fine example of the English partnership of Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll, a sequence of ‘rooms’ with breathtakingly beautiful planting between walls of masonry or yew. Spread across a clutch of little valleys, the woodland garden of Le Vasterival was established by a Norwegian princess in 1955. Colour coordination of leaves, bark and blossom, and a

Château de Chenonceau, watercolour by A.H. Hallam Murray, publ. 1904.

unique system of ‘transparent’ pruning contribute to the extraordinary beauty of this garden. Day 8: Auzouville-sur-Ry, Giverny. Starting work on Le Jardin Plume at Auzouville in 1996, Patrick and Sylvie Quibel have created one of the finest contemporary gardens in France, with a modern blend of grasses and wild-style perennials in a design rooted in the French traditions of formality, parterres and potagers. Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny is probably unique for its intersection of art history with horticultural achievement. The artist lived here from 1883 until his death in 1926, designing and tending his gardens which grew in size as his prosperity increased. Day 9: Rouen, Ermenonville. Free morning in Rouen, architecturally and scenically one of the finest cities in France, with a celebrated cathedral and an impressive group of Late-Gothic churches. The Château d’Ermenonville has an enchanting English-style landscape garden, created from 1762, the Enlightenment antithesis of French formality (Jean-Jacques Rousseau spent his last weeks here, 1778). ‘Natural’ hillocks, composed stands of trees, lakes and streams, symbolical buildings and monuments, Arcadian meadow, meandering paths. Overnight Ermenonville. Day 10: Paris. Founded in 1626, the Jardin des Plantes is the principal botanical garden in France, and occupies 28 hectares on the left bank of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement. There is a huge range of plants, European and exotic, and fine horticultural displays. Return to London St Pancras c. 5.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing £3,490 or £3,350 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £4,080 or £3,940 without Eurostar. Included meals: 2 lunches, 7 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Pullman Château de Versailles (pullmanhotels.com): modern 4-star hotel within walking distance of the Château. Château de Pray, Chargé (chateaudepray.fr): 4-star

Steven Desmond. Chartered Horticulturist specialising in the conservation of historic gardens, and architectural historian. He writes for Country Life and lectures for NADFAs. He is a Fellow of the Chartered institute of Horticulture, and a Professional Associate of the royal Horticultural society. His book Gardens of the Italian Lakes is published in 2016. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

“Steven Desmond has an encyclopedic grasp of his subject, is extremely interesting, good humoured and good company.” hotel in a converted château on the river Loire with an excellent restaurant. Mercure Rouen Centre Cathédrale (mercure.com): modern and functional 4-star hotel in the historic centre. Château d’Ermenonville (chateau-ermenonville. com): traditional 4-star hotel in a château with views over Parc Rousseau. How strenuous? Some of the gardens are very large so the tour is not suitable for people unable to walk a couple of miles at a time. Paths are often uneven and there are many steps and inclines, so sure-footedness and sturdy footwear are essential. You need to lift your luggage on and off the train and wheel it within stations. Some days involve a lot of driving; average distance per day: 85 miles.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 6: Sassy, Saint Biez en Belin. Leave the Loire and drive north. Le Jardin d’Atmosphère du Petit Bordeaux is a wonderfully inventive modern garden, an informal and seductive succession of spaces with broad borders, irregular lawns, narrow paths, mature trees, clipped hedges and water – and 3,600 species and varietals. The second stop is at the 18th-cent. Château de Sassy: on a hillside site in a rural location, there is a 1920s version of a 17th-century garden by Achille Duchêne. Reach Normandy for the first of three nights in Rouen.

FrANCE

The park is the masterpiece of the most influential garden designer of the Baroque era, André Le Nôtre, with 1.5 km lakes, broad avenues, hidden groves and a multitude of sculptures. Marie Antoinette’s Hameau, a retreat from mainstream court life, has a faux-rustic farmstead, naturalistic landscaped park and a delightful little formal garden. Some free time – an opportunity for an independent visit to the state apartments of the main château.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: The Miracle of Salzburg, 18–24 June 2017 (p.48); Literature & Walking in the Lake District, 10–14 July 2017 (p.28). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Versailles: seat of the sun King the greatest palace & garden FrANCE

Itinerary Day 1: Vaux-le-Vicomte. Leave London St Pancras at c. 9.15am by Eurostar for Paris (1st class, standard premier). The greatest country house and garden complex of its time (1656–61), Vaux-le-Vicomte was built by Nicholas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s chief minister. It is in every way the predecessor of Versailles, for impelled by envy and greed the King imprisoned Fouquet, confiscated the property and later employed most of its designers and craftsmen at Versailles. Drive to Versailles where all four nights are spent. Day 2: Versailles. After circumnavigating the vast palace, spend the morning immersed in the grandeur, the beauty and the symbolism of the King’s and Queen’s apartments, which culminate in the Hall of Mirrors. Then visit the family retreats of Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon and Domaine Marie Antoinette. Day 3: Versailles. Returning to the palace, explore the gardens, which remain largely as Le Nôtre created them, the parterres, basins and sculpture around the palace and the avenues and canal which seem to stretch to infinity. In the afternoon visit apartments from the time of Louis XV, characterised by lightness and delicacy and frivolity. Further excursions into the gardens take in the extraordinary King’s vegetable garden (Potager du Roi). Evening concert in the Royal Chapel of the Château: Vivaldi, Stabat Mater and Nisi Dominus. Jean Christophe Spinosi (conductor), Ensemble Matheus, David DQ Lee (counter-tenor), David Hansen (counter-tenor).

Chateau de Versailles, Hall of Mirrors, wood engraving c. 1880.

14–17 June 2017 (md 327) 4 days • £1,680 Lecturer: Em. Professor Antony Spawforth Focused tour examining the most influential of European palaces and related buildings.

MAINLAND EUROPE 70

A study not only of art, architecture and gardens but also of history and statecraft. Includes a concert of Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater and Nisi Domimus in the Château’s Chapelle Royale with Jean Christophe Spinosi and the Ensemble Matheus. Led by Professor Antony Spawforth, author of Versailles: A Biography of a Palace. Versailles was the grandest and most influential palace and garden complex in Europe, and arguably the most lavish and luxurious and most beautifully embellished too. It was much more than a building to house the monarch, his family and his court. It was conceived as the seat of government when France was at the apogee of her power, and as a structure to demonstrate and magnify the power of Louis book online at www.martinrandall.com

XIV, to subdue his subjects and to overawe foreigners. A study of Versailles encompasses not only architectural history and garden history but also political science and the psychology of power. Versailles is several palaces. This is well disguised by its overwhelming homogeneity and symmetry, but even during Louis XIV’s reign elements changed constantly, reflecting not so much changes of taste but also political realities as they changed from decade to decade. Indeed, at its core remains a small-scale hunting lodge built by his father (surely meant to be demolished in due course), and apartments were refurbished and parts added right up until the Revolution. Enlarging the understanding of Versailles and to set it in context there are also visits to the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, in many ways its inspiration and to the grounds of Marly-le-Roi, a demolished palace constructed to allow the Sun King to retreat from the formality of Versailles. Particular attention is paid to the park and gardens at Versailles, with a visit to the extraordinary vegetable garden, and the tour is timed to coincide with the occasional functioning of the fountains with musical accompaniment.

Day 4: Versailles, Marly-le-Roi, Paris. Morning walk around Versailles town including the Cathédrale St Louis, for which Louis XV laid the first stone, and the ex-ministries of War and Foreign Affairs. Drive to Marly-le-Roi, Louis XIV’s retreat from the formality of Versailles, which became his favourite residence. No building survives, but the terraced park is evocative. Continue to Paris for the Eurostar arriving at St Pancras at c. 5.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,680 or £1,520 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £1,890 or £1,730 without Eurostar. Included meals: 1 lunch and 2 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Pullman Château de Versailles (pullmanhotels.com). A modern 4-star hotel within walking distance of the Château. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking and standing around. The gardens cover a large area and paths are often uneven so sure-footedness is essential. You need to lift your luggage on and off the train and wheel it within stations. There is very little time spent in the coach. Group size: between 10 to 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Strauss in Cardiff, 10–12 June 2017 (p.44); The Miracle of Salzburg, 18–24 June 2017 (p.48).

Ballet in Paris & london George Balanchine & Alexander Ekman FrANCE

28 March–2 April 2017 (md 194) 6 days • £2,790 (including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturer: Luke Jennings A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Opéra Bastille, choreographed by George Balanchine. A daring version of Swan Lake at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées by contemporary choreographer Alexander Ekman. Jewels at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, choreographed by Balanchine to music by Fauré, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. The tour is led by Luke Jennings, dance critic for The Observer.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Paris, Place de la Concorde, late-19th-century lithograph by Rigo Frères.

Itinerary Day 1. Take the Eurostar at c. 12.30pm from London St Pancras to Paris (1st class, standard premier). Evening lecture before dinner. First of three nights in Paris. Day 2. Paris. Morning visit of the Palais Garnier and lunch at Hotel Scribe where Diaghilev and his community of dancers, composers and artists often stayed. Free afternoon. Evening ballet performance at the Opéra Bastille: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed by the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris. Choreography by George Balanchine to music by Mendelssohn, with sopranos Pranvera Lehnert & Anne-Sophie Ducret. With the Orchestra and Choir of the Opéra National de Paris conducted by Simon Hewitt. Day 3. Paris. Morning visit to the Théâtre du Châtelet where Diaghilev launched his first Ballets Russes season in 1909, with Nijinsky and Karsavina. The season from which, arguably, almost all 20th-century ballet sprang. Free afternoon. Evening ballet performance at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées: Swan Lake, performed by the Norwegian National Ballet. A radical version by choreographer Alexander Ekman, in which Tchaikovsky’s score has been substantially reworked by contemporary composer Mikael Karlsson. Day 4. Paris, London. Free morning: we buy advance tickets to the Louvre to minimise queuing time. Afternoon Eurostar to London. Evening lecture. First of two nights in London. Day 5. London. Opportunity in the morning to watch a company rehearsal by English National Ballet at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Evening performance of Jewels performed by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Choreography by Balanchine, to music by Fauré,

Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky. With the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House conducted by Pavel Sorokin. Day 6. Check out of the hotel by 12.00 midday.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,790 or £2,680 without Eurostar on day 1. Single occupancy: £3,210 or £3,100 without Eurostar on day 1. Included meals: 2 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine. Music: top-category tickets to 3 performances are included, costing c. £250. At the time of going to print not all tickets were confirmed. Tickets for Jewels cannot be confirmed until January 2017. Principal dancers for all performances are not yet confirmed. Accommodation. Hotel Westminster, Paris (warwickwestminsteropera.com): comfortable 4-star near the Opéra Garnier with traditional décor. One Aldwych, London (onealdwych.com): 5-star hotel a short walk from the opera house. How strenuous? One of the performances is reached on foot. Visits require a fair amount of walking and standing around. There are some late nights but starts are leisurely. You need to be able to lift your luggage on and off the train. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Van Gogh’s Journey, 22– 25 March 2017 (p.150); Pompeii & Herculaneum, 3–8 April 2017 (p.141).

Van Gogh’s Journey, 22–25 March 2017. see page 150. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Ballet as a professional art form was born in seventeenth century Paris, and was reborn there, after the decline of the late nineteenth century, with the arrival of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. This was more than just a dance company; it was a creative movement which, from its inception, drew to itself the greatest musical, theatrical and artistic talents of the era. Today, Paris remains a world capital of classical dance, and it’s flagship company, The Paris Opera Ballet, is renowned for its grand-scale productions and the supremely elegant finish of its dancers. Two of the ballets seen on this tour are works by the choreographer George Balanchine, who left Russia in 1924, aged twenty, to join Diaghilev’s company. We walk in the footsteps of the Ballets Russes, acquiring something of the flavour of those extraordinary days, with visits to several associated sites. The Théâtre du Châtelet, where it all began in 1909 and Nijinsky and Karsavina enjoyed their greatest triumphs. The fabulously opulent Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris), with its ceiling painted by Marc Chagall, on whose stage The Firebird and Schéhérazade had their premières. The Hotel Scribe, where Diaghilev often stayed, and where he gathered around him a brilliant côterie of dancers, designers and composers. Ballet and controversy are old bedfellows, and in his radical reworking of Swan Lake, Alexander Ekman explores the classic work from a dramatically new perspective. Eckman’s iconoclastic approach is one Diaghilev would have approved of, and there is resonance in the fact that the piece is being performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, where in 1913 Diaghilev presented The Rite of Spring, a ballet so foreign to the taste of its audience that it provoked a riot. Returning to London, a city with its own illustrious dancers and ballet history, we will attend a ballet class or rehearsal by the English National Ballet (schedules permitting) before immersing ourselves in Balanchine’s Jewels. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, this dazzling and multifaceted work has an intriguing subtext, and was inspired by the choreographer’s obsessive love for a woman many years his junior. The final movement, Diamonds, is one of ballet’s great set pieces, and offers a suitably exalted note on which to draw our tour to a close.

Bartoli, Kožená, Netrebko, Villazón in Versailles & Paris FrANCE

Musiciens du Prince, Diego Fasolis, (cond.), Claudia Blersch, (dir.), Cecilia Bartoli (Angelina), Sen Guo (Clorinda) Liliana Nikiteanu (Tisbée), Carlos Chausson (Don Magnifico), Edgardo Rocha (Don Ramiro), Alessandro Corbelli (Dandini). Day 3: Paris. Morning lecture before driving to Paris. Architectural walk, led by the lecturer. See the area of the Grands Boulevards, including the Théâtre des Varietés where Offenbach premiered La Belle Hélène in 1864, and the Opéra Comique. Explore also the fascinating passages, early 19th-century arcades full of specialist collectors’ shops, and the area of galleries and antique shops around Paris’s most venerable auction house, the Hôtel Drouot. Some free time before dinner in the panoramic restaurant at the Philhamonie de Paris. Evening concert: Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov, Italian arias (exact programme to be confirmed) with the National Orchestra of Belgium conducted by Jader Bignamini. Paris, Opera Garnier, wood engraving c. 1880 (no performance here, but it is visited).

25 February–1 March 2017 (md 156) 5 days • £2,480 (including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturer: Patrick Bade Cecilia Bartoli plays Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Opéra Royal at Versailles. Anna Netrebko & Yusif Eyvazov perform Italian arias at the Philharmonie de Paris, Jean Nouvel’s new concert hall. Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria featuring Magdalena Kožená and Rolando Villazón, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, directed by Emmanuelle Haïm. Led by Patrick Bade, lecturer on the history of opera for Christie’s.

MAINLAND EUROPE 72

This tour features five of the world’s most talented and glamorous opera stars in three of Europe’s most spectacular venues. Currently unrivalled for her virtuosity in the coloratura roles of Rossini, Cecilia Bartoli appears as Cinderella in his comic masterpiece La Cenerentola. The performance will take place in the exquisite Neo-Classical court opera house at Versailles, designed for Louis XV by Jacques-Anges Gabriel and inaugurated in 1770 during the wedding celebrations of MarieAntoinette and the future Louis XVI. Originally lit by ten thousand candles, the ravishing interior of this theatre is decorated with faux marble columns, a trompe l’oeil ceiling painting representing airborne gods and goddesses and magnificent carved reliefs by Augustin Pajou. It was the setting for many historic occasions, including in 1784 a performance of Gluck’s Armide in honour of King Gustav III of Sweden, later assassinated in his own opera house and the subject of an opera by Verdi. Queen Elizabeth II attended a gala performance in 1957 to celebrate the restoration of the theatre. With its intimate size (accommodating an audience of 712) and the perfect acoustic (due to its wooden construction) the Versailles Opera will provide the perfect showcase for the talents of Cecilia Bartoli and for Rossini’s sparkling work. book online at www.martinrandall.com

The sleek Art Deco elegance of Auguste Perret’s Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, with its pioneering reinforced concrete construction and its decoration by major modern artists such as the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle and the painters Maurice Denis and Eduard Vuillard, marked a startling contrast with the plush and gold historicism of earlier Parisian theatres. In the century since its completion this theatre has packed in a great deal of history including a notorious riot at the premiere of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps in 1913 and its use by the German occupiers for broadcast concerts during World War II. In this theatre we shall hear the popular Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón and the Czech mezzo Magdalena Kožená (Lady Rattle) in one of the first operas to be performed before a public audience, Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, dating from 1640. In between our visits to these great historic theatres we shall attend a concert in one of the world’s most recently completed and most intensely discussed concert halls, the Grande Salle at the Philarmonie de Paris. The crumpled exterior coated with gleaming aluminium has divided opinion and been likened by some to a crashed spaceship, while the harmonious interior of the auditorium with its excellent acoustic has been widely praised. Here we shall hear Anna Netrebko, perhaps the most acclaimed prima donna of our day in concert with the rising young Azerbaijani tenor Ysif Eyvazov whose golden open-throated voice will blend magnificently with the rich tones of Madame Netrebko.

Itinerary Day 1. Travel by Eurostar (1st class, standard premier) at c. 12.30am from London St Pancras to Paris. Continue by coach to Versailles for an early evening lecture and dinner. First of two nights in Versailles. Day 2: Versailles. Take a guided tour of the opulent Château de Versailles including the Hall of Mirrors and the King’s and Queen’s apartments. Afternoon performance of La Cenerentola at the Opéra Royal. Monte Carlo Opera choir, Les

Day 4: Paris. Morning lecture followed by a visit with the lecturer to the Jacquemart André museum. This lavish residence, built in 1875 for the banker Edouard André, houses the collection he made with his wife, Nélie Jacquemart, a painter. It contains a fine collection of 18th-cent. paintings, Dutch, Flemish and Italian masters. Free afternoon. Evening opera at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées: Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. Le Concert d’Astrée, Emmanuelle Haïm (conductor), Mariame Clément (director), Rolando Villazón (Ulisse) Magdalena Kožená (Penelope), Katherine Watson (Giunone), Kresimir Spicer (Eumete), AnneCatherine Gillet (Amore/Minerva), Isabelle Druet (Fortuna/Melanto), Marteen Engeltjes (L’umana Fragilità/Pisandro), Ugo Guagliardo (Tempo/ Antinoo), Lothar Odinius (Giove/Anfinomo), Jean Teitgen (Nettuno), Mathias Vidal (Telemaco), Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (Eurimaco), Jörg Schneider (Iro), Elodie Méchain (Ericlea). Day 5: Paris. Morning visit of the sumptuous Palais Garnier opera house before the Eurostar to St Pancras arriving at c. 2.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,480 or £2,360 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £2,820 or £2,700 without Eurostar. Included meals: 4 dinners with wine. Music: top-category tickets to 3 performances are included, costing c. £380. At the time of going to print, not all tickets were confirmed. Accommodation. Trianon Palace, Versailles (pullmanhotels.com): 4-star Walforf Astoria hotel within walking distance of the Château. Hotel Westminster, Paris (warwickwestminsteropera. com): comfortable 4-star near the Opéra Garnier with traditional décor. How strenuous? One of the performances is reached on foot. Visits require a fair amount of walking and standing around. There are some late nights but starts are leisurely. You need to be able to lift your luggage on and off the train. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Puccini in Cardiff, 15–18 February 2017 (p.43).

Poets & the somme Poetry of The Great War in battlefield context

First World War poetry in the context of the Battle of the Somme. A presentation of the poetry through a study of events, landscapes and the wartime lives of individual poets. An actor reads the poems. Led by military historian Andrew Spooner.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Day 1: Foncquevillers, Pozières. Travel by coach at 9.00am from central London to Folkestone for the 35 minute Eurotunnel crossing. Continue by coach, arriving in the field mid-afternoon. Drive the length of the front line for an initial orientation of the Somme battlefield, identifying the exact positions of the opposing trenches. The lecturer gives an introduction at the windmill site at Pozières, the highest part of the battlefield, and the first poem is read; Alec Waugh’s Albert to Bapaume Road. Visit preserved trenches and a military cemetery. Continue to the hotel in Arras. Day 2: Serre, Mesnil, Thiepval. Explore to the north of the Albert to Bapaume Road. Start at the village of Serre, site of the left flank of the main attack on 1st July where many of the assault battalions were known as ‘pals’, reflecting their recruiting centres based in the large urban cities of the Midlands and the North. Move along the line through Auchonvillers, along the Ancre Valley, with Edmund Blunden, Wilfred Owen and A. P. Herbert. At Thiepval is the Memorial to the Missing, the most monumental of the many Great War memorials, which bears over 72,000 names. Today’s poems include A Soldier’s Funeral by John William Streets, read at his graveside, Binyon’s For the Fallen and, at Thiepval, Charles Sorley’s When they see the millions of the mouthless dead / Across your dreams in pale battalions go. Day 3: Péronne, Longueval, Mametz. Start at the ‘Historial de la Grande Guerre’ museum at Péronne, then to the area south of the Albert to Bapaume Road where some battalions were more successful and gained their objectives on the first day, before the arduous struggle of attrition moved into the ‘Horseshoe of Woods’. The site of

Siegfried Sassoon’s HQ dugout is near the village of Fricourt, ‘while time ticks blank and busy on their wrists’. At Mametz, on William Noel Hodgson’s ‘familiar hill’, read Before Action: ‘Must say goodbye to all of this / By all delights that I shall miss, / Help me to die, O Lord.’ Day 4: Agny, Contay, Louvencourt. Stray behind the lines, visiting areas associated with the Casualty Clearing Stations. The village of Agny for Edward Thomas and Eleanor Farjeon, Louvencourt for Vera Brittain and Roland Leighton, and Contay as an appropriate location for the choice of women’s poetry, May Wedderburn Cannan and Margaret Postgate Cole. At La Boisselle, astride the Roman road, follow the fortunes of two battalions of the 34th Division. The poetry of Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas and Alan Seeger features (I have a rendezvous with death). Final lunch before driving to Calais for the Eurotunnel journey home, arriving in central London at c. 7.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,430. Single occupancy: £1,570. Included meals: all lunches, all dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hôtel de l’Univers, Arras (univers.najeti.fr): traditional 3-star hotel in Arras in a 16th-century building; good restaurant. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of standing around and walking on this tour, most of it over rough ground. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 127 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Country Houses of Kent, 4–8 September 2017 (p.22).

Wayside crosses, photograph 1916.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Blending history and poetry, this tour reveals the true landscape of war: locations, topography, events, but also hope, fear, anger, pain and love, all viscerally manifest in the poetry of the First World War. The opening day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916, is taken as the starting point for the tour, with an exploration of the front line area and a study of the events of that day and subsequent weeks. A sprinkling of poetry from 1914 and 1915 adds to the modern contextual understanding of the enormous sense of loss. During 1917 and 1918, other war poets became embroiled in later battles and their poetry will be placed into context on ‘the old 1916 battlefield’. This leads on to a wider examination of the nature of trench warfare and of the course of the war as a whole. Much has survived: trenches, shell holes and mine craters. The tangible remains of warfare and the pattern of cemeteries are now woven into the fabric of the modern landscape. What sets this tour apart is the parallel exploration of the lives of those regular soldiers, volunteers and civilians who bequeathed to us the most emotionally potent body of poetry in English literature. This is not an exercise in literary analysis, however, but poems are placed in the context of the battlefield and of the lives (and deaths) of the many and varied individuals who wrote them. Led by the military historian who devised the tour, Andrew Spooner, it is also accompanied by an actor who reads the poems – sometimes at the site where they were composed (often identifiable to within a few yards), sometimes at the scene of the poet’s grave, sometimes at the place of his death or disappearance. The tour is very much ‘in the field’ with a series of short walks on each day, averaging from a few hundred metres to a maximum distance 1.5 miles, and set to follow the events on particular sections of the front line. The fourteen miles of front line are neatly divided by the Roman road from Albert to Bapaume. Poets whose works are included are (in alphabetical order) Richard Aldington, Lawrence Binyon, Edmund Blunden, Vera Brittain, Eric Chilman, Eleanor Farjeon, Wilfrid Gibson, Sir Alan P. Herbert, William Noel Hodgson, Roland Leighton, Frederick Manning, Lucy Gertrude Moberley, Wilfred Owen, Margaret Postgate Cole, John Edgell Rickwood, Isaac Rosenberg, Siegfried Sassoon, Alan Seeger, Charles Sorley, Hugh Steward Smith, John William Streets, Edward Thomas, Alec Waugh, May Wedderburn Cannan.

Itinerary

FrANCE

1–4 September 2017 (me 538) 4 days • £1,430 Lecturer: Andrew Spooner

the Battle of Waterloo. see page 55. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Brittany Megaliths to Monet FrANCE

Aven School, Max Jacob and Breton landscape and domestic scenes. The Musée Départemental Breton in the old Bishop’s Palace has a fine selection of faïencerie, archaeological finds, Breton costumes, lacework and furniture. The cathedral of St Corentin is the finest example of Gothic architecture in Brittany, with a sumptuous modern high altar in gilded and enamelled bronze. Day 5: around Quimper. An excursion to three very different gardens. Those of the Parc Botanique de Cornouaille were started in 1983 by M. Gueguen, a plant collector who worked for Hilliers in England. The setting of indigenous oak and pine trees provides a backdrop to a global collection of trees and shrubs. The Parc de Boutiguéry extends to 15 hectares along the banks of the River Odet where the owner has hybridised and bred new rhododendrons with colours infused with ‘warmth’. At the Manoir de Kérazan sweet chestnuts grow alongside pines, palms and flowering shrubs. The house is a showcase of Breton workmanship: fine collections of the Quimper faïencerie, Bigouden furniture and paintings by local artists.

Quimper Cathedral, watercolour by Mortimer Menpes, publ. 1905.

26 June–2 July 2017 (md 369) 7 days • £2,380 Lecturer: Caroline Holmes Brittany’s landscapes captured and cultivated: gardens, châteaux and historic towns. Beautiful Belle-Ile, with an optional coastal walk. The lecturer is Caroline Holmes, a garden historian with close family ties to Brittany. A local expert guides on some of the finest prehistoric sites in Europe. The inspiration for colonies of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists.

MAINLAND EUROPE 74

The landscapes of Brittany are variously dramatic, fertile and rugged, framed by jagged coasts or broad sands. The granite bedrock can be seen carved into poignant sixteenth-century churchyard calvaries and piled high in Quimper’s two spires. The wealth of stone tools that have been found confirm the early agricultural skills of prehistoric Bretons. Armorica stems from Ar Mor, literally land of the sea, to distinguish Brittany’s coasts from the forested interior, Ar Goat, that sheltered wolves, boar and deer as well as Druidic rites. Over the centuries the fruits of its sea, fields, orchards and gardens fed their bodies and souls with a robust simplicity. Large tracts remained remote from and almost untouched by metropolitan France. In the late nineteenth century avant-garde artists came to see Brittany as an inspirational rural idyll and flocked from Europe, America and Australia. It was already popular when in 1888 Paul Sérusier, Emile Bernard and Paul Gauguin formed the School of PontAven. Nearby, Monet painted the wild seas and rocks off Belle-Ile and met the critic who was to become his lifelong friend and biographer, Gustave book online at www.martinrandall.com

Geff roy. Australian Impressionist John Peter Russell married Marianna Antoinetta Mattiocco, Rodin’s favourite model, and in 1889 built a house at Port Goulphar where they entertained Sisley, Matisse and numerous other artists. In 1894 Sarah Bernhardt took up summer residence in the Fort; her guest list was to include Edward VII. This tour presents a broad sweep of history, prehistory, art and landscape.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 10.30am from London City Airport to Nantes (City Jet). Catch a late afternoon ferry to Belle-Ile. Two nights are spent here: the hotel is on the site of Australian painter John Russell’s house and retains the views which inspired him to live, paint and host here for 20 years. Day 2: Belle-Ile. Optional morning walk along the beautiful northern Côte Sauvage (c. 5 km), including a visit to the Musée Sarah Bernhardt and the fort that was her summer home at the Pointe des Poulains. Lunch in the small port of Sauzon. Afternoon walk in the footsteps of Monet to view the jagged Aiguilles de Port-Coton. Visit the contemporary Jardin la Boulaye that nestles in the sheltered heart of the island. Overnight Belle-Ile. Day 3. Ile de Gavrinis, Locmariaquer. Return by ferry to the mainland. The 23 orthostats (upright stones) in the Cairn de l’Ile de Gavrinis have a wealth of symbolic patterns unmatched elsewhere. There are other stones at the Table des Marchands at nearby Locmariaquer. Overnight Carnac. Day 4: Carnac, Quimper. Morning guided tour of the extraordinary wealth of orthostats and menhirs (standing stones) dating to c. 4600 bc. Drive north to Quimper where visits include the Musée des Beaux Arts with an exceptional collection of French paintings and drawings with a special emphasis on Brittany, the Pont

Day 6: Pont-Aven. Towards the end of the 19thcent. American artists discovered rural Pont-Aven. Walk in their footsteps from the Trémalo chapel that still harbours the 16th-cent. polychrome statue that inspired Gauguin’s Le Christ Jaune, through the Bois d’Amour to the town. The former Hotel Julia has been transformed into the Musée des Beaux Arts which encapsulates and displays the artistic journeys of the Pont-Aven school and its followers. Charles Filiger’s Paysage rocheux, Le Pouldu has inspired the Musée’s garden. Day 7: Daoulas. Drive to the Abbaye de Daoulas with a good Romanesque cloister and monastically inspired herb gardens. The flight from Quimper to London City (British Airways) arrives at c. 3.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,380 or £2,200 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,620 or £2,440 without flights. Included meals: 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Castel Clara, Belle-Ile (castel-clara.com): 4-star spa hotel with fine coastal views. Hotel Tumulus, Carnac (hoteltumulus. com): 3-star hotel with an excellent restaurant. Best Western Hôtel Kregenn, Quimper (hotelkregenn.fr): functional 4-star hotel 5 minutes from the cathedral and museums. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking and standing around. For some of the visits, vehicular access is restricted. Sure-footedness and walking shoes are essential for the (optional) walk along the coast over unevenly paved ground. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 44 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: The Miracle of Salzburg, 18–24 June 2017 (p.48); Charlemagne to Charles V, 4–10 July 2017 (p.54).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

le Corbusier through France & switzerland

A wide survey of works by one of the greatest architects of all time. From Paris through the east of France and the Swiss Jura to Lyon and Marseille. The lecturer is Dr Richard Plant, mediaeval architectural historian with a keen interest in the modern. First-class rail travel by Eurostar and TGV.

Day 3: Paris, Besançon. At the Cité Universitaire, the Pavillon Suisse (hall of residence, 1930) became one of the most influential buildings of International Modernism. The Pavillon Brésilien (1959) attempts an expression of national style while the Atelier Ozenfant (1922, exterior) was the studio-residence of painter-critic and fellow purist. Take the TGV (high speed train) from Paris to Besançon. First of three nights in Besançon.

Day 4: La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland). The son of a watchmaker, Le Corbusier’s home town for thirty years was La Chaux-de-Fonds, and here he built his first houses. See exteriors of The Villa Fallet (1908), a commission obtained by Le Corbusier when he was only 18, and the Villas Stotzer and Jacquemet when he was still under the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement and Ruskin. Classicism, rationalism and modern building techniques began to prevail in the Villas Jeanneret (1912, for his own family, enter by special arrangement) and Schwob (1916, exterior). See also Le Corbusier archive material in town library (by special arrangement). Overnight Besançon. Day 5: Ronchamp, Besançon. Drive into the countryside to the Benedictine monastery at Ronchamp, whose hill-top chapel, Nôtre-Damedu-Haut (1950), resulted in charges of treachery from hard-line modernists but has proved

MAINLAND EUROPE

Le Corbusier has left later generations of architects a problem. It sometimes seems that whatever design solutions they may dream up, Corb arrived there before. And that is without conscious imitation of the master, though no architect has been more imitated. His energy, his gimlet intelligence and his ambition would have made him master of whatever profession he had chosen, but the fertility of his artistic genius and joy in creation turned him into one of the greatest architects of all time, and the most influential of the twentieth century. The exploration of the origins of the look of the modern world is a fascinating aspect of this tour, but it is likely that the dominant impression will be of the sheer beauty of Le Corbusier’s buildings. There is far more of subtlety, nuance, sophistication and variety than might be expected of someone often simplistically classed as one of the instigators of International Modernism. He was an individual, not merely a representative of a style or movement. His impact was felt not only through his buildings – which are scattered across four continents – but also through numerous unexecuted projects, voluminous writings, and lecture tours. This tour concentrates on the rich seam of his works to be quarried in Paris and in an arc out to the east of France, through the Swiss Jura and down through Lyon to Marseille – much of it passing fine natural scenery. It covers a considerable distance, but does give as complete a picture of Le Corbusier’s architecture as can be expected in a tour of this duration. Begin in Paris where Le Corbusier settled when he was thirty and emerged as a central figure in what became the intellectual capital of Europe in the inter-war years. End in Marseille where Le Corbusier finally realised his collectivist vision of the Mediterranean good life. Some buildings are in private hands and we see them from the outside, others are public and accessible and a few will be entered by special arrangement.

Day 2: Paris. On the western outskirts, at Poissy, is Le Corbusier’s lyrically beautiful Villa Savoye (1929), one of the icons of the 20th century. Back in central Paris see Jean Nouvel’s Institut du Monde Arabe, a remarkable building with splendid views of the city. Walk through the Quartier Masséna, home to the Bibliothèque National de France (Dominique Perrault, 1996) and a development that includes the Jardin des Grands-Moulins, created in 2011. Overnight Paris.

Itinerary Day 1: Paris. Travel by Eurostar at c. 11.00am from London St Pancras to Paris. Paris is the site of Corb’s purest statements and of his first large commissions. Visit Villa la Roche-Jeanneret which now houses the Fondation Le Corbusier, and the Immeuble Molitor (1934) in which Le Corbusier created the top floor apartment for himself. First of two nights in Paris.

FrANCE

14–22 October 2017 (me 614) 9 days • £3,480 Lecturer: Dr Richard Plant

Ronchamp, Nôtre-Dame-du-Haut, photograph used under license from shutterstock.com. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Le Corbusier continued

Mediaeval Burgundy Abbeys & churches of the high Middle Ages

france

prophetic in embracing organic, sculptural values. Some free time in Besançon, a hill town dominated by a massive citadel. Overnight Besançon. Day 6: Arc et Senans, L’Arbresle. The route turns southwest, with a break at La Saline Royale, the remarkable industrial complex in romantic Neo-Classical style (1775) by Ledoux, one of Le Corbusier’s inspirations. His second monastic commission, the hillside Couvent de La Tourette at l’Arbresle, was obtained because his agnosticism was regarded as of less significance than the sacred values of his architecture. Continue south to Lyon. First of two nights in Lyon. Day 7: Lyon, Firminy-Vert. The new town at Firminy-Vert (1956–70) was one of the few pieces of Corbusian town planning actually executed with the master’s involvement and the site became the largest ensemble of his buildings outside Chandigarh. Also designed by Corbusier are the Maison de la Culture, with its dramatically canted side wall, the sports stadium, and the Unité d’Habitation. The astonishing church of St Pierre was finally completed in 2007, and there is a revelatory Le Corbusier museum. Free afternoon in Lyon to explore the historic centre or some of Lyon’s striking modern buildings (Tony Garnier, Renzo Piano) or the Jean Nouvel opera house. Overnight Lyon. Day 8: Marseille. Travel south by TGV. All his life Corb had been concerned with issues of housing, urbanism and community, and the fruits of his thinking are to be found in the ‘Unité d’Habitation’ apartment blocks. The one at Marseille (1945–52), though dogged by opposition and delays, is the most monumental embodiment of these theories. Overnight in Marseille. Day 9: Marseille. Some free time in Marseille or join the lecturer for a walk through the old town. Return home by plane (British Airways), arriving at London Heathrow at c. 5.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,480 or £3,270 without international travel. Single occupancy: £3,860 or £3,650 without international travel. Included meals: 6 dinners with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Hotel du Louvre, Paris (parishoteldulouvre.hyatt.com): 5-star hotel near the Louvre, recently renovated. Hotel de Paris, Besançon (besanconhoteldeparis.com): 3-star hotel in the historic centre. Hotel le Royal, Lyon (lyonhotel-leroyal.com): stylish 5-star hotel, wellsituated on the Presqu’île. Hotel la Résidence du Vieux-Port, Marseille (hotel-residence-marseille. com): 4-star hotel in a 1950s building overlooking the harbour. Bright, modernist décor. How strenuous? This is a tiring tour with a lot of travel and several hotel changes. There is also quite a lot of walking within the cities visited. For the train journeys you will need to be able to carry your luggage on and off the train and within the stations. Average coach travel per day: 38 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Combine this tour with: Essential Andalucía, 23 October–2 November 2017 (p.177).

book online at www.martinrandall.com

3–10 June 2017 (md 326) 8 days • £2,680 Lecturer: John McNeill Superb collection of Romanesque and early Gothic buildings. Exceptionally well-preserved historic towns. Rural drives through beautiful landscapes. Led by architectural historian John McNeill. First-class rail travel. The key to understanding mediaeval Burgundy is its situation, a cradle of wooded hills drained by three great river systems flowing, respectively, to the north, south and west. Not only did this lend the area the status of a lieu de passage, but it guaranteed its importance, ensuring that the mediaeval duchy was open to the forms and traditions of far-flung regions. Remarkably, much of Burgundy’s mediaeval infrastructure survives. Even extending back as far as the ninth century, for in the interlocking spaces of the lower church at St-Germain d’Auxerre one might catch a glimpse of western Carolingian architecture and painting, a glimpse that presents this most distant of periods at its most inventive and personal. It is equally the case that while the great early Romanesque basilicas which once studded the underbelly of the Ile-de-France are now reduced to a ghost of their former selves, what survives in Burgundy is sublimely impressive, as one might see in that great quartet of crypts at Dijon, Auxerre, Flavigny and Tournus. As elsewhere, the twelfth century is well represented, though the depth of exploratory work undertaken here cannot fail to impress. The fundamental Romanesque research was probably conducted to the south, at Cluny and in the Brionnais, but the take-up in central Burgundy was immediate, and in the naves of Vézelay and Autun one might see two of the most compelling essays on the interaction of sculpture and architecture twelfth-century Europe has produced. Nor were Cistercians slow to tailor Burgundian architecture to suit their needs, and

though her great early monasteries have now perished at least Fontenay survives, ranking among the most breathtaking monastic sites of mediaeval France. Gothic also arrived early, and there began a second wave of experimentation, tentative at first but blossoming in the centre (where the new choir at Vézelay is the first intimation we have that Gothic architecture had a future outside northern France) into perhaps the most lucid of all architectural styles. It is thus no surprise that the thirteenth century saw the region at the cutting edge of Europe. At Auxerre a definitive account of space as illusion took shape, and at Semur-en-Auxois a theatre of stone clambered aboard the church. Moreover, the patrons invested heavily in glass. No thirteenth-century church was without it - and most have retained it, blazing the interior with a heady combination of light, meaning and colour. This sublime vigour even continued into the later middle ages, where under the Valois dukes of Burgundy Dijon became a major artistic centre, attracting artists of the calibre of Rogier van der Weyden and Claus Sluter.

Itinerary Day 1. Eurostar at c. 11.00am from London St Pancras to Paris (1st class, standard premier) and then onwards by TGV (high-speed train) to Dijon. Drive on to Tournus where two nights are spent. Day 2: Cluny, Berzé-la-Ville, Tournus. Cluny is the site of the largest church and most powerful monastery in mediaeval France. Study the magnificent remains of the church and monastic buildings. The tiny chapel at Berzéla-Ville was perhaps built as the abbot of Cluny’s private retreat, and is embellished with superb wall paintings of c. 1100. At Tournus see the striking and immensely influential early 11thcentury monastery. Day 3: Beaune, Autun, Dijon. The 15thcentury Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune houses Rogier van der Weyden’s Last Judgement. The stalwart Romanesque church of Notre-Dame has fine tapestries. At Autun the cathedral of St Lazare is celebrated for its sublime sequence of Romanesque capitals and relief sculptures by Gislebertus. First of three nights in Dijon. Day 4: St Thibault, Semur-en-Auxois, Fontenay. The church of the market town of St Thibault has a 13th-cent. choir that is the most graceful Burgundian construction of the period. The fortified hill town of Semur-en-Auxois has a splendid Gothic collegiate church. The tranquil abbey of Fontenay is the earliest Cistercian church to survive and has an exceptionally well-preserved monastic precinct. Day 5: Dijon. A day dedicated to Burgundy’s capital and one of the most attractive of French cities with many fine buildings from 11th to 18th centuries. St Bénigne has an ambitious early Romanesque crypt. Notre-Dame is a quite stunning early Gothic parish church. The palace of the Valois dukes now houses a museum with extensive collections of work from the period of their rule (1364–1477). Day 6: Saulieu, Avallon, Vézelay. Visit the Basilique St-Andoche in Saulieu, with carved

Day 7: Auxerre. The morning includes the magnificent Carolingian crypt of St Germain and the cathedral, a pioneering 13th-century building with exceptional glass and sculpture. The afternoon is free. Day 8: Sens. The striking cathedral of Sens is among the earliest Gothic churches of Europe, housing important glass and an exquisitely carved 12th- and 13th-century west front. The diocesan museum also houses an extensive collection of Roman and mediaeval antiquities. Take the Eurostar from Paris arriving at London St Pancras c. 6.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,680 or £2,460 without Eurostar and TGV. Single occupancy: £3,040 or £2,820 without Eurostar and TGV. Included meals: 6 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hôtel Le Rempart, Tournus (lerempart.com): 4-star hotel formerly a 15thcentury guard house, located on the ramparts of the town. Hostellerie du Chapeau Rouge, Dijon (chapeau-rouge.fr): centrally located, comfortable 4-star hotel furnished to a high standard. Hôtel Le Parc des Maréchaux, Auxerre (leparcdesmarechaux.com): 4-star hotel in a delightful 18th-century hôtel particulier. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking, some of it on steep hillsides, and standing around. There is plenty of coach travel and you stay in three hotels. You will need to be able to lift your luggage on and off the train and wheel it within stations. Average distance by coach per day: 72 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

John McNeill. Architectural historian and a specialist in the Middle Ages and renaissance. He lectures for oxford university’s Department of Continuing Education and is Honorary secretary of the British Archaeological Association, for whom he has edited collections of essays on mediaeval Anjou, King’s lynn and the Fens, Cloisters, and romanesque and the Past.

FrANCE

capitals depicting flora, fauna and biblical stories. Drive north to Avallon, whose fine Romanesque church is spectacularly situated above the river Cousin. Vézelay, a picturesque hill town whose summit is occupied by the abbey of La Madeleine, was one of the great pilgrimage centres of the Middle Ages, and has one of the most impressive of all 12th-century churches for both its architecture and its sculpture. First of two nights in Auxerre.

See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Beaune Music Festival July 2017 Details available in January 2017 Please contact us to register your interest

MAINLAND EUROPE 77

Beaune, Hôtel-Dieu, engraving 1887. Opposite page: Vézelay, Abbey of La Madaleine, after a drawing by René Piot, c. 1920. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Anjou & the West Angers, Poitiers, Saintes, Angoulême france

Poitiers, Cathedral and market place, etching c. 1890 by Joseph Pennell.

Day 5: St-Jouin-de-Marnes, Poitiers. Slip south over the border with Poitou to St-Jouin-de-Marnes whose monastic church carries the earliest of the elaborately carved western French screen façades. The afternoon is spent in Poitiers. See Notre-Dame-la-Grande with its superb show front overlooking the former market place. St-Hilaire was the resting place of a celebrated 4th-century bishop and is a major pilgrimage church. First of three nights in Poitiers. Day 6: Civaux, St-Savin-sur-Gartempe, Chauvigny. A day among the painted churches in the Gartempe and Vienne valleys. Civaux has a vast and enigmatic Merovingian cemetery and adjacent early medieval painted crypt. St-Savinsur-Gartempe has the most extensive, splendid cycle of Romanesque wall painting to survive in France. At Chauvigny see the dramatically situated seigneurial castle and collegiate church. Day 7: Poitiers. Spend the morning in the mediaeval town. See the cathedral, a majestic 12th- and 13th-century hall church. SteRadegonde demonstrates an engaging amalgam of Romanesque and Gothic themes. Free afternoon.

2–11 May 2017 (md 263) 10 days • £2,940 Lecturer: John McNeill Superb Romanesque and early Gothic buildings. Exceptionally well-preserved historic town centres. The tour is led by John McNeill, renowned architectural historian.

MAINLAND EUROPE 78

The ancient counties of Anjou and Poitou boast the richest and most diverse collection of twelfthcentury monuments in France. They also occupy a position of great importance for the fabric of later mediaeval Europe. Earlier, this region had been a pioneer in the development of feudalism, one of the effects of which was the growth of lay control over abbeys and collegiate churches. A consequence of this was that long established buildings were restored and new foundations established, and the region became a crucible of innovation in sculptural and architectural style. The frame of the western French church was subject to a series of changes of form and identity that were among the most dramatic of twelfthcentury Europe. This development of mature twelfth- and thirteenth-century solutions forms the core of the expedition. The extravagantly carved screen façades of Poitou and the Saintonge will be something of a feature, and that late twelfthcentury predilection for aisleless or hall church designs, domed-up rib-vaulting and polychromed surfaces will be given corresponding prominence. Nor will painting be neglected, on both glass and plaster, for the high spaces of St-Savin-surGartempe and Asnières-sur-Vègre preserve two of the most beguiling and complex cycles of frescoes from Romanesque Europe, while the east windows of Poitiers cathedral frame some of its greatest late twelfth-century glass. book online at www.martinrandall.com

And though that rich vein of Carolingian and early Romanesque building has been largely superseded, a vein that marked out the Loire valley as one of the great stamping grounds of early mediaeval architectural thinking, enough remains to gain a sense of the range and monumental achievements of eleventh-century design in the region.

Itinerary Day 1. By Eurostar from London St Pancras at c. 9.30am to Paris. Continue by coach to Angers. First of four nights in Angers. Day 2: Angers. See magnificent Romanesque sculpture in the Benedictine cloister of St-Aubin. The 13th-cent. royal castle now houses Louis d’Anjou’s remarkable Apocalypse tapestry, the earliest and perhaps the greatest of mediaeval tapestry series. The cathedral is the grandest of the ‘Angevin Gothic’ churches, while St-Serge has a fine Gothic choir. Henry Plantagenet founded the Hôpital St-Jean and the Ronceray abbesses financed the inventive parish church of La Trinité.

Day 8: Melle, Aulnay, Saintes. Drive along the camino, the pilgrimage road running south-west towards Santiago de Compostela. Visit three great Romanesque churches at Melle, St-Hilaire with majestic ‘Constantinian Rider’ perched above the north portal. Aulnay is home to a spellbinding pilgrimage church. Continue to Saintes, renowned Roman city extensively redeveloped during the 11th and 12th cents, and the basilica of St-Eutrope. First of two nights in Saintes. Day 9: Perignac, Pons, Talmont-sur-Gironde. Drive to the Romanesque church at Perignac. At Pons the famous pilgrims’ hospice, in offering accommodation to either side of the road, bridges the camino. At Talmont the impressive church of St Radegonde is perched above the Gironde. Day 10. Drive to Angoulême for the TGV train to Paris Montparnasse. Transfer within Paris to the Gare du Nord for the Eurostar arriving at London St Pancras at c. 6.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,940 or £2,700 without Eurostar & TGV. Single occupancy: £3250 or £3,010 without Eurostar & TGV. Supplement for superior rooms: £135 (two sharing).

Day 3: Cunault, Fontevraud, Chinon. Drive along the south bank of the Loire, stopping at the light and spacious priory church of Notre-Dame-deCunault. Fontevraud, a vast monastic city, houses four communities on the same site: Plantagenet royal mausoleum, octagonal kitchen, Renaissance cloister. Chinon is home to Henry Plantagenet’s ‘beloved castle in the middle of France’.

Included meals: 1 lunch and 7 dinners with wine.

Day 4: Le Mans, Pirmil, Asnières-sur-Vègre. The day is devoted to the Maine with the morning at Le Mans cathedral, whose nave juxtaposes 11th-century aisles with a 12th-century elevation, and whose choir stands as one of the supreme statements of Gothic architecture. Returning via the finest of the Mancelle parish churches and see the sculpture of Pirmil acting as a foil for the marvellous wall paintings at Asnières-sur-Vègre.

How strenuous? A lot of walking and standing around. You will need to lift your own luggage on and off the train and wheel it within stations. Average distance by coach per day: 83 miles.

Accommodation. Best Western Hotel d’Anjou, Angers (en.hoteldanjou.fr): 4-star hotel in the centre of town with a good restaurant. Mercure Centre, Poitiers (mercure.com): central, 4-star hotel in a former 19th-century Jesuit chapel. Citotel des Messageries, Saintes (hotel-desmessageries.com): 3-star hotel; traditional décor.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Provence & Languedoc, 20–29 April 2017 (p.81); Courts of Northern Italy, 14–21 May 2017 (p.122).

Mediaeval Alsace Both sides of the Rhine in France & Germany

Architecture, art and history around the Upper Rhine in France and Germany. Exceedingly lovely towns and villages, amid lush landscapes of vineyards, rolling farmland and wooded hills. Stay in one hotel throughout, a beautifully restored, 16th-century Alsatian Inn. The tour is led by Alexandra Gajewski, specialist in mediaeval architecture.

Itinerary Day 1: London to Strasbourg. Leave London St Pancras by Eurostar at c. 9.30am for Paris, and continue by TGV (high-speed train) to Strasbourg. Arriving before 5.00pm, there is plenty of time to settle into the hotel, for an introductory talk and dinner. All seven nights are spent in Strasbourg. Day 2: Strasbourg. Since the High Middle Ages, Strasbourg has been one of the most important intellectual and cultural centres of Europe, and is now seat of the European parliament. The cathedral, constructed and adorned over several centuries, is one of the greatest monuments of Gothic art and architecture in Europe. Visit also the cathedral museum and the church of St Thomas (extravagant tomb of Maréchal de Saxe).

Day 4: Molsheim, Rosheim, Obernai. A day of small places. Molsheim has a Jesuit church and a Carthusian monastery. The chapel of St Ulrich in Avolsheim was built in the 10th century and contains 13th-century frescoes. In Obernai, visit the Romanesque church of St Pierre. Rosheim possesses a number unspoilt mediaeval houses and the 12th-century church of St Pierre et Paul. In the heart of wine-producing countryside, Obernai is partly surrounded by fine ramparts.

Dr Alexandra Gajewski. Architectural historian and lecturer specialising in the mediaeval. She obtained her PhD from the Courtauld and has lectured there and at Birkbeck College. She is currently in Madrid researching ‘The Roles of Women as Makers of Medieval Art and Architecture’. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Strasbourg Cathedral, wood engraving c. 1880.

Day 5: Kaysersberg, Murbach. Kaysersberg is a remarkably unchanged mediaeval village with delightful houses, castle, bridge, and a church with a very fine carved altarpiece. In the afternoon drive south through the lovely hill scenery of the Massif du Ballon d’Alsace. Nestling in wooded hills, the Romanesque abbey at Murbach was the most important in the region, and its Romanesque church is correspondingly magnificent. Day 6: Niederrotweil, Freiburg, Breisach. Cross the Rhine to Germany. The parish churches at Breisach and Niederrotweil each have a most beautiful late Gothic altarpiece carved by the socalled Master HL with an extraordinary swirling design. Freiburg im Breisgau is one of the best preserved old towns in Germany. At its centre is the minster, a magnificent Gothic construction with the tallest spire completed in the Middle Ages. The excellent city museum has recently reopened after major restoration. Day 7: Strasbourg. Free morning followed by a visit to the Palais Rohan and its museums of fine and decorative arts in the afternoon. Day 8. Leave Strasbourg at c. 10.45am by TGV for Paris and continue by Eurostar to London St Pancras, arriving c. 4.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,890 or £2,630 without Eurostar & TGV. Single occupancy: £3,450 or £3,190 without Eurostar & TGV.

MAINLAND EUROPE

It is one of the oddities of modern Europe that Alsace belongs to France. Historically, culturally and linguistically, the region has had more in common with its German neighbour to the east of the Rhine. Alsace is a hybrid. The Alsatians are descendants of the Teutonic tribes who settled here in the fifth century. In the Middle Ages most of the region, along with a chunk of Switzerland, formed part of the German duchy of Swabia, which owed allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire. Two of the imperial families, the Hohenstaufen and the Habsburgs, had their principal domains in the region, on both sides of the Rhine. The major cities – Strasbourg, Colmar and Freiburg – were among the greatest of the independent free cities of the Rhineland, the economic powerhouse of transalpine Europe. Only in relatively recent history has the Upper Rhine become a disputed border between antagonistic powers. In the Middle Ages and for long after the river was not a divisive factor but a unifying highway, the meeting place for goods, peoples and ideas from both sides. The acquisition by France in 1648 of the left bank – modern-day Alsace – paid no heed to linguistic, religious or cultural considerations. Indeed, it reverted to the German Empire for 47 years after the FrancoPrussian war of 1871. This tour ignores modern national boundaries. This way the immensely rich artistic and cultural heritage can be fully appreciated, and stylistic variations be seen as regional inflections rather than national differences. A leitmotif of the tour is the exceptionally rich collection of late mediaeval altarpieces. Alsace is also rich in mediaeval church architecture, both Romanesque and Gothic.

Day 3: Colmar. Colmar is an exceedingly attractive town with richly ornamented halftimbered and stone buildings lining the streets and canals. The Gothic church of St Martin contains the Virgin of the Rose Garden, an altarpiece by Schongauer (1473). The Musée d’Unterlinden has an outstanding collection of 15th- and 16thcentury pictures, chief of which is Grünewald’s Issenheim altarpiece, the most searing of all images of the Crucifixion.

france

3–10 October 2017 (me 594) 8 days • £2,890 Lecturer: Dr Alexandra Gajewski

Included meals: 1 lunch and 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Cour du Corbeau, Strasbourg (cour-corbeau.com): beautifully restored 4-star hotel, located close to the cathedral and the Palais Rohan. Rooms maintain many original features, though décor is contemporary. How strenuous? A fair amount of walking and standing around within the towns. Many places are only accessible on foot, and paving may be cobbled or uneven. You need to be able to lift your luggage on and off the train and wheel it within stations. Average coach travel per day: 55 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Combine this tour with: Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur, 11–17 October 2017 (p.86). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Wine, Walks & Art in Alsace France’s prettiest wine region FrANCE

22–27 September 2017 (me 525) 6 days • £2,780 Lecturer: Marc Millon Four walks of between 4 and 9 km in the lush landscapes of vineyards, rolling farmland and wooded hills. Stay in one hotel throughout, a charming listed building in the centre of Colmar. Marc Millon is a wine, food and travel writer, and author of The Wine & Food of Europe. Travel by train from London to Colmar via Paris by Eurostar and TGV.

Alsace, arguably the prettiest wine region in France, is also one of the best to explore on foot. Footpaths lead across a carpet of vineyards that extends over the lower slopes of the Vosges mountains. Tall pointed steeples, often topped with storks’ nests, peek out from above the rolling slopes; visible markers connect villages fi lled with sandstone buildings and charming half-timbered mediaeval houses with window boxes overflowing with colourful geraniums. Undoubtedly the best time to visit is September, when there is a buzz of activity as the grapes are being brought in to wine cellars and the heady smell of pressed grape must, fermentation and new wine is in the air.

Wine producers take time off from their exertions to warmly welcome visitors, happy to explain the intricacies of their terroir, their style and range of wines, and to offer generous samples to taste. In historic towns and villages along the way, Winstubs offer further opportunities simply to enjoy the distinctive wines of Alsace, served in delicate green-stemmed goblets. And what wines! Alsace’s turbulent past – annexed by Germany after the Franco-Prussian war in 1871, retaken by the French after World War I, once again occupied by the Germans during World War II – has resulted in a range of varietal wines that reflect a mixed heritage. Teutonicsounding grapes such as Riesling, Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer and others are vinified in the Gallic style to result in a range of wines that are archetypically and undoubtedly French: classic (mainly) dry, forceful white wines that are meant to be enjoyed with meals. If the wines of Alsace reflect the region’s historic past, so does its renowned gastronomy. German sauerkraut here translates into choucroute; French culinary expertise raising the mundane to the sublime: the lightly fermented cabbage simmered with spices in Riesling wine to accompany a veritable mountain of outstanding sausages and cured meats of the region. Foie gras from the fattened livers of ducks and geese is a longstanding speciality here, while, in addition to charcuterie, magnificent picnic foods include tarte à l’oignon, local cheeses such as Munster, and, of course, delectable and colourful pâtisseries made from the abundance of local and seasonal fruits (many of these same fruits are distilled into clean and powerful eaux de vie). Restaurants range from the humble and simple to refined and famous temples of gastronomy. While the main focus of the tour is the wine and walking, there is also time to appreciate the immensely rich artistic and cultural heritage of Alsace. A leitmotif of the tour is the collection of late mediaeval altarpieces and mediaeval church architecture, both Romanesque and Gothic.

Itinerary

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 1: London to Colmar. Travel by Eurostar (first class, standard premier) at c. 8.30am from London to Paris and onwards by TGV (high-speed train) to Colmar. An exceedingly attractive town with richly ornamented half-timbered and stone buildings lining the streets and canals, Colmar’s position in the foothills of the Vosges makes an ideal base for walking tours. There is time to settle into the hotel, before an introductory talk, tasting and dinner. All five nights are spent in Colmar.

Day 2: Colmar, Ribeauville, Bergheim. Drive to Ribeauville to begin a 5 km walk along part of the Alsace wine route. The path is mostly level through fields and on grass through the vineyards with a short descent into Bergheim at the end. A picnic lunch near the village is followed by a cellar tour and tasting in Bergheim before driving to Riquewihr for a further tasting.

Colmar, rue des Marchands, etching by Charles Pinet (1867–1932). book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 3: Munster. Starting uphill from Munster Haut-Rhin, this is a moderately strenuous circular walk on country lanes, farm tracks and woodland paths, which passes through picturesque villages and farms (9 km, 2½ hours). Lunch, to

Provence & languedoc Art & architecture in the Midi

Day 4: Rosheim, Obernai. A day of small places, beginning in Rosheim which possesses a number of unspoilt mediaeval houses and the 12thcentury church of Saints Pierre et Paul. Walk (5 km) on level paths through vineyards and over fields to Obernai which is partly surrounded by fine ramparts. Wine tasting and time to visit the Romanesque church of St Pierre before returning to Colmar. Day 5: Kaysersberg. Drive to near Kaysersberg to begin a 5 km circular walk across the First World War battlegrounds east and south of the highly strategic Tête des Faux mountain peak, where French and German troops fought with heavy losses between the end of 1914 and the beginning of 1915. Starting at 940m we reach 1,130m at the Roche du Corbeau in the woods before making our way back through pastures and farmlands. Return to Kayserberg for a picnic lunch and a chance to see this remarkably unchanged mediaeval village with delightful houses, castle, bridge and a church with a very fine carved altarpiece. Visit a family-run winery in Ammerschwihr before returning to Colmar. There is a tasting of a range of eaux de vie before dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Colmar. Day 6. Leave Colmar at c. 10.15am by TGV for Paris and continue by Eurostar to London St Pancras, arriving c. 4.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,780 or £2,470 without Eurostar and TGV. Single occupancy: £3,010 or £2,700 without Eurostar and TGV. Included meals: 3 lunches (including 2 picnics) and 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Maison des Têtes, Colmar (la-maison-des-tetes.com): charming independent 5-star hotel located in the historic centre of Colmar. Rooms are traditional in style.

Group size: between 10 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with: Walking in the Footsteps of Leonardo & Michelangelo, 29 September–6 October 2017 (p.130).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

architecturally striking new museums for its year as European Capital of Culture in 2013.

Fine Roman remains that had a decisive impact on mediaeval architecture and sculpture.

Day 1. Fly at c. 1.00pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Marseille. Drive to Aix-enProvence for two nights.

Truly great secular buildings, including the papal palace at Avignon, and pre-eminent Romanesque churches. Superb modern art at the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence and at the Fine Arts Museum in Marseille. A natural setting of exceptional attractiveness. Dr Alexandra Gajewski specialises in mediaeval architecture and is a resident of the Languedoc. The picture of Mediterranean France as an exotic land subject to a wide range of foreign influences is borne out by a glance at the region’s complex history. This tour traces the wide-ranging influences on Provence and eastern Languedoc throughout the centuries. Provence was the first province established by the Romans outside Italy and impressive Roman work survives at Nîmes, St-Rémy and Arles. In Arles, as one moves into Late Antiquity, one is also witness to the most significant Early Christian city of Mediterranean Gaul. This Roman infrastructure is fundamental, and the pre-eminent Romanesque churches of Provence may come as something of a surprise. The sculpture is more skilfully and self-consciously antique than any outside central Italy, and is often organised in a manner designed to evoke either fourth-century sarcophagi or Roman theatres and triumphal arches. The Italian connection was strengthened when, for much of the fourteenth century, the papacy came to reside in Avignon, one of the loveliest cities in France. We spend five nights here. The complete circuit of walls is an impressive survival from this time, as is the Palais des Papes, perhaps the finest Palace to have survived from the Middle Ages, and several Gothic churches. Despite the upheavals of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when Provence lost its independence and the whole region was riven by religious wars, local patrons, such as the Duke of Uzès, began to employ artists capable of creating Italian Renaissance motifs. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, at Nîmes and Aix, Parisian Baroque architecture became the dominant model. The intensity of the light, the brightness of the colours and the raw beauty of the Midi purified palettes, dissolved form and changed the course of western art. Van Gogh and Gauguin sojourned in Arles in 1888, Cézanne returned to his birthplace, Aix-en-Provence, in 1886. Signac, Matisse, Derain, Marquet, Camoin, Dufy, Bonnard and Braque also set up in productive propinquity along the coast and their art has remained in the region’s collections. Time is spent in Aix, the attractive old capital of Provence and the new capital, Marseille, handsome and vibrant and at times gritty. Oscillating between small provincial town and big city, Marseille was propelled into the 21st century by Norman Foster, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid who all contributed to the civic improvements and

Itinerary

Day 2: Aix-en-Provence. Morning walk through the old town, including the Cathedral of St Sauveur with 5th-cent. baptistry, cloisters and a 15th-cent. triptych of The Burning Bush by Nicolas Froment. The Musée Granet has a good permanent collection of French painting from the 16th-cent. onwards and a room dedicated to works

Aix-en-Provence, Cathedral of St Sauveur, watercolour by A.H. Hallam Murray, publ. 1904.

by Cézanne. Cézanne’s studio remains as he left it on his death in 1906, and a short drive away is a fine view of the Mont Sainte-Victoire, the most recognisable motif in modern art. Overnight Aixen-Provence. Day 3: Les Baux, St Rémy. Morning walk through the delightful mediaeval and Renaissance town of Les Baux, whose citadel sits on top of a rocky spur in the Alpilles. Continue to St Rémy, Glanum of old, and proud possessor of one of the truly great funerary memorials of the Roman world, the cenotaph erected by three Julii brothers in honour of their forebears. See also the former monastery where Van Gogh was hospitalised, including the Romanesque cloister and scenes that he painted. Continue to Avignon for the first of five nights. Day 4: Avignon. The Palais des Papes is the principal monument of the Avignon papacy, one-time site of the papal curia and by far the Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

How strenuous? This is a walking tour: it is essential for participants to be in good physical condition and to be used to hill-walking in the countryside. No walk is more than 9 km or 2½ hours. Average distance by coach per day: 22 miles.

20–29 April 2017 (md 245) 10 days • £3,380 Lecturer: Dr Alexandra Gajewski

FrANCE

taste tarte flambée made with Munster cheese. Return to Colmar and the Musée d’Unterlinden, with an outstanding collection of 15th- and 16thcentury pictures, chief of which is Grünewald’s Issenheim altarpiece, the most searing of all images of the Crucifi xion.

Provence & Languedoc continued

france

most significant 14th-cent. building to survive in southern France. The collections of late Gothic sculpture and painting in the Petit Palais act as a splendid foil to the work at the papal palace. Day 5: Pernes-les-Fontaines, Vaison, Venasque. Gentle stroll through Pernes, a delightful fortified river town with an important Romanesque church and 13th-cent. frescoed tower. Continue over the Dentelles de Montmirail to the stunning early mediaeval baptistery at Venasque. Free afternoon in Avignon. Day 6: Nîmes, Uzès, Pont du Gard. Nîmes has two of the most famous of Roman monuments: the amphitheatre and the Maison Carrée, a perfectly preserved temple. The Jardin de la Fontaine is a beautiful 18th-cent. garden around the terminus of an aqueduct – the water brought here across the Pont du Gard, an astonishing feat of engineering over the River Gardon. The Romanesque tower of Uzès cathedral sits against a backdrop of picturesque mediaeval streets and baroque houses. Overnight Avignon. Day 7: Arles. The amphitheatre at Arles is a justly famous early 2nd-cent. structure of a type developed from the Colosseum. The Romanesque Cathedral of St-Trophime is home to one of the greatest cloisters of 12th-cent. Europe. During his 15 months residing in Arles, Van Gogh created around 200 paintings and the Van Gogh Foundation, opened in April 2014, presents a small selection alongside works by contemporary artists (dependent on changing exhibitions). The Musée Départmental Arles Antique houses a quite spellbinding collection of classical and early Christian art. Overnight Avignon.

Day 8: Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, Marseille. In the morning see Pope Innocent VI’s now ruined Charterhouse at Villeneuve-lez-Avignon and the Musée Pierre de Luxembourg, displaying works from the 14th–17th cents. in a former Cardinal’s palace. Continue to Marseille. Visit first the Basilique St Victor, which has a 5th-cent. crypt. First of two nights in Marseille.

MAINLAND EUROPE book online at www.martinrandall.com

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Anjou & the West, 2–11 May 2017 (p.78).

Day 9: Marseille. Morning walk through the Vieux Port and Panier districts, including the remains of the city’s ancient Greek then Roman port at the Jardin des Vestiges and La Vieille Charité, 17–18th cent. almshouses with a fine Baroque chapel. The Musée des Docks Romains illustrates the importance of Marseille in Mediterranean maritime trade. In the afternoon visit the Musée des Beaux Arts, where the highlight is a fine collection of 19th-cent. French art.

The Rhône Music Festival

Day 10: Marseille. Free morning. Suggestions include the modern and contemporary collections of the Musée Cantini or the new Musée des Civilisations d’Europe et de la Méditerranée, containing collections previously at the former Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires in Paris. Fly from Marseille, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 5.45pm.

Seven private concerts in châteaux, churches and concert halls along the Rhône and Saône rivers, admission to which is exclusive to those who take a package including transport, accommodation and all meals. Also included are private wine tastings at a number of renowned wine houses in the region.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,380 or £3,240 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,880 or £3,740 without flights. Included meals: 7 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Grand Hotel Roi René, Aix-enProvence (mgallery.com): 4-star, centrally located. Hôtel d’Europe, Avignon (heurope.com): central 5-star hotel in a former 16th-cent. residence. Grand Hotel Beauvau, Marseille (mgallery.com): 4-star hotel in the old port area with sea views.

Avignon, Palais des Papes, drawing by Rene Piot, publ. 1922.

How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking is involved, particularly in the town centres. The tour is not suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stairclimbing. There are some long days and coach journeys. Average distance by coach per day: 32 miles.

6–13 July 2017 Details available in August 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Musicians of the highest calibre including Véronique Gens, Paolo Pandolfo, Stile Antico, Ensemble Clément Janequin, Pierre Hantaï (harpsichord), Florilegium with Elin Manahan Thomas and Trio Dali. The audience lives on a comfortable river cruiser which sails from Lyon as far south as Avignon and north to Macon. Daily talks on the music by artistic director Richard Langham Smith and on the wine by an oenophile.

Roman & Mediaeval Provence The south of France in the Middle Ages france

21–27 October 2016 (md 920) 7 days • £2,110 Lecturer: Dr Alexandra Gajewski The many fine Roman remains had a decisive impact on mediaeval architecture and sculpture. Truly great secular buildings, including the papal palace at Avignon, and pre-eminent Romanesque churches. Led by Dr Alexandra Gajewski, specialist in mediaeval architecture. Based throughout at a 4-star hotel in Avignon. A natural setting of exceptional attractiveness.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 1.15pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Marseille. Drive to Avignon, where all six nights are spent. Day 2: Avignon. The Palais des Papes is the principal monument of the Avignon papacy, one-time site of the papal curia and by far the most significant 14th-century building to survive in southern France. The collections of late Gothic sculpture and painting in the Petit-Palais act as a splendid foil to the work at the papal palace,

while the cathedral houses the magnificent tomb of Pope John XXII. Day 3: Pernes-les-Fontaines, Vaison, Venasque. Gentle stroll through Pernes, a delightful fortified river town with an important Romanesque church and 13th-century frescoed tower. At Vaison-laRomaine the sublime late Romanesque cathedral is attached to a northern cloister. Drive in the late afternoon over the Dentelles de Montmirail to the stunning early mediaeval baptistery at Venasque. Day 4: Villeneuve, Orange, Pont-du-Gard. A day spent mostly within sight of the Rhône, beginning with Pope Innocent VI’s now ruined Charterhouse at Villeneuve-lez-Avignon. The day’s real star is Orange, site of the greatest of all Roman theatres to survive in the West. In the afternoon visit that astonishing feat of engineering that brought water over the River Gardon at the Pont-du-Gard. Day 5: St-Rémy-de-Provence. Drive along the northern flank of the Alpilles to St-Rémyde-Provence, Glanum of old, and proud possessor of one of the truly great funerary memorials of the Roman world, the cenotaph erected by three Julii brothers in honour of their forebears. Some free time. Day 6: Montmajour, Arles. Explore the superlative complex of churches, cemeteries and conventual buildings that once constituted the abbey of Montmajour. In Arles the amphitheatre is a justly famous early 2nd-century structure of a type developed from the Colosseum. The Romanesque Cathedral of St-Trophime is home to one of the greatest cloisters of 12th-century Europe. The Musée Départmental Arles Antique houses a quite spellbinding collection of classical and early Christian art.

“This was an enormously enjoyable week. I was so pleased to find you better than ever.” Day 7: Silvacane, Aix-en-Provence. At Silvacane, a major late-12th-century Cistercian abbey, the monastic buildings descend a series of terraces down to the River Durance. Finally visit Aix, where the cathedral provides an enthralling end to the tour, with its extraordinary juxtaposition of Merovingian baptistery, Romanesque cloister, 13th-century chancel and late mediaeval west front. Fly from Marseille, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 5.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,110 or £1,950 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,430 or £2,270 without flights. Included meals: 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. The Hôtel Cloître Saint Louis (cloitre-saint-louis.com): 4-star hotel in Avignon in a converted 16th-century convent. Some rooms are in a modern extension. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking is involved, particularly in the town centres. The tour is not suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stairclimbing. There are some long days and coach journeys. Average distance by coach per day: 32 miles.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Famed for its natural beauty, its wealth of Augustan and second-century monuments, and the quality and ambition of its mediaeval work, Provence can seem the very essence of Mediterranean France. But its settlement was – historically – surprisingly concentrated, and the major Roman and mediaeval centres are clustered within the valleys of the Durance and Rhône. This is the area which was marked out for development in the first and second centuries ad, and the range and quantity of Roman work which survives at Orange, St-Rémy and Arles is impressive. Indeed, as one moves into the Late Antique period it is precisely this triangle which blossoms – and in Arles one is witness to the most significant Early Christian city of Mediterranean Gaul. This Roman infrastructure is fundamental, and the pre-eminent Romanesque churches of Provence may come as something of a surprise, being notable both for a predilection for sheer wall surfaces and an indebtedness to earlier architectural norms. But it is above all the sculpture which is most susceptible to this sort of historicising impulse. The Romanesque sculpture of Provence is more skilfully and self-consciously antique than any outside central Italy, and is often organised in a manner designed to evoke either fourth-century sarcophagi, or Roman theatres and triumphal arches. The façade of St-Trophime at Arles is a well-known example of this, but it is a theme we also encounter in many of the smaller churches – places such as Pernes-les-Fontaines and Montmajour – where exquisite friezes of acanthus and vinescroll are used to both elaborate and articulate exteriors of stunning delicacy. For once the truly great late mediaeval building we see is secular: the mighty papal palace at Avignon.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur, 11–17 October 2016 (p.86).

Above: Roman theatre at Orange, engraving c. 1890. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Cave Art of France Prehistory in the Dordogne FrANCE

29 June–6 July 2017 (md 331) 8 days • £2,730 Lecturer: Dr Paul Bahn Encompasses some of the most important Prehistoric caves in Europe including the new facsimile Lascaux IV, Pech Merle and Niaux. Great art, whatever its function or the ‘artist’s’ intention, in an area of outstanding natural beauty and charming villages. Led by Britain’s leading specialist in Prehistoric art, Dr Paul Bahn. Combine the tour with The Rhône Music Festival, 6–13 July 2017 (see page 82). Visiting the Ice Age decorated caves of Europe may be a pilgrimage, in homage to the region’s artists of 30,000–10,000 years ago, or it may simply be curiosity. But while one’s interest may have been triggered by books, television or lectures, there is simply no substitute for seeing the sites themselves, some of humankind’s greatest artistic achievements in their unusual, evocative and original settings. In addition, the caves of the Perigord and Quercy are in regions of outstanding beauty, famed for their wine and cuisine. Four nights are spent in the capital of Prehistory, Les Eyzies, a village fi lled and surrounded by famous Ice Age

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 7.45pm (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Bordeaux. Overnight here. Day 2: Bordeaux, Pair-non-Pair. The Musée d’Aquitaine provides a perfect introduction to the archaeology and art of the Ice Age in southwest France; a particular highlight is the ‘Venus of Laussel’ bas-relief carving. The cave of Pair-non-Pair is small but fi lled with wonderfully deep engravings of animals – and with no electrical installations provides a more authentic experience. Continue into the Dordogne to Les Eyzies for four nights. Day 3: Les Eyzies. The National Prehistory Museum, now housed in an ultra-modern building at the foot of the cliffs, has one of the world’s greatest collections of Ice Age material. The Abri Pataud is the best possible way to see what a major Ice Age excavation site looks like, while the small museum next door still has a carving on its ceiling. Font-de-Gaume is one of the greatest of all Ice Age decorated caves, with remarkable polychrome bison and other animals, skilfully placed to take full advantage of the rock shapes. Cap Blanc is the greatest sculpted frieze from the Ice Age that is open to the public.

MAINLAND EUROPE 84

dwellings, its spectacular limestone cliffs giving it one of the most beautiful and striking landscapes in the world. Whatever your motivation or interest, a visit to an Ice Age cave is a tremendous privilege. After more than a century of research, we still only know about 400 such sites in Eurasia, and only a small fraction of these are open to the public, because of difficulties of access or conservation concerns. As such, they constitute a very limited and finite resource, and yet visitors can approach these original masterpieces extremely closely, an experience unparalleled in major art galleries. Unlike a visit to the Louvre or the Prado, in entering a cave you are seeing the images precisely where they were created, you are standing or crouching just where the artists did. In many cases the journey to the cave entrance and the route through the chambers give your experience a sense of immediacy, purity and vividness. Entering a world far removed from one of commerce, of art-dealers and of critics enhances a feeling of connection with the artists. There is nothing like a stalactite dripping on your head to remind you that you are in a pristine and natural setting.

Day 4: Lascaux. Two fascimiles are now the public’s only chance to see the wonders of Lascaux, the most famous and most beautiful of all decorated caves. Visit the new, enlarged and more complete replica, Lascaux IV, opening to the public in December 2016. Lascaux II was the world’s first cave facsimile, opened in 1983. The park at Le Thot contains many of the animal species which were familiar to Ice Age people: aurochs, bison, horses, deer and ibex, as well as a robotic mammoth.

In the Pyrenees, wood engraving c. 1880. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 5: Rouffignac, Cougnac. Rouffignac is a unique experience; a decorated tunnel-like cave so vast that one travels around it in a train. Its art is hugely dominated by drawings of mammoths. The Grotte de Cougnac is one of the most beautiful of all decorated caves, not only for its art, but

Dr Paul Bahn. Archaeologist and Britain’s foremost specialist in prehistoric art. He led the team which discovered Britain’s only known ice Age cave art at Creswell in 2003 and his books include Prehistoric Rock Art, Journey Through the Ice Age and Images of the Ice Age. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. also and especially for its natural formations of stalagmites and stalactites. Day 6: Pech Merle, Cahors, Toulouse. Pech Merle is among the greatest of the decorated caves. It is huge and has spectacular natural formations and a wide variety of artistic techniques, including the famous spotted horse panel. Some free time is spent in Cahors on route to Toulouse, where two nights are spent. Day 7: Niaux, Toulouse. The tour ends with Niaux, a fitting climax as the long walk into this Pyrenean mountain leads one to the ‘Salon Noir’ with its stunning drawings of bison, horses and ibex, and its extraordinary acoustics. The afternoon is free in Toulouse; suggestions include the Musée SaintRaymond and the cathedral. Day 8. Catch the late morning flight to London Heathrow, arriving c. 12.20pm. Alternatively take the TGV (high speed train, c. 4 hours) from Toulouse to Lyon to join the Rhône Music Festival (full details available in August 2016). Please note this tour departs from London Gatwick Airport and returns to London Heathrow.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,730 or £2,510 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,100 or £2,880 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Best Western Etche-Ona, Bordeaux (bordeaux-hotel.com): central 3-star hotel with renovated rooms. Hotel Le Centenaire, Les Eyzies (hotelducentenaire.com): small 3-star hotel in a good location. Grand Hotel de l’Opéra, Toulouse (grand-hotel-opera.com): central 4-star hotel in a converted 17th-century convent, set back from the Place du Capitole; good Brasserie. How strenuous? There is a fair amount of walking on uneven and sometimes steep and slippery ground and caves are not well lit. Sure footedness is essential. It can get very damp and cold inside the caves. This tour is not suitable for people who suffer from claustrophobia. Average distance by coach per day: 69 miles. Group size: between 10 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with: The Rhône Music Festival, 6–13 July (p.82); The Age of Bede, 24–27 June 2017 (p.18).

Gardens of the Riviera In & around Menton & Nice france

23–29 April 2017 (md 205) 7 days • £2,190 Lecturer: Caroline Holmes Inspiring historic gardens in spectacular settings, with exceptional growing conditions. Includes visits to some gardens not normally open to the public. Led by gardens historian Caroline Holmes. Based in Menton throughout.

still owned by an Englishman who continues to develop it, blending plants from around the world in a setting of terraces, pools and pergolas. Day 3: Grasse. To the west of Grasse the gardens of the Villa Noailles were made during the postwar years in a distinctive style blending English, classical and other influences in a refreshing rural setting. Drawing on its inspiration, to the east lies La Mouissone, a former olive grove, where the terraces are being developed, rooted in the scents of Grasse’s history but planted with contemporary verve. Day 4: Monaco, La Mortola (Italy). The astonishing outdoor collection of cacti and succulents at the Jardin Exotique in Monaco overlooks the Principality and the sea from its clifftop walks. The Hanbury Botanic Gardens at La Mortola have been famous since their establishment in the 19th century. An unparalleled collection of specimens festoon the steep site. Curtains of plumbago and bougainvillea, perfumed parterres, pergolas, exotic pavilions and citrus orchards adorn this garden paradise on a private headland.

Day 1: Cagnes-sur-Mer, Menton. Fly at c. 11.30am from London Heathrow to Nice (British Airways). Renoir spent his last years in the farmhouse at Les Collettes near Cagnes-sur-Mer, painting and sculpting from the olive terraces around the garden. Transfer by coach to Menton where all six nights are spent.

Day 5: Menton. Lawrence Johnston’s great garden La Serre de la Madone was made between the wars, and though much of the detail has gone, a romantic atmosphere still pervades the dramatic layout. Some free time in Menton; a chance to see the Musée Cocteau or his Salle des Mariages. Afternoon tour of Fontana Rosa whose tiled benches still evoke the ‘Writers’ Garden’ created in 1921 by Vicente Blasco Ibaňez, successful playwright and novelist of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse fame. Literary threads are drawn in from across the world, the surviving rotunda decorated with 100 tiles illustrating Cervantes’s Don Quixote encapsulates the mood perfectly. Dinner is at 2-Michelin star restaurant, Mirazur.

Day 2: Menton. Visit a private garden in Menton, not normally open to the public (details will be provided). The garden at Clos du Peyronnet is

Day 6: St Paul de Vence, St Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The Fondation Maeght near St-Paul provides a rare opportunity to view modernism in a garden

Itinerary

context. Cap Ferrat remains a secluded haven for the fortunate. Sited in an exceptional position the gardens at the Villa Ephrussi Rothschild, established by Beatrice de Rothschild, are rich and varied. Her Palazzo contains an eclectic, wealthy art collection. Day 7: Menton, Nice. Perched on the hillside villa quarter of Garavan, Val Rahmeh is an early 20thcentury villa surrounded by gardens of exceptional richness created by Maybud Campbell in the 1950s. Transfer to Nice airport for the flight to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 4.30pm. Some of these gardens can only be visited by special arrangement and are subject to confirmation.

Practicalities Price – per person. Rear-view room, two sharing: £2,190 or £2,080 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,460 or £2,350 without flights. Sea view room, two sharing £2,255 or £2,145 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,575 or £2,465 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Napoléon, Menton (napoleon-menton.com): modern, comfortable 4-star hotellocated near the border with Italy, looking back on Vieux Menton. Sea view rooms have balconies but suffer some noise from the busy coastal road. Rooms at the rear are quieter. How strenuous? A lot of walking and standing. Several gardens are on steep sites with slippery and uneven paths, and no handrails. Sure-footedness is essential. Average coach miles per day: 42.

MAINLAND EUROPE

When Tobias Smollett arrived on the Riviera in 1763, he found himself ‘enchanted’ by a landscape ‘all cultivated like a garden’. A century later Dr Bennett’s discovery of the miraculous winter climate at Menton established the town as a haven for prosperous foreigners in need of climatic therapy. By 1900 this narrow strip of land between the Maritime Alps and the Mediterranean had been transformed into a paradise of villas, palatial hotels, seafront promenades and exotic vegetation. The migratory nature of the moneyed population meant that the region developed a character quite separate from local cultural traditions. In a landscape of olive and lemon groves, the villa gardens seem an eclectic collection, disconcerting for those who look for patterns of continuity, but best viewed as separate incidents taking advantage of the exceptional growing conditions. The Hanbury family famously made the steep Italian cliffs of La Mortola a garden of beauty and experiment. Lawrence Johnston, the maker of Hidcote, established himself in the hills above Menton where his romantically sited garden at La Serre de la Madone provided a home for his huge collection of exotics. The gardens of the villas in Garavan continue to evince the private pleasures of past and present owners of many nationalities and design persuasions. The French have added their own distinctive contribution to this artificial enclave. Renoir found new inspiration, as well as some relief from pain, in his garden at Cagnes-sur-Mer. Marguerite and Aimé Maeght established a magnificent modern art collection in a garden setting at St-Paul-de-Vence. Art of a different character adorns the rooms of the Villa Ephrussi Rothschild at St Jean-Cap-Ferrat where the gardens take advantage of an incomparable setting, viewing the Mediterranean through a filter of pines, palms and cypresses. Charles, Vicomte de Noailles, made a garden drawing together a rich variety of cultural influences at the Villa Noailles, Grasse, providing inspiration for the most recent English horticultural creations at nearby La Mouissone.

Group size: between 10 to 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Villas & Gardens of Campagna Romana, 17–22 April 2017 (p.138).

Illustration: Monaco, wood engraving c. 1880. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur Picasso, Matisse, Chagall & their contemporaries FrANCE

25–31 October 2016 (md 925) 7 days • £2,480 Lecturer: Lydia Bauman Christmas departure: 21–27 December 2016 (md 979) 7 days • £2,780 Lecturer: Monica Bohm-Duchen 15–21 March 2017 (md 199) 7 days • £2,480 Lecturer: Mary Lynn Riley 11–17 October 2017 (me 600) 7 days • £2,480 Lecturer: Monica Bohm-Duchen Europe’s greatest concentration of classic modern art in the idyllic Mediterranean setting where it was created. Old and new collections, with outstanding work by Renoir, Bonnard, Braque, Léger, Miró, Giacometti, Cocteau, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso. The lecturers are all experts on 19th- and 20th-century art. Visits to the coastal towns and villages which inspired the artists. Stay in Nice throughout.

MAINLAND EUROPE 86

Antibes, oiliograph c. 1870. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Natural resources and climate have drawn invaders and visitors to Nice and its surroundings from the Greek colonists of classical times to the jet-set of today. But from the late nineteenth century a special category of visitor – and settler – has transformed the Côte d’Azur into the greatest concentration of modern art in Europe. Monet first visited Antibes in 1883; Signac bought a house in the fishing village of St-Tropez in 1892. Matisse’s first visit to the Midi in 1904 transformed his art, and from 1918 he spent more time on the Côte d’Azur than in Paris. Matisse, Chagall and Picasso are merely among the most illustrious of the artists who chose to live in the South of France. Many of their fellow modernisers followed suit: Braque, Bonnard, Dufy, Picabia. This tour is an extraordinary opportunity to see how modernity relates to the past as well as the present, and how gallery displays can be centred on the art, the location or the patron/collector. In Matisse’s Chapelle du Rosaire at Vence, traditional arts and crafts have been revived by a modern genius, as in the monumental mosaic and glass designs of Léger which can be seen at Biot. There are also echoes of collecting habits of earlier eras in the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. The mixture of past and present and the juxtaposition of the Goût Rothschild with the beauty of its location are breathtaking. (Graham Sutherland drew exotic flowers and plants in the extraordinary gardens.)

At Antibes the Picasso Museum is housed in the Château Grimaldi, lent to Picasso as studio space in 1946 where he produced lifeaffirming paintings. Old and new galleries abound, such as the Fondation Maeght, St-Paul-de-Vence, whose building (designed by José Luis Sert, 1963) makes it a work of outstanding sympathy to its natural surroundings, in gardens enlivened by Miró’s Labyrinthe and other sculptures.

Itinerary – March & october 2017 In October 2016, our tour visits the same locations but the order is slightly different. Please contact us for the full details or visit www.martinrandall.com Day 1: Nice. Fly at c. 11.40am from London Heathrow to Nice. There is an afternoon visit to the Musée des Beaux Arts Jules Cheret, concentrating on their 19th- and early 20th-century holdings. Day 2: Nice. The Musée Matisse unites a wide range of the artist’s work; sculpture, ceramics, stained glass as well as painting. In the afternoon, visit the Marc Chagall Museum which has the largest collection of the artist’s works, notably the seventeen canvases of the Biblical Message, set in a peaceful garden in a salubrious Nice suburb. Day 3: Antibes, Vallauris, Cagnes-sur-Mer. Most of the paintings Picasso produced in his studio in the Château Grimaldi in 1946 have been donated to the town of Antibes. Vallauris is a centre of

Nice, Promenade des Anglais, wood engraving c. 1880.

france

contemporary pottery revived by Picasso, whose masterpiece War and Peace is here. Renoir’s house in Cagnes-sur-Mer is set amidst olive groves, a memorial to the only major Impressionist to settle in the south. Day 4: St-Tropez, Biot. Drive west to St-Tropez, which has been popular with artists since Paul Signac settled here in 1892. The Musée de l’Annonciade is one of France’s finest collections of modern art (Signac, Maillol, Matisse, Bonnard, Vlaminck, Braque). Continue to Biot and visit the Musée National Fernand Léger, built to house the artist’s works bequeathed to his wife. Day 5: Villefranche-sur-Mer, St Jean Cap Ferrat, Nice. In Villefranche is the small Chapelle St-Pierre, decorated by Cocteau. Continue to St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat to see the paintings, sculpture and furniture of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a mansion set in attractive gardens. The afternoon is free in Nice or there is an optional visit to the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain with its excellent collection of post-war art. Day 6: St-Paul-de-Vence, Vence. The Maeght Foundation at St-Paul-de-Vence is renowned for its collections (Picasso, Hepworth, Miró, Arp, Giacometti, but not all works are shown at once) and for its architecture and setting. In the afternoon visit Chapelle du Rosaire, a Dominican chapel by Matisse. Day 7: Le Cannet. The first museum dedicated to the works of Bonnard opened in Le Cannet in 2011. Fly from Nice arriving at London Heathrow at c. 4.30pm. In recent years, renovation work has led to museum closures. At the moment all visits listed are possible but we cannot rule out the possibility of changes.

Itinerary – Christmas 2016 Day 1: Nice. Fly at c. 11.45am from London Heathrow to Nice. Visit the Musée des Beaux Arts Jules Cheret, concentrating on their 19th- and early 20th-century holdings (Monet, Renoir, Dufy, etc.). All six nights are spent in Nice.

Day 3: Nice. The Marc Chagall Museum has the largest collection of the artist’s works, notably the seventeen canvases of the Biblical Message, set in a peaceful garden in a salubrious Nice suburb. The afternoon is free; there is an optional visit to the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain with its excellent collection of post-war art. Day 4, Christmas Eve: Antibes, Vallauris. Most of the paintings Picasso produced in his studio in the Château Grimaldi in 1946 have been donated to the town of Antibes. Vallauris is a centre of contemporary pottery revived by Picasso, whose masterpiece War and Peace is here. Day 5, Christmas Day: St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, StPaul-de-Vence. Drive east to St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

Day 6: St-Tropez, Biot. Drive west to St-Tropez, which has been popular with artists since Paul Signac settled here in 1892. The Musée de l’Annonciade is one of France’s finest collections of modern art (Signac, Maillol, Matisse, Bonnard, Vlaminck, Braque). Continue to Biot and visit the renovated Musée National Fernand Léger, built to house the artist’s works bequeathed to his wife. Day 7: Le Cannet, Nice. The first museum dedicated to the works of Bonnard opened in Le Cannet in 2011. Fly from Nice arriving at London Heathrow at c. 5.00pm.

Practicalities – all departures Price in October 2016, per person. Two sharing: £2,480 or £2,290 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,750 or 2,560 without flights. Sea view rooms available on request, for a supplement. Price at Christmas 2016, per person. Two sharing: £2,780 or £2,650 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,090 or £2,960 without flights. All bedrooms have sea views. Price in March & October 2017, per person. Two sharing: £2,480 or £2,330 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,770 or £2,620 without flights. Sea view rooms available on request, for a supplement. Included meals: 4 dinners with wine, or 5 for the Christmas 2016 departure. Accommodation. Hotel La Pérouse, Nice (leshotelsduroy.com): stylish 4-star hotel partially built into the cliff and overlooking the Promenade des Anglais. Rooms are furnished in modern Provençal style and are located at the back of the hotel, except for our Christmas 2016 departure where all bedrooms have a sea view.

How strenuous? There is a fair amount of walking and standing around in museums. Average distance by coach per day: 40 miles Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Van Gogh’s Journey, 22–25 March 2017 (p.150); Mediaeval Alsace, 3–10 October 2017 (p.79).

Lydia Bauman. Art historian and lecturer at the National Gallery. Lydia studied at Newcastle University and the Courtauld Institute, specialising in Matisse and 19th–20th century European and American art. She has lectured at the Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Arts Club of Chicago. Monica Bohm-Duchen. Lecturer, writer and curator specialising in 20th-century art. She obtained her MA in Art History from the Courtauld and has lectured for the National Gallery, Tate, Royal Academy, Courtauld, Sotheby’s and Birkbeck College. Her latest book is Art & the Second World War. Mary Lynn Riley. Specialist in 19th- and 20th-century modern and contemporary art. She lives on the Côte d’Azur where she teaches art courses at the Musée Bonnard in Le Cannet and the Espace de l’Art Concret at MouansSartoux. Previously she worked at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 2: Nice, Vence, Cagnes-sur-Mer. The Musée Matisse unites a wide range of the artist’s work; sculpture, ceramics, stained glass as well as painting. Vence, an artists’ colony, has the Chapel of the Rosary, designed and decorated by Matisse. Renoir’s house at Cagnes-sur-Mer is set amidst olive groves, a memorial to the only major Impressionist to settle in the south.

to see the paintings, sculpture and furniture of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a mansion set in attractive gardens. The Maeght Foundation at St-Paul-de-Vence is renowned for its collections (Picasso, Hepworth, Miró, Arp, Giacometti, but not all works are shown at once) and for its architecture and setting.

Georgia uncovered treasures of the southern Caucasus GEorGiA

Tblisi, wood engraving c. 1880.

1–10 July 2017 (md 383) 10 Days • £3,270 Lecturer: Ian Colvin Churches and monasteries dating from the sixth century and earlier. Exquisite jewellery and metalwork from the Bronze Age and Antiquity.

MAINLAND EUROPE 88

Spectacular mountain landscapes. A delicious and varied regional cuisine in a land that is the cradle of wine. The tour is led by Ian Colvin, Historian and Byzantinist specialising in Late Antiquity and the South Caucasus. Georgia is a country that evokes many mythical and historical associations and yet, paradoxically, is little known in the West. This is partly geopolitical circumstance. For centuries Georgia was cut off from Europe, first by the Islamic caliphate and the Ottoman Turks, and then by Imperial Russia and the USSR. Opportunities for travel there were few. Set on the borders of Europe and Asia, a Christian country surrounded by Muslim neighbours, it is an heir to the civilizations of both book online at www.martinrandall.com

continents, and at the same time preserves its own language and a rich cultural heritage that is peculiar to the South Caucasus. An ancient land, its past, like that of neighbouring Armenia, is deeply intertwined with the history of the empires and civilizations that surround it. Georgia appears in the stories of the earliest peoples of the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia. It is linked closely with the Iranian empires to the southeast. They fought the Greeks, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans to the west for hegemony in this borderland. And the Georgian kings, according to their inclination and strategic necessity, backed one side or the other, and called in aid from the nomads to the north, or laboured to bar the mountain passes to them: Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Huns, Khazars, Turks, Mongols and Timurids – and finally their geographical heirs, the Russians. Even today, Russia, America, Turkey, Iran and the EU play a complex game in the South Caucasus, competing for political and economic influence in a region of vital oil wealth. Georgia has frequently found itself in the vanguard of global history. The metal ages came early in the South Caucasus, and the exquisite archaeological finds displayed in the gold rooms of the Tbilisi Museum confirm the reputation of

its ancient smiths. Its kings adopted Christianity early in the fourth century ad; and its beautiful and unique alphabet was created in the early fift h century to help evangelize the people. Georgian and Armenian architects evolved a distinctive South Caucasian religious architecture in the sixth and seventh centuries, even as their churches fell out over Christological differences. In the eleventh and twelft h centuries the Bagratid kings unified Georgia and built a multiethnic empire that extended from the Caspian to the Black Sea, and from the Armenian highlands to the North Caucasus. It was demolished by the Mongols and Timurids and the country was again divided into a series of fractious principalities, preyed on by Ottoman Turks, Safavid Persians and Lezgi raiders from the north Caucasus. Georgians greeted the Russians as their Christian saviours on their first arrival at the end of the eighteenth century, but soon fell out with their colonial masters. The Tsars’ viceroys brought European fashions to Tbilisi, remodelling the city with a European quarter to stand alongside the Asiatic Old Town. At the beginning of the oil age, English, international and local investors, including Rothschilds, Nobels, Gulbenkians and Mantashevs built fortunes investing heavily in the Transcaucasus to bring Baku’s oil to world

Itinerary Day 1: London to Tbilisi. Fly at c. 12.00 midday from London Gatwick to Tbilisi via Istanbul. Arrive at c. 10.30pm. Transfer to hotel in the heart of the city. First of four nights in Tbilisi. Day 2: Tbilisi. The Asiatic Old Town set beneath the Narikala fortress remains a twisting maze of streets, caravanserais and ancient churches, adding contrast to the subsequent architecture erected by the tsars’ viceroys, by merchant princes, Bolsheviks and post-Soviet presidents’ favourite modern architects (the vast post-Soviet Sameba – Holy Trinity – Cathedral, rivals the ambition of the great cathedrals of the Middle Ages). Past the ancient bath district built on Tbilisi’s thermal springs, the church at Metekhi is set on cliffs above the Mtkvari River. Day 3: Kakheti. Drive over the scenic Gomburi mountains to Tsinandali in fertile Kakheti, the country estate of the princely Chavchavadze family. Built by Alexandre (1786–1846) diplomat, poet and general, raised at the court of Catherine the Great – and one of the first to introduce enlightenment ideas and modern agricultural methods to Georgia – in 1854 the house was the scene of a notorious raid by the Imam Shamil’s Daghestani fighters. Today it is a small museum affording a glimpse of 19th-century Georgian noble life. Gremi the 16th-century capital of Kakheti, illustrates the trading wealth of this east Georgian kingdom.

Day 5: Mtskheta, Gudauri. Just north of Tbilisi is the old capital, Mtskheta, scene of the country’s fourth-century conversion and still the religious heart of this strongly Christian country. Its spiritual landmarks include: the 6th-century Jvari (Holy Cross) Church, perched high above the town; the tiny fifth-century Antioch church; and

Day 6: Gudauri. Drive over the Jvari pass to Stepantsminda on the headwaters of the Terek. The 14th-century Gergeti Sameba Church on the slopes of volcanic Mount Kazbek is in perhaps the most dramatic setting of any in Georgia. Then to the Darial Gates, a natural gorge, where the Terek cuts a narrow passage beneath cliffs that tower nearly 1,000 metres above. Legend has it that Alexander the Great set iron gates here to protect the settled lands of the Near East from the rapacious nomads beyond. Day 7: Gori, Kutaisi. The cult of Joseph Stalin, Georgia’s most famous son, was officially abolished by Khrushchev in 1956, but at his birthplace in Gori the Stalin Museum continues to operate. Although Stalin is a source of embarrassment to many modern Georgians, this museum has been preserved as it was at the fall of the Soviet Union, a fascinating museum of the museum built by his henchman Beria. At Kutaisi we visit the world heritage sites of the 12th-century academy and monastery of Gelati, with its frescoed interiors, and the controversially restored 11th-century Bagrat Cathedral. Overnight Kutaisi. Day 8: Nokalakevi, Batumi. The imposing ruins at Nokalakevi are the remains of the ancient capital of the west Georgian kingdoms of Colchis and Egrisi-Lazika, whose massive fortifications date to a period when the region was a focus of Byzantine-Sasanian rivalry (4th to 6th centuries ad), but the site overlooking the Colchian plain, the ‘Land of the Golden Fleece’, has a much longer history. Excavations have been on-going since the 1970s and have uncovered buried remains through the Hellenistic period to the Late Bronze Age. Since 2001 our lecturer Ian Colvin has led an international team in a joint project with the Georgian National Museum. First of two nights at Batumi.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,270 or £2,690 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,690 or £3,110 without flights. Included meals: 8 lunches, 8 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Marriott Tbilisi (marriott. co.uk): 5-star hotel behind a 19th-century façade that is within walking distance of Tbilisi’s central attractions. Marco Polo Hotel, Gudauri (marcopolo.ge): 4-star spa hotel with spectacular views of the mountains. Bagrati 1003, Kudaisi: modern hotel; adequately comfortable and the best available. Radisson Blu, Batumi (radissonblu. com/Batumi): large hotel with good amenities and views of the Black Sea. How strenuous? You will be on your feet for long periods. Many of the sites are reached by steep, uneven steps sometimes without handrails. The tour would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stairclimbing. There are some long drives. Average distance by coach per day: 56 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Sacred Armenia, 22–30 June 2017 (p.46).

Day 9: Batumi. The Bathus Limen, or deep water port, of Greek settlers of the sixth-fifth centuries bc was a sleepy provincial backwater under the Ottomans, until the Russians annexed it in 1878. Subsequently international investment brought a railway and pipelines to bring Baku oil to an eager European market. While Nobels, Rothschilds and Mantashev’s invested in Batumi’s oil infrastructure, Stalin cut his teeth organizing their oil workers’ strikes. The elegant 19th-century seafront boulevard is undergoing an investment boom, but the architecture of the first great period of globalization pre-First World War remains, alongside the post-Soviet towers. The wellpreserved Roman playing-card fortress of Apsarus at Gonio, is a site of such continuous strategic importance that one can see concrete WWII machine gun embrasures cut into the masonry of the 2nd-century Roman, then Byzantine, Genoese and Ottoman refortifications.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 4: Tbilisi. Tbilisi’s Ethnographic open air House Museum conserves and displays examples of the architecture and ethnographic traditions of Georgia’s 14 different regions in a hillside park above the city. The National History Museum preserves its archaeological treasures, while its subterranean treasury is a highlight, demonstrating the remarkable skill of its smiths from the Bronze Age through to Antiquity. There is free time to explore Tbilisi’s pleasures: the enamels and icons of the Fine Art Gallery, the modern paintings of the Art Gallery, or perhaps Prospero’s Books, Tbilisi’s English language bookstore.

the 11th-century Cathedral of Svetitskhoveli (the Living Column), symbol of Georgia’s Conversion. We follow the Georgian Military Highway, the route the Russians constructed at the turn of the 19th century to secure their hold on their Transcaucasian possessions. First of two nights at Gudauri in the high Caucasus Mountains.

georgia

markets. The Art Nouveau palaces of this first age of globalisation still adorn Tbilisi and Batumi. In the same period, Stalin first impressed Lenin with his organising of the workers of Batumi, Tiflis and Baku and with the notorious Tiflis bank robbery of 1907. When war and the Bolsheviks brought the whole edifice crashing down, it was Stalin who built it up again at gargantuan human cost. Nationalism and a longing for ‘freedom’ brought the end of the Soviet Union. It brought civil war too, economic collapse and stagnation, finally ended in 2003 by the first of the ‘colour revolutions’ and a new oil boom. Georgia’s new confidence is conspicuous, its promise great, its challenges evident.

What else is included in the price? See page 6. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden Art & architecture in Brandenburg & saxony GErMANy

21–29 September 2017 (me 551) 9 days • £2,920 Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier Chief cities of Brandenburg-Prussia and Saxony, rich in fine and decorative arts. Internationally important historic and contemporary architecture. Rebuilding and restoration continues to transform the cities. Led by Dr Jarl Kremeier, an art historian specialising in 17th- to 19th-century architecture and decorative arts.

Berlin is an upstart among European cities. Until the seventeenth century it was a small town of little importance, but by dint of ruthless and energetic rule, backed by the military prowess for which it became a byword, the hitherto unimportant state of Brandenburg-Prussia became one of the most powerful in Germany. By the middle of the eighteenth century, with Frederick the Great at the helm, it was successfully challenging the great powers of Europe. Ambitious campaigns were instituted to endow the capital with grandeur appropriate to its new status. Palaces, public buildings and new districts were planned and constructed. At nearby Potsdam, Frederick’s second capital, he created the park of Sanssouci, among the finest

ensembles of gardens, palaces and pavilions to be found anywhere. Early in the nineteenth century Berlin became of international importance architecturally when Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the greatest of Neo-Classical architects, designed several buildings there. Berlin has museums of art and antiquities of the highest importance. The Bode Museum and Gemäldegalerie are among the best of their kind and the recently opened Neues Museum, designed by David Chipperfield, provides an excellent setting for the Egyptian collection. The reunited city is now one of the most exciting in Europe. A huge amount of work has been done to knit together the two halves of the city and to rebuild and restore monuments which had been neglected for decades. Dresden was the capital of the Electorate of Saxony. Though it suffered terrible destruction during the War, rebuilding and restoration allow the visitor to appreciate once again something of its former beauty. The great domed Frauenkirche has now been triumphantly reconstructed. Moreover, the collections of fine and applied arts are magnificent. The Old Masters Gallery in Dresden is of legendary richness, the Green Vault is the finest surviving treasury of goldwork and objets d’art, and the Albertinum reopened in 2010 to display a fine collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century art.

Itinerary Day 1: Dresden. Fly at c. 10.45am from London Heathrow to Berlin (British Airways) and drive to Dresden. Introductory lecture before dinner. First of four nights in Dresden. Day 2: Dresden. A morning walk around the old centre of Dresden. Visit the great domed Frauenkirche, the Protestant cathedral. The Zwinger is a unique Baroque confection, part pleasure palace, part arena for festivities and part museum for cherished collections. Visit the excellent porcelain museum and the fabulously rich Old Masters Gallery, particularly strong on Italian and Netherlandish painting.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 3: Dresden. Start at the Hofk irche, the Catholic church commissioned by Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, to counterbalance the building of the Frauenkirche. The Green Vault of the Residenzschloss displays one of the world’s finest princely treasuries. Some free time for independent exploration before an afternoon visit to the New Masters Gallery in the Albertinum.

Day 4: Dresden, Pillnitz. Take a boat trip to Pillnitz, a summer palace in Chinese Rococo style, with park, gardens and collections of decorative art. Drive back to Dresden for an afternoon visit of the Palais im Großen Garten, the first major Baroque building in the city.

Dresden, entrance to the Zwinger Palace, lithograph c. 1850 after Samuel Prout. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 5: Dresden, Berlin. Stroll in DresdenNeustadt on the right bank of the Elbe, little damaged in the War, taking in amongst others the Baroque Quarter around Königsstrasse, a Japanese Palace and the Dresden Museum for Romanticism. After lunch travel to Berlin by coach. Survey the historic architecture along and around Unter den Linden: the Arsenal, Schinkel’s

the ring in Berlin Wagner in Berlin, Dresden & leipzig GErMANy

Guardhouse, Frederick the Great’s Opera House, the Gendarmenmarkt with twin churches and concert hall. First of four nights in Berlin. Day 6: Berlin. Spend the morning on ‘Museums Island’: the Altes Museum, a major Neo-Classical building by Schinkel, displays the collection of Classical antiquities; the Alte Nationalgalerie houses an excellent collection of 19th-century paintings and sculptures; the Neues Museum (elaborately restored under the direction of British architect David Chipperfield) is the new home of the Egyptian Museum (bust of Nefertiti); the Bode Museum houses a splendid, comprehensive collection of European sculpture, including works by Riemenschneider, as well as Byzantine art. Day 7: Potsdam. The enclosed park of Sanssouci was created as a retreat from the affairs of state by Frederick the Great. It consists of gardens, parkland, palaces, pavilions and auxiliary buildings. In the afternoon visit his relatively modest single-storey palace atop terraces of fruit trees, the exquisite Chinese teahouse and the large and imposing Neues Palais. Drive through Potsdam town centre with its Dutch quarter and cathedral by Schinkel. Day 8: Berlin. Drive to Schloss Charlottenburg, the earliest major building in Berlin, an outstanding summer palace built with a Baroque core and Rococo wings, fine interiors, paintings by Watteau, extensive gardens, pavilions and a mausoleum. The Berggruen Collection of Picasso and classic modern art is also here, recently reopened after extensive renovation works. In the evening visit Norman Foster’s glass dome capping the Reichstag and have dinner in the roof-top restaurant. Day 9: Berlin. Europe’s greatest building project in the 1990s, Potsdamer Platz showcases an international array of architects (Piano, Isozaki, Rogers, Moneo). Scattered around the nearby ‘Kulturforum’ are museums, the State Library and the Philharmonie concert hall (Hans Scharoun 1956–63). The Gemäldegalerie houses one of Europe’s major collections of Old Masters. Choose between the Neue Nationalgalerie (changing exhibitions in a Mies van der Rohe building) or the Museum of Musical Instruments. Fly from Berlin to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 5.45pm.

Practicalities

Included meals: 2 lunches, 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Gewandhaus Hotel, Dresden (gewandhaus-hotel.de): traditional 5-star hotel in a reconstructed Baroque building. Regent Hotel, Berlin (theregentberlin.de): elegant 5-star hotel decorated in Regency style, located close to Unter den Linden. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking required and standing around in museums. Average distance by coach per day: 44 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: The Battle of Waterloo, 13–17 September 2017 (p.55); The Heart of Italy, 11–18 September 2017 (p.135).

31 March–10 April 2017 (md 200) 11 days • £4,890 Lecturers: Dr John Allison* & Dr Jarl Kremeier 12–18 April 2017 (md 220) This departure is currently full The last outing of one of the greatest productions in recent times of Wagner’s monumental tetralogy. Visits on most days to study the art, architecture and history of Berlin, and those sites most relevant to Wagner. Talks on the operas by John Allison, editor of Opera magazine and music critic for The Daily Telegraph. Walks and gallery visits with Dr Jarl Kremeier, a Berlin-based art historian. Includes a two-night sojourn to Dresden and Leipzig, visiting sights associated with Wagner. Götz Friedrich’s internationally acclaimed production, set in a ‘time tunnel’ that links past, present and future, has become a classic, and Deutsche Oper Berlin is offering a last chance to experience the production, under the baton of its distinguished Music Director, Donald Runnicles. With a fine cast including Eva-Maria Westbroek as Sieglinde and Stefan Vinke as Siegfried, with Evelyn Herlitzius and Ricarda Merbeth sharing the role of Brünnhilde, this promises to be a memorable experience. The scheduling of the four parts over nine days will allow plenty of time for the cultural riches of Berlin to be savoured. Though Wagner never lived there for any length of time, he was a frequent visitor to Berlin, and many people relevant for his work and life (as a composer, conductor, as a lover and, eventually, as a family man) lived in Berlin. Some of the most important moments in Wagner’s life are connected to the city, such as attaining the position of Kapellmeister in Königsberg in 1836, becoming further acquainted with Franz Liszt in 1842, or indeed deciding in 1863 during a coach ride with Cosima von Bülow in Berlin’s

Tiergarten, to ‘belong to each other’ (as he wrote in his memoirs), while they were both still married to other parties. Berlin was also the place where the first monument to Richard Wagner was erected in 1903, a seated figure of white marble on a high pedestal surrounded by characters from the operas (by Gustav Eberlein). In addition to visits to places with Wagner associations both the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Berlinische Galerie have Wagner-relevant holdings. In his youth Richard Wagner spent time both in Leipzig (where he was born and returned to as a teenager) and in Dresden (where his mother went to live soon after his birth, and where he returned to to take up the post of Kapellmeister 1843-1849 at the Dresden opara). Wagner’s predecessor there was Carl Maria von Weber, and it was Wagner who organized the return of Weber’s ashes from London and the burial in Dresden, complete with speeches, choruses and instrumental music. The visit to Dresden and Leipzig will afford a closer look at some places where Wagner spent formative years, including the house in Graupa, rented during the summer of 1845 to continue work on Lohengrin. The programme of visits is carefully planned so they do not trespass upon the energies needed for the operas (with this in mind the outward flight is on the day before the first performance). Some dinners are included and others substituted with a selection of fingerfood in the opera intervals.

Itinerary This is the itinerary for the 31 March–10 April. For details of the 12–18 April departure, please contact us or visit www.martinrandall.com.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,920 or £2,750 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,310 or £3,140 without flights.

‘Instantly a stream of fire gushed forth’, from ‘The Stories of Wagner’s Operas’, publ. 1915.

*Note that John Allison accompanies this tour from 31 March–6 April only (i.e. until day 7). Day 1. Fly at c. 1.15pm from London Heathrow to Berlin Tegel (British Airways). Digress to see some of the main sights of Berlin before settling in to the hotel. First of six nights in Berlin. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

the ring in Berlin continued

GErMANy Berlin, the Cathedral, wood engraving c. 1880.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 2. Berlin. The first of four lectures on the music before an introductory walk to ‘Museums Island’, a group of major museum buildings. The walk finishes at the Alte Nationalgalerie, which superbly displays European painting of the 19th century and German Romantics. Deutsche Oper, 7.30pm: Das Rheingold. Donald Runnicles (conductor), Götz Freidrich (director), Burkhard Ulrich (Loge), Werner Van Mechelen (Alberich), Peter Maus (Mime), Albert Pesendorfer (Fasolt), Tobias Kehrer (Fafner), Daniela Sindram (Fricka), Dana Beth Miller (Erda). Day 3. Berlin. After a morning lecture, the cultural historian leads walk in the inner city visiting sights pertinent to Wagner. Free afternoon. Deutsche Oper, 5.00pm: Die Walküre. Brandon Jovanovich (Siegmund), Tobias Kehrer (Hunding), Thomas Johannes Mayer (Wotan), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Sieglinde), Evelyn Herlitzius (Brünnhilde), Daniela Sindram (Fricka). Day 4. Berlin. Second walk in the inner city before a visit to Norman Foster’s glass dome capping the Reichstag. Lunch in the roof-top restaurant is followed by a visit the Berlinische Galerie. Day 5. Berlin. Free day in Berlin; a list of recommendations will be provided.

Day 6. Berlin. This morning is dedicated to lectures on the remaining two installmentsof the cycle. Deutsche Oper, 5.00pm: Siegfried. Stefan book online at www.martinrandall.com

Vinke (Siegfried), Burkhard Ulrich (Mime), Samuel Youn (Der Wanderer), Werner Van Mechelen (Alberich), Tobias Kehrer (Fafner), Ricarda Merbeth (Brünnhilde. Final night of six in Berlin.

Day 11. Return to Heathrow from Berlin Tegel, arriving at c. 1.30pm.

Day 7. Berlin, Dresden. Drive to Dresden in time for lunch. Introductory walk before a visit to the New Masters Gallery in the Albertinum. First of two nights in Dresden.

Note that these details apply to the 31 March–10 April 2017 departure only.

Day 8: Dresden, Pillnitz, Graupa. Stroll in Dresden-Neustadt on the right bank of the Elbe, little damaged in the War, taking in amongst others the Baroque Quarter around Königsstrasse, a Japanese Palace and the Dresden Museum for Romanticism. In the afternoon visit Schloss Pillnitz, a summer palace in Chinese Rococo style, with park, gardens and collections of decorative art. Continue to Graupa for a visit of Wagner Museum and a short stroll of the Liebesthaler Grund. Second and final night in Dresden. Day 9: Leipzig, Berlin. Return to Berlin via Leipzig visiting sites pertinent to Wagner and the Musical Instrument Museum. Arrive back in Berlin in the late afternoon. First of two nights in Berlin. Day 10: Berlin. Free time before the final performance at the Deutsche Oper (4.00pm): Götterdämmerung. Stefan Vinke (Siegfried), Seth Carico (Gunther), Albert Pesendorfer (Hagen), Evelyn Herlitzius (Brünnhilde), Ricarda Merbeth (Gutrune), Daniela Sindram (Waltraute).

Practicalities

Price, per person. Two sharing: £4,890 or £4,720 without flights. Single occupancy: £5,490 or £5,320 without flights. Included meals: 3 lunches, 3 dinners, with wine. Music: tickets (first category, stalls) for 4 performances are included, costing c. £700. Accommodation. Regent Berlin (theregentberlin. de): elegant hotel decorated in Regency style. Rooms are of a good size and excellent standard. Located within walking distance of the major museums and a 30-minute coach drive from the Deutsche Oper (depending on traffic). Gewandhaus Hotel, Dresden (gewandhaus-hotel. de): traditional 5-star hotel in a reconstructed Baroque building. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing around in art galleries and museums. The drive to Dresden takes approximately 3 hours. Average distance by coach per day: 35 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Music in Berlin at New year Art, architecture & music in the German capital

The Barber of Seville (Rossini); The Magic Flute (Mozart) with René Pape (Sarastro); La Bohème (Puccini) with Joseph Calleja (Rodolfo), Carmen Giannattasio (Mimì); a concert with the Berlin Philharmonic and Daniil Trifonov (piano), conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; a concert with Daniel Barenboim (conductor), Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Till Brönner (trumpet), Staatskappele Berlin and the Till Brönner Orchestra. Numerous excellent collections of fine and decorative arts and first-rate architecture. Day excursion to Charlottenburg and Potsdam.

complexes of gardens, palaces and pavilions to be found anywhere. Visit his single-storey palace atop terraces of fruit trees, the Chinese Tea House and the orangery, and see the city centre with its Dutch Quarter and Neo-Classical buildings. Return to Berlin for some free time. Evening concert at the Berliner Philharmonie: Daniel Barenboim (conductor), Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Till Brönner (trumpet), Staatskapelle Berlin and the Till Brönner Orchestra. Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D, Op.35; Tchaikovsky/Duke Ellington, Suite from ‘The Nutcracker’, Op.71 (jazz band arrangement).

Day 3, New Year’s Eve. Visit the Jewish Museum in the celebrated and expressive building by Daniel Libeskind. Some free time. Evening performance at the Deutsche Oper: The Barber of Seville (Rossini). Ido Arad (conductor), Katharina Thalbach (director), Matthew Newlin (Count Almaviva), Noel Bouley (Bartolo), Jana Kurucová (Rosina), Davide Luciano (Figaro), Tobias Kehrer (Basilio), Thomas Lehman (Fiorillo), Seyoung Park (Berta).

Day 6. Explore the ‘Kulturforum’, developed before 1989 on wasteland close to the Wall as the site for several major museums, the State Library and Philharmonie (concert hall by Hans Scharoun). Visit the Gemäldegalerie, one of Europe’s major collections of Old Masters. Potsdamer Platz, for 50 years an even greater expanse of wasteland, became in the 1990s Europe’s greatest building project with an array of international architects participating. Evening performance at the Deutsche Oper Berlin: La Bohème (Puccini). Ivan Repusic (conductor), Götz Friedrich (director), Joseph Calleja (Rodolfo), Noel Bouley (Schaunard), Markus Brück (Marcello), Ievgen Orlov (Colline), Carmen Giannattasio (Mimì), Alexandra Hutton (Musetta).

Day 4, New Year’s Day. Schloss Charlottenburg, the earliest major building in Berlin, is an outstanding Baroque and Rococo palace with splendid interiors. Evening performance at the Staatsoper im Schiller Theater: The Magic Flute (W.A. Mozart). Alexander Soddy (conductor), August Everding (director), René Pape (Sarastro), Peter Sonn (Tamino), Elsa Dreisig (Pamina), Roman Trekel (Papageno), Narine Yeghiyan (Papagena), Nora Friedrichs (Queen of the Night). Day 5. Excursion to Potsdam which in the 18th century developed into BrandenburgPrussia’s second capital and acquired fine buildings, parks and gardens. Sanssouci, created as a retreat from the affairs of state by Frederick the Great, is among the finest 18th-century

Day 7. Return to Museum Island to visit the Neues Museum, the stunning new home to the Egyptian Museum (among others), restored and recreated by British architect David Chipperfield. Visit also the Bode Museum, home to a splendid, comprehensive collection of European sculpture, including works by Riemenschneider, as well as Byzantine art. Lunch in the rooftop restaurant in the Reichstag, with the opportunity (without queuing) to walk around Foster’s dome. Fly at c. 4.30pm, arriving at Heathrow at c. 5.30pm.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Berlin possesses some of the finest art galleries and museums in the world and offers the highest standards of music and opera performance. It is endowed with a range of historic architecture and is also the site of Europe’s greatest concentration of first-rate contemporary architecture. Once again a national capital, it is also one of the most exciting cities on the Continent, recent and rapid changes pushing through a transformation without peacetime parallel. One of the grandest capitals in Europe for the first forty years of the last century, it then suffered appallingly from aerial bombardment and Soviet artillery. For the next forty years it was cruelly divided into two parts and became the focus of Cold War antagonism, a bizarre confrontation between an enclave of western libertarianism and hard-line Communism. Since the Wall was breached in 1989 the city has been transformed beyond recognition. From being a largely charmless urban expanse still bearing the scars of war, it has become a vibrant, liveable city, the very model of a modern major metropolis. The two halves have been knitted together and cleaning and repair have revealed the patrimony of historic architecture to be among the finest in Central Europe. The art collections, formerly split, dispersed and often housed in temporary premises, are now coming together in magnificently restored or newly-built galleries. Berlin possesses international art and antiquities of the highest importance, as well as incomparable collections of German art. The number and variety of museums and the quality of their holdings make Berlin among the world’s most desired destinations for art lovers. With three major opera houses and several orchestras, Berlin is a city where truly outstanding performances can be virtually guaranteed.

buildings. Visit the Alte Nationalgalerie which superbly displays European painting of the 19th century including the finest collection of German Romantics. Then walk through the oldest part of the city, the Nikolaiviertel. Free afternoon. Concert at the Philharmonie with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniil Trifonov (piano), Sir Simon Rattle (conductor): Kabalevsky, Overture to ‘Colas Breugnon’, Op.90; Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor Op.30; Dvořák, ‘Slavonic Dances’ (Selection), Op.72; Walton, Orchestral pieces from ‘Façade’ in a suite arranged by Sir Simon Rattle.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 12.30pm from London Heathrow to Berlin (British Airways). Take an orientation tour by coach: Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Pariser Platz and Unter den Linden. Visit the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Day 2. A morning walk passes some fine 18thcentury buildings including the arsenal, opera house, royal palaces and cathedrals, en route to the ‘Museums Island’, a group of major museum

GErMANy

29 December 2016–4 Jan. 2017 (md 988) 7 days • £3,580 (including tickets to 5 performances) Lecturer: Tom Abbott

Berlin, Staatsoper, early-19th-century engraving. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Music in Berlin at New year continued

opera in Berlin Art, architecture & music in the German capital

GErMANy

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,580 or £3,440 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,020 or £3,880 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. The Regent Berlin (theregentberlin.de): elegant 5-star hotel decorated in Regency style, close to Unter den Linden. Rooms are of a good size and excellent standard. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing around in art galleries. Average distance by coach per day: 12 miles. Music: tickets to 5 performances are included, costing c. £450. First category tickets are confirmed for the Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper. Tickets for the Philharmonie will be confirmed in the summer. Group size: between 10 and 20 participants. Combine this tour with: Munich at Christmas, 20–27 December 2016 (p. 100); Vienna at Christmas, 21–28 December 2016 (p.49).

Berlin, Neues Museum, mid-19th-century engraving.

23–27 February 2017 (md 155) 5 days • £2,310 (including tickets to 4 performances) Lecturers: Dr John Allison & Tom Abbott 31 May–4 June 2017 (md 315) 5 days • £2,430 (including tickets to 4 performances) Lecturers: Dr Michael Downes & Tom Abbott* In February 2017, two performances at the Deutsche Oper: Faust (Gounod) and Così fan tutte (Mozart), and two at the Staatsoper im Schillertheater: La Bohème (Puccini) with Piotr Beczala (Rodolfo) and Tannhäuser (Wagner) with René Pape (Hermann).

the Hanseatic league MAINLAND EUROPE

September 2017 Details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Handel in Halle June 2017 Details available in November 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Baden Baden Festival 94

July 2017 Details available in August 2016 Please contact us to register your interest book online at www.martinrandall.com

31 May–4 June: Turandot (Puccini) and Billy Budd (Britten) at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and two performances at the Staatsoper im Schillertheater: La Damnation de Faust (Berlioz) with Sir Simon Rattle (conductor) and Florian Boesch (Méphistophélès), and Macbeth (Verdi) with Daniel Barenboim (conductor) and Plácido Domingo (Macbeth). Berlin possesses some of the finest art galleries and museums in the world and offers the highest standards of music and opera performance. It is endowed with a range of historic architecture and is the site of Europe’s greatest concentration of first-rate contemporary architecture. Once again a national capital, it is also one of the most exciting cities on the Continent, recent and rapid changes pushing through a transformation without peacetime parallel. One of the grandest capitals in Europe for the first forty years of the last century, it then suffered

appallingly from aerial bombardment and Soviet artillery. For the next forty years it was cruelly divided into two parts and became the focus of Cold War antagonism, a bizarre confrontation between an enclave of western libertarianism and hard-line Communism. Since the Wall was breached in 1989 the city has been transformed beyond recognition. From being a largely charmless urban expanse still bearing the scars of war, it has become a vibrant, liveable city, the very model of a modern major metropolis. The two halves have been knitted together and cleaning and repair have revealed the patrimony of historic architecture to be among the finest in Central Europe. The art collections, formerly split, dispersed and often housed in temporary premises, are now coming together in magnificently restored or newly-built galleries. Berlin possesses international art and antiquities of the highest importance, as well as incomparable collections of German art. The number and variety of museums and the quality of their holdings make Berlin among the world’s most desired destinations for art lovers. With three major opera houses and several orchestras, Berlin is a city where truly outstanding performances can be virtually guaranteed.

Itinerary – February 2017 Day 1. Fly at c. 10.15am from London Heathrow to Berlin Tegel (British Airways). Tour by coach: the New Embassy quarter, Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Pariser Platz and Unter den Linden. A lecture on the music and dinner. Performance at the Deutsche Oper: Faust (Gounod). Jacques Lacombe (conductor), Philipp Stölzl (director), Abdellah Lasri (Faust), Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (Méphistophélès), Heidi Stober (Marguerite), John Chest (Valentin), Irene Roberts (Siebel), John Carpenter (Wagner), Ronnita Miller (Marthe).

Day 3. Schloss Charlottenburg, the earliest major building in Berlin, is an outstanding Baroque and Rococo palace with splendid interiors. The Berggruen Collection of Picasso and classic modern art is also here. Evening performance at the Deutsche Oper: Così fan tutte (Mozart). Daniel Cohe (conductor), Robert Borgmann (director), Martina Welschenbach (Fiordiligi), Jana Kurucová (Dorabella), Thomas Lehman (Guglielmo), Matthew Newlin (Ferrando), Noel Bouley (Don Alfonso), Alexandra Hutton (Despina). Day 4. Europe’s greatest building project in the 1990s, Potsdamer Platz showcases an international array of architects (Piano, Isozaki, Rogers, Moneo). Scattered around the nearby ‘Kulturforum’ are museums, the State Library and the Philharmonie concert hall (Hans Scharoun 1956–63). The Gemäldegalerie houses one of Europe’s major collections of Old Masters. Free afternoon, an opportunity to visit the Museum of Musical Instruments. Afternoon performance at the Staatsoper: Tannhäuser (Wagner). Simone Young (conductor), Sasha Waltz (director), Burkhard Fritz (Tannhäuser), Marina Prudenskaya (Venus), Anne Schwanewilms (Elisabeth), René Pape (Hermann), Wolfgang Koch (Wolfram von Eschenbach), Grigory Shkarupa (Biterolf), Miloš Bulajić (Heinrich von Zweter), Jan Martiník (Reinmar von Zweter). Day 5. Homeward journey. The flight from Berlin Tegel arrives at London Heathrow at c. 1.15pm.

19th century including the finest collection of German Romantics. Some free time. Evening performance at the Staatsoper: La Damnation de Faust (Berlioz). Sir Simon Rattle (conductor), Terry Gilliam (director), Staatskapelle Berlin and Staatsopernchor, Magdalena Kožená (Marguerite), Charles Castronovo (Faust), Florian Boesch (Méphistophélès), Jan Martiník (Brander). Day 3. Europe’s greatest building project in the 1990s, Potsdamer Platz showcases an international array of architects (Piano, Isozaki, Rogers, Moneo). Scattered around the nearby ‘Kulturforum’ are museums, the State Library and the Philharmonie concert hall (Hans Scharoun 1956–63). The Gemäldegalerie houses one of Europe’s major collections of Old Masters. Free afternoon, an opportunity to visit the Museum of Musical Instruments. Evening performance at the Deutsche Oper: Billy Budd (Britten). Moritz Gnann (conductor), Burkhard Ulrich (Edward Fairfax Vere), John Chest (Billy Budd), Gidon Saks (John Claggart), Seth Carico (Mr. Redburn), Derek Welton (Mr. Flint), Tobias Kehrer (Lieutenant Ratcliffe), Clemens Bieber (Red Whiskers), Simon Pauly (Donald), Lenus Carlson (Dansker), Andrew Dickinson (The Novice), James Kryshak (Squeak), Ievgen Orlov (Bosun), Dong-Hwan Lee (First Mate), Noel Bouley (Second Mate), Thomas Lehman (The Novice’s friend, Paul Kaufmann (Maintop), Heiner Boßmeyer (Arthur Jones). Day 4. Schloss Charlottenburg, the earliest major building in Berlin, is an outstanding Baroque and Rococo palace with splendid interiors. The Berggruen Collection of Picasso and classic modern art is also here. Evening performance at the Deutsche Oper: Turandot (Puccini). Alexander Vedernikov (conductor), Catherine Foster (Turandot), Peter Maus (Altoum), Kamen Chanev (Calaf), Elena Tsallagova (Liù), Ievgen Orlov (Timur), John Carpenter (Ping), Gideon Poppe (Pang), Paul Kaufmann (Pong). Day 5. Homeward journey. The flight from Berlin Tegel arrives at London Heathrow at c. 1.15pm.

Dr John Allison. Writer and music critic. He is Editor of Opera magazine, music critic for The Daily Telegraph and former critic for The Sunday Telegraph and The Times. He has written two books and has served on the juries of various international music competitions.

GErMANy

Day 2. Walk through the oldest part of the city to ‘Museums Island’, a group of major buildings. Visit the Neues Museum, the stunning new home to the Egyptian Museum, restored and recreated by British architect David Chipperfield and the Alte Nationalgalerie which superbly displays European painting of the 19th century including the finest collection of German Romantics. Some free time. Evening performance at the Staatsoper: La Bohème (Puccini). Domingo Hindoyan (conductor), Lindy Hume (director), Anita Hartig (Mimì), Anna Samuil (Musetta), Piotr Beczala (Rodolfo), Alfredo Daza (Marcello), Gyula Orendt (Schaunard), Dominic Barberi (Colline), Miloš Bulajić (Parpignol), Olaf Bär (Benoît/Alcindoro).

Dr Michael Downes. Director of Music at the university of st Andrews. He is a reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement and his publications include a study of British composer Jonathan Harvey. He has an interest in opera both as conductor and writer, and has lectured for companies including the royal opera and Glyndebourne. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Practicalities Price, per person in February. Two sharing: £2,310 or £2,170 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,580 or £2,440 without flights. Price per person in May–June. Two sharing: £2,430 or £2,290 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,700 or £2,560 without flights. Included meals: 3 dinners with wine. Music: tickets to 4 performances are included, costing c. £270 (February) and c. £390 (May/June). Accommodation. The Regent Berlin (theregentberlin.de): elegant 5-star hotel decorated in Regency style, close to Unter den Linden. How strenuous? A reasonable amount of walking and standing. Average coach miles per day: 9. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Itinerary – 31 May–4 June 2017 *Note that Tom Abbott accompanies the tour for days 1–3 only.

Day 2. Walk through the oldest part of the city to ‘Museums Island’, a group of major museum buildings. Visit the Neues Museum, the stunning new home to the Egyptian Museum, restored and recreated by British architect David Chipperfield and the Alte Nationalgalerie which superbly displays European painting of the

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 1. Fly at c. 10.15am from London Heathrow to Berlin Tegel (British Airways). Take an orientation tour by coach: the New Embassy quarter, Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Pariser Platz and Unter den Linden. A lecture on the music and dinner. Evening performance at the Staatsoper: Macbeth (Verdi). Daniel Barenboim (conductor), Peter Mussbach (director), Plácido Domingo (Macbeth), René Pape (Banquo),Marina Prudenskaya (Lady Macbeth), Evelin Novak (lady-in-waiting, Gaston Rivero (Macduff ), Florian Hoffmann (Malcolm), Jan Martiník (assassin).

Berlin, Unter den Linden, watercolour by E. Harrison Compton, publ. 1912. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Frederick the Great Controversial King of Prussia germany

14–18 August 2017 (md 470) 5 days • £1,870 Lecturer: Professor Tim Blanning A study of the life, achievements and artistic patronage of the most prominent and divisive king of the eighteenth century. Based in Berlin with excursions to palaces at Rheinsberg, Charlottenburg and Potsdam. Led by one of the leading experts on eighteenthcentury Europe whose biography of Frederick (2015) won widespread praise. Frederick II of Prussia acquired the sobriquet ‘the Great’ within four years of the commencement of his 46-year reign. One of the sharpest minds ever to grace a European throne, he was impressively well read, passionately engaged as a connoisseur of music, art and architecture and a prolific writer of prose and verse. These are qualities which are unusual but not unknown among hereditary rulers; in Frederick, quite exceptionally, they were combined with fierce executive energy, indomitable will and ruthlessness of action in the service of both civil governance and military matters. To his contemporaries, Frederick was the most salient and divisive ruler of the eighteenth century, abhorred and adored in equal measure. Subsequent students of German history have also been divided, and controversy continues. Was he

one of the greatest generals of all time, or merely the lucky beneficiary of an army he inherited? (Blanning’s verdict: ‘he was an indifferent general but a brilliant warlord.’) Apostle and friend of Voltaire and insistent on equality before the law, he has been lauded as the Enlightenment enthroned; but he was also absolutist, capricious, vindictive and cruelly disdainful of the common people. What is beyond controversy is that he turned Brandenburg and Prussia from a third-rate power into one that was feared and respected throughout Europe. There is somewhat less wholehearted agreement that he began the process which, if not exactly lineal, led to a united Germany under Prussian leadership becoming the dominant power in continental Europe. That Frederick seems to be at the source of developments that led to the Third Reich still adds a frisson to the mention of his name. This is one of the many themes the tour will explore. Tim Blanning is the author of a biography of Frederick which has received accolades from all quarters. Formerly Professor of Modern European History at the University of Cambridge, and a renowned lecturer, he has spent a lifetime studying the eighteenth century and the German speaking lands. His depth of understanding of music and the visual arts adds a dimension which is not often provided by political historians. Any study of Frederick must begin with his monstrous bully of a father, Frederick William I, to whom his intellectual and aesthetic interests as well as his sexual preferences were an anathema Statue of Frederick The Great (Christian Daniel Rauch) in Berlin, mid-19th-century engraving.

(most biographers have drawn a discreet veil over the latter). The son attempted to exorcise the ghost of his uncouth, foul tempered and militaristic parent by exceeding him in agression, beginning within weeks of becoming king by seizing Silesia, the Austrian monarchy’s richest province. For the twenty-first-century traveller, however, Frederick’s legacy consists most strikingly of a series of palaces – Rheinsberg, Charlottenburg, Sanssouci and the New Palace at Potsdam – which are exquisitely decorated and filled with furniture and works of art.

Itinerary Day 1: Berlin. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Berlin Tegel (British Airways). A walk along Unter den Linden passes buildings erected during Frederick’s reign – opera house, Catholic cathedral, library, Prince Henry’s palace – and the famous statue unveiled 1851. All four nights are spent in Berlin. Day 2: Rheinsberg, Ravensbrück. Frederick later said of his years at Schloss Rheinsberg, his court from 1736 until his accession, that they were the happiest of his life. It has been restored after subsequent vicissitudes. Visit the memorial and museum at the site of Ravensbrück concentration camp for discussion of the relationship between the Nazis and Prussian history. Day 3. Charlottenburg. The palace and gardens at Charlottenburg originated at the end of the 17th century, but Frederick added a wing with his favoured Rococo decoration and installed there his collection of paintings by Watteau and his followers. There is free time to visit the other museums at Charlottenburg including the collection of Berlin porcelain whose production Frederick encouraged. Day 4: Potsdam. Created by Frederick as a retreat from the affairs of state, the extensive, park of Sanssouci consists of gardens, parkland, palaces and pavilions. Visit his relatively modest single-storey palace atop terraces of fruit trees, the exquisite Chinese teahouse and the large and imposing Neues Palais. Drive through Potsdam town centre with its Dutch quarter and Nikoleikirche by Schinkel.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 5: Berlin. The German Historical Museum is a fascinating and unflinching display of the sort which Germany does well. Some free time for the museums on Museums Island. Fly to Heathrow, arriving c. 6.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,870 or £1,690 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,130 or £1,950 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Regent Hotel, Berlin (theregentberlin.de): elegant 5-star hotel decorated in Regency style, close to Unter den Linden. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking is required and standing around is unavoidable. Average distance by coach per day: 42 miles (primarily on two days of the tour.)

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. book online at www.martinrandall.com

strauss in leipzig Arabella, salome, Die Frau ohne schatten including the Fine Arts Museum in spectacular new premises, the radically refurbished Museum of Musical Instruments and the Bach Museum.

Three of Richard Strauss’s most opulent scores played by the legendary Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Day 1. Fly at c. 10.45am from London Heathrow airport to Berlin. Drive to Leipzig. Dinner in the hotel. Evening performance at Leipzig Opera House: Arabella (Strauss). Ulf Schirmer (conductor), Jan Schmidt-Garre (director), Jan-Hendrik Rootering (Graf Waldner), Gabriele Schnaut (Adelaide), Betsy Horne (Arabella), Olena Tokar (Zdenka), Tuomas Pursio (Mandryka), Markus Francke (Matteo), Jürgen Kurth (Graf Dominik), Sejong Chang (Graf Lamoral), Paul McNamara (Graf Elemer), Jasmina Sakr (Fiakermilli), Sandra Janke (Fortune Teller).

We also include guided walks through the magnificently restored city. Stay in the city’s best 5-star hotel. Talks on the operas by Barry Millington, chief music critic for London’s Evening Standard and editor of The Wagner Journal.

Day 2. A guided walk around the city centre includes the Marketplace and Old City Hall, Stock Exchange and the churches of St Nicholas and St Thomas (where J.S. Bach was choir master). The tour ends at the Bach Museum. Free afternoon. A possible visit is the Fine Arts Museum, a good collection of European Old Masters in a striking new building. Evening performance at Leipzig Opera House: Salome (Strauss). Ulf Schirmer (conductor), Aron Stiehl (director), Endrik Wottrich (Herodes), Karin Lovelius (Herodias), Elisabet Strid (Salome), Levente Molnár (Jochanaan), Sergey Pisarev (Narraboth), Sandra Maxheimer (The Page of Herodias), Rouwen Huther, Patrick Vogel, Keith Boldt, Matrin Petzold, Sejong Chang (The Five Jews), Sandra Janke (A slave). Day 3. A second walk concentrating on Leipzig’s musical heritage includes the Grassi Museum of Musical Instruments, one of the most important of its kind in the world, the little museum in the house where Mendelssohn lived and died, the

Day 4. Fly from Berlin to London Heathrow airport, arriving c. 3.30pm.

Practicalities Price – per person. Two sharing: £1,810 or £1,630 without flights. Single occupancy: £1,990 or £1,810 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 2 dinners with wine. Music: 3 opera tickets (first category) are included, costing c. £215. Accommodation. Hotel Fürstenhof, Leipzig (hotelfuerstenhofleipzig.com): the finest hotel in the city, yet not large and with the feel of a discreet private club. A converted 19th-century building, it is furnished throughout with antiques. Situated just outside the line of the mediaeval walls, the hotel is a 20 minute walk from the Opera House. How strenuous? Vehicular access is restricted in the city centre and participants are expected to walk to the opera house. Average distance by coach per day: 57 miles (exclusively on the first and last days of the tour for the airport transfers). Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

MAINLAND EUROPE

The opportunity to experience three of Richard Strauss’s most opulent scores played by the legendary Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra – an ensemble Strauss himself regularly conducted in his earlier years – under the Strauss specialist Ulf Schirmer, is not one to be missed. The operas straddle various periods of Strauss’s life, enabling us to witness the stylistic progression from the expressionistic Salome (1906–8), through the symbolic complexity of Die Frau ohne Schatten (1914–18) to the good-humoured lyricism of Arabella (1930–32). Setting the text of Oscar Wilde’s notorious play about Herod’s daughter who, having danced for the king, demands of him the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter, Salome is a mesmerising study in obsession. But Wilde’s purple poetry draws a comparably glittering, kaleidoscopic score from Strauss, providing one of the great roles for his favourite soprano voice. The Swedish soprano Elisabet Strid, who takes the role of Salome, has been receiving much acclaim for her Strauss and Wagner roles in recent years. Die Frau ohne Schatten, to a text by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, has a reputation for inscrutable symbolism, but unfairly so: essentially it is a hymn to the sanctity of marriage, dealing with such issues as love, fidelity, childlessness and emotional fulfi lment in gloriously passionate and lyrical music. This production has a particularly strong cast in the four major roles: Simone Schneider (Empress), Jennifer Wilson (Dyer’s Wife), Burkhard Fritz (Emperor) and Franz Grundheber (Barak). With Arabella, Hofmannsthal provided Strauss with a more straightforward love story involving ordinary human beings. The result is enchanting, while the heroine’s second-act love duet with Mandryka contains some of his most radiant music. The Californian soprano Betsy Horne sings Arabella, with the Finnish bass-baritone Tuomas Pursio as Mandryka. The musical history of Leipzig encompasses not only Strauss but also Wagner, J.S. Bach, Telemann, Robert and Clara Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Mahler. Morning walks and visits investigate this heritage, and also take in the art and architecture of the city. Leipzig is now, again, a handsome and lively city, following an almost miraculous transformation during the 1990s and beyond. Cleaning, restoration and rebuilding went hand in hand with the emergence of cafés, smart shops and good restaurants. There are excellent museums,

Itinerary

Gewandhaus (concert hall), opera house and the Wagner memorial. Early evening performance at Leipzig Opera House: Die Frau ohne Schatten (Strauss). Ulf Schirmer (conductor), Balász Kovalik (director) Burkhard Fritz (The Emperor), Simone Schneider (The Empress), Karin Lovelius (The Nurse), Tuomas Pursio (The Messenger), Franz Grundheber (Barak, The Dyer), Jennifer Wilson (The Dyer’s Wife), Jonathan Michie (The One-Eyed Man), Sejong Chang (The One-Eyed Man), Dan Karlström (The Hunchback).

GErMANy

16–19 June 2017 (md 335) 4 days • £1,810 (including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturer: Barry Millington

Leipzig, Market Square & Old Town Hall, wood engraving c. 1890. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Mitteldeutschland Weimar & the towns of thuringia & sachsen-Anhalt GErMANy

Halberstadt was a major city in the Middle Ages, and the cathedral is the largest French-style Gothic church in Germany after Cologne; the treasury is exceptional. Overnight Quedlinburg. Day 4: Mühlhausen. Drive in the morning across the Harz mountains to Thuringia, passing forested vistas, half-timbered hamlets and patches of pasturage. Mühlhausen is astonishing, one of the most delightful and evocative towns in northern Europe, preserving its complete mediaeval wall, an abundance of half-timbered buildings and six Gothic churches. Walk along a section of the wall, visit the soaring, five-aisled church of St Mary, and St Blasius, the church where Bach was organist 1707–08. Overnight Mühlhausen.

Weimar, Goethe’s summer house, steel engraving 1836.

27 August–4 September 2017 (md 505) 9 days • £2,510 Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier A trawl through little-known and largely unspoilt towns at the heart of Germany. Great mediaeval churches, Baroque and NeoClassical palaces, enchanting streetscape, fine art collections, beautiful countryside. The tour is led by Dr Jarl Kremeier, an art historian resident in Germany.

MAINLAND EUROPE 98

Sachsen-Anhalt and Thuringia, the Länder in the middle of Germany, are predominantly rural, with rolling hills, deciduous woodland, compact red-roofed villages and ancient small-scale cities. Only patchily affected by the ravages of war and industrialisation, much of the historic architecture remained intact throughout the twentieth century. Forty years in the chill embrace of the East German state further impeded ‘progress’. The result is that at the heart of Europe’s richest and most modern nation is a region which feels strangely provincial and archaic. Thuringia was one of the five major states of early mediaeval Germany, but by the end of the Middle Ages it had fragmented into numerous little statelets and free cities. The history of Sachsen-Anhalt was similar: during the tenth century ‘Old’ Saxony was the most powerful of the German duchies and formed the kernel of the German nation, but loss of pre-eminence was followed by subdivision. From the sixteenth century both Länder consisted of innumerable principalities and independent cities, and were political and economic backwaters – though in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Bach family dominated music making here. And one small dukedom in particular made a quite exceptional contribution to art and thought. Weimar played host to J.S. Bach, Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Liszt, Nietzsche, Richard Strauss, Walter book online at www.martinrandall.com

Gropius and many other great names. For those who knew East Germany before 1991, the subsequent changes appear little short of miraculous – major upgrading of the infrastructure, transformation of the built environment through cleaning, painting and wholesale restoration, recrudescence of commercial and social life. But those who come to the territory for the first time might be less enamoured. It is as if the region hasn’t fully awoken from a half-century sleep, a corrosive slumber which allowed much of the historic fabric of the towns and villages to slide into desuetude and dereliction. Yet in an odd sort of way the dilapidation contributes to a powerful sense of the past, and an air of authenticity which can be lost in places more thoroughly spruced up emanates from this fascinating, constantly surprising, frequently beautiful and richly-endowed region.

Itinerary Day 1: London to Hannover. Fly at c. 6.00pm from London Heathrow to Hannover (British Airways). Drive to Quedlinburg. First of three nights in Quedlinburg. Day 2: Quedlinburg, Gernrode. Quedlinburg is a wonderfully preserved mediaeval town. The castle hill is crowned by the church of St Servatius, begun 1070, and contains one of Germany’s finest treasuries. See also the Gothic church of St Benedict in the market square and the Wipertikirche with its 10th-cent. crypt. At nearby Gernrode is one of the oldest churches in Germany, and one of the most beautiful, St Cyriakus, begun ad 961. Overnight Quedlinburg. Day 3: Blankenburg, Halberstadt. Blankenburg is an idyllic little spa town in the foothills of the Harz mountains with two Baroque palaces, the creation of a younger son of the Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel dynasty who made Blankenburg his capital.

Day 5: Gotha, Arnstadt. A Residenzstadt within the principality of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Gotha is dominated by Schloss Friedenstein, which has fine interiors, a picture collection and a Baroque theatre. Walk down a processional way to the Hauptmarkt with its Renaissance town hall. Arnstadt, the oldest town in eastern Germany, has fine streetscape on a sloping site with the church where Bach was organist 1703–7; the Early Gothic Church of Our Lady and a palace which illustrates social hierarchy from the court’s perspective. First of four nights in Weimar. Day 6: Weimar. Two centuries of enlightened patronage by members of the ducal family enabled the little city-state of Weimar to be home to many great writers, philosophers, composers and artists. Today, visit the Stadtkirche, the main church with an altarpiece by Cranach, Goethe’s house, a beautifully preserved sequence of interiors and garden, the ducal Schloss, with Neo-Classical interiors and a fine art museum, and an Englishstyle landscaped park with Goethe’s summer house. Overnight Weimar. Day 7: Erfurt. Capital of Thuringia, Erfurt well preserves its pre-20th-century appearance with a variety of streetscape and architecture from mediaeval to Jugendstil. Outstanding are the Krämerbrücke, a 14th-century bridge piled with houses and shops, and the cathedral, framing Germany’s largest set of mediaeval stained glass. See also the Severikirche, the friary of St Augustine where Luther was a monk, the Predigerkirche which retains its late mediaeval appearance intact, and the 17th-century hilltop citadel. Overnight Weimar. Day 8: Weimar. A walk includes Haus am Horn and Van de Velde’s School of Arts and Crafts from which the Bauhaus emerged. Free afternoon in this beautiful little city. Among the many other museums to choose from are the Bauhaus Museum, the 18th-century Wittumspalais and the Schiller House. An excursion to Buchenwald concentration camp can be arranged. Overnight Weimar. Day 9: Naumburg. Architecturally, Naumburg Cathedral is an outstanding embodiment of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic, but its great importance lies in its 13th-century sculpture, including statues of the founders, among the most powerful and realistic of the Middle Ages. Fly from Berlin, arriving Heathrow at c. 8.00pm.

the Johann sebastian Bach Journey Price – per person. Two sharing: £2,510 or £2,310 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,710 or £2,510 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation: Romantik Hotel am Brühl, Quedlinburg (hotelambruehl.de): restored 4-star hotel in a heritage building near the historical heart, comfortably furnished. Brauhaus “Zum Löwen”, Mühlhausen (brauhaus-zum-loewen.de): 3-star converted brewery in the centre of the town; characterfully rustic dining area and bar, simple but spacious rooms. Dorint Am Goethepark, Weimar (hotel-weimar.dorint.com): modern 4-star hotel, situated by the park and on the edge of the town centre. How strenuous? This tour is fairly long and there is quite a lot of walking in the town centres where vehicular access is restricted. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 56 miles. There are long transfers between each hotel and the airports, otherwise coach travel is limited to short excursions. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with The Johann Sebastian Bach Journey, 4–10 September 2017 (see opposite).

Mediaeval Alsace, 3–10 october 2017. see page 79.

4–10 September 2017 Details available in September 2016 Please contact us to register your interest A pilgrimage to the places where Johann Sebastian Bach lived and worked. Nine private concerts in historic venues with world-class artists and ensembles, including: Angela Hewitt, Gabrieli Consort & Players, Vox Luminis and organist Martina Pohl.

in hotels in three places, Mühlhausen, Weimar and Leipzig, and the concerts take place here and in four other towns. Admission to the concerts is exclusive to those who take a complete package which includes hotels, flights from the UK, coach travel, most dinners and lectures.

GErMANy

Practicalities

Talks on the music by Sir Nicholas Kenyon, director of the Barbican Centre, formerly head of music at BBC Radio 3 and director of the BBC Proms, and biographer of Bach. Journeying to the places where Johann Sebastian Bach lived and worked is an experience as near to pilgrimage as is offered by the history of music. And hearing his music in buildings which he frequented, or even where it was first performed, must rank among the highest delights available to music lovers. This unique festival provides the opportunity. Nine concerts, ranging from solo keyboard and chamber works to the St John Passion, in several different venues, present a comprehensive range of Bach’s output. For this, the seventh Johann Sebastian Bach Journey, we have assembled artists and ensembles who are world leaders in performance of the repertoire. The distances travelled are quite small, but the event is emphatically a journey. It starts, as Bach did, in the little towns and cities of the principality of Thuringia and finishes, again like Bach, in the free city of Leipzig. The audience stays

rhine Masterpieces September 2017 Details available in September 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

organs of Bach’s time August 2017 Details available in July 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

MAINLAND EUROPE 99

Mühlhausen, lithograph c. 1830. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Munich at Christmas Bavaria’s magnificent capital & its environs GErMANy

20–27 December 2016 (md 986) 8 days • £2,980 Lecturer: Tom Abbott A wide range of art and architecture in the magnificent Bavarian capital. Two full-day excursions to some of the most special sights in Bavaria – the beautifully preserved mediaeval town of Regensburg, and the outstanding Baroque church at Wies. Led by Tom Abbott, cultural historian resident in Germany who has led many tours there. Munich is everyone’s favourite German city. Not only is it the most prosperous in the country, but the attractiveness of the cityscape, the abundance of cultural activity, the relatively relaxed lifestyle and generally amenable ambience make it the most sought-after place to live and work in Germany. The seat of the Wittelsbachs, who ruled Bavaria from 1255 until 1918 as Counts, Dukes, Electors and, from 1806, as Kings, Munich was a city which grew up around a court, not one spawned by trade or industry. Consequently, artistically and architecturally it is still one of the best-endowed centres in Europe. There are fine buildings of every period, and it is also a city of museums. The Alte Pinakothek has one of the finest collections of Old Masters in the world, and the Treasury in the Residenz and the classical sculpture in the Glyptothek are among the best collections of their kind. There are two full-day excursions through beautiful countryside to some of the greatest sights in Bavaria – Regensburg, Linderhof Palace and the Wieskirche. The lecturer, Tom Abbott, is a cultural historian with a wide range of knowledge and a deep understanding of contemporary Germany.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 12.00 noon from London Heathrow to Munich (British Airways). Time to settle in at the hotel before dinner. Day 2. Begin with a visit to the Alte Pinakothek, one of the world’s greatest collections of Old Masters. After lunch continue to the Neue Pinakothek, which houses paintings from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Some free time; you may choose to also visit the Brandhorst Museum, which opened in 2009, the Pinakothek der Moderne or join a guided tour of the Art Nouveau Villa Stuck, a museum and historic house dedicated to the works of the Bavarian painter, Franz Stuck. Day 3. The Residenz in the centre of the city was the principal Wittelsbach palace and seat of government, a magnificent sprawl of buildings, courtyards, state apartments and museums of every period from Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. There are fine works of art and sumptuous interiors of the highest importance, especially the Rococo interiors and the Cuvilliés Theatre (subject to confirmation as the theatre can close for rehearsals at short notice). An afternoon walk includes the vast Gothic cathedral and the pioneering Renaissance church of St Michael. There will also be the opportunity to visit the Christmas markets. Day 4. By coach to see the architecture and monuments on the fringes of the old city, including the monumental Ludwigsstraße, Jugendstil houses and the English Garden. Disembark at Königsplatz, a noble assembly of Neo-Classical museums, and visit the Glyptothek, an outstanding collection of Greek and Roman sculpture. After lunch visit the excellent collections

Tom Abbott. specialist in architectural history from the Baroque to the 20th century with a particular interest in German and American modern. studied Art History in the usA and Paris and has a wide knowledge of the performing arts. since 1987 he has lived in Berlin. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. of sculpture and decorative arts at the Bavarian National Museum. Day 5, Christmas Eve: Regensburg. Drive to Regensburg, one of Germany’s finest mediaeval cities, with a Gothic cathedral and parliament of the Holy Roman Empire. Return to Munich in plenty of time for Christmas dinner. There are several musically embellished midnight masses. Day 6, Christmas Day. Free morning (a couple of museums are open; there are also many church services to choose from). In the afternoon visit the Church of St Peter and the Asamkirche, built and decorated by Egid Quinn Asam. The recently reopened Lenbachhaus has an outstanding collection of German Expressionist painting. Day 7. Linderhof Palace, Wies. Travel by coach to Ettal, site of Linderhof Palace, commissioned by the legendary ‘Swan King’ Ludwig II. The lavish interiors are in Renaissance and Baroque styles and gardens include grottos and Oriental adornments. Continue to the 1740s church at Wies by Dominikus Zimmerman, one of the finest of all Rococo churches. Day 8. Morning excursion to Nymphenburg, the summer palace of the Wittelsbachs with sumptuous interiors. Fly from Munich, returning to London Heathrow at c. 5.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,980 or £2,840 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,470 or £3,330 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Optional music: details of performances will be sent to participants c. 6 months before the tour and tickets can be requested. Accommodation. Platzl Hotel München (platzl. de): 4-star hotel located in the heart of the old city. Rooms are modern and comfortable, with a safe, hairdryer and free Wi-Fi access. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing around in museums, and navigation of metro and tram systems. The excursions to Regensburg and Schloss Linderhof involve a fair amount of of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 47 miles. Group size: between 10–22 participants.

100

Combine this tour with: Music in Berlin at New Year, 29 December 2016–4 January 2017 (p.93). Munich, Königsplatz, watercolour by E.T. Compton, publ. 1912. book online at www.martinrandall.com

opera in Munich Weber, shostakovich, Verdi, rossini GErMANy

Munich, lithograph c. 1850 after Samuel Prout.

21–25 July 2017 (md 424) 5 days • £2,890 (including tickets to 4 performances) Lecturers: Professor Jan Smaczny & Tom Abbott Four operas at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, one of the world’s most dependable houses: Oberon, König der Elfen (Weber), Lady Macbeth von Mzensk (Shostakovich), La Forza del destino (Verdi) and Semiramide (Rossini). Two lecturers – musicologist Professor Jan Smaczny and art historian Tom Abbott.

Day 1. Fly at c. 12.45pm from London Heathrow to Munich (British Airways). Tour the city by coach to see much of the best of Munich’s historic architecture: Neo-Classical Königsplatz, historicist Ludwigstrasse, Jugendstil houses and the modern Gasteig Arts Centre. Evening opera at the Nationaltheater: Oberon, König der Elfen (Weber). Ivor Bolton (conductor), Julian Prégardien (Oberon), Annette Dasch (Rezia), Rachael Wilson (Fatime), Brenden Gunnell (Hüon von Bordeaux), Johannes Kammler (Scherasmin). Day 2. In the morning there is a walk to see more of the city’s treasures, including the vast Gothic cathedral and the Asamkirche, a Baroque gem. Free time in the afternoon. Evening opera at the Nationaltheater: Lady Macbeth von Mzensk (Shostakovich). Kirill Petrenko (conductor), Anatoli Kotscherga (Boris Timofejewitsch Ismailow), Sergey Skorokhadov (Sinowij Borissowitsch Ismailow), Anja Kampe (Katerina Ismailowa), Misha Didyk (Sergej), Heike Grötzinger (Aksinja). Day 3: Nymphenburg, Munich. Drive out to Nymphenburg, summer retreat of the ruling Wittelsbachs. Set in an extensive park there is a Baroque palace and several delightful garden pavilions, the apogee of Rococo. Afternoon opera at the Nationaltheater: La Forza del destino (Verdi). Asher Fisch (conductor), Vitalij Kowaljow (Il Marchese di Calatrava, Padre Guardiano), Anja Harteros (Donna Leonora), Simone Piazzola (Don Carlo di Vargas), Jonas Kaufmann (Don Alvaro), Nadia Krasteva (Preziosilla), Ambrogio Maestri (Fra Melitone).

Day 4. In the morning a second walking tour culminates in a visit to the Alte Pinakothek, one of the world’s greatest Old Master galleries. The afternoon is free, though a visit to Residenz with its exquisite Rococo Theatre by Cuvillies is recommended. Early evening opera at the Nationaltheater: Semiramide (Rossini). Michele Mariotti (conductor), Joyce DiDonato (Semiramide), Alex Esposito (Assur), Daniela Barcellona (Arsace), Lawrence Brownlee (Idreno), Elsa Benoit (Azema), Christophoros Stamboglis (Oroe), Petr Nekoranec (Mitrane), Igor Tsarkov (L’ombra di Nino). Day 5. Fly from Munich to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 2.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,890 or £2,740 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,250 or £3,100 without flights. Included meals: 2 dinners and 1 lunch with wine. Music: tickets (first category) for 4 operas are included, costing c. £760. Accommodation. Platzl Hotel München (platzl. de): 4-star hotel located in the heart of the old city. Rooms are modern and comfortable. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking in the town centres where vehicular access is restricted, and should not be attempted by anyone who would have difficulty with this. Average distance by coach per day: 18 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Munich is perhaps the most attractive of Germany’s cities, and has always been a major centre for opera. The Nationaltheater is at the moment enjoying a reputation as one of the finest houses in Europe: ‘La Scala may be grander…, Vienna more stately, the Metropolitan more prestigious… but for all-round excellence in pretty well every department, Munich’s Nationaltheater has the edge, both in matters of creature comforts and sheer dedication to the art’. Opera apart, Munich is widely considered to be the most agreeable city in Germany in which to live, and rivals Berlin for wealth of art and historic architecture. Munich is everyone’s favourite German city. The seat of the Wittelsbachs, who ruled Bavaria from 1255 until 1918 as Counts, Dukes, Electors and, from 1806, as Kings, Munich was a city which grew up around a court, not one spawned by trade or industry. Consequently, artistically and architecturally it is still one of the best-endowed centres in Europe.

Itinerary

101

Munich’s Masterpieces Art & architecture in the capital of Bavaria GErMANy

16–20 August 2017 (md 482) 5 days • £2,775 Lecturer: Patrick Bade A short, sharp study of the best of the art in the city – painting, sculpture and decorative arts. Also the key architectural monuments and characteristic streetscape. Led by Patrick Bade, art historian and writer. Can be combined with The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2017 (see page 50). Munich is everyone’s favourite German city. Not only is it the most prosperous in the country, but the attractiveness of the cityscape, the abundance of cultural activity, the relatively relaxed lifestyle and generally amenable ambience make it the most sought-after place to live and work in Germany. The seat of the Wittelsbachs, who ruled Bavaria from 1255 until 1918 as Counts, Dukes, Electors

and, from 1806, as Kings, Munich was a city which grew up around a court, not one spawned by trade or industry. Consequently, artistically and architecturally it is still one of the best-endowed centres in Europe. There are fine buildings of every period, and it is also a city of museums. The Alte Pinakothek has one of the finest collections of Old Masters in the world, and the Treasury in the Residenz and the classical sculpture in the Glyptothek are among the best collections of their kind. The accompanying lecturer, Patrick Bade, is an art historian with a wide range of knowledge and a deep understanding of contemporary Germany.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Munich (British Airways). An afternoon walk passes through the core of the historic city. See the Marienplatz, dominated by the 19th-century city hall, and the little Baroque church of St John Nepomuk created by the Asam brothers.

Patrick Bade. Historian, writer and broadcaster. He studied at uCl and the Courtauld and was senior lecturer at Christies Education for many years. He has worked for the Art Fund, royal opera House, National Gallery, V&A. He has published on 19thand early 20th-century painting and on historical vocal recordings. His latest book is Music Wars: 1937–1945. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Day 2. By coach along some of the principal streets and boulevards of the city to see architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries. Disembark in the vicinity of the main art galleries and visit the Alte Pinakothek, one of the world’s greatest collections of Old Masters. After lunch continue to Königsplatz, a noble assembly of Neoclassical museums, and visit the Glyptothek, an outstanding collection of Greek and Roman sculpture. The Lenbachhaus has an outstanding collection of German Expressionist paintings. Day 3. The morning is spent in the Residenz, rambling palace of the Wittelsbach dynasty, Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria, with sumptuous interiors of the highest art-historical importance from Renaissance to Romantic, and a marvellous Rococo theatre. After lunch visit the excellent collections of sculpture and decorative arts at the Bavarian National Museum. Day 4. On the edge of Munich, Nymphenburg is one of the finest palace complexes of the 17th and 18th centuries, with main palace, park, gardens and pavilions. The delightful Amalienburg represents the apogee of secular Rococo interiors, and the carriage museum has sleighs made for King Ludwig II. Return to the centre of Munich and visit the Neue Pinakothek, which houses paintings from the 18th to the early 20th centuries.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 5. A morning walk includes the vast Gothic cathedral and the Town Museum which displays among many other artworks the famous Gothic Morris dancers, created by Erasmus Grasser for the festival hall of the Altes Rathaus. Some free time. After lunch a guided tour of the Villa Stuck, a museum and historic Art Nouveau house dedicated to the works of the Bavarian painter, Franz Stuck. Fly from Munich to London Heathrow arriving at c. 5.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,775 or £2,635 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,055 or £2,915 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Torbräu (torbraeu.de): a friendly, family-run, 4-star hotel in the city centre.

102

Schloss Nymphenburg, engraving c. 1770. book online at www.martinrandall.com

How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking and standing around in galleries. You need to be able to keep up with a group of averagely fit people. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

King Ludwig II and the Wittelsbach palaces of Bavaria

Explore eight royal palaces and castles set against the breathtaking backdrop of Germany’s most beautiful state. Learn about the lives, loves and legacies of King Ludwig II and the House of Wittelsbach, rulers of Bavaria for over 700 years. Art and architecture from the Renaissance through to Late Romanticism, much of it opulent and theatrical. Led by Tom Abbott, specialist in architectural history from the Baroque to the 20th century with a wide knowledge of the performing arts.

Day 2. Munich. The Residenz in the centre of the city was the principal Wittelsbach palace and seat of government; a magnificent sprawl of buildings, courtyards, state apartments and museums of every period from Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. There are fine works of art and sumptuous interiors of the highest importance, especially the Rococo interiors and the Cuvilliés Theatre (subject to confirmation as the theatre can close for rehearsals at short notice). Free afternoon. Day 3. Nymphenburg, Linderhof, Murnau. Drive to the city’s outskirts and the palace and park of Nymphenburg, birthplace of Ludwig II. An extensive complex including bathhouses and the Rococo Amalienburg lodge. After lunch drive to Ettal, site of the only one of Ludwig II’s commissioned castles to have been completed. 1870s Linderhof was reputed to have been the King’s favourite castle; it draws, like Herrenchiemsee, on French influences, lavish interiors in Renaissance and Baroque styles, extravagant terrace gardens including grottos and Oriental adornments. First of three nights in Murnau am Staffelsee. Day 4. Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein. Drive south to Hohenschwangau castle, site of Ludwig II’s childhood, owned by his parents Maximilian II of Bavaria and Princess Marie of Prussia. Majestic lakeside Alpine location, frescoes featuring medieval Swan-Knight Lohengrin which led to Ludwig II’s obsession with Wagner. Then continue to Neuschwanstein, the famous fairytale turreted castle ordered by Ludwig II in homage to Wagner though never completed.

Day 5. Herrenchiemsee. In the countryside southeast of Munich and surrounded by a park, woodland and a great lake, Schloss Herrenchiemsee is a copy of Versailles. Ludwig II’s megalomaniac hymn of homage to the absolutism of Louis XIV, his final folly, brought the Bavarian state to the brink of bankruptcy. Day 6. Berg, Starnberg. Leave Murnau, drive to Berg and the mock Gothic castle to which Ludwig II retreated from his ministers, and where he was placed under house arrest after his forced abdication in 1886 on grounds of insanity. Lake Starnberg surrounds the castle and is the scene of Ludwig II’s death and that of his doctor, officially by drowning. Visit the Memorial Chapel and have lunch in Starnberg. Fly from Munich, returning to London Heathrow at c. 5.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,220 or £2,090 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,480 or £2,350 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Torbräu, Munich (torbraeu.de): well-located 4-star, traditional in style and décor. Hotel Alpenhof, Murnau (alpenhof-murnau.com): rambling 5-star hotel on the outskirts of Murnau with a country house feel. How strenuous? This is a strenuous tour with long coach journeys and a lot of walking and standing around in the castles and gardens. Average distance by coach per day: 65 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with The Danube Music Festival, 20–27 August 2017 (p.50).

Linderhof, wood engraving from ‘The Magazine of Art’ 1887.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Germany’s large and beautiful south-eastern state of Bavaria is an established destination for Martin Randall Travel, with a number of tours over the years dedicated to a variety of themes. This tour has a different focus, that of the legendary ‘Swan King’ Ludwig II and the House of Wittelsbach from which he hailed, and his extraordinary architectural and cultural legacy. Architecturally and artistically, the tour encompasses outstanding examples of Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-Classical and Romantic styles as well as Ludwig’s fairytale follies. Historically it examines the eccentric world of one of Europe’s most controversial monarchs and the story of what, until German unification, counted as one of the continent’s most important little states. It is true that Ludwig II’s predilection for aesthetic absorption over political and legal leadership gained him fierce opposition and criticism, but this handsome young king and his elaborate castles are responsible for a considerable proportion of Bavaria’s appeal today. Ironically, the dream world into which the sovereign retreated in order to escape the responsibilities of state now benefits Ludwig’s former kingdom in a way it never did when he inhabited it. Was he, to quote one of his more defamatory labels, insane? Or simply weak, of solitary disposition, and therefore tragically unsuited to the role imposed upon him at a time of Bavaria’s considerable political fragility and conflict with Prussia, Austria and France? Once deposed in 1886, what was the cause of his untimely death? Was it suicide, or did it take place at the hand of murderous detractors? Or was it mere accident? Was he an impotent and irresponsible sybarite or a luminous benefactor of the arts?

the state apartments, Hofgarten (Court Garden) and a collection of Meissen porcelain in Schloss Lustheim. First of two nights in Munich.

germany

15–20 August 2017 (md 480) 6 days • £2,220 Lecturer: Tom Abbott

Itinerary Day 1. Schleissheim, Munich. Fly at c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Munich (British Airways). Between airport and city, the palace and garden at Schleissheim form a rare ensemble of Baroque taste from an early 17th-century retreat, through the 1684 Lustheim pavilion at the far end of a canal of absolutist straightness, to the magnificent Neues Schloss, begun 1701 but whose progress continued haltingly into the Rococo period. There is a gallery of Baroque art, sculpted stucco of exceptional quality in

103 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Franconia Little-known gems of Southern Germany germany

values. The Diocesan Museum has outstanding mediaeval textiles. In the afternoon visit the Neue Residenz, palace of the Prince-Bishops. Day 5: Bayreuth. All-day excursion. Bayreuth developed as a minor court city in the 18th century, and a varietal of Rococo decoration evolved in the town palace and at the Hermitage, a complex of gardens, palaces and pavilions, under the patronage of the Markgraf. Visit Wagner’s Festspielhaus, built to the composer’s specifications on a hill outside the town. Day 6: Coburg, Vierzehnheiligen. At Coburg visit the formidable fortress above the city, now a museum with good paintings and furnishings. Schloss Ehrenburg, in the centre of town was the home of Prince Albert. Across the valley, the pilgrimage church of Vierzehnheiligen by Balthasar Neumann is perhaps the greatest of all Rococo churches.

20–27 May 2017 (md 334) 8 days • £2,680 Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier

Moreover, the greatest achievement of eighteenthcentury Venetian painting is here: Tiepolo’s ceiling fresco in the Würzburg Residenz.

A neglected region of southern Germany which has an exceptional heritage of art and architecture, enchanting streetscape and natural beauty.

Itinerary

Mediaeval art including Romanesque sculpture (the Bamberg Rider) and late mediaeval wood carving by Tilman Riemenschneider. Baroque and Rococo palaces, churches and paintings (including Tiepolo’s masterpiece).

MAINLAND EUROPE 104

Once the very heart of the mediaeval German kingdom, Franconia possesses some of the loveliest towns and villages in Germany, beautiful countryside and a variety of art and architecture of the highest quality. Yet remarkably few Britons find their way here – or could even point to the region on a map. Würzburg, with its vine-clad riverbanks and Baroque palaces, is a delight. The tour stays here for two nights. One of the loveliest and least spoilt of German towns, Bamberg has fine streetscape, riverside walks and picturesque upper town around the Romanesque cathedral. Nuremberg, the home of Dürer, was one of the great cities of the Middle Ages, and its churches and museums are filled with outstanding sculpture and painting. Bayreuth was a centre of Rococo culture and a mecca for Wagnerians. The end of the Middle Ages was artistically one of the most creative in Franconia, with Tilman Riemenschneider and Veit Stoss, perhaps Germany’s greatest sculptors, evoking the fraught spirituality of the age in works of remarkable virtuosity. The Romanesque sculpture in Bamberg’s cathedral is also of the highest importance. The eighteenth century also bequeathed much artistic wealth. The Prince-Bishop’s palace in Würzburg and the pilgrimage church of Vierzehnheiligen (both designed by Balthasar Neumann) are consummate achievements of Baroque and Rococo art and architecture. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 1: Würzburg. Fly at c. 9.30am from London Heathrow to Frankfurt (Lufthansa). Drive to Würzburg, and check in to the hotel. An afternoon walk around the largely post-war reconstruction of the old centre, with its vast and sombre Romanesque cathedral, delicate Gothic church and flamboyant Baroque churches. First of two nights in Würzburg. Day 2: Würzburg. The Residenz (Prince-Bishop’s Palace), designed partly by Balthasar Neumann and extended over time, is one of the finest 18thcentury palaces in Europe, with magnificent halls, state apartments, exquisite chapel and ceiling frescoes which are the masterpieces of the Venetian painter Tiepolo. In the afternoon walk across one of the oldest mediaeval bridges to survive and visit the Marienburg, the formidable fortress dominating the city from across the River Main. Visit the vast museum within, with its sizeable collection of Riemenschneider sculpture. Day 3: Creglingen, Rothenburg, Pommersfelden Bamberg. Drive through gently undulating countryside to the little pilgrimage church near Creglingen; here see The Assumption by Riemenschneider, his finest work. Rothenburgob-der-Tauber is an exceedingly picturesque little town scarcely changed in appearance for hundreds of years; the church of St James has Riemenschneider’s Last Supper. Visit Schloss Pommersfelden, an early 18th-century country house with one of the grandest of Baroque staircases. Continue through lovely landscape to Bamberg. First of four nights here. Day 4: Bamberg. Morning walk taking in the riverside town. Visit the Gothic Church of our Lady with its Tintoretto altarpiece and the splendid Romanesque cathedral with some of Germany’s finest mediaeval sculpture, including the Bamberg Rider, a potent image of knightly

Day 7: Nuremberg. An immensely rich trading and manufacturing city in the Middle Ages, Nuremberg is girt by massive walls and possesses much art and architecture of the 15th and 16th centuries. A walk through the old town includes the church of St Sebaldus, which contains outstanding sculpture by Veit Stoss and others, and the Albrecht Dürer House. St Lorenz is the city’s other great church, and is likewise laden with major artworks including Veit Stoss’s Annunciation (1517/18). Day 8: Nuremberg. Visit German National Museum, home to the finest collection of German mediaeval and Renaissance art in the country. Fly from Munich, arriving Heathrow at c. 5.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,680 or £2,510 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,960 or £2,790 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch, 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Rebstock, Würzburg (rebstock.com): well-located, comfortable 4-star hotel. Hotel Villa Geyerswörth, Bamberg (villageyerswoerth.de): elegant, quiet 4-star hotel, conveniently located close to the old town. Le Méridien Grand Hotel, Nuremberg (lemeridiennuernberg.com): modern 4-star hotel in a late 19th-century building, a 10-minute walk from the centre. How strenuous? There is a fair amount of walking on this tour, as vehicular access in the town centres is restricted. There are a few long drives: the average distance by coach per day: 55 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Opera in Berlin, 31 May–4 June 2017 (p.94). Illustration: Bamberg, the old bridge, in ‘Leaves from a Sketchbook’, by S. Read 1875.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Spring in Crete Landscape, history & archaeology

Concentrates on the extraordinary civilization of the Minoans, but also pays due attention to Classical and later cultures. Dr Alan Peatfield is an archaeologist specialising in the Minoan Bronze Age civilisation of Crete. Plenty of time for Knossos and the main sites and includes many remote and little-visited ones. Wonderful, contrasting landscapes at a beautiful time in the island’s calendar. The ‘garden of Eden of European civilization’: these words used by botanist David Bellamy, powerfully encapsulate the history, landscape, and vegetation of Crete. Mountainous, dramatic limestone crags contrast with the lush green of the fertile inland valleys, high upland plains, and densely cultivated coastal strips. Wherever they live, the people of Crete define themselves as a mountain people with traditions of genuine hospitality (philoxenia), and a fierce sense of freedom (eleftheria). These qualaties are celebrated in a distinctive and lively tradition of folk music and dance. This powerful sense of individuality has allowed the Cretans, at all times in their history, to fi lter and absorb the cultural influences arising from their geographical location, situated in the centre of the eastern Mediterranean, between Europe, Africa and the Near East. The purpose of this tour is to explore these various cultural layers, history, landscape and tradition. Crete’s beginnings lie in the Minoan Bronze Age, with its labyrinthine palaces and vivacious colourful art. Not only is this the beginning of prehistoric complex civilization in

Europe, it also influenced the revolution in 20thcentury art. The ensuing Greco-Roman period contrasts the violent Greek period, the ‘Crete of the 100 cities’, with the long calm of the Roman peace. Byzantine and Venetian Crete is remarkable not just for its icons, but also its plethora of painted chapels. This was the tradition out of which El Greco made his contribution to Venetian and Spanish Renaissance painting. The modern Cretan spirit was forged in the suffering and rebellion that marked Ottoman Turkish rule. That sense of freedom has a contemporary resonance in the stillliving memory of Crete’s heroic resistance against Nazi occupation in the Second World War. As we encounter these disparate elements, they are bound together by one powerful constant: the landscape of Crete itself, its vivid beauty and unique energy.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 12.15pm from London Heathrow to Heraklion via Athens (Aegean Airlines). Overnight Heraklion. Day 2: Knossos Palace and Archaeological Museum. The capital of Minoan Bronze Age Crete, Knossos resonates in both myth and archaeology. At its peak it comprised a magnificent palace with courts, religious buildings and mansions. Excavated by Sir Arthur Evans at the beginning of the 20th century, his reconstructions not only protect the excavated remains, they also illustrate the splendour of palatial civilization. A first visit to the Archaeological Museum, newly and richly re-organised, focuses on an overview of the treasures of Minoan art and culture. Overnight Heraklion. Day 3: Festos, Agia Triada, Gortyna. A day in the Mesara, the rich agricultural plain on the south coast. Phaistos is the second largest Minoan

palace, dramatically located on a ridge overlooking the plain. The Agia Triadha Minoan villa is situated to appreciate the green and peaceful aspects of the Cretan landscape. Gortyn is the Greek city famous for its 5th century bc law-code, and which became the capital of Roman Crete. Overnight Heraklion.

GREECE

21–30 April 2017 (md 235) 10 days • £2,880 Lecturer: Dr Alan Peatfield

Day 4: Knossos. A second visit to the Archaeological Museum gives a more detailed appreciation of Minoan art and artefacts, and a chance also to see the unique Daidalic sculpture of Archaic Crete and the statues of the Classical and Roman periods. The Historical Museum completes the Cretan historical sweep with its Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman resources, as well as records of Crete’s bitter World War II experience. Overnight Heraklion. Day 5: Mallia Palace, Elounda (to take boat to Spinalonga Island). Set on a fertile coastal plain is the Minoan palace of Mallia. Further east is the beautiful Elounda Bay, with a spectacular view of the Gulf of Mirabello and the mountains of east Crete. The island of Spinalonga, site of the Venetian fortress that became a 20th-century leper colony is sheltered in the bay. Overnight Heraklion. Day 6: Knossos Villa Ariadne, Fourni, Anemospilia. The Villa Ariadne was Arthur Evans’ home while excavating Knossos. Our private guide tells a host of stories revealing the life of the Villa from Evans until modern times. Archanes Fourni cemetery, the most complete excavated Minoan cemetery, lies in the shadow of Jouktas, the mountain peak sanctuary that dominates central Crete. On the slopes of the mountain, lies Anemospilia, and its controversial evidence for Minoan human sacrifice. (Both sites are normally closed to the public, and our permission for access may be withdrawn). Overnight Heraklion.

Chania, late-17th-century copper engraving.

MAINLAND EUROPE 105 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

spring in Crete continued

Classical Greece the Peloponnese, Attica & Athens

GrEECE

Day 7: Arkadi Monastery, Armeni Cemetery, Rethymnon. Heading to Chania and the mountainous west of the island, Arkadi is one of the great fortified monasteries of Crete. Its active role in the 1866 revolt against Turkish rule make it a symbol of Cretan resistance. Armeni cemetery, with its many rock-cut chamber tombs, dates to the last phase of Minoan civilization. Rethymnon is the university town of Crete. Its old quarter beside the sea is the best preserved Venetian town on the island. Overnight Chania. Day 8: Aptera, Souda War Cemetary, Agia Triada Monastery. One of the most powerful GraecoRoman city states, Aptera is a huge site with Roman ruins, a theatre and a Turkish fort. See the British war cemetery at Souda Bay. Moni Agias Triadas on the Akrotiri peninsula above Hania was founded in 1630 by Venetian nobles and has some of the finest monastic architecture on the island. Overnight Chania. Day 9: Chania. A morning walking tour includes the Archaeological Museum, Minoan Kastelli, Old town, Harbour Mosque and Synagogue. The extensive Venetian town of Chania provides an opportunity to bring together all the threads of Cretan history. The walking tour takes in the Minoan and Classical archaeological finds in the Museum, within the Venetian Monastery of St Francis. The Minoan remains of Kastelli lie under the Venetian walls embedded with re-used Greek columns. Down by the harbor are both the Turkish Mosque and the Synagogue, as well as the Byzantine and Maritime Museums. Overnight Chania.

6–15 May 2017 (md 275) 10 days • £3,290 Lecturer: Professor Antony Spawforth 16–25 September 2017 (me 535) 10 days • £3,290 Lecturer: Dr Andrew Farrington A comprehensive survey of the principal Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic sites in mainland Greece. Highlights include Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi. The lecturers both have expert knowledge of ancient Greece. In Athens, a full day on the Acropolis and in the ancient Agora. The Ancient Greeks had far greater influence on western civilization than any other people or nation. For two and a half millennia, philosophy and ethics, the fundamentals of science and

mathematics, prevailing notions of government and citizenship, literature and the visual arts have derived their seeds, and a large amount of their substance, from the Greeks. In the words of H.D.F. Kitto ‘there gradually emerged a people not very numerous, not very powerful, not very well organized, who had a totally new conception of what human life was for, and showed for the first time what the human mind was for.’ Whatever the depth of our Classical education, there is a deep-seated knowledge in all of us that the places visited on this tour are of the greatest significance for our identity and way of life. A journey to Greece is like a journey to our homeland, a voyage in which a search for our roots is fulfi lled. In no field is the Greek contribution to the modern world more immediately evident than in architecture. The grip upon the imagination that the Greek temple has exerted is astonishing, and in one way or another – ranging from straightforward imitation of

Day 10. Fly to London Heathrow via Athens, arriving c. 3.30pm. The opening of sites on Crete is arbitrary and can be influenced by the politics at the time of the tour. This may mean that at short notice not all sites listed can be visited.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,890 or £2,630 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,140 or £2,880 without flights. Included meals: 4 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Lato Boutique Hotel, Heraklion (lato.gr): family-run 3-star hotel with small but well-appointed rooms. Good location by the Venetian port. Kydon Hotel, Hania (kydonhotel.com): 4-star hotel well located close to the old town and port. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and scrambling over archaeological sites and this tour is not suitable for anyone who is not sure-footed. Average distance by coach per day: 56 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Classical Greece, 6–15 May 2017 (see opposite).

106

Athens, Acropolis, watercolour by Jules Guérin, publ. 1913. book online at www.martinrandall.com

greece

the whole to decorative use of distorted details – has dominated nearly all monumental or aspirational building ever since. A striking and salutary conclusion, however, which inevitably emerges from participation on this tour, is that the originals are unquestionably superior. This is also true of sculpture. This tour includes nearly all of the most important archaeological sites, architectural remains and museums of antiquities on mainland Greece. It presents a complete picture of ancient Greek civilization beginning with the Mycenaeans, the Greek Bronze Age, and continuing through Archaic, Classical and, to a lesser extent, Hellenistic and Roman Greece. It also provides a glimpse of the spiritual splendour of Byzantine art and architecture. It is a full itinerary, but the pace is manageable. Plenty of time is available on the sites and in the museums, allowing opportunity both for adequate exposition by the lecturer and time for further exploration on your own.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly late morning (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Athens. The little port of Nauplion is one of the most attractive towns in mainland Greece. Arrive here in time for dinner. First of three nights in Nauplion. Day 2: Nauplion, Tiryns, Mycenae. Today’s theme is the Mycenaean civilisation of the Argolid Plain, the Greece of Homer’s heroes (16th–13th centuries bc). Visit Tiryns, a citadel with massive Cyclopean walls of enormous blocks of masonry, and Mycenae, reputedly Agamemnon’s capital, with Treasury of Atreus (finest of beehive tombs) and Acropolis (Lion Gate). Day 3: Corinth, Epidauros. The site of Ancient Corinth has the earliest standing Doric temple on mainland Greece, and a fine museum with evidence of Greece’s first large-scale pottery industry. Epidauros, centre for the worship of Asclepios, god of medicine, where popular magical dream cures were dispensed, includes the bestpreserved of all Greek theatres.

Day 5: Olympia. Nestling in a verdant valley, Olympia is one of the most evocative of ancient sites; never a town, but the principal sanctuary of Zeus and site of the quadrennial pan-Hellenic athletics competitions. Many fascinating structures remain, including the temples of Hera and Zeus, the workshop of Phidias and the stadium. The museum contains fragments of pediment sculpture, among the most important survivals of Classical Greek art. First of two nights in Delphi. Day 6: Delphi. Clinging to the lower slopes of Mount Parnassos, Delphi is the most spectacularly

Day 7: Hosios Loukas, Athens. Visit the Byzantine monastery of Hosios Loukas in a beautiful setting in a remote valley, one of the finest buildings of mediaeval Greece with remarkable mosaics. The Acropolis is the foremost site of Classical Greece. The Parthenon (built 447– 438 bc) is indubitably the supreme achievement of Greek architecture. Other architectural masterpieces are the Propylaia (monumental gateway), Temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion. First of three nights in Athens. Day 8: Athens. At the Theatre of Dionysos plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were first performed. The new Acropolis museum has superb Archaic and Classical sculpture, including some by Phidias and his assistants. The Agora (market place) was the centre of civic life in ancient Athens, with the small Doric Hephaisteion, the bestpreserved of Greek temples. Day 9: Athens. Kerameikos Cemetery was where Athenians were buried beyond the ancient city walls. The refurbished National Archaeological Museum has the finest collection of Greek art and artefacts to be found anywhere. The vast Corinthian Temple of Olympian Zeus was completed by Hadrian 700 years after its inception. Some free time. Day 10: Athens. Drive to the 5th-century Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, overlooking the sea at the southernmost tip of the Attic peninsula, visited by Byron in 1810. Fly from Athens, arriving Heathrow c. 4.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,290 or £3,110 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,620 or £3,440 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 7 dinners with wine. Accommodation. The first hotel differs in the May and September departures. Hotel Amalia, Nauplion (May) (amaliahotelnafplio.gr): modern and spacious hotel in a neo-classical building situated just outside the town. Hotel Ippoliti, Nauplion (September) (ippoliti.gr): small, comfortable hotel in a converted 19th-century mansion situated close to the harbour. Best Western Hotel Europa, Olympia (bestwestern. com): characterful hotel outside the town. Hotel Amalia, Delphi (amalia.gr/delphi-hotel): modern hotel, a short coach ride from the archaeological site. Electra Palace Hotel, Athens (electrahotels. gr): smart hotel near the picturesque Plaka quarter. How strenuous? This is a long tour with three hotel changes and long journeys. You will be on your feet for stretches of time, in some cases on exposed sites and walking over rough terrain and therefore sure-footedness and agility are essential. Average distance by coach per day: 70 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Spring in Crete, 21–30 April 2017 (p.105); Art in Madrid, 16–20 May 2017 (p.170); Walking to Cornish Houses, 17–23 May 2017 (p.25); Gastronomic Veneto, 17–24 May 2017 (p.116); Art in Madrid, 27 September–1 October 2017 (p.170).

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 4: Arcadia, Bassae. There are spectacular views of Nauplion from the 18th-century Venetian Fortress of Palamidi. Drive across the middle of the Peloponnese, through the beautiful plateau of Arcadia and past impressive mountain scenery. A stunning road leads to the innovatory and well-preserved 5th-century Temple of Apollo (in a tent for protection) on the mountain top at Bassae (3,700 feet) and through further breathtaking scenery to Olympia. Overnight Olympia.

evocative of ancient Greek sites. Of incalculable religious and political importance, the Delphic oracle attracted pilgrims from all over the Hellenic world. The Sanctuary of Pythian Apollo has a theatre and Athenian Treasury, and the Sanctuary of Athena has a circular temple. The museum is especially rich in Archaic sculpture. Some free time amidst the austere beauty of the valley.

Above: Delphi, engraving from ‘Greek Pictures’, 1890.

What else is included in the price? See page 6. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

107

Palaces of Piedmont Courtly splendour in & around turin ItaLy Turin, Palazzo Reale, wood engraving c. 1880.

2–7 May 2017 (md 268) 6 days • £2,210 Lecturer: Dr Luca Leoncini Based in Turin, a lively city developed on a grand scale in the 17th and 18th centuries. Magnificent castles and royal residences, with other treats such as Romanesque abbeys, Gothic frescoes and outstanding paintings. Led by Dr Luca Leoncini, art historian specialising in northern Italian paintings.

MAINLAND EUROPE 108

First emerging as an independent territory in the eleventh century, Savoy from the middle of the sixteenth century to the middle of the nineteenth grew from a minor duchy to a prosperous and powerful little kingdom. Straddling Alpine territory in what is now France, Switzerland and Italy, and adding Sardinia in 1720, it became larger than modern Belgium and was a significant player in European affairs. The capital moved from Chambéry to Turin in 1563, enabling extensions to be built on relatively unencumbered terrain, planned in accordance with Renaissance and, later, Baroque principles. Italy has little else to match the grandeur and homogeneity of its sequence of squares, boulevards and palaces dating to this period. The city looks, and is, as much French and Central European as Italian, and has always impressed visitors with its orderliness, regularity and magnificence. The capital was not the only material manifestation of Baroque culture in Piedmont. The House of Savoy and their courtiers created a constellation of residences and hunting lodges, gardens and parks around their capital which constitute as fine a group as is to be found anywhere in Europe. The patrons were fortunate in their choice of architects, especially Guarino Guarini (1624–83) and Filippo Juvarra (1678– 1736). Guarini was a priest, a mathematician and creator of the some of the most original and beguiling architectural forms of the Baroque era. Juvarra trained in Rome and developed an international practice but his best book online at www.martinrandall.com

works are in Piedmont, perfecting the easeful magnificence characteristic of the dying decades of the Age of Absolutism. Despite its cultural and linguistic orientation towards its western and northern neighbours, Savoy became the vanguard of the unification of Italy and the expulsion of foreign rulers, providing the firepower and diplomatic clout which facilitated the success of the Risorgimento in 1861. It also provided the kings of a newly united Italy. Shorn of the territories west of the Alps, France’s reward for assistance, the Italian residue of Savoy came to constitute the region of Piedmont, one of Italy’s most progressive and prosperous but unaccountably neglected by tourists.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 1.30pm from London Gatwick to Turin (British Airways) and reach the hotel in time for dinner. All five nights are spent in Turin. Day 2: Turin. Begin with a walk through the beautiful, arcaded Piazza San Carlo. The Palazzo Carignano has a remarkable curvaceous facade by Guarini. Piazza Castello is splendid, the greatest of the buildings being Palazzo Madama by Filippo Juvarra (1721), now housing the art gallery. Palazzo Reale, the principal royal residence, is largely of the late 17th cent. but has interiors of the 18th and 19th cents. and the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, Guarini’s masterpiece (1694). Housed here are masterpieces from the Galleria Sabauda. Day 3: Staﬀarda, Manta, Racconigi. Drive south to the Abbey of Staffarda which retains an impressive Romanesque church with cloister and chapter house. Continue to the castle of Manta which has an early 15th-cent. fresco cycle, an important and beautiful example of secular International Gothic painting. The Castello di Racconigi was one of the summer residences of the Savoys; the front overlooking the park is by Guarini (1676). Day 4: Superga, Turin. The basilica of Superga (1731), a votive church and burial place of the royal family with a magnificent hilltop location just

outside the city, is Juvarra’s finest work. Though altered in the 18th cent., the Villa della Regina (1620) is a good example of an early Baroque residence. The afternoon is free; there is plenty to do and see in Turin, equally it is a good place in which to relax. Day 5: Agliè, Masino, Albugnano. The Castello di Agliè to the north of Turin was rebuilt as a ducal palace in 1646 and further refurbished in the 18th and early 19th cents. With a similarly long history of embellishment, but with the 18th cent. predominant, the Castello di Masino is one of the best-preserved royal residences in Piedmont. Nestling in an isolated rural setting, the small Romanesque Abbey of Vezzolano is outstanding for its architecture, stone carvings and frescoes. Day 6: Stupinigi, Venaria. The Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi is a royal hunting lodge built to a fascinating ground plan by Filippo Juvarra in 1730. Lavish interiors, fine gardens. The Venaria Reale (Amedeo Castellamonte 1660, Juvarra 1714–28) is the largest of the suburban palaces, a magnificent complex which reopened in 2007 after comprehensive renovation. Drive to the airport, returning to London Gatwick at c. 5.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,210 or £1,990 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,510 or £2,290 without flights. Included meals: 3 lunches, 3 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Grand Hotel Sitea, Turin (grandhotelsitea.it): 4-star hotel, comfortable, elegantly furnished and very central. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking in the town centres where vehicular access is restricted and standing in museums, and should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 20 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Gardens of the Riviera, 23–29 April 2017 (p.85).

Gastronomic Piedmont Some of the ﬁnest food & wine in Italy Marc Millon. Wine, food and travel writer. Born in Mexico, he was raised in the USa and then studied English Literature at the University of Exeter. He owns a business importing Italian wines from family estates and is author of The Wine and Food of Europe, The Wine Roads of Italy, The Food Lover’s Companion to Italy, and The Wine Roads of France.

21–27 October 2017 (me 634) 7 days • £2,870 Lecturer: Marc Millon One of the most celebrated gastronomic regions in Italy, centre of the ‘Slow Food’ revolution. Wine and food production studied at source, including visits to Alba, white truﬄe capital of the world, and a number of Barolo wineries. Superb restaurants, from simple trattorias to the Michelin starred.

See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Beautiful landscapes: upland pasture, rolling hills, sloping vineyards and hazelnut woods.

Day 5: Pollenzo, Serralunga d’Alba. In the morning, a visit and wine tasting at the fascinating wine bank in nearby Pollenzo, which stores and ages wines from all over Italy in order to keep a historical record of the very best vintages. Lunch is at a restaurant in Serralunga d’Alba at a Michelinstarred restaurant. In the castle at Manta there are some marvellous mediaeval frescos. Continue to Cuneo where the last two nights are spent.

The lecturer is Marc Millon; wine, food and travel writer, and author of The Food Lover’s Companion to Italy.

‘A Valley in Piedmont’ by Frank Fox, publ. 1913.

Itinerary This is the itinerary for our 2017 tour. For the 2016 tour (which is fully booked), please contact us or visit www.martinrandall.com. Day 1. Fly at c. 9.15am from London Gatwick to Genoa (British Airways) and drive north to Bra, an attractive market town with some fine architecture, where the first four nights are spent. In the evening study the local wine-making process at the Ascheri winery adjacent to the hotel. Day 2: Alba, Grinzane Cavour. Drive to Alba, chief town of the Langhe, for a truffle seminar and lunch. In the afternoon there is a wine tasting in the Castle of Grinzane Cavour, a spectacularly situated unesco heritage site, home of the first regional enoteca to open in Piedmont, now almost 50 years old. Dinner is at a Slow Food restaurant. Day 3: Piozzo, Monforte d’Alba. The landscape between Dogliani and Murazzano is a patchwork of vineyards and rumpled hills, woods and pasturage. There is a truffle hunt (real, not simulated) this morning in the woods around Piozzo, then a wine tasting and lunch at a small, family-run estate. Day 4: Bra or surrounding countryside, Asti. Choose from two options this morning: either a wine tasting in the Ascheri winery and visit to a traditional sausage maker, or take a guided walk through orchards, vineyards and hazelnut groves, for the entire morning (c. 3 hours). Reconvene for lunch and a cooking demonstration at an outstanding restaurant. In the afternoon visit the lovely little city of Asti, centre of another famous wine and food area, set amidst the gently undulating Monferrato hills.

Day 6: Castelmagno, Sampeyre. The valley of the river Grana is the sole source of one of Italy’s finest cheeses, Castelmagno. Visit a farm to see aspects of its production. Continue to Sampeyre in the mountains for lunch and a cooking demonstration with one of Italy’s rising stars. Day 7: Rivoli. Drive to Castello di Rivoli, one of the palaces of the royal house of Savoy established in hunting grounds around Turin. Rebuilt in the 18th century, though never finished, a museum of contemporary art has been installed here. Lunch here at one of the best restaurants in Piedmont, Combal Zero. Fly from Turin, arriving London Gatwick at c. 5.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,870 or £2,730 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,070 or £2,930 without flights. Included meals: 6 lunches and 4 dinners with wine, plus food and wine tastings. Accommodation. Albergo Cantine Ascheri, Bra (ascherihotel.it): 4-star hotel refurbished in a very modern but enjoyable design using locally made materials as much as possible. Service is enthusiastic and rooms are comfortable. Hotel Palazzo Lovera, Cuneo (palazzolovera.com): excellently situated 4-star hotel just off the ancient arcaded Via Roma. Décor is traditional with dark wood and faux-Rococo wall paintings. How strenuous? There is a fair amount of walking involved. Participants need to be used to walking unaided on uneven terrain, and surefootedness is also essential for truffle hunting in the woods. Participants on the optional walk on Day 4 need to be used to hiking up and down hills. Average distance by coach per day: 65 miles.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Gastronomically, Piedmont is undoubtedly one of Italy’s most interesting regions. Its wines are superb, the food produced there is varied and the delicious cooking ranges from traditional country fare to creatively modern cuisine. Moreover, the region is the centre of the Slow Food revolution, which is transforming gastronomy in Italy and beyond. There is also another winning feature: many Piedmontese in the food and wine business have a desire to share their passion, and welcome interested visitors with generous amounts of their time and produce. In part this may be because visitors are relatively few, despite the high reputation which Piedmont enjoys. For this tour we have bypassed Turin in favour of spending time in the countryside, seeing the origins of the food and wine and meeting the producers. This bucolic exile is not at the expense of culinary excellence; you will find superb restaurants, from simple rustic trattorias where Granny’s recipes are still gospel, to Michelinstarred and innovative establishments, all serving some of Italy’s finest food. The study and enjoyment of wines is a large part of the tour. Barolo is the dominant wine – noble, austere and complex; the Nebbiolo grape is used for the elegant, tarry Barbaresco, and various other DOCs. We meet makers, chosen as much for their charm and communicativeness as for their wines, in some cases study their vines and the wine-making process, and taste the results. Among the foods we investigate, truffles are significant – Alba is something of a truffle capital – but the mountain cheeses such as Tomino and Castelmagno make an equally powerful impression. Landscape is another of the great pleasures of the tour. As its name suggests, Piedmont reaches from high pastures to alluvial plains, and much of it is used for agriculture (or small family-run farms). The Langhe hills are among the most beautiful in Italy, the flanks almost entirely carpeted with vineyards, the summits sporting castles, little mediaeval towns or ancient farmsteads.

ItaLy

1–7 October 2016 (md 885) This tour is currently full

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Walking in Southern Tuscany, 9–16 October 2017 (p.132). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

109

Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes Como & Maggiore italy 20–26 April 2017 (md 232) 7 days • £3,040 Lecturer: Steven Desmond 21–27 September 2017 (me 550) 7 days • £3,040 Lecturer: Steven Desmond Among the loveliest and most romantic spots on earth – the summer retreat of the wealthy, aristocratic and intellectual since the time of Pliny. Some of the finest gardens in Europe, glorious in their design and range.

MAINLAND EUROPE 110

Led by Steven Desmond, landscape consultant and architectural historian, specialist in the conservation of historic parks and gardens. Sublime mountain scenery, the inspiration of Bellini and Stendhal. Historic lakeside hotels. The gardens of the Italian lakes fall into two categories: formal, terraced, parterred, allegoried and enclosed summer residences of native landowners, and the expansive, landscaped villa grounds of the rich and splendid. Some are small, others huge; some ostentatious, others retiring; some immaculate, others picturesquely mouldering. Many are the former homes of Austrian aristocrats, Napoleonic grandees, bel canto composers or British seasonal emigrants. All respond to the setting, gazing out across bays and peninsulas, or up to mountain scenery of heroic dimensions. book online at www.martinrandall.com

The tour is divided between Lakes Como and Maggiore. Como, the home of Pliny, is intensely romantic: Shelley, Bellini and Stendhal found inspiration here on the shores of a long and slender lake divided in three parts. The town of Bellagio surveys all three from its glittering headland, and provides a convenient (and luxurious) base for visiting the lakeside villa gardens. Lake Maggiore is altogether broader and more open, extending northwards into Switzerland, with the air of an inland sea. The great western bay includes the famous Borromean Islands, among them the contrasting garden retreats of Isola Bella and Isola Madre. As early as 1686 Bishop Burnet gushed that these were ‘certainly the loveliest spots of ground in the World, there is nothing in all Italy that can be compared to them’. Our tours are scheduled at times of the year when there is the possibility of clear, brilliant sunshine. Each lake, each shore, each promontory and island, has its own character, but everywhere is pervaded by the abundance of light, perfume and natural beauty.

Itinerary Day 1: Bellagio. Fly at midday (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Milan. Drive to Bellagio on Lake Como. First of three nights in Bellagio. Day 2: Bellagio. The neoclassical Villa Melzi at Bellagio was built in 1810 for Francesco Melzi d’Eril, vice-president of Napoleon’s Italian Republic. It overlooks the lake in an undulating English landscape park, richly planted and decorated with ornamental buildings. The Villa

Serbelloni, probably built on the site of one of Pliny the Younger’s two villas on Lake Como, occupies the high ground above Bellagio. The woods offer magnificent views to all parts of the lake. The mediaeval remnants, 16th-century villa and later terraces are the setting for planting schemes in a backdrop described by Stendhal as ‘a sublime and enchanting spectacle’. Day 3: Lake Como. Villa Carlotta on the western shore of Lake Como, built as a summer residence for a Milanese aristocrat, combines dramatic terracing, parterre and grottoes with an extensive landscape park and arboretum. The house contains notable collections from the Napoleonic period. The Villa Balbianello occupies its own headland projecting into the middle of Lake Como. This glorious site is terraced to provide sites for lawns, trees, shrubs and a chorus of statuary. The villa stands among groves of oak and pine. Day 4: Renaissance villa gardens. At the Villa Cicogna Mozzoni at Bisuschio, north of Varese, the 16th-century house and garden are thoroughly intertwined; the courtyard of pools and parterres leads to a water staircase, grottoes and giochi d’acqua. Lunch is served at the villa. The Villa della Porta Bozzolo, tucked away in a mountain valley near Lake Maggiore, is a hidden treasure of a garden, shooting straight up a dramatic hillside from the village street of Casalzuigno. The beautiful 17th-century villa is unexpectedly set to one side to increase the visual drama. First of three nights in Pallanza. Illustration: Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore, 18th-century copper engraving.

the Venetian Hills Renaissance art in the foothills of the Dolomites

Day 6: Pallanza, Stresa. Villa Taranto at Pallanza is an extravagant piece of 20th-century kitsch created by Henry Cocker for his patron, the enigmatic Neil McEacharn. The alarmingly gauche design is superbly planted and maintained with loving zeal by the present staff. Later, visit the zoological garden planted with rare exotic trees and bushes in the grounds of Villa Pallavicino. Day 7. Fly from Milan to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 2.15pm.

“Steven’s enthusiasm and knowledge with his friendly approach made for the ideal lecturer.” Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,040 or £2,870 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,360 or £3,190 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio (villaserbelloni.com): excellently situated on the edge of the lake, a historic 5-star hotel with lavishly decorated public rooms and wellappointed bedrooms (they vary in size). Rooms with a lake view are available on request and for a supplement. Grand Hotel Majestic, Pallanza (grandhotelmajestic.it): recently renovated, privately owned 4-star Belle Epoque hotel with lakeside gardens; bedrooms vary in size and all have lake views.

5–9 October 2017 (me 596) 5 days • £1,830 Lecturer: Dr Kevin Childs Ravishingly beautiful landscapes from vine-clad foothills to the peaks of the Dolomites. Altarpieces and frescoes by Venetian masters, mediaeval to Rococo. Some of the loveliest hill towns in Italy, including the birthplace of Titian. The lecturer is Dr Kevin Childs, an expert in Italian Renaissance art. Combine this tour with Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 9–14 October 2017 (see overleaf). ‘Hills’ and ‘Venice’ are not accustomed to finding themselves in the same sentence; sited on (and sometimes under) an estuarial lagoon, elevation above (or below) sea level in Venice is measured in centimetres. But on a clear day a range of hills can be seen rising to the north. On a very clear day the snowy peaks of the Dolomites come into view. Towards the end of the Middle Ages the proud little communities which populated these hills one by one submitted to the rule of La Serenissima, as did much of northern Italy. Political hegemony was followed by cultural influence, clearly manifested still in the disorientating sight of Venetian-style Renaissance palazzi set against precipitous pineclad hillsides. But the cultural forces did not flow only in one direction. As is often the case with an artistically flourishing metropolis, many of the creators were outsiders. Titian was born in the rugged Cadore mountains, Cima from the gentler hillside town of Conegliano, Marco Ricci from hilltop Belluno. These and many other artists enjoyed successful careers in Venice, but most kept in contact with

their natal towns, accepting commissions for, or donating paintings to, their parish church. These hill towns are among the loveliest in Italy, and they are set in ravishing landscapes which range from vine-clad foothills to soaring limestone peaks. Most of them are quite small, but the architectural ambitions of their inhabitants were otherwise: the historic centres are dense with fine buildings and arcaded streets which give protection from mountain downpours and summer sun. The ostensible theme of this tour is painting of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but other aspects of the art and history of the region will not be ignored. The base is Follina, a tiny community which grew up around a monastery in the mountains.

ItaLy

Day 5: the Borromean Islands. Isola Bella is one of the world’s great gardens (and correspondingly popular), a wedding cake of terraces and greenery floating improbably in Lake Maggiore. The sense of surrealism is enhanced by the symbolic statuary and the flock of white peacocks. Isola Madre is the ideal dessert to follow Isola Bella: a relaxed, informal landscape garden around a charmingly domestic villa. Visual entertainments include the marvellous plant collection, revitalized by Henry Cocker in the 1950s, the chapel garden, puppet theatre and ambulant aviary.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 1.00pm (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Venice. Drive through the hills to Follina where all four nights are spent. Day 2: Vittorio Veneto, Conegliano. The tiny city of Serravalle (now joined with Cèneda to form Vittorio Veneto), occupying a gorge scoured by the River Meschio, has a fine group of mediaeval and Renaissance buildings, 15th-century frescoes in the chapel of S. Lorenzo and a Titian in the cathedral. In the church of Santa Maria in Cèneda there is an exquisite Annunciation by Previtali. Drive to the birthplace of Giambattista Cima del Conegliano, the lovely town from which the artist took his name, that spreads down a hillside below the remains of a castle. Visit Cima’s house and the cathedral to see one of his greatest works (1492). Day 3: Pieve di Cadore, Belluno. Titian was born in the little town of Pieve di Cadore; see here the family home and the parish church with paintings

MAINLAND EUROPE

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking. Some of the gardens are extensive; all have uneven ground. Participants need to be fit and sure-footed. Average distance by coach per day: 23 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Ravenna & Urbino, 26–30 April 2017 (p.127); Courts of Northern Italy, 10–17 September 2017 (p.122); Walking in the Footsteps of Leonardo & Michelangelo, 29 September–6 October 2017 (p.130).

Gastronomic Lombardy September 2017 Details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

The Dolomites and the Cadore Valley, wood engraving 1893 after John McWhirter. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

111

The Venetian Hills continued

Friuli-Venezia Giulia The border lands of northeast Italy

italy

by Titian and family. In the afternoon drive north along the valley of the Piave into an ever more dramatic mountain landscape. Sitting athwart a promontory looped by the Piave, Belluno is a beautiful little city with a Renaissance cathedral and Venetian-style palaces. Among the fine paintings is an exquisite Madonna & Child by Cima in the Museo Civico. Day 4: Bassano, Feltre. Bassano del Grappa is a highly attractive town in the foothills of the Dolomites with a series of picturesque squares with painted façades. Home of the prolific Bassano family of painters, there are several of their works in the civic museum. Stacked up along the ridge of a hill, Feltre is another architectural outpost of Venice with striking buildings in various styles. See the Rizzarda collection of early 20th-century arts and crafts and the 1802 theatre in the town hall. Day 5: San Fior, Treviso. Descend to San Fior, a little town on the densely populated plain at the foot of the hills. Riven by canals and streams, San Fior has an altarpiece by Cima. Once an important fortress city, Treviso has a fine historic centre with imposing public buildings and many painted façades. Selective visits here include the extraordinary frescoes of learned monks in the chapter house of St Nicholas by 14th-cent. painter Tommaso da Modena. Fly from Venice airport, arriving at Gatwick c. 7.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,830 or £1,670 without flights. Single occupancy: £1,690 or £1,730 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel dei Chiostri, Follina (hoteldeichiostri.com): 4-star hotel in the hill town of Follina, installed in former abbey buildings. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking, and some uphill. Streets are often cobbled. Many of the historical buildings visited are sprawling and vast. Coach access is often restricted. Stamina and surefootedness are essential. Some days involve a lot of driving; average distance per day: 62 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

MAINLAND EUROPE 112

Combine this tour with: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 9–14 October 2017 (opposite); Essential Puglia, 27 September–4 October 2017 (p.142); Walking in Southern Tuscany, 9–16 October 2017 (p.132).

9–14 October 2017 (me 598) 6 days • £1,730 Lecturer: Dr Kevin Childs A wide variety of art and architecture: Roman, Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, Palladian. Tiepolo is a recurrent theme and the tour is based in Udine where he worked early in his career. The lecturer is Dr Kevin Childs, an expert in Italian Renaissance art. Combine this tour with The Venetian Hills, 5–9 October 2017 (see previous page). Cumbersome by name, complex by history, the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia is tucked within the north-eastern borders of Italy and bound by Austria, Slovenia, the Veneto and the Adriatic. Much of the region was ceded to Italy by Austria only after the First World War; a border dispute with Yugoslavia rumbled into the 1970s. Understandably, it is marked by variety – ethnic, linguistic, cultural, gastronomic and topographical. The south and centre consist of a broad alluvial plain whose glistening fecundity is fed by rivers descending from the Julian Alps and the Dolomites. The mediating foothills produce some of the finest white wines in the world. Populous and prosperous, there are many towns with historic kernels where virtually every period of Italian art and architecture is represented, from Roman to modern. Some of the early mediaeval buildings are particularly striking and important – Aquileia, Grado and Cividale. There is much fine Renaissance painting and architecture: Palladianism was the dominant creed for a couple of centuries after Palladio’s death, and in addition to painters who established themselves in Venice there are several figures of talent who are not well known outside the region. Painting reached another climax in the eighteenth century as Tiepolo spent the years of his early maturity in Udine. Udine is the base for the tour. A lively city, it has an extensive historic centre with a succession of enchantingly picturesque streets and squares and a central piazza as fine as almost any in Italy. The other big city visited is Trieste, for centuries the principal Austro-Hungarian outlet to the sea and one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 2.00pm (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Venice. Drive to Udine where all five nights are spent.

What else is included in the price? See page 6. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 2: Udine. In Udine, visit the main piazza with its Gothic and Renaissance loggias, and the cathedral, basically Gothic but much augmented later. The main theme is Tiepolo, the greatest painter of the 18th century, who created several major works in the cathedral, the Oratorio della Purità and the Archbishop’s Palace. A hillock at the centre is the site of the castle, an imposing 16th-century residence housing the art gallery, a fine collection of paintings by artists from the region. See also S. Maria di Castello, the

oldest church in Udine, and S. Giacomo with its Renaissance façade. Day 3: Aquileia, Grado. See two of Italy’s best early mediaeval churches, the Basilica at Aquileia, rebuilt in the 11th century but retaining a 4thcentury mosaic floor, and S. Eufemia at Grado with mosaics, pulpit and silver altar frontal. Aquileia was a major Roman city and seat of the patriarchate while Grado was its outer port. Day 4: Trieste. Before 1919 Trieste was the principal seaport of the Habsburg Empire and the busiest port in the Mediterranean, and its broad straight streets and 19th-century buildings have a distinctly Viennese cast. After a troubled 20th century its fortunes have revived since 1989, demonstrated through grand seafront architecture. Towering above, the ancient Capitol has remains of the Roman forum, castle and the cathedral of S. Giusto, an agglomeration of buildings from the 5th century onwards with Byzantine mosaics. Also see ceramics dating from the middle ages to the nineteenth century in the Museo Sartorio, as well as the civic museum of history and art. Day 5: San Daniele, Spilimbergo, Pordenone. Three towns in the broad valley of the River Tagliamento. The Renaissance frescoes by Pellegrino di San Daniele in the church of Sant’Antonio at San Daniele are the finest in the region. Spilimbergo has a Gothic cathedral with 14th-century frescoes, and a castle courtyard with painted façades. Snaking through Pordenone an arcaded street widens towards the town hall and cathedral, which contains fine paintings including some by G.A. Sacchis, called Il Pordenone. Day 6: Cividale. Cividale is in the hills bordering Slovenia. Founded by Julius Caesar and capital of the first Lombard duchy in Italy, the Tempietto Longobardo possesses the finest 8th-century sculpture to survive in Europe. Fly from Venice, arriving at London Gatwick at c. 6.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,730 or £1,570 without flights. Single occupancy: £1,850 or £1,690 without flights. Included meals: 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Astoria Hotel Italia, Udine (hotelastoria.udine.it): well-established 4-star hotel located on one of the principal squares in the centre of town. How strenuous: The tour involves quite a lot of walking, some of which is uphill and some of which is in the town centres where vehicular access is restricted. Streets are often cobbled, and the tour should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stairclimbing. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 53 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: The Venetian Hills, 5–9 October 2017 (previous page); Palladian Villas, 3–8 October 2017 (p.117; Art in the Netherlands, 15–21 October 2017 (p.149); Sicily, 16–28 October 2017 (p.144). Illustration, right: Aquileia, Basilica, early-20thcentury watercolour.

italy MAINLAND EUROPE 113 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Gardens of the Veneto Renaissance to recent italy 2–8 May 2017 (md 269) 7 days • £2,610 Lecturer: Amanda Patton Carefully curated selection of the most interesting and beautiful gardens on Venice’s mainland. Variety a keynote – of surrounding landscape, of garden style, of architecture, of horticulture. Access mainly by special arrangement. No overlap with our Palladian Villas tour.

MAINLAND EUROPE 114

The landscape of the Veneto is one of contrasts. The fertile plain on the immediate hinterland of Venice, criss-crossed by causeways and dykes, became the summer playground of rich Venetian patricians as their agricultural holdings became ever more burdened by luxurious villas. Many were accessed directly from the Grand Canal through a diversion of the Brenta river. Further inland and southwest from Padua, this flat landscape is transformed by the Euganean Hills, tree-clad conical eruptions of volcanic rock which have been quarried for stone for the calli and campi of Venice since the sixth century. In contrast, to the north, the snow-capped mountains of the southern limestone Alps form a jagged backdrop to the salvia-rich meadows which adorn roadsides and villages, while wisteria, roses and irises scramble through the gardens of the many villas peppered through the countryside. book online at www.martinrandall.com

This varied topography defined the development of the villas and gardens that were created between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries with the enormous wealth generated by the Republic of Venice. In the plains, villas were elevated from the landscape in order to enlarge the impact of the building on the surrounding landscape and to provide viewing platforms, galleries and balconies to allow gardens to be seen from above. Windows, allées and strategically placed statues were artfully arranged to heighten the effect of perspective and lend a grandeur to the setting that the level landscape mitigated against. The gardens of the Veneto created during the Republic were made largely for enjoyment and entertainment. Mazes, loggias, carved gods, dwarfs and Arcadian figures along with theatres and water jokes were all part of the spirit of the time. It was not all pleasure-seeking, however. Venice was at the forefront of trade with the East, and along with precious commodities came new plants. To capitalise on this increase in knowledge and diversity, the Botanic Garden of Padua was founded in 1545 – the first of its kind – to study plants and herbs and their potential for medicinal use. This ethos of discovery and experiment is still the driving force for this unesco World Heritage Site, evidenced by the impressive new glasshouses. Illustration above: Padua, Church of St Anthony, after a drawing by Inglis Sheldon-Williams in ‘A Dawdle in Lombardy’, 1928.

Itinerary Day 1: Stra. Fly at c. 11.30am from London Gatwick to Venice (British Airways). Drive to the Villa Pisani at Stra, one of the most opulent of the Brenta villas, owned briefly by Napoleon. Within a bend in the Brenta canal, the garden was inspired by Le Notre’s long vistas at Versailles where Andrea Pisani Alvise had been ambassador to Louis XIV. First of three nights in an elegant villa on the Brenta Canal at Mira Porte. Day 2: Vescovana, Rivella, Valsanzibio. Today we visit two flower-filled gardens. In contrast to Stra, the Villa Pisani at Vescovana is a more modest affair, with an English-inspired Romantic garden of the 19th century. The garden designed around the 16th-century Villa Emo at Rivella was created in the 1960s. Villa Barbarigo at Valsanzibio is a Baroque masterpiece complete with water jests, boxwood maze and extensive pools, designed as an allegory of man’s progress towards salvation. Overnight Mira Porte. Day 3: Padua. Spend the morning at the beautiful, fascinating and historic Botanic Garden at Padua. The oldest such establishment in the world, it was founded in 1545 by order of the Venetian government (shortly after, it was absorbed by the university). The oldest living plant dates to 1550. In the afternoon, there is a choice of spending time in this gem of a city or of returning to rest in the hotel and its gardens. Overnight Mira Porte.

Day 5: Trissino, Castelgomberto. Through a series of terraces, walks and panoramic belvederes, the gardens of Trissino Marzotto link two villas set into a hillside dominating the Agno valley. The upper villa was converted from a medieval fortress, while the lower is now a romantic ruin. The private garden of Villa da Schio is a beautifully proportioned Italian garden set in the plain below Trissino. Free afternoon in Vicenza, the exceedingly handsome little city embellished by the architect Andrea Palladio and his followers. Overnight Vicenza. Day 6: Negrar, Verona. The Pojega Garden at Villa Rizzardi, commissioned in 1783, is one of the last remaining examples of an Italianstyle garden created before the fashion for landscape gardens took hold. Incorporating three descending terraces, it takes full advantage of the steep hillside with formal gardens, hornbeam avenues and a green theatre. Visit the Verona Civic Library to view the original plans for the Pojega Garden, then walk across the river to the Giardino Giusti. Created in 1580, they are among the finest Renaissance gardens in Europe. Overnight Vicenza.

ItaLy

Day 4: Fracanzan Pievone, Frassanelle, Costozza. Three private gardens. Villa Fracanzan Pievone maintains a traditional orchard and kitchen garden, among the few left in the Veneto. The charming artificial caves excavated under the Villa Frassanelle in the 1880s by Count Alberto Papafava replicate the natural caves within his park, complete with secret passageways, stalactites and underground lakes. The final visit is to the Baroque gardens of the Villa da Schio at Costozza, where we also visit the winery and sample the wines of the estate. Drive to Vicenza for the first of three nights here.

Day 7: Grezzana. Visit Villa Arvedi, whose impressive parterre was designed to be viewed from above, followed by lunch in the Baroque grotto. Return to Venice airport for the flight to London Gatwick, arriving c. 7.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,610 or £2,390 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,910 or £2,690 without flights.

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking, much of it on rough, uneven ground in the gardens. Sometime sites require the coach to park c. 1 mile away. The tour would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stair climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 69 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Gardens of the Riviera, 23–29 April 2017 (p.85).

Included meals: 2 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Villa Franceschi, Mira Porte (villafranceschi.com): 5-star hotel in a 16thcentury villa in the centre of Mira Porte. Hotel Campo Marzio, Vicenza (hotelcampomarzio. com): just outside a city gate of Vicenza, this 4-star hotel is well located and comfortable, with decentsized rooms.

Illustration above: Verona from the Giardino Giusti, engraving from ‘The Art Journal’ 1887.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Vivaldi in Venice 5–10 November 2017 Details available in November 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

MAINLAND EUROPE

Two years after our hugely successful Monteverdi festival, our next Venice blockbuster will be devoted to the music of the Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi was born in Venice and lived there for most of his life. La Serenissima was the source of most of his employment and patronage, the place where most of his music was composed and first heard, the city which with its eﬀervescent, ineluctable beauty is the perfect match for Vivaldi’s sound world. There will be an intensive programme of private concerts in ballrooms, halls and churches – among the loveliest spaces in the city. These will display his brilliance across the whole range of his output – chamber and orchestral, oratorio and liturgical, vocal and operatic. Performers, being engaged as we go to print, will be among the leading specialists in Italian Baroque repertoire from across Europe.

115

Watercolour of Venice by Walter Tyndale, publ. 1913. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Gastronomic Veneto From the adriatic to Lake Garda, the Po Valley to the Dolomites ItaLy

Day 4: Vicenza, Breganze. Leave Verona for the beautiful little city of Vicenza, architecturally the noblest and most homogenous in northern Italy, much of its fabric consisting of Renaissance palaces. Andrea Palladio spent most of his life here, and his buildings include the town hall (Basilica Palladiana) and an epoch-making theatre (Teatro Olimpico). Just north of Vicenza is the prestigious wine-making region of Breganze, where there is a vertical wine tasting at the top winery in the area. Continue to the lovely hilltop town of Asolo where the next four nights are spent. Day 5: Valdobbiadene. Spend the morning at the renowned Bisol winery in the Cartizze hills, family-run for over 500 years. Visit the cellars and have a Prosecco tasting here, before a rustic lunch nearby overlooking the vineyards, each hill’s contours finely etched by parallel lines of vines. Some free time in Asolo.

Lake Garda, watercolour by E. Harrison Compton, publ. 1908.

17–24 May 2017 (md 298) 8 days • £3,270 Lecturers: Marc Millon & Dr R. T. Cobianchi One of Italy’s most varied regions, both gastronomically and geographically. Some of Italy’s greatest and best-known wines including Amarone and Prosecco, at their absolute best in historic wineries and Michelinstarred restaurants. Artistic riches are not ignored, with time spent in the dazzlingly picturesque Verona, architecturally spectacular Vicenza and charming smaller towns such as Bassano del Grappa and Asolo. Two lecturers: an expert art historian and a gastronomic specialist, author of The Food Lover’s Companion to Italy.

MAINLAND EUROPE 116

While the opulence of the Doges and the abundant feasts depicted in the paintings of Veronese may be less evident today, Venice’s influence still extends over a vast region, from Padova, Vicenza and Verona, all the way to the banks of Lake Garda; and to the north, over vine-covered foothills leading up to the jagged peaks of the Dolomites. This region, known as the Veneto, later came under the influence of the Austro-Hungarians, who similarly left their mark on a cucina with middle-European accents and a coffee culture that rivals Vienna. La Serenissima’s enduring influence is evident in a love of fish and shellfish from the lagoon and the Adriatic, while, even though transport and refrigeration render the process unnecessary, baccalà – air-dried (not salted) cod – remains a favourite today. Mountain traditions, meanwhile, are steadfastly safeguarded through cheeses produced from fragrant alpine milk, smoked meats, and the art of distillation. Corn was first introduced into the Italian diet some five hundred years ago and polenta remains the staple. Vialone nano rice, cultivated near Verona, is the favoured variety for making book online at www.martinrandall.com

deliciously soupy risotti. Fruits and vegetables abound: asparagus from Bassano del Grappa, radicchio from Treviso and Castelfranco Veneto, cherries from Marostica, and tiny violet artichokes from Sant’Erasmo. Grapes grow almost everywhere, producing some of the country’s greatest wines, as well as more accessible if no less satisfying everyday ones. Our tour begins in Verona with visits to churches and Roman monuments, small producers and outstanding restaurants. We travel through the wine hills of Breganze to Asolo, striking out in search of outstanding mountain cheese, gorgeous sparkling wines, fiery grappa. And we end on the Venetian lagoon with lunch on a private island with its own vineyard.

Itinerary Day 1: Verona. Fly at c. 1.30pm (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Verona. Dinner at an historic restaurant. First of three nights in Verona. Day 2: Verona, Sant’Ambrogia di Valpolicella, Lake Garda. A major Roman settlement, Verona also flourished in the Middle Ages under the tyrannical rule of the Scaligeri dynasty. A sequence of interconnecting squares lie at the heart of the city, lined with magnificent mediaeval palazzi. Outside Verona, visit the atmospheric Villa di Serego Alighieri, surrounded by Valpolicella vineyards, for a private wine tasting and lunch. Twenty-one generations after Dante Alighieri’s son bought the estate, the house and surrounding land still belong to his direct descendants, the Counts Serego Alighieri. There is a late-afternoon passeggiata by Lake Garda before returning to Verona. Day 3: Isola della Scala, Verona. Drive south to the rice fields near Isola della Scala to visit the historic rice mill at Riseria Ferron, which dates to 1650. There is a cooking demonstration here of typical rice dishes, and lunch. In the afternoon visit an olive oil producer near Verona, which uses artisanal harvesting methods to create only the highest-quality oils, tasted during the visit.

Day 6: Canove di Roana, Bassano del Grappa. Drive into the mountains to a cheese-maker on the Altopiano, a high Alpine plain on the northern edge of the Veneto, past brightly-coloured houses, pines and meadows. Taste Asiago cheese and see where it is produced. Return to the plain to visit the charming town of Bassano del Grappa for a lunch of the celebrated local asparagus. Grappa tasting in the most eminent distillery in town, overlooking the bridge designed by Palladio. Day 7: Treviso, Castelfranco Veneto. Once an important fortress city, Treviso has a fine historical centre with imposing public buildings and many painted façades. The cathedral has a Titian Annunciation, but the hero of the day is the 14thcentury painter Tommaso da Modena: his frescoes of learned monks in the chapter house of S. Nicolò are extraordinary. Return to Asolo. In the evening drive to Castelfranco Veneto for the final dinner of the tour (1-star Michelin). Day 8: Mazzorbo. Drive to the coast and cross the lagoon by motoscafo (water-taxi) to the island of Mazzorbo, with wide vistas of breathtaking stillness. Visit the beautiful orti (kitchen gardens) of the acclaimed Venissa restaurant (1-star Michelin), taste wine produced from grapes grown here, and lunch. Fly from Venice, returning to Gatwick at c. 7.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,270 or £3,130 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,650 or £3,510 without flights. Included meals: 6 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Due Torri Hotel, Verona (hotelduetorri.duetorrihotels.com): luxurious 5-star, excellently located near Piazza delle Erbe. Hotel Al Sole, Asolo (albergoalsoleasolo.com): small 5-star hotel, full of charm, with wonderful views from the terrace and a good restaurant. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking, sometimes uphill and over unevenly paved ground. The coach can rarely enter town centres. Fitness and sure-footedness are essential. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 45 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Palladian Villas The greatest house builder in history

4–9 April 2017 (md 204) 6 days • £2,070 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 3–8 October 2017 (me 599) 6 days • £2,070 Lecturer: Dr Sarah Pearson A survey of various surviving villas and palaces designed by Andrea Palladio (1508–80), the world’s most influential architect. Stay throughout in Vicenza, Palladio’s home town and site of many of his buildings. Led by expert art and architectural historians. With many special appointments, this itinerary would be impossible for independent travellers.

Day 4. The hilltop ‘La Rotonda’, a 10-minute drive from Vicenza, is the most famous of Palladio’s buildings, domed and with four porticoes. In the foothills of the Dolomites, Villa Godi Malinverni is an austere cuboid design with lavish frescoes inside. Some free time in Vicenza. Day 5. At the lovely town of Bassano there is a wooden bridge designed by Palladio. The Villa Barbaro at Maser, built by Palladio for two highly cultivated Venetian brothers, has superb frescoes by Veronese, while the Villa Emo at Fanzolo typically and beautifully combines the utilitarian with the monumental. Day 6. Drive along a stretch of the canal between Padua and the Venetian Lagoon, which is lined with the summer retreats of Venetian patricians. The Villa Foscari, ‘La Malcontenta’, is one of Palladio’s best known and most enchanting creations. Explore one of Palladio’s most evolved, most beautiful and most influential buildings, the Villa Cornaro at Piombino Dese. Fly from Venice to London Gatwick, arriving c. 6.30pm. Many of the villas on this itinerary are privately owned and require special permission to visit. The selection and order may therefore vary a little from the description above.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £1,990 or £1,810 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,260 or £2,080 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,070 or £1,910 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,350 or £2,190 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Campo Marzio, Vicenza (hotelcampomarzio.com): just outside a city gate of Vicenza, this 4-star hotel is well located and comfortable, with decent-sized rooms. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking, sometimes uphill and over unevenly paved ground, as the coach can rarely get close to the villas or enter town centres. There is a lot of standing outside and inside villas. Fitness is essential. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 58 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Verona Opera July & August 2017 Details available in September 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

MAINLAND EUROPE

Utility is the key to understanding Palladio’s villas. In sixteenth-century Italy a villa was a farm, and in the Veneto agriculture had become a serious business for the city-based mercantile aristocracy. As the Venetian maritime empire gradually crumbled before the advancing Ottoman Turks, Venetians compensated by investing in the terra firma of their hinterland. But beauty was equally the determinant of form, though beauty of a special kind. Palladio was designing buildings for a clientele who, whether princes of commerce, traditional soldieraristocrats or gentlemen of leisure, shared an intense admiration for ancient Rome. They were children of the High Renaissance and steeped in humanist learning. Palladio was the first architect regularly to apply the colonnaded temple fronts to secular buildings. But the beauty of his villas was not solely a matter of applied ornament. As can be seen particularly in his low-budget, pared-down villas and auxiliary buildings, there is a geometric order which arises from sophisticated systems of proportion and an unerring intuitive sense of design. It is little wonder that Andrea Palladio became the most influential architect the western world has ever known. Many of his finest surviving villas and palaces are included on this tour, as well as some of the lesser-known and less accessible ones.

at Fratta Polesine, from the middle of his career, is a perfect example of Palladian hierarchy, a raised residence connected by curved colonnades to auxiliary buildings.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 2.00pm (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Venice. Drive to Vicenza where all five nights are spent. Day 2. See in Vicenza several palaces by Palladio including the Palazzo Thiene and the colonnaded Palazzo Chiericati. His chief civic works here are the Basilica – the mediaeval town hall nobly encased in classical guise – and the Teatro Olimpico, the earliest theatre of modern times. Day 3. The Villa Pisani at Bagnolo di Lonigo, small but of majestic proportions, is considered by many scholars to be Palladio’s first masterpiece. The Villa Poiana, another early work, has restrained but noble proportions. The Villa Badoer

ItaLy

11–16 October 2016 (md 896) 6 days • £1,990 Lecturer: Dr Sarah Pearson

117

The Villa Foscari ‘La Malcontenta’, from an 18th-century etching. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Art History of Venice Painting, sculpture & architecture in the world’s most beautiful city italy

14–20 November 2016 (md 945) 7 days • £2,490 Lecturer: Dr Susan Steer Christmas departure: 21–28 December 2016 (md 982) 8 days • £3,070 Lecturer: Dr Susan Steer 13–19 November 2017 (me 695) 7 days • £2,630 Lecturer: Dr Susan Steer Wide-ranging survey of art and architecture with an emphasis on the Renaissance. Led by Dr Susan Steer, art historian specialising in Venice, with a PhD focused on Venetian Renaissance altarpieces. Includes a private, after-hours visit to the Basilica di San Marco to see the transcendental splendour of the Byzantine mosaics. For the world’s most beautiful city, Venice had an inauspicious start. The site was once merely a collection of mudbanks, and the first settlers came as re co-author of Titian’s Venice, a multi-media project that accompanied the 2003 National Gallery Titian exhibition fugees fleeing the

MAINLAND EUROPE 118 book online at www.martinrandall.com

barbarian destroyers of the Roman Empire. They sought to escape to terrain so inhospitable that no foe would follow. The success of the community which arose on the site would have been beyond the wildest imaginings of the first Venetians. By the end of the Middle Ages Venice had become the leading maritime power in the Mediterranean and possibly the wealthiest city in Europe. The shallow waters of the lagoon had indeed kept her safe from malign incursions and she kept her independence until the end of the eighteenth century. ‘Once did she hold the gorgeous East in fee, and was the safeguard of the West, Venice, eldest child of liberty.’ Trade with the East was the source of that wealth and power, and the eastern connection has left its indelible stamp upon Venetian art and architecture. Western styles are here tempered by a richness of effect and delicacy of pattern which is redolent of oriental opulence. It is above all by its colour that Venetian painting is distinguished. And whether sonorous or poetic, from Bellini through Titian to Tiepolo, there remain echoes of the transcendental splendour of the Byzantine mosaics of St Mark’s.

That Venice survives so comprehensively from the days of its greatness, so little ruffled by modern intrusions, would suffice to make it the goal of everyone who is curious about the man-made world. Thoroughfares being water and cars nonexistent, the imagination traverses the centuries with ease. And while picturesque qualities are all-pervasive – shimmering Istrian limestone, crumbling stucco, variegated brickwork, mournful vistas with exquisitely sculpted details – there are not half-a-dozen cities in the world which surpass Venice for the sheer number of major works of architecture, sculpture and painting.

Itinerary – November 2016 & 2017 Day 1. Fly at c. 12.30pm (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Venice. Cross the lagoon by motoscafo (water taxi) to the hotel. Day 2. The morning walk includes S. Zaccaria and S. Giovanni in Bragora, two churches with outstanding Renaissance altarpieces by Vivarini, Bellini and Cima. The Scuola di S. Giorgio degli Schiavoni has a wonderful cycle of painting by Carpaccio. In the afternoon cross the bacino to Palladio’s beautiful island church of S. Giorgio Maggiore and then to the tranquil Giudecca to see his best church, Il Redentore.

ItaLy

Day 3. Cross the Grand Canal to the San Polo district, location of the great Franciscan church of Sta. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari which has outstanding artworks including Titian’s Assumption, and the Scuola Grande di S. Rocco, with dramatic paintings by Tintoretto. In the afternoon see the incomparably beautiful Doge’s Palace with pink Gothic revetment and rich Renaissance interiors.

The Circumcision’, engraving c. 1820 after Giovanni Bellini.

Day 4. Cross the lagoon by motoscafo to the island of Torcello, once the rival of Venice but now scarcely inhabited. Virtually all that remains of the city is the magnificent Veneto-Byzantine cathedral with its 12th-century mosaics. Continue to the pretty glass-making island of Murano. Day 5. In the morning visit the vast Gothic church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo and the early Renaissance Sta. Maria dei Miracoli with its multicoloured stone veneer. Cross the Grand Canal to Dorsoduro, to visit the church of S. Sebastiano with decoration by Veronese. Day 6. The morning is free. Spend the afternoon in the Accademia, Venice’s major art gallery, where all the Venetian painters are well represented. In the evening there is a special after-hours private visit to the Basilica di S. Marco, an 11th-century Byzantine church enriched over the centuries with mosaics, sculpture and various precious objects. Day 7. The Ca’ Rezzonico is a magnificent palace on the Grand Canal, now a museum of 18thcentury art. Travel by motoscafo to Venice airport. Fly to London Gatwick, arriving c. 6.15pm.

Itinerary – Christmas 2016 Day 1. Fly at c. 12.30pm from London Gatwick to Venice. Cross the lagoon by motoscafo (water taxi) to the hotel. Day 2. Cross the lagoon by motoscafo to the island of Torcello, once the rival of Venice but now scarcely inhabited. Virtually all that remains of the city is the magnificent Veneto-Byzantine baptistry and cathedral with its 12th-century mosaics. Continue to the pretty glass-making island of Murano to see the churches of S. Pietro Martire and SS. Maria e Donato. In the evening there is a special after-hours private visit to the Basilica of S. Marco, an 11th-century Byzantine church enriched over the centuries with mosaics, sculpture and various precious objects.

Day 4: Padua. Day trip to Padua, among the most illustrious of Italian cities, and a leading centre of painting in the 14th century. The great fresco cycle by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel is a major landmark in the history of art. Colourful and lively works by Altichieri and Giusto de’ Menabuoi are in the vast multi-domed Basilica di S. Antonio, the Oratorio di S. Giorgio and the Baptistry. See Donatello’s equestrian statue, Gattamelata.

Day 6. Visit the Ca’ Rezzonico, a magnificent palace on the Grand Canal, now a museum of 18th-century art. Cross the Grand Canal to the San Polo district, location of the great Franciscan church of S. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari which has outstanding artworks including Titian’s Assumption, and the Scuola Grande di S. Rocco, with dramatic paintings by Tintoretto. Day 7. In the morning see the incomparably beautiful Doge’s Palace with pink Gothic revetment and rich Renaissance interiors. Spend the afternoon in the Accademia, Venice’s major art gallery, where all the Venetian painters are well represented. Day 8. Free morning. Motoscafo to Venice airport. Fly to London Gatwick, arriving at c. 6.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person: November 2016. Two sharing: £2,490 or £2,370 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,070 or £2,950 without flights. Price, per person: Christmas 2016. Two sharing: £3,070 or £2,960 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,590 or £3,480 without flights. Price, per person: November 2017. Two sharing: £2,630 or £2,510 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,210 or £3,090 without flights. Included meals. November 2016: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Christmas 2016: 2 lunches and 4 dinners with wine. November 2017: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Splendid, Venice (starhotels.com): 4-star hotel situated half-way between Piazza San Marco and the Rialto bridge.

Dr Susan Steer. art historian and lecturer specialising in Venice. Her PhD focused on Venetian Renaissance altarpieces, followed by work as researcher and editor on the National Inventory of European Painting, the UK’s online catalogue. She has taught History of art for university programmes in the UK and Italy. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Despite the central location the hotel is quiet. Rooms are attractively decorated in a light, contemporary style and overlook side canals or a central courtyard. There is a good restaurant. How strenuous? The nature of Venice means that the city is more often than not traversed on foot. Although part of her charm, there is a lot of walking along the flat and up and down bridges; standing around in museums and churches is also unavoidable. Weather at Christmas: not warm, snow is possible (if unlikely) and rain probable, though sunshine and blue skies are also likely. Acqua alta (high water) is possible. Group size: between 8 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with: Venetian Palaces, 22–26 November 2016 (p.120); Vivaldi in Venice, 5–10 November 2017 (p.115); Connoisseur’s Rome, 7–12 November 2017 (p.139).

Illustration, opposite page: Venice, Basilica di S. Marco, 18th-century engraving. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 3. The morning walk includes S. Zaccaria and S. Giovanni in Bragora, two churches with outstanding Renaissance altarpieces by Vivarini, Bellini and Cima. The Scuola di S. Giorgio degli Schiavoni has a wonderful cycle of painting by Carpaccio. In the afternoon visit the vast gothic church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo and the early Renaissance S. Maria dei Miracoli with its multicoloured stone veneer.

Day 5: Christmas Day. A free morning, opportunity perhaps to attend a service in S. Marco or the English church. Before lunch see the palaces on the Grand Canal from the most Venetian of vantage-points, a gondola.

119

Venetian Palaces The greatest & best-preserved palaces of La Serenissima italy

There is an evening visit to a privately-owned palace, the 16th-century Palazzo Corner Gheltoff Alverà (by special arrangement). Day 2. See the palazzi on the Grand Canal from the viewpoint of a gondola. The former Casino Venier (by special arrangement) is a uniquely Venetian establishment that was part private members’ bar, part literary salon, part brothel. Designed by Longhena (c. 1667) and Giorgio Massari (c. 1751), the Ca’ Rezzonico is perhaps the most magnificent of Grand Canal palaces, and contains frescoes by Tiepolo; it is now a museum of 18th-century art. Visit the grand ballroom of late 17th-century Palazzo Zenobio (by special arrangement).

Venice, Ca’ d’Oro, engraving from ‘Illustrations to Hope’s Essay on Architecture’, 1835.

22–26 November 2016 (md 950) 5 days • £2,340 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 21–25 March 2017 (md 185) 5 days • £2,410 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 28 November–2 December 2017 (me 720) 5 days • £2,410 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott Explores many of the finest and best-preserved palaces, once homes to the wealthiest nobles and merchants in Venice. Access to many by special arrangement, including some which are still in private hands. Also a private after-hours visit to St Mark’s Basilica. Led by Dr Michael Douglas-Scott, specialist in 16th-century Italian art and architecture. Stays in a 4-star hotel on the Grand Canal.

MAINLAND EUROPE 120

Just as Venice possesses but a single piazza among dozens of campi, it has only one building correctly called a ‘palazzo’. The singularity is important: the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), like the Piazza San Marco, was the locus of the Serenissima’s public identity and seat of her republican government. Unlike her rivals in Florence and Milan she had no ruling dynasties to dictate polity, by contrast developing a deep aversion to individual aggrandizement and over-concentrated power. While the person and Palazzo of the Doge embodied their municipal identity, it was in their private houses that Venice’s mercantile oligarchs expressed their own family wealth and status. These case (in Venetian parlance ca’) were built throughout the city. In the absence of primogeniture, many branches sprung from the two hundred-odd noble families, leading to several edifices of the same name – an obstacle for would-be visitors. book online at www.martinrandall.com

These houses were unlike any other domestic buildings elsewhere in the world: erected over wooden piles driven into the mud flats of the lagoon, they remained remarkably uniform over the centuries in their basic design, combining the functions of mercantile emporium (ground level) and magnificent residence (upper floors). They were however built in a fantastic variety of styles, Veneto-Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo. Sometimes there is a touch of Islamic decoration. As new families bought their way into the aristocracy during the long period of the Republic’s economic and political decline, they had their residences refurbished in Rococo splendour by master artists such as Giambattista Tiepolo. Many of these palaces have survived the virtual extinction of the Venetian aristocracy and retain their original, if faded, glory. Palaces for nobles will be considered in conjunction with those for the non-noble cittadino (wealthy merchant) class and the housing projects for ordinary Venetian popolani, which rise cheek by jowl in the dense urban fabric. Some of the places visited are familiar and readily accessible to the public. Others are opened only by special arrangement with the owners, whether a charitable organisation, branch of local government, or descendants of the original occupants. Some of these cannot be confirmed until nearer the time. A private, after-hours visit to the Basilica San Marco, the mosaic interior illuminated for your benefit, is a highlight of this tour. As is an opportunity to see up close ‘the most beautiful street in the world’, the Grand Canal, from that most Venetian of vantage-points, a gondola.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 12.30pm (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Venice. Cross the lagoon by motoscafo (water taxi) and travel up the Grand Canal to the doors of the hotel. Luggage is transported separately to the hotel by porters.

Day 3. Visit the Palazzo Ducale, supremely beautiful with its 14th-century pink and white revetment outside, late Renaissance gilded halls and paintings by Tintoretto and Veronese inside. The Palazzo Grimani at Santa Maria Formosa became in the mid-16th century the purpose-built site of the family collection of antiquities, which were then bequeathed to the Venetian Republic. There is an after-hours private visit to the Basilica San Marco, an 11th-century Byzantine-style church enriched over the centuries with mosaics, sculpture and various precious objects. Day 4. With its elegant tracery and abundant ornamentation, the Ca’ d’Oro, also on the Grand Canal, is the most gorgeous of Venetian Gothic palaces; it now houses the Galleria Franchetti. The 13th-century Fondaco dei Turchi is a unique survival from the era; today it is the natural history museum. In the afternoon visit a privately-owned palace, the Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo-Polignac (by special arrangement). Day 5. Visit the privately-owned 17th-century Palazzo Albrizzi, with some of the finest stucco decoration in Venice (by special arrangement). Travel by motoscafo to Venice airport. Fly to London Gatwick, arriving c. 6.15pm. The tour is dependent on the kindness of individuals and organisations, some of whom are reluctant to make arrangements far in advance, so the order of visits outlined above may change and there may be substitutions for some palaces mentioned.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £2,340 or £2,230 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,650 or £2,540 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,410 or £2,300 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,750 or £2,640 without flights. Included meals: 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Palazzo Sant’Angelo, Venice (palazzosantangelo.com): 4-star hotel in an excellent location on the Grand Canal near Campo Sant’Angelo and the Rialto Bridge. How strenuous: The nature of Venice means that the city is more often than not traversed on foot. Although part of her charm, there is a lot of walking along the flat and up and down bridges; standing around in museums and palaces is also unavoidable. Fitness is essential. Group size: between 8 and 18 participants.

the Printing Revolution Renaissance print culture in Rome & Venice ItaLy

13–19 November 2017 (me 696) 7 days • £3,480 Lecturers: Stephen Parkin & Dr Michael Douglas-Scott A new and original tour for 2017. The arrival and impact of printing in Renaissance Italy: manuscripts, printed books and the visual arts 1450–1600. Special displays of manuscripts and books and privileged access to spaces not usually seen by the public. Accompanied by two expert lecturers, a British Library curator and an art historian specialising in the Italian Renaissance. No more than 18 participants.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 12.45pm from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino (British Airways). Evening lecture and first of four nights in Rome. Day 2: Subiaco. Drive to the Roman countryside to visit the Benedictine monasteries at Subiaco, the first site of printing in Italy. In the library of Sta. Scolastica there are copies of the first books printed there, including Lactantius’ De divinis institutionibus, printed in 1465. Day 3: Rome. Spend the morning in the Vatican, visiting the Pope’s own library, the ‘Biblioteca Apostolica’ (by special arrangement) and the Vatican Museums. In the afternoon there is an out-of-hours visit to Raphael’s frescoes in Villa La

Rome, Vatican Library, wood engraving c. 1880.

Farnesina, where there was once a printing press. The Palazzo Farnese, now the French embassy, is the most magnificent Renaissance palace in Rome. Day 4: Rome. The Biblioteca Casanatense belonged to the Dominicans, who were in charge of attempts to control printing by means of the Index of Prohibited Books. The Biblioteca Angelica was the first public library in Europe. In the afternoon there is a printing demonstration at the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica in the Palazzo Poli, which abuts the Trevi fountain. Day 5: Rome, Venice. Travel from Rome to Venice by first class rail (c. 4 hours). After settling into the hotel, visit the beautiful Biblioteca Marciana in the Piazzetta. Begun in 1536 by Sansovino and finished by Scamozzi in 1591, among its collections are many sculptures, Fra Mauro’s 1459 world map and important manuscripts and books. Day 6: Venice. Andrea Palladio’s monastery of S. Giorgio Maggiore has a library, now part of the Fondazione Cini, which has one of the greatest collections of 16th-century illustrated books, broadsheets and pamphlets. The small monastic library attached to the church of S. Francesco della Vigna is the repository for all Franciscan libraries in northern Italy and houses the only copy of the first printed edition of the Koran (1537). The Museo Correr, the museum of the history of Venice, has a library containing many fine manuscripts and incunabula. Day 7. Fly from Venice to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 2.00pm.

The tour is dependent on the kindness of many individuals and organisations, so although this gives a fair picture of the itinerary, there may be substitutes for some places mentioned.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,480 or £3,290 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,870 or £3,680 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Bernini Bristol, Rome (berninibristol.com): 5-star hotel excellently located on the Piazza Barberini. Hotel Splendid, Venice (starhotels.com): delightful, quiet 4-star hotel situated half-way between Piazza San Marco and the Rialto bridge. How strenuous? There is unavoidably a lot of walking in both cities: the historic area in Rome is vast and vehicular access is restricted, and in Venice there is a lot of walking along the flat and up and down bridges. Standing around in museums and churches in both cities is also unavoidable. The tour should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing.

MAINLAND EUROPE

This tour explores the culture of Renaissance Rome and Venice from a new and unusual perspective – the history of printing. The arrival of printing in Rome in the 1460s, followed by the exponential growth of publishing in Venice, had far-reaching and profound consequences. It was nothing less than an information revolution. Beginning in Rome and at the first site of printing in Italy, the Benedictine monastery at Subiaco, the tour introduces the new technology and what this entailed for the way books were made, bought, collected and read. It shows how the transition from manuscript to print took place, and presents the leading personalities involved in the advancement of printing – cardinals, aristocrats, scholars, printers and booksellers. Many of the great collections of manuscript codices and printed books which were built at the time survive intact today in splendidly decorated libraries. Foremost among them was the Pope’s own library, the ‘Biblioteca Apostolica’, buried within the great Vatican complex. The story continues in Venice, which in the sixteenth century became the European centre of the publishing and bookselling trades. The monumental libraries here, places of architectural beauty themselves, house some of the greatest collections of illustrated books and manuscripts. The focus of this tour leads not only an understanding of the role of printing in Renaissance culture but also to an enhanced appreciation of the art of the period, and an understanding of the place of the book in early modern history.

Group size: between 8 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with: Vivaldi in Venice, 5–10 November 2017 (p. 115); Connoisseur’s Rome, 7–12 November 2017 (p.139).

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

121

Courts of Northern Italy Princely art of the Renaissance ItaLy

2–9 October 2016 (md 881) 8 days • £2,260 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 14–21 May 2017 (md 295) 8 days • £2,310 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 10–17 September 2017 (me 519) 8 days • £2,310 Lecturer: Professor Fabrizio Nevola 22–29 October 2017 (me 635) 8 days • £2,310 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott Northern Italy’s independent city states: Mantua, Ferrara, Parma, Ravenna and Urbino. Some of the greatest Renaissance art and architecture, commissioned by the powerful ruling dynasties: Gonzaga, Este, Sforza, Farnese, Montefeltro and others. Led by Dr Michael Douglas-Scott, specialist in 16th-century Italian art and architecture, and Professor Fabrizio Nevola, specialist in the urban and architectural history of Early Modern Italy. The most glorious concentration of Byzantine mosaics and important works by Alberti, Mantegna, Piero della Francesca and Correggio.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Italy gradually fragmented into numerous little territories. The city states became fiercely independent and were governed with some degree of democracy. But a debilitating violence all too often ensued as the leading families fought with fellow citizens for dominance of the city council and the offices of state. A common outcome from the thirteenth century onwards was the imposition of autocratic rule by a single prince, and the suspension of democratic structures: but such tyranny was not infrequently welcomed with relief and gratitude by a war-weary citizenry. Their rule may have been tyrannical, and warfare their principal occupation, but the Montefeltro, Malatesta, d’Este and Gonzaga dynasties brought into being through their patronage some of the finest buildings and works of art of the Renaissance. Many of the leading artists in fifteenth- and sixteenth- century Italy worked in the service of princely courts. As for court art of earlier epochs, little survives, though a glimpse of the oriental splendour of the Byzantine court of Emperor Justinian can be had in the mosaic depiction of him, his wife and their retinue in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna. It is not until the fifteenth century, in Mantegna’s Camera degli Sposi at Mantua, that we are again allowed an unhindered gaze into court life.

Itinerary Day 1: Mantua. Fly at c. 8.15am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Bologna. Drive to Mantua where the first four nights are spent. After a late lunch, visit the Ducal Palace, a vast rambling complex, the aggregate of 300 years of extravagant patronage by the Gonzaga dynasty (Mantegna’s frescoes in the Camera degli Sposi, Pisanello frescoes, Rubens altarpiece). Day 2: Mantua, Sabbioneta. Visit Alberti’s highly influential Early Renaissance church of Sant’Andrea, the Romanesque Rotonda of S. Lorenzo and Giulio Romano’s uncharacteristically restrained cathedral. In the afternoon, drive to Sabbioneta, an ideal Renaissance city on an almost miniature scale, built for Vespasiano Gonzaga in the 1550s; visit the ducal palace, theatre, and one of the world’s first picture galleries.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 3: Parma, Fontanellato. Parma is a beautiful city; the vast Palazzo della Pilotta houses an art gallery (Correggio, Parmigianino) and important Renaissance theatre (first proscenium arch). Visit the splendid Romanesque cathedral with illusionistic frescoes of a tumultuous heavenly host by Correggio. Also by Correggio is a sophisticated set of allegorical lunettes in grisaille surrounding a celebration of Diana as the goddess of chastity and the hunt in the Camera di S. Paolo. In the afternoon, visit the moated 13th-century castle in Fontanellato, seeing frescoes by Parmigianino.

122

Ferrara, Castello Estense, wood engraving c. 1880. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 4: Mantua. After a free morning, an afternoon walk takes in the exteriors of Alberti’s centrally planned church of S. Sebastiano, and the houses that court artists Mantegna and Giulio Romano built for themselves. Also visit Palazzo Te, the Gonzaga summer residence and the major monument of Italian Mannerism, with lavish frescoes by Giulio Romano.

Day 5: Ferrara was the centre of the city-state ruled by the d’Este dynasty whose court was one of the most lavish and cultured in Renaissance Italy. Pass the Castello Estense, a moated 15th-century stronghold, and the cathedral. Palazzo Schifanoia is an Este retreat with elaborate astrological frescoes. First of three nights in Ravenna. Day 6: Ravenna, Classe. The last capital of the western Roman Empire and subsequently capital of Ostrogothic and Byzantine Italy, Ravenna possesses the world’s most glorious concentration of Early Christian and Byzantine mosaics. Visit the Basilica of S. Apollinare Nuovo with its mosaic Procession of Martyrs. Drive to Classe, Ravenna’s port – once one of the largest in the Roman world; virtually all that is left is the great Basilica di S. Apollinare. Private evening visit to the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, lined with 5th-century mosaics, and the splendid centrally planned church of S. Vitale with 6th-century mosaics of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora. Day 7: Urbino. Drive into the hills to Urbino, the beautiful little city of the Montefeltro dynasty. See the exquisite Gothic frescoes in the Oratorio di S. Giovanni. In the afternoon, visit the Palazzo Ducale, a masterpiece of architecture which grew over 30 years into the perfect Renaissance secular environment. See the beautiful studiolo of Federico of Montefeltro and excellent picture collection here (Piero, Raphael, Titian). Day 8: Cesena, Rimini. The Biblioteca Malatestiana in Cesena is a perfectly preserved Renaissance library established by Malatesta Novello, and contains over 300 valuable manuscripts. In Rimini visit the outstanding Tempio Malatestiano, designed by Leon Battista Alberti for the tyrant Sigismondo Malatesta, which contains superb decoration by Agostino di Duccio and particularly fine sculptural detail. Fly from Bologna, arriving at London Heathrow c. 8.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £2,260 or £2,080 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,490 or £2,310 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,310 or £2,140 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,570 or £2,400 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Casa Poli, Mantua (hotelcasapoli.it): 4-star hotel a short walk from the historic centre. Hotel Bisanzio, Ravenna (in 2016) (bisanziohotel.com): bland modern façade hides a small and welcoming but relatively basic 4-star hotel. Hotel Palazzo Bezzi, Ravenna (in 2017) (palazzobezzi.it): new 4-star superior hotel, located on the edge of the historic centre. How strenuous? A lot of walking, much of it on steep and roughly paved streets: agility, stamina and sure-footedness are essential. Coaches are not allowed into historic centres. Many of the historical buildings are vast. Some days involve a lot of driving; average distance per day: 88 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Verdi in Parma & Busseto Giovanna d’Arco, I Masnadieri & Il Trovatore in historic theatres ItaLy

19–24 October 2016 (md 919) 6 days • £2,510 (including tickets to 3 performances) Lecturers: Dr John Allison & Dr R. T. Cobianchi Three operas by Giuseppe Verdi: Giovanna d’Arco, I masnadieri, and Il trovatore. Performed in a trio of beautiful and historically important theatres. Visits Verdi’s place of birth at Le Roncole and his place of death at Villa Sant’Agata. Time also for the sights of Parma and Cremona. Led by two lecturers: Dr John Allison, editor of Opera magazine, who gives talks on the music, and Dr R. T. Cobianchi, expert art historian.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Parma, steel engraving c. 1850.

Itinerary Day 1: Parma. Fly at c. 10.30am from London Heathrow to Milan Linate (British Airways). Drive to Parma, one of the loveliest of the smaller cities in Italy and the base for all five nights of the tour. There is time in the afternoon for a visit to the cathedral and baptistry, among the finest Romanesque buildings in Italy, the former with dazzling illusionistic frescoes by Correggio. Day 2: Parma. Court city of the Farnese dynasty, Parma is a treasure house of art and architecture. Morning visits may include a backstage tour of the Teatro Regio, subject to rehearsal schedules. Free afternoon. Evening opera at the Teatro Farnese, used only rarely for performances: Giovanna d’Arco, Jader Bignamini (conductor), Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway (directors); Luciano Ganci (Carlo VII), Vittorio Vitelli (Giacomo), Vittoria Yeo (Giovanna), Cristiano Olivieri (Delil) and Luciano Leoni (Talbot). Day 3: Parma, Le Roncole, Busseto. Free morning. Afternoon excursion to the territory where Verdi was born, grew up and lived intermittently for much of his life. Visit his birthplace in the hamlet of Le Roncole, and Busseto, where he lived for the earlier part of his life. Evening opera at the Teatro Verdi, Busseto: I masnadieri, Simon Krecic (conductor); Leo Muscato (director). Day 4: Sant’Agata, Cremona. An excursion begins with the villa that Verdi built for himself at Sant’Agata, and continues to Cremona. The birthplace of Monteverdi, Stradivarius and Guarini and still a centre of violin making, Cremona has a splendid central square formed of cathedral, campanile (Italy’s tallest), baptistery and

civic palaces. The cathedral is richly embellished with 16th-century paintings, the baptistry with Romanesque sculpture and the municipal fortresses are red-brick Gothic. Day 5: Parma. Morning visits include a return to the vast Farnese Palace where an excellent picture collection is displayed. Free afternoon. Evening opera at the Teatro Regio: Il trovatore, Massimo Zanetti (conductor), Elisabetta Courir (director); George Petean (Il Conte di Luna), Dinara Alieva (Leonora), Enkelejda Shkosa (Azucena), Murat Karahan (Manrico), Carlo Cigni (Ferrando), Sara Rossini (Ines), Antonio Corianò (Ruiz). Day 6. Fly from Milan Linate to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 3.30pm.

Practicalities Price – per person. Two sharing: £2,510 or £2,400 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,810 or £2,700 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Music: tickets for 3 performances are included, costing c. £400 (top category for Giovanna d’Arco and Il Trovatore. Those for I Masnadieri in Busseto are of a lower category, in the central gallery, but the theatre is very small with good sight lines).

MAINLAND EUROPE

The Festival Verdi takes place on the stretch of country where the composer was born, schooled, learnt his trade, and, despite youthful resentments, where he bought a farm and built a villa as a haven and retreat for the last 50 years of his life. Lying then within the Duchy of Parma, it remains predominantly rural, with the attraction of a kind of unchanging, authentic ordinariness. This was the mis-en-scène which gave rise to an artistic oeuvre displaying a range of tumultuous passions and human empathy equalled perhaps only by Shakespeare. A striking feature is that it uses three theatres which are of the highest historical importance and beauty. The Teatro Regio in Parma was built in 1829 by ex-Empress Maria-Luisa, modelled on La Scala in Milan. The small horse-shoe Teatro Verdi at Busseto dates to 1856 and was built within what had been the local magnate’s residence. Similarly embedded, this time in the vast ducal palace at Parma, the Teatro Farnese was constructed in 1628 and boasts the earliest surviving procenium arch. Dating from the very middle of Verdi’s middle period, and occupying central place in the famous early 1850s trilogy also including Rigoletto and La traviata, Il trovatore is one of the best-known of all Verdi titles yet something of a rarity on stage these days. Caruso once remarked, famously if discouragingly, that all a good performance of Il trovatore needed were the four greatest singers in the world, but its celebrated numbers are not all solo and include two stirring choral scenes, the Miserere and Anvil Chorus. Recently a more nuanced approach to Manrico’s character, a great tenor role – he is a troubadour, after all – has helped to increase our understanding of the opera. But this autumn’s festival also features two real rarities dating from the composer’s ‘galley’ years. While Giovanna d’Arco – which plays fast and loose with history by allowing Joan of Arc to die on the battlefield – is sometimes counted amongst his ugly ducklings, any banality to be found here is more than compensated for by some of his best early music. Also based on Schiller, I masnadieri (‘The Brigands’) contains much more fine music than its neglect would suggest. Commissioned for London, it was premiered at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the Haymarket in 1847.

Accommodation. Hotel Stendhal, Parma (hotelstendhal.it): quiet 4-star hotel, the best in the historic centre, run by Mercure Hotels. How strenuous? Some walking is unavoidable; coaches are not permitted into historic centres. Average distance by coach per day: 53 miles. Group size: between 8 and 22 participants. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

123

Dark Age Brilliance Late antique & Pre-Romanesque ItaLy

Baptistery and Theodoric’s great Palatine church of S. Apollinare Nuovo. See the 5th-century basilica design which provided Theodoric’s court with its most immediate models, and Galla Placidia’s exvoto basilica of S. Giovanni Evangelista. Day 3: Ravenna, Classe. In the morning see the outstanding National Museum, with excellent Byzantine ivory carvings. Travel by coach to Theodoric’s superb Mausoleum and to the ancient port of Classe for the great 6th-century basilica of S. Apollinare. Private evening visit to the church of S. Vitale, the greatest 6th-century building of the West; the invention with which form, colour, space and narrative meaning are combined is breathtaking. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is the earliest Christian structure in Europe to retain its mosaic decoration in its entirety.

Ravenna, S. Apollinare Nuovo, watercolour by W.W. Collins, publ. 1911.

9–16 October 2016 (md 893) 8 days • £2,210 Lecturer: John McNeill 24 September–1 October 2017 (me 570) 8 days • £2,230 Lecturer: Dr Ffiona Gilmore Eaves A journey through north-east Italy to Croatia, via Ravenna, Torcello and Cividale. Private evening visit to San Vitale, Ravenna’s finest church, and the adjacent Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, to see the magnificent mosaics. Includes some of the finest art and architecture of the Early Middle Ages to be found anywhere. Led by architectural historians John McNeill and Ffiona Gilmore Eaves. Byzantine heritage of unique range and richness, with exceptional mosaics.

MAINLAND EUROPE 124

It is now commonplace to believe, contrary to the assumptions of centuries, that the Dark Ages which succeeded the glories of the Roman Empire were not so dark, and that the later history of the Empire was not so glorious. A concomitant reappraisal has led to the acceptance of Early Christian and Byzantine art not as a regression to primitivism – an aspect of the decline and fall – but as one of the most brilliant chapters in the history of Western art. But it remains true that in the territories of the Western Empire from the fift h to the ninth century there was little in the way of monumental building or large-scale artistic production. Only in a few dispersed pockets was the flame of ambitious artistic and intellectual endeavour kept alive. A string of such pockets gathered around the northern end of the Adriatic and northeast Italy, the last redoubt of the Empire in the book online at www.martinrandall.com

West. Born of an Umbrian past and raised in Imperial retreat, Ravenna remains anchored in the Adriatic marshes, humbled by the rise of her great neighbours, Bologna and Venice, and unhindered by later political commerce. The effect of this marginal status has been to spare her Early Christian buildings and leave a Byzantine heritage of unique range and richness. Given the intensity with which Ravenna developed between 402, when Honorius chose it as his capital, and 751, when the last of the Exarchs returned to Constantinople, it makes a fitting introduction to Early Christian and early mediaeval culture in north-eastern Italy. Arising from the need to cater for the spiritual requirements of newly emancipated Christianity, the clarity and humanism of the classical tradition were superseded by images and decoration designed to instil a kind of sacred dread, and to intimate the glories of the world to come. Mosaic was the key element in creating church interiors of awesome splendour and intense spirituality. Early Christian forms were endorsed throughout the whole of the Adriatic seaboard, and the second half of the tour embraces Aquileia, Grado, Poreč (Parenzo) in Croatia and Concordia Sagittaria. The theme is rounded off with the astonishing little eighth-century church in Cividale in the foothills of the Julian Alps which preserves the earliest monumental sculpture of the Middle Ages.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 3.00pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Bologna. Drive to Ravenna for the first of three nights. Day 2: Ravenna. Begin with an exploration of the 5th-century forms at the cathedral and Orthodox Baptistery, and the superlative 6th-century ivory throne of Maximian in the Museo Arcivescovile. In the afternoon study Arian Ravenna at the Arian

Day 4: Pomposa, Concordia Sagittaria. Drive north to the Po delta. Pomposa is an important 8th-century Benedictine abbey, richly extended by Abbot Guido’s magnificent 11th-century porch and campanile. Lunch in Chioggia. The Roman road station at Concordia Sagittaria, whose modest mediaeval cathedral was built alongside a 4th-century basilica and martyrium, is splendidly revealed through archaeological excavation. Stay four nights in Cividale. Day 5: Cividale. Although founded as Forum Julii in the 1st century bc, Cividale is best known to historians as the site of the earliest Longobard settlement in northern Italy, and most celebrated by art historians for the astonishing quality and quantity of the 8th-century work which has survived here. See the superb ‘Tempietto’ of Sta. Maria in Valle, Longobardic work in the cathedral museum and spectacular early mediaeval collections in the archaeological museum. The afternoon is free in Cividale. Day 6: Poreč (Croatia). Drive south, cross Slovenia and enter the part of Croatia formerly known as Istria. The sole object of the excursion is to visit Poreč (Parenzo), a longish journey justified by the existence of an unusually complete 6th-century cathedral complex: basilican church, baptistery and bishop’s palace. The church proper was built above an earlier basilica c. 540 by Bishop Euphrasius, whose complete episcopal throne is set within an apse which, for once, has retained its full complement of furnishings and fittings. Day 7: Aquileia, Grado. Aquileia was a major Roman city whose influential cathedral was complete by 319. Sections of walls and mosaic pavements were preserved within the present 11thcentury cathedral, a rather wonderful survival. The Longobard sack of 568 resulted in the removal of the see to the more defensible position on the coast at Grado, whose two great 6th-century churches, Sta. Maria della Grazie and the cathedral, also have outstanding floor mosaics. Day 8: Torcello. Drive to the Adriatic and take a water taxi to the island of Torcello in the Venetian lagoon, a major city while Venice was little more than a fishing village. Visit the largely 11th-century cathedral of Sta. Maria Assunta and adjacent Greek-cross reliquary church of Sta. Fosca. Continue to Venice Airport and fly to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 7.10pm (2016), or to London Gatwick, arriving at c. 7.00pm (2017).

Gastronomic Emilia-Romagna Food & art along the Via Emilia

Dr Fﬁona Gilmore Eaves. Read Archaeology at Cambridge and obtained her PhD from Nottingham. Her special interest is in the adriatic and she is the co-author of Retrieving the Record: A Century of Archaeology at Porec. She has lectured extensively in adult education, especially for the WEa, and for various extra-mural departments. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

22–28 April 2017 (md 248) 7 days • £3,030 Lecturers: Marc Millon & Dr R. T. Cobianchi One of the most famous food-producing regions. A food-lover’s paradise: source of the best ham, cheese, vinegar, fresh pasta. See how they are made and meet their producers. Lunch in Modena at the Osteria Francescana, the second-best restaurant in the world, with three Michelin stars. Two lecturers: an expert art historian and a gastronomic specialist, author of The Food Lover’s Companion to Italy. Emilia-Romagna, shaped like a wedge of its renowned Parmesan cheese, is rich in every way – artistically, culturally, economically and, by no means least, gastronomically. To journey along the Via Emilia, the long, straight Roman road from Milan to the Adriatic coast, is to immerse oneself in a gloriously hedonistic garden of Eden that is the source of some of the greatest foods in the world.

The lovely cities of Parma and Bologna are the ideal bases from which to explore some of the masterpieces of Italian gastronomy, including the two jewels in the region’s crown; sweet Prosciutto di Parma, air-cured by dry mountain winds that sweep down from the Apennines, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, the king of cheeses. Here, within their strictly defined areas of origin, there is a rare opportunity to see the production of these protected foods and to taste them in the company of the producers themselves. We also visit a family-run acetaia to discover the mysterious art of producing traditional balsamic vinegar, the rich, complex condiment that must be aged for a minimum of twelve years. Vast oceans of inferior imitations may be found on tables all around the world, but the real thing, aged in batteries of wood, unctuous and thick, is known as ‘black gold’, an incredibly concentrated elixir that is part of the region’s great gastronomic patrimony. The trademark of Bologna is its hand-made egg pasta, which appears in many guises from fi lled tortellini to rich, luscious lasagne. A visit to Bologna’s food market with its vast array of fresh pasta, mortadella and salami, breads, cakes and ice

ItaLy

John McNeill. architectural historian and a specialist in the Middle ages and Renaissance. He lectures for Oxford University’s Department of Continuing Education and is Honorary Secretary of the British Archaeological Association, for whom he has edited collections of essays on mediaeval anjou, King’s Lynn and the Fens, Cloisters, and Romanesque and the Past.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £2,210 or £1,880 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,380 or £2,050 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,230 or £2,020 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,440 or £2,230 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Palazzo Bezzi, Ravenna (palazzobezzi.it): new 4-star superior hotel, on the edge of the historic centre. Hotel Roma, Cividale (hotelroma-cividale.it): simple, functional and friendly 3-star hotel, located in the centre of town. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking in town centres where coach access is restricted, and a lot of standing around. Some days involve a lot of driving; average distance per day: 76 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Combine this tour with: Art in the Netherlands, 2–8 October 2016 (p.149); Sicily, 17–29 October 2016 (p.144); World Heritage Malta, 2–8 October 2017 (p.147); Palladian Villas, 3–8 October 2017 (p.117); Mediaeval Alsace, 3–10 October 2017 (p.79); Aragón: Hidden Spain, 3–11 October 2017 (p.166).

“The title merited the ‘brilliance’... an unforgettable experience. One of the best holidays I have had.”

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

125

Bologna, Fountain of Neptune, wood engraving c. 1880. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Gastronomic Emilia-Romagna continued

Parma, woodcut c. 1550.

italy cream explains why this city is known as la grassa (‘the fat one’). Wine, too, is an important feature throughout. We discover expressions of the grape that may not be as exalted as the region’s foods but which are perfect accompaniments, made from ancient grapes such as Malvasia, Trebbiano and Sangiovese. We also discover the real Lambrusco, foaming wildly, raspingly dry and rich in acidity. Although the main focus of this tour is gastronomy, both Parma and Bologna have a wealth of artistic treasures and time is allowed to explore these in the expert company of an art historian. Feeding the body, feeding the mind: this is the gastronomy of Emilia-Romagna.

Itinerary MAINLAND EUROPE 126

Day 1: Parma. Fly at c. 10.30am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Milan. Drive to Parma and in the late afternoon see the astonishingly vital and illusionistic frescoes by Correggio, Parma’s finest painter, in the cathedral and the church of S. Giovanni Evangelista. The first four nights are spent in Parma. Day 2: Parma, Polesine Parmense. Parma is of importance in particular for its High Renaissance school of painting. See the art collection in the Palazzo della Pilotta, and the exquisite Camera di S. Paolo. At the 13th-century Antica Corte Pallavicina in Polesine Parmense discover the rare and prestigious culatello di Zibello, made from the rump of a specially bred pig and cured for over a year in cellars to a near-unbelievable intensity of flavour and sweetness. Lunch is in the family-run restaurant here. In the afternoon visit the nearby Villa Verdi, which the composer built for himself. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 3: Parma and surroundings. ParmigianoReggiano has been made in the area around Parma using the same methods for over 700 years. Watch the process at a modern caseificio, with tasting. Then visit a family-run acetaia to see the hand production of traditional balsamic vinegar and to have a rustic lunch. In the early evening the lecturer leads a wine tasting in the hotel. Day 4: Torrechiara, Langhirano. In the morning visit the 15th-century castle in Torrechiara. Continue to a producer of Prosciutto di Parma and see the age-old process of curing and drying, before tasting it later with wines and lunch at a good winery. Day 5: Modena. In Modena visit the cathedral, among the finest Romanesque buildings in the region, and also the market. Lunch is at the Osteria Francescana, the 2nd best restaurant in the world, with three Michelin stars. Continue to Bologna for a visit to the vast Gothic church of S. Petronio, with sculpture by Jacopo della Quercia. The last two nights of this tour are spent in Bologna. Day 6: Bologna, Dozza, Imola. The famous food market in Bologna sprawls through a maze of streets where shops and stalls display an overwhelming array of fresh pasta, artisanal mortadella, hams and salamis, cheeses, fresh fruit and vegetables, and an irresistible variety of bread and pastries. Taste these products in some of the city’s historic food shops. See also the enchanting early mediaeval church complex of S. Stefano. In the evening drive to Dozza for a tasting of wines from Romagna, before continuing to Imola for dinner at another of the finest restaurants in Italy (two Michelin stars).

Day 7: Forlimpopoli. Forlimpopoli is the birthplace of Pellegrino Artusi, the author of the original Italian national cookbook. A demonstration of fresh pasta-making is followed by lunch. To see pasta being made by hand is to witness a near miraculous transformation of the simplest ingredients, flour and eggs, into the most ingenious collection of shapes and forms. Fly from Bologna, arriving Heathrow at c. 8.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,030 or £2,890 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,330 or £3,190 without flights. Included meals: 3 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Stendhal, Parma (hotelstendhal.it): quiet 4-star hotel, the best in the historic centre, run by Mercure. Hotel Corona d’Oro, Bologna (hco.it): an elegant 4-star hotel in the heart of the city. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking and standing on this tour, and it would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking or stair-climbing. Coaches can not enter some of the historical town centres. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 65 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Southern Tuscany, 1–7 May 2017 (p.134); Palaces of Piedmont, 2–7 May 2017 (p.108); Gardens of the Veneto, 2–8 May 2017 (p.114).

Ravenna & Urbino Byzantine capital, Renaissance court

11–15 October 2017 (me 597) 5 days • £1,490 Lecturer: Dr Luca Leoncini A study in contrasts: one a city with origins as a major Roman seaport, the other an enchanting little Renaissance settlement high in the hills. In Ravenna, some of the greatest buildings of late antiquity with the finest Byzantine mosaics. In Urbino the Ducal Palace, the greatest secular building of the Early Renaissance. Private evening visit to San Vitale, Ravenna’s finest church, and the adjacent Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, to see the magnificent mosaics. Led by art historian Dr Luca Leoncini. Why combine them? Both are somewhat out of the way, yet near to each other. First run almost 30 years ago and still a firm favourite.

6th-century mosaics of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora. Day 3: Ravenna. The Cathedral Museum possesses fine objects, including an ivory throne. Visit the Cooperativa Mosaicista, a laboratory for the restoration of mosaics (by appointment only and subject to confirmation) and the Mausoleum of Theodoric. The afternoon is free. Day 4: Urbino. The Palazzo Ducale grew during 30 years of Montefeltro patronage into the perfect Early Renaissance secular environment, of the highest importance for both architecture and architectural sculpture. The picture collection in the palace includes works by Piero della Francesca, Raphael and Titian. There are exquisite International Gothic frescoes by Salimbeni in the Oratory of St John. Day 5: Classe, Rimini. Drive to Classe, Ravenna’s port, which was one of the largest in the Roman Empire. Virtually all that is left is the great basilica of S. Apollinare. Continue to Rimini and visit the Tempio Malatestiano, church and mausoleum of the Renaissance tyrant Sigismondo Malatesta (designed by Alberti, fresco by Piero della

Francesca, sculpture by Agostino Duccio). Drive on to Bologna airport for a late-afternoon flight arriving at Heathrow at c. 8.15pm.

italy

26–30 April 2017 (md 255) 5 days • £1,490 Lecturer: Dr Luca Leoncini

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,490 or £1,310 without flights. Single occupancy: £1,660 or £1,480 without flights. Included meals: 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Palazzo Bezzi, Ravenna (palazzobezzi.it): new 4-star superior hotel, located on the edge of the historic centre of town. How strenuous? There is inevitably quite a lot of walking and standing in museums in this tour. Some of the walking is uphill or over cobbles. The coach cannot be used within the town centres. Average distance by coach per day: 65 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Ravenna, San Vitale, engraving from ‘The Shores of the Adriatic: The Italian Side’, publ. 1906.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Ravenna was once one of the most important cities in the western world. The last capital of the Roman Empire in the West, she subsequently became capital of the Gothic kingdoms of Italy and of Byzantine Italy. Then history passed her by. Marooned in obscurity, some of the greatest buildings and decorative schemes of the late antique and early mediaeval era were allowed to survive unmolested until the modern age recognised in them not the onset of decadence and the barbarity of the Dark Ages but an art of the highest aesthetic and spiritual power. The Early Christian and Byzantine mosaics at Ravenna are the finest in the world. Urbino, by contrast, is a compact hilltop stronghold with a very different history and an influence on Renaissance culture out of all proportion to her size. The Ducal Palace, built by the Montefeltro dynasty over several decades, is perhaps the finest secular building of its period. Piero della Francesca, Raphael and Baldassare Castiglione were among those who passed through its exquisite halls. The justification for joining in one short tour these two centres of diverse artistic traditions is simple. They are places to which every art lover wants to go but which are relatively inaccessible from the main art-historical centres of Italy, yet are close to each other. For many years this has been one of our most popular tours.

Itinerary Day 1: Ravenna. Fly at c. 3.00pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Bologna. Drive to Ravenna, where all four nights are spent. Day 2: Ravenna. In the morning see the outstanding National Museum, with excellent Byzantine ivory carvings. The Orthodox baptistry has superlative Early Christian mosaics and S. Apollinare Nuovo has a mosaic procession of martyrs marching along the nave. In the evening, there is a private visit to the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, lined with 5th-century mosaics, and the splendid centrally planned church of S. Vitale with

127 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Florence Cradle of the Renaissance italy

6–12 March 2017 (md 164) 7 days • £2,340 Lecturer: Dr Antonia Whitley The world’s best location for an art-history tour: here were laid the foundations of the next 500 years of western art. The lecturer is Dr Antonia Whitley, expert art historian and lecturer specialising in the Italian Renaissance. Still retains an astonishingly dense concentration of great works of art. The Renaissance is centre stage, but mediaeval and other periods also feature prominently. Can be combined with A Festival of Music in Florence, 13–18 March 2017 (see page 133). Avoids the crowds of busier months, and a smaller group than usual, 8–18 participants. A first visit to Florence can be an overwhelming experience, and it seems that no amount of revisiting can exhaust her riches, or stem the growth of affection and awe which the city inspires in regular visitors. For hundreds of years the city nurtured an unceasing succession of great artists. No other place can rival Florence for the quantity of first-rate, locally produced works of art, many still in the sites for which they were created or in museums a few hundred yards away. Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo – these are some of the artists and architects whose works will be studied on the tour, fully justifying Florence’s epithet as the cradle of the Renaissance.

Florence is, moreover, one of the loveliest cities in the world, ringed by the foothills of the Apennines and sliced in two by the River Arno. Narrow alleys lead between the expansive piazze and supremely graceful Renaissance arcades abound, while the massive scale of the buildings impressively demonstrates the wealth once generated by its precocious economy. It is now a substantial, vibrant city, yet the past is omnipresent, and, from sections of the mediaeval city walls, one can still look out over olive groves. Though the number of visitors to Florence has swelled hugely in recent years, it is still possible in the colder months, and with careful planning, to explore the city and enjoy its art in relative tranquillity.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 11.15am (British Airways) from London City to Florence. In the late afternoon visit the chapel in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi which has exquisite frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. Day 2. Visit Michelangelo’s Laurentian Library, whose architectural components would herald the onset of Mannerism. A Medici morning includes S. Lorenzo, the family parish church designed by Brunelleschi and their burial chapel in the contiguous New Sacristy with Michelangelo’s enigmatic sculptural ensemble. In the afternoon see the Byzantine mosaics and Renaissance sculpture in the cathedral baptistry, and the cathedral museum. Day 3. Brunelleschi’s Foundling Hospital, begun in 1419, was the first building to embody stylistic

elements indisputably identifiable as Renaissance. See Michelangelo’s David, the ‘Slaves’ in the Accademia and the frescoes and panels of pious simplicity by Fra Angelico in the Friary of S. Marco. In the afternoon visit Piazza della Signoria, civic centre of Florence with masterpieces of public sculpture, then continue to the Uffizi which has masterpieces by every major Florentine painter as well as international Old Masters. Day 4. In the morning visit S. Maria Novella, the Dominican church with many works of art (Masaccio’s Trinità, Ghirlandaio’s frescoed sanctuary). See the Rucellai Chapel in the deconsecrated church of S. Pancrazio, now part of the Museo Marino Marini. Free afternoon. Day 5. Visit the Bargello, housing Florence’s finest sculpture collection with works by Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo and others. Walk to the vast Franciscan church of S. Croce, favoured burial place for leading Florentines and abundantly furnished with sculpted tombs, altarpieces and frescoes. Lunch is at a restaurant on the Piazzale Michelangelo before a visit to S. Miniato al Monte, the Romanesque abbey church with panoramic views of the city. Day 6. In the morning visit the redoubtable Palazzo Pitti, which houses several museums including the Galleria Palatina, outstanding particularly for High Renaissance and Baroque paintings. Visit S. Spirito, Brunelleschi’s last great church, with many 15th-century altarpieces, and the extensive Boboli Gardens, at the top of which is an 18th-century ballroom and garden overlooking olive groves. See the Masaccio/Masolino fresco cycle in the Brancacci Chapel, a highly influential work of art which influenced all subsequent generations of Renaissance artists. Day 7. See the Renaissance statuary at the church-cum-granary of Orsanmichele, and there is a second, selective visit to the Uffizi. Fly from Florence, arriving at London City at c. 9.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,340 or £2,150 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,600 or £2,410 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Hotel Santa Maria Novella (hotelsantamarianovella.it): a delightful, recently renovated 4-star hotel in a very central location. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking in the city centre where the ground is sometimes uneven and pavements are narrow. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with walking and stair-climbing. Fitness is essential. Group size: between 8 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with: A Festival of Music in Florence, 13–18 March 2017 (p.133).

Illustration: drawing 1936 by Valfredo Vizzotto after the sculpture by Michelangelo in the Medici Chapel, Basilica di S. Lorenzo, Florence.

128 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Florence & Venice The ﬁnest & best-known art & architecture in the Western world

19–26 March 2017 (md 166) 8 days • £2,840 Lecturer: Dr Kevin Childs Wide-ranging survey with Renaissance emphasis. Includes a private, after-hours visit to the Basilica di San Marco to see the transcendental splendour of the Byzantine mosaics. Led by Dr Kevin Childs, writer and lecturer with a focus on the Italian Renaissance Oﬀ-peak dates, smaller group than usual (maximum 18 participants). Can be combined in 2017 with A Festival of Music in Florence, 13–18 March 2017 (see page 133).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

The flights and order of visits in our 2016 departure are diﬀerent from the tour in 2017. For full details, please contact us or visit www.martinrandall.com. Day 1: Florence. Fly at c. 11.00am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Pisa and transfer to Florence. Afternoon visit to the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi chapel, with exquisite frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. First of four nights in Florence. Day 2: Florence. In the morning visit Piazza della Signoria, civic centre of Florence with masterpieces of public sculpture, then continue to the church-cum-granary of Orsanmichele, adorned with important Renaissance statuary. Visit the Bargello, a mediaeval palazzo housing Florence’s finest sculpture collection with works by Donatello, Verrocchio and Michelangelo. The cluster of cathedral buildings occupies the afternoon; the baptistry with its Byzantine mosaics and Renaissance sculpture, the polychromatic marble Duomo itself, capped by Brunelleschi’s massive dome, and the excellent collections in the cathedral museum. Day 3: Florence. A Medici morning includes S. Lorenzo, the family parish church designed by Brunelleschi, their burial chapel in the contiguous New Sacristy with Michelangelo’s largest sculptural ensemble, and his Laurentian Library. See Michelangelo’s David and the ‘Slaves’ in the Accademia. Visit the vast Franciscan church of Sta. Croce, favoured burial place for leading Florentines and abundantly furnished with sculpted tombs, altarpieces and frescoes.

Day 8: Venice. Free morning. Cross the lagoon by motoscafo (water taxi) to the airport. Fly from Venice to London Heathrow, arriving c. 7.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £2,840 or £2,660 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,260 or £3,080 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,840 or £2,720 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,210 or £3,090 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Santa Maria Novella, Florence (hotelsantamarianovella. it): delightful 4-star hotel in a very central location. Westin Europa & Regina, Venice (westineuropareginavenice.com): elegant, historic 5-star on the Grand Canal, opposite the Salute. How strenuous? The nature of both Florence and Venice means that the cities are more often than not traversed on foot. Although part of their charm, there is a lot of walking along the flat (and up and down bridges in Venice); standing around in museums and churches is also unavoidable. Group size: between 8 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with: A Festival of Music in Florence, 13–18 March 2017 (p.133).

Day 4: Florence. Visit S. Maria Novella, the Dominican church with many works of art (Masaccio’s Trinità, Ghirlandaio’s frescoed sanctuary). See the Masaccio/Masolino fresco cycle in the Brancacci Chapel, a highly influential work of art which influenced all subsequent generations of Renaissance artists. The afternoon is devoted to the Uffizi, Italy’s most important art gallery, with masterpieces by every major Florentine painter and international Old Masters. Day 5: Florence, Venice. Travel by rail to Venice (1st class) for the first of three nights. Introductory walk in the Piazza S. Marco and visit to the incomparably beautiful Doge’s Palace with pink Gothic revetment and rich Renaissance interiors. Day 6: Venice. The Accademia is Venice’s major art gallery, where all the Venetian painters are represented. In the afternoon cross the bacino to Palladio’s beautiful island church of S. Giorgio Maggiore and then to the tranquil Giudecca to see his best church, Il Redentore. In the evening there is a private after-hours visit to the Basilica of S. Marco, an 11th-century Byzantine church enriched over the centuries with mosaics, sculpture and precious objects. Day 7: Venice. Visit the vast gothic church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo and the early Renaissance Sta. Maria dei Miracoli with its multicoloured stone veneer. In the afternoon cross the Grand Canal to the San Polo district, location of the great Franciscan church of Sta. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari which has outstanding artworks including Titian’s Assumption, and the Scuola Grande di S. Rocco, with dramatic paintings by Tintoretto.

MAINLAND EUROPE

To achieve a proper appreciation of Italian art and civilization, there can be no better way than immersion in the incomparable cities of Venice and Florence. There are similarities between the two city-states: the simultaneity of their periods of greatness (with consequent rivalry); the extraordinary wealth generated by pioneering commercial and manufacturing enterprise; republican and democratic political systems; and, above all, the brilliance of their material culture, both bequeathing a corpus of painting, sculpture and architecture of incomparable quantity, quality and influence. And there are differences. Florence, an inland city, is largely built of local rough-hewn pietra forte, a tough brown stone, with columns and arches of pietra serena, grey and severe. Venice, the greatest maritime power of its time, imported coloured marbles and white limestone from around the Mediterranean and brick from its hinterland. Florentine art is tough, linear and monumental, while in Venice primacy is given to colour, gorgeous and evanescent. Venice’s lagoon location and its myriad canals is beyond different, it is unique. Florence was, of course, the cradle of the Renaissance. Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo are some of the great names studied on this tour. Today Florence is a vibrant, contemporary city, but the past is omnipresent: from the mediaeval city walls and distant vistas of olive groves to the narrow alleyways, expansive piazzas and imposing palazzi, all reminders of the vast banking wealth which drove its artistic preeminence. Trade with the East was the source of Venice’s wealth, and the eastern connection has left its indelible stamp, with western styles tempered by a richness of effect and delicacy of pattern redolent of oriental opulence. Seeing the highlights of these two cities in succession, with enough time in each to enable some depth of experience, provides one of the great aesthetic journeys the world has to offer.

Itinerary – 2017

ItaLy

2–9 November 2016 (md 933) 8 days • £2,840 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

Florence, Campanile, watercolour by W.W. Collins, publ. 1911. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

129

Walking in the Footsteps of Leonardo & Michelangelo Countryside, gardens, villas & sculpture in Northern Tuscany italy

29 September–6 October 2017 (me 585) 8 days • £2,890 Lecturer: Dr Antonia Whitley Countryside, gardens, villas & sculpture in northern Tuscany. Five country walks amid the beautiful scenery around Fiesole and Lucca (between 3 and 7 km). Special arrangements to visit villas and gardens, some with proprietors or gardeners. Visits to places of artistic and gastronomic interest, and to picturesque towns and villages. Led by Dr Antonia Whitley, art historian and lecturer specialising in the Italian Renaissance. Pleasing views, cooling breezes, the cultivation of vine and olive, light and space: these were key in encouraging wealthy merchants in Florence and Lucca to build villas in the surrounding countryside as their summer residences. But just as the town houses were constructed to demonstrate the accomplishments of the patron and the skills of his architect, their country villas did the same, with the added benefit of a garden. In these less-visited corners of Tuscany (we deliberately avoid crowded spots), there is an extraordinary number of villas and gardens. This tour includes some of the best, linking them by geographical proximity – and in some cases the feasibility of walking between them – and for the purposes of aesthetic and architectural comparison. There is something about discovering these villas and gardens on foot which enables one better to understand their genius loci and their merits. As gardens were considered extensions of the villa, they were designed to display artworks of the horticultural variety as well as sculpture of stone and bronze. The shapes of the topiary, the patterns of parterres and the delight of the vistas combine with the beauties of Renaissance and Lucca, cathedral of S. Martino, engraving c. 1800.

MAINLAND EUROPE 130 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Baroque sculpture carefully positioned to best effect. Traditional sculpture is still practised in Tuscany; in the gracious town of Pietrasanta, there are dozens of small workshops where the fivehundred-year long tradition of delicately shaping a block of marble into art is still very much alive. Beyond the gardens, the Tuscan climate lends itself to producing a number of well-structured red wines based on Sangiovese and refined white wines, as well as excellent olive oil. The combination of care for provenance of ingredient and excellent cooking means that the meals should be of a high order. Matching local wines with food is an increasingly popular craft, and this tour offers an opportunity to experience this first hand.

Itinerary Day 1: Villa La Pietra, Fiesole. Fly at c. 8.45am from London Heathrow to Pisa (British Airways). Villa La Pietra was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sassetti, manager of the Medici Bank, and owned and embellished last century by aesthete and historian Sir Harold Acton. Tour the magnificent garden and visit the villa’s interior. Drive to Fiesole for the first of three nights. Day 2: Fiesole, San Domenico. Visit Fiesole’s cathedral and then walk through the town to Monte Ceceri on small roads and woodland paths, passing stone quarries where Leonardo launched his flying machines (4.5 km, steeply uphill at the beginning of the walk). Visit Villa Medici, built in the 15th century and subsequently home to Sibyl

Cutting and Iris Origo, and Villa Le Balze, where Cecil Pinsent designed a series of green ‘rooms’ which cling to a steep slope. Walk the old road to the convent of San Domenico where Fra’ Angelico first worked, and see his altarpiece there. Day 3: Settignano, Pian de’ Giullari. Morning walk to Settignano on farm tracks and chalky paths through olive groves and woodland (easy to moderate, undulating, c. 5.5 km). Villa Gamberaia is one of the most perfect examples of garden art, 18th- and late 19th-century with a formal water garden and high hedges. Drive to Pian de’ Giullari for lunch and a visit to Villa Capponi, to which Cecil Pinsent contributed. Overlooking Florence, San Miniato al Monte is a splendid Romanesque basilica with a superb Early Renaissance Chapel. Day 4: Pistoia, Lucca. The exceptionally attractive town of Pistoia has important sculpture including the pulpit in Sant’Andrea by Giovanni Pisano, one of the finest Gothic ensembles south of the Alps, and a silver altarpiece in the cathedral, the product of 150 years’ workmanship. Arriving in Lucca, there is time for a climb up the Guinigi Tower to admire the panoramic view of this exceptionally well-preserved city. First of four nights in Lucca. Day 5: Lucca, Matraia, Villa Oliva Buonvisi. San Martino is a Romanesque cathedral with the exquisite Gothic effigy of Ilaria del Carretto. Drive mid-morning to Matraia to begin a walk through the olive groves, a route beside some of the finest of Lucca’s summer retreats. Lunch and olive-oil

Siena & San Gimignano Hilltop towns of Tuscany ItaLy

tasting at a farm overlooking the hillside. Continue walking downhill to Marlia on country paths and lanes (total 5 km; a steep downhill section at the start, walking poles are essential for this part of the walk). Visit the 15th-century Villa Oliva, once owned by the powerful Buonvisi family. Day 6: Compitese villages, Pietrasanta. A walk on footpaths and country roads through the villages of Sant’Andrea di Compito and San Giusto di Compito (c. 3.5 km, moderate to easy terrain). Pietrasanta is famous for its skilled marble workers; visit a workshop where classical and contemporary works are produced using methods unchanged since the Middle Ages. Day 7: Camigliano, Villa Torrigiani. Drive to Camigliano to begin a 7 km walk on grassy paths and lanes to Sant’Andrea in Caprile (of which 3.5 km is steadily uphill). Picnic lunch before visiting Villa Torrigiani and its garden. Dating back to the 16th century when it was owned by the Buonvisi family, the garden was transformed in the late 17th century by Niccolao Santini, the Lucchese ambassador to Louis XIV. Return to Lucca for an optional cooking demonstration; a wine tasting is followed by dinner. Day 8. Fly from Pisa to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 2.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,890 or £2,690 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,240 or £3,040 without flights. Included meals: 4 lunches (including 1 picnic) and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Villa Fiesole (villafiesole. it): excellent 4-star hotel just outside Fiesole, balancing Italian charm and modern comforts, with beautiful views of Florence. Hotel Ilaria, Lucca (hotelilaria.com): excellently situated 4-star, within the city walls, with friendly staff.

Non-walkers. Safety and comfort are our main concern and the walks included in the tour are optional. However, we do not organise alternative excursions for those who do not wish to walk, and would not recommend this tour to non-walkers. Average distance by coach per day: 32 miles. Group size: between 8 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with Walking in Southern Tuscany, 9–16 October 2017 (p.132).

12–16 October 2016 (md 900) 5 days • £1,530 Lecturer: Dr Antonia Whitley Based in one of the most extraordinary of Italian hill towns, San Gimignano. Visits to nearby places – Volterra, San Miniato and Siena (two visits). Led by art historian Dr Antonia Whitley, whose PhD is on Sienese society in the 15th century. Beautiful landscape, wonderful streetscape, outstanding mediaeval and Renaissance painting, great buildings. Towards the end of an autumn afternoon, when the last of the day trippers have departed and the shutters have clattered down on the souvenir shops, an ineffable timelessness descends. While dusk begins to obscure the hills and darken the streets, the inhabitants get on with their lives – shopping, socialising, doing business – amidst the most extraordinary streetscape in Europe. The ordinary within the quite extraordinary – that is the charm of Italy. San Gimignano is not a museum but a living country town. It is also so improbable a phenomenon, with fourteen thirteenth-century hundred-foot stone tower houses, that a day trip does not always suffice to eradicate incredulity, let alone allow the visitor to feel the austere magic of the place. Scarcely changed in appearance for six hundred years, and looking like a balding porcupine in a searingly beautiful Tuscan landscape, the town provides a microcosm of life and art in mediaeval Italy. The towers and circuit of walls were built not only in response to hostilities with neighbouring

city-states but also to the incessant conflict between the swaggering, belligerent nobility and the emergent merchants and tradesmen. Nevertheless, the little city flourished. A nodal point on the main north-south road to Rome, hospices and friaries swelled to serve pilgrims, officials and traders. Wealth, pride and piety conspired to attract some of the best artistic talent to embellish the churches. But San Gimignano never recovered from the double blow of the Black Death of 1348 and submission to Florence shortly after. Extending the theme of hilltop towns, visits are made to two of the greatest: Volterra, rugged and dour, and Siena, the largest and the most beautiful of them all. Spilling across three converging hilltops, Siena contains perhaps the most extensive spread of mediaeval townscape in Europe. Culturally the city reached its peak in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. There is plenty of excellent Renaissance art here, but it is mediaeval painting for which the city is best known. Duccio, Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers were among a host of brilliant artists who created the distinctive Sienese style: exquisite delicacy of design, detail and colour, and images which are godly yet humane, numinous yet naturalistic. This tour provides opportunity for a concentrated study of Siena, not only its art and architecture but also its history. Mediaeval sculpture and painting is its main subject matter because of its exceptional quality and quantity, but Renaissance and Mannerist painters such as Pinturicchio, Sodoma and Beccafumi are also surveyed. There is also good representation of Florentine masters from Ghiberti to Michelangelo. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

How strenuous? This tour should only be considered by those who are used to regular country walking, with some uphill content. There are five walks of 3.5–8 km, that are described as easy to moderate, and on terrain that includes footpaths, country lanes and woodland paths. We particularly recommend walking poles for this tour – two of the walks involve steep, uneven, downhill sections, which can be particularly slippery, especially in wet weather. Terrain. We cover a variety of terrain which is generally quite robust with short ascents and longer descents. Paths are often not well tended and can be rubbly and slippery underfoot, particularly after rain. They require sure-footedness and strong knees. Walking as a group. This is a group tour and it is expected that most walking is done as a group.

San Gimignano, wood engraving c. 1880.

131

Siena & San Gimignano continued

Walking in Southern tuscany Art, architecture & landscapes in Val d’Orcia & Chianti

ItaLy

Itinerary Day 1: San Miniato. Fly at c. 8.45am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Pisa. Drive to San Miniato, whose highly strategic location on both the Via Francigena and the main route between Pisa and Florence meant that it was one of the most important imperial centres in Tuscany in the 12th and 13th centuries. See here the church of S. Domenico, before driving to San Gimignano where all four nights are spent. Day 2: San Gimignano. In San Gimignano visit the Romanesque collegiate church containing two great cycles of trecento frescoes depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The town hall also has 14th-century frescoes and houses a small art gallery. Among the Renaissance works of art seen today are frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli and an altarpiece by Pollaiuolo in the church of S. Agostino. Study the development of the city in the streets, alleys and squares, and walk along a stretch of the walls. Day 3: Siena. Siena is the largest of hilltop towns in Tuscany (it is in fact a city), distinguished by red brick and architectural and artistic design of an exquisite elegance. The cathedral museum contains Duccio’s Maestà, finest of all mediaeval altarpieces. The 14th-century Palazzo Pubblico has frescoes by Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers. Visit the imposing Romanesque and Gothic cathedral, a construction of white and green marble with outstanding Renaissance sculpture and art including Pinturicchio’s brilliant frescoes in the Piccolomini Library and the font by Ghiberti, Donatello and Jacopo della Quercia. Day 4: Volterra, Siena. A wonderful morning drive through Tuscan hills to the episcopal seat of Volterra (which in the early Middle Ages claimed suzerainty over San Gimignano), a rugged mediaeval hilltop town. Visit the art gallery and the Romanesque cathedral, which has fine Renaissance sculpture. Return to Siena to visit the hospital of Sta. Maria della Scala, with its exceptional collection of Renaissance frescoes.

Montepulciano, aquatint c. 1830.

9–16 October 2017 (me 601) 8 days • £2,560 Lecturer: Dr Antonia Whitley Five walks of between 5 and 8 kilometres through exquisite landscape of soaring cypress, olives and vines. Art history away from the tourist throngs – mediaeval fortress towns, Romanesque churches, Renaissance palazzi, Sienese painting.

Day 5. Drive to Pisa for the flight to London Heathrow, arriving c. 2.35pm.

Based in two tiny towns in topographically diverse areas of Tuscany.

Practicalities

Led by Dr Antonia Whitley, expert art historian and lecturer specialising in the Italian Renaissance.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Price – per person. Two sharing: £1,530 or £1,400 without flights. Single occupancy: £1,690 or £1,560 without flights. Included meals: 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Leon Bianco, San Gimignano (leonbianco.com): 3-star hotel in the central square, with fine views. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking, some of it on uneven ground and much of it uphill. Coaches are not allowed inside the walls of any of the towns. Fitness is essential. Some days involve a lot of driving; average distance per day: 51 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

132 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Three wine tastings, in Montalcino, Chianti and Badia a Coltibuono. To walk through quintessentially Tuscan landscapes, along chalky tracks lined with soaring cypress trees and flanked by neat rows of vines and well-kept olive trees, must surely be one of life’s great pleasures. The walks selected here pass through farmland and woodland, where primrose, violet and cyclamen nestle below chestnut, holm oak and beech. Pine trees grace the higher terrain. Walking is conducive to observing at close quarters the variations of plant, animal and birdlife in this enchanting countryside. But if seeing the artistic and architectural delights in these parts of Tuscany is your aim, this tour also offers opportunity to do so. We avoid the tourist throngs in the larger towns and cities and concentrate on the smaller and less-visited places. Mediaeval fortress towns, Romanesque

churches, Renaissance palazzi and paintings of the Sienese school are particularly in evidence here. Sometimes these are seen at the beginning or the end of a morning’s walk, sometimes during a half day spent in leisurely exploration of one of the enchanting little cities or settlements. All are seen in the enlightening company of an art historian. And while the walks are taxing enough to ensure that hearty evening meals are fully deserved, they are not so strenuous as to detract from enjoying the ever-changing views and natural, agricultural and constructed sights. We take trouble to ensure that much of what you eat is produced from fine local ingredients, including Pecorino cheese (whose pungent flavour is due to the herbs grazed by ewes on the unique clay soils south of Siena) and the prized salami of the cinta senese pigs. The food is often perfectly complemented by a glass of one of the world’s finest red wines. As this tour is based for three nights in Radda in Chianti, today still the nucleus of Tuscan viticulture and where the noble Sangiovese vine is most prevalent, opportunity is allowed for tastings of these robust reds. We also visit a producer of some of the finest Chianti Classico, in a former monastery where thirsty monks made a wine similar to the sophisticated Chianti produced today.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 8.45am from London Heathrow to Pisa (British Airways). Drive to Pienza, a gem of Renaissance architecture created by Pope Pius II as a tribute to his place of birth, which is the base for four nights.

Dr Antonia Whitley. art historian and lecturer specialising in the Italian Renaissance. She obtained her PhD from the Warburg Institute, University of London. She has lectured for the National Gallery and has taught in the War Studies department of King’s College, London. She organises adult education study sessions and has led many tours in Italy.

Day 3: Sant’Antimo, Montalcino. Walk down from near Montalcino through a pretty valley, part vineyard, partially wooded, punctuated by farmsteads, and arrive at the remote and serene monastery of Sant’Antimo (c. 5 km). This most beautiful of Romanesque churches is in part constructed of luminous alabaster. Once an impregnable fortress and now centre of Brunello wines, Montalcino is a hilltop community with magnificent views and a collection of Sienese paintings in the civic museum. There is a wine tasting here. Return by coach to Pienza.

gardens and terrace have an impressive view. The restaurant serves good Tuscan cooking. Relais Vignale, Radda in Chianti (vignale.it): 4-star 17th-century manor house with historical links to Chianti wine production; several lounges, terrace with valley view, restaurant and outdoor pool.

Day 4: Monticchiello, Montepulciano. The mediaeval hamlet of Monticchiello, with views across Val d’Orcia, is the starting point for a morning walk through a valley, before continuing uphill to Pienza (c. 6 km). Montepulciano is one of the most picturesque of Tuscan hill towns, with grey stone palaces piled up towards the main square at the apex. The cathedral here is rich in Renaissance works of art, while outside the walls is a centrally planned church, a Renaissance masterpiece. Day 5: Monte Oliveto Maggiore, Asciano. The monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore is a fine complex of Early Renaissance art and architecture, the cloister having 36 frescoes by Signorelli (1497–1499) and Sodoma (1505–1508). Break the journey in Asciano, a delightful town sitting in the heart of the Crete Senesi, a name referring to the clay crags typical of this area. Radda in Chianti, once the capital of the Chianti League established in 1250, is one of the most attractive of the region’s settlements. Stay three nights in Radda.

Day 7: Badiaccia Montemuro, Volpaia. An optional morning walk through variegated woods including oak and silver birch (c. 6km mostly downhill on tracks with some rough patches) to the well-preserved hamlet of Volpaia. The village is dedicated to the arts and winemaking, ensuring its original architectural features remain intact. A further optional walk in the afternoon goes down through the estate’s impressively maintained vineyards to the valley floor before a climb to Radda (c. 4.5 km mostly downhill on grassy tracks and through vineyards). Day 8. Fly from Pisa, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 2.30pm.

See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,560 or £2,450 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,890 or £2,780 without flights.

How strenuous? This tour should only be considered by those who are used to regular country walking, with some uphill content. Strong knees and ankles are essential, as are a pair of wellworn hiking boots with good ankle support. Walks have been carefully selected but some steep rises are unavoidable and terrain can be loose under foot, particularly in wet weather, and if you are used to using them, may find walking poles useful. There are five walks of between 3 and 6 miles. Average distance by coach per day: 44 miles

Included meals: 2 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine.

Group size: between 10 and 18 participants

Accommodation. Relais Il Chiostro, Pienza (anghelhotels.it): 4-star former friary dating to the 15th century close to the main square; rooms vary in size; simply decorated and furnished. Its

Combine this tour with: Palladian Villas, 3–8 October 2017 (p.117); The Venetian Hills, 5–9 October 2017 (p.111); Sicily, 16–28 October 2017 (p.144).

Monte Oliveto, drawing by J. Pennell, publ. 1904.

Practicalities

a Festival of Music in Florence 13–18 March 2017 Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com Universally known as the crucible of change in the field of the visual arts, Florence also occupies a pivotal place in the history of music. From the late Middle Ages to the end of the Age of Baroque, Florence’s cultural and political prestige attracted first-rate musical talent from all over Europe, and the connoisseurship of the Tuscan aristocracy and intelligentsia spurred singers, players and composers to adventurous new heights. The concerts: Modo Antiquo perform 14thcentury devotional songs at Palazzo Davanzati • Sollazzo Ensemble celebrate Florence with Dufay’s motet written for the dedication of the cathedral, in Santi Apostoli (the ‘Old Cathedral’) • Euridice – the world’s earliest surviving opera, with music from the versions by both Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccini – with Modo Antiquo in a Baroque private palace • I Fagiolini and Liz Kenny present Renaissance madrigals and explore the origins of Bel Canto at the Medici villa at Artimino • Four centuries of organ music with Gabriele Giacomelli, the organist of San Lorenzo • G.F. Handel’s Rodrigo with La Nuova Musica in the theatre in

which it was first performed, the Teatro Niccolini • The Mass that would be King – Striggio’s Missa Ecco sì beato giorno, the most ambitious piece of music of its time – with I Fagiolini in Brunelleschi’s Basilica of San Lorenzo. There is also the opportunity of joining a prefestival tour, Florence: Cradle of the Renaissance (see page 128) or a post-festival tour, Florence & Venice (see page 129).

Florence, watercolour publ. 1904. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 6: Gaiole in Chianti, Badia a Coltibuono. From Gaiole, walk a pleasantly varied route through Chianti countryside with woodland, vineyards and breath-taking vistas (c. 10 km). Badia a Coltibuono, a former abbey founded by Vallombrosan monks, has an important history of viticulture. Lunch and wine tasting at the estate restaurant before a visit to the abbey’s 16th-century frescoed refectory, gardens and wine cellars.

ItaLy

Day 2: San Quirico, Pienza. Drive to the little walled town of San Quirico d’Orcia. Visit the Collegiata with its splendid portals and the Horti Leonini, public gardens dating to the 17th century. Walk back to Pienza (c. 6 km) through rolling, open farmland of rare beauty, visiting the Romanesque church of Corsignano before the steady climb to Pienza. In the afternoon, explore this little city where at the centre the cathedral, episcopal palace and Pius’s own palazzo form a harmonious group.

133

Southern tuscany The Sienese Contado & the Val d’Orcia ItaLy

partly ruinous monastery of Sant’Antimo has a strikingly beautiful Romanesque church, in part constructed of luminous alabaster. Once an impregnable fortress and now centre of Brunello wines, Montalcino is a walled hilltop village with magnificent views and a collection of Sienese painting in the museum. Bagni Vignoni has a central square occupied by an arcaded Renaissance piscina. Villa La Foce, former home of Iris Origo, has a garden designed by Cecil Pinsent. Day 4: San Leonardo al Lago, Montesiepi, Cetinale, San Galgano. In the parish churches of San Leonardo al Lago and Montesiepi are two remarkable Sienese paintings of the Annunciation, respectively by Lippo Vanni and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Villa Cetinale is a fine 17th-century garden excellently restored by the late owner Lord Lambton. At San Galgano are the impressive Gothic ruins of what in the 13th century had been one of the richest Cistercian abbeys in Italy. Day 5: Siena. Siena, City of the Virgin, is the most beautiful of Italian hill towns. You can opt to join the lecturer for her personal selection of some of the choicest items or go your own way (the itinerary assumes that you will be familiar with the main places of interest). Palazzo Piccolomini (1460s) contains the archives and a museum displaying beautifully painted covers of civic records. Visit the art collection of the Palazzo Chigi Saracini. The imposing cathedral, a Romanesque and Gothic construction of white and green marble, offers an outstanding array of sculpture and painting. Especially deserving of close attention are the crypt and Pinturicchio’s frescoes in the Piccolomini Library. Siena Cathedral, lithograph c. 1850.

1–7 May 2017 (md 262) 7 days • £2,190 Lecturer: Dr Fabrizio Nevola Visit hilltop towns and villages, and see spectacular countryside. Based throughout in the charming Renaissance town of Pienza. The lecturer is Dr Fabrizio Nevola, a specialist in architectural history.

MAINLAND EUROPE 134

A good mix of architecture and art with a day spent in Siena. This tour is representative of a type in which there is a shift of emphasis away from the major masterpieces of a region towards the lesser delights, from a concentrated diet of cultural achievement familiar from text books towards a mélange of landscape, less accessible art and a sense of the continuity of life and community amidst ancient masonry. All six nights of the tour are based in the small hill town of Pienza. Formerly called Corsignano, it was the birthplace of Pope Pius II, humanist, historian, traveller, autobiographer and patron of architecture. Between his election in 1458 and his death in 1464, he commenced the rebuilding of his home town and provided it with a cathedral, bishop’s palace, town hall, a palace for himself and a new name. Consequently Pienza entered book online at www.martinrandall.com

the annals of architectural history as the earliest example of Renaissance town planning. If you delight in places which lie off the beaten track, in tiny hill towns where vineyards clamber up to the fourteenth-century walls, in majestic landscapes of storm-tossed hills punctuated by cypresses, in the discovery of great architecture and exquisite paintings in unexpected places, in tracing a maze of alleys scarcely changed for 500 years, this tour is likely to please.

Itinerary Day 1: Pienza. Fly at c. 12 noon from London Gatwick to Pisa (British Airways). From there drive to Pienza, a gem of Renaissance architecture set in some of the best of Tuscan landscape. Day 2: Pienza, Monte Oliveto Maggiore. In the morning, a leisurely exploration of Pienza, the tiny hill town rebuilt 1459–64 by Pope Pius II in accordance with Renaissance ideals. The cathedral and palaces grouped around the main piazza were designed by Bernardo Rossellino in collaboration with his papal patron. Visit the Palazzo Piccolomini, and the cathedral. In the afternoon visit the monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, an exquisite complex of Early Renaissance art and architecture, the main cloister having 36 frescoes by Signorelli and Sodoma (1505–8). Day 3: Sant’Antimo, Montalcino, Bagni Vignoni, La Foce. Located in a remote valley, the

Day 6: Montepulciano, Pienza. The main thoroughfare of Montepulciano, lined with grand palaces, winds circuitously through this once important city, with the Piazza Grande at the summit. The cathedral here is rich in Renaissance works of art. Outside the town, the centrally planned church of San Biagio by Antonio da Sangallo is one of the masterpieces of the Renaissance. Return mid-afternoon to Pienza and visit the diocesan museum in the restored Palazzo Borgia. Day 7. Return to London Gatwick at c. 2.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,190 or £2,060 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,470 or £2,340 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accomodation. Relais Il Chiostro, Pienza (anghelhotels.it): 4-star former friary dating to the 15th century close to the main square; bedrooms vary in size and are simply decorated and furnished; the gardens and terrace have an impressive view and the restaurant serves good Tuscan cooking. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking on this tour, much of it on the steep and roughly paved streets of the hill towns. Average distance by coach per day: 76 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Ravenna & Urbino, 26–30 April 2017 (p.127).

the Heart of Italy Umbria’s ﬁnest art & architecture ItaLy

11–18 September 2017 (me 531) 8 days • £2,370 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott An excellent survey of the art and architecture of Umbria, heartland of the Renaissance. Based throughout in the hilltop town of Spello, amidst ageless undulating countryside. Led by Dr Michael Douglas-Scott, specialist in Italian art and architecture. Perugia, Spoleto, Assisi and significant smaller towns away from the main tourist centres.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 10.45am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino. Drive to Spello, the small, quiet hilltop town which is the base for this tour. Day 2: Assisi. Drive the short distance to Assisi and spend much of the morning at S. Francesco, mother church of the Franciscan Order. Here is one of the greatest assemblages of mediaeval fresco painting, including the cycle of the Life of St Francis (the Italian scholarly community stands largely alone in insisting it was by Giotto). In the afternoon walk through the austere mediaeval streets and visit the affectingly simple church of Sta. Chiara and the Romanesque cathedral.

Orvieto, bas-reliefs from the cathedral façade, wood engraving from ‘The Magazine of Art’, 1882.

Day 3: Todi, Spello. Located just outside Todi, Sta. Maria della Consolazione is a rare example of that Renaissance ideal, the centrally planned church. Walk through the town, seeing the cathedral and the church of S. Fortunato, with its richly decorated central doorway and frescoes by Masolino. Return in the afternoon to Spello, which offers alluring vistas through narrow streets, good Roman remains and the startlingly richly coloured Renaissance frescoes by Pinturicchio in the church of S. Maria Maggiore. Day 4: Perugia. Painting and sculpture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance dominate the morning. The 1270s civic fountain by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano is one of the masterpieces of mediaeval sculpture, while the otherworldly repose of Perugino’s paintings can be well appreciated in his natal town. The National Gallery of Umbria is housed in one of the most impressive mediaeval town halls in all Italy. An afternoon walk takes in a rare Etruscan gateway (c. 200 bc), mediaeval city walls and the richly embellished Renaissance façade of the church of S. Bernardino.

of the Museo Civico. Higher up, the Palazzo Ducale was built by Federico da Montefeltro, the Early Renaissance warlord and art patron. Day 7: Orvieto. Spend the day in this enchanting hilltop town, with its glistening marble Gothic cathedral. Its façade is adorned with reliefs by Maitani, among the most important of Italian 14th-century sculptures, and inside are the extraordinary apocalyptic Last Judgement frescoes by Signorelli (1505). The cathedral museum has a good collection of art and artefacts. A little way away in another square is the redoubtable Palazzo del Popolo, the 12th-century governor’s palace. Day 8. Spoleto. A morning walk in Spoleto passes the Ponte delle Torri, an awe-inspiring mediaeval aqueduct painted by Turner, and finishes at the cathedral square. One of the most imposing in Italy, it slopes like an auditorium towards the cathedral façade with its mosaics and rose windows; inside there are frescoes by Pinturicchio and Filippo Lippi. Drive to Rome airport for an flight which arrives at Heathrow at c. 8.30pm.

Day 5: Foligno, Montefalco. Straddling the river Topino, Foligno is little known to tourists. See the restored palace of the Trinci family, lords of Foligno, home to extensive frescoes by the greatest Italian master of International Gothic, Gentile da Fabriano. Continue to Montefalco, a delightful little hilltop town with magnificent views of the valley below and hills around. The Renaissance treat here is the fresco cycle by Benozzo Gozzoli in S. Francesco. Return to Spello for some free time.

Practicalities

Day 6: Gubbio. Spilling down a hillside and offering sensational views across Umbrian countryside, Gubbio is one of the most beautiful and well preserved of the ancient towns of Italy. The Palazzo dei Consoli is an austerely magnificent mediaeval town hall located beside a square with one side open to the view; it houses the art gallery

How strenuous? Many visits take place in hill towns, with very steep, uneven inclines leading from the coach park. Agility and sure-footedness are particularly essential. There is a lot of coach travel. Average distance by coach per day: 72 miles.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,370 or £2,170 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,460 or £2,260 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel La Bastiglia, Spello (labastiglia.com): well-appointed 4-star hotel at the apex of Spello; wonderful views from the terrace.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

The ‘green heart of Italy’, Umbria contains a vast and varied array of what visitors most love about central Italy: ancient streetscapes crammed onto hilltops, exquisitely undulating countryside of olive, cypress and vine, and an abundance of wonderful art. Rarely can the spirit of the Middle Ages be so potently felt as in the hill towns of central Italy. That such small communities could have built each dwelling so massively, raised churches and public buildings of such size and magnificence and created works of art of such monumentality and beauty inspires awe bordering on disbelief among today’s visitors. This is also the heartland of the Renaissance, and several of the leading artists of the era were natives who worked here before being inveigled to the great metropolises of Florence and Rome. Many of the most important and beautiful of Italy’s incomparable patrimony of paintings and frescoes are included on this tour. The great Giottesque cycle at Assisi stands at the beginning of the modern era of art, and the Last Judgement frescoes by Signorelli in Orvieto are on the cusp of the High Renaissance. While in the field of architecture Romanesque and Gothic predominate, there are many major Renaissance buildings, including the centrally planned church at Todi. The man-made environment melds with the natural in a picturesque union of intense beauty. It is a landscape of rumpled hills, sometimes rugged and forested, sometimes tamed in the struggle to cultivate, always speckled with ancient farmsteads, fortified villages and isolated churches. Even from the central piazze of many of these towns there are views of countryside which seems scarcely to have changed for centuries.

135

Piero della Francesca From Umbria to Milan ItaLy

17–23 February 2017 (md 150) 7 days • £2,460 Lecturer: Dr Antonia Whitley A journey to nearly every surviving work in Italy by the Early Renaissance master. The lecturer is Dr Antonia Whitley, art historian and lecturer specialising in the Italian Renaissance.

capital to which most provincial artists flocked. Though he was not without influence, he had no ‘school’ or direct successors. A mathematician, his images beguile with their perfect perspective, architectonic form and monumentality. There is little documentation for his life, and he seems to have been a slow worker. Few works survive, despite the fact that he lived until the age of eighty.

An extended itinerary with more time in Milan and Florence, and a visit to Rimini.

Itinerary

Big cities and tiny country towns – visits Urbino, Monterchi, Arezzo, Sansepolcro and Perugia.

Day 1. Fly at c. 8.45am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Bologna. Drive to Rimini to visit the outstanding Tempio Malatestiano, designed by Leon Battista Alberti for the tyrant Sigismondo Malatesta. See Piero’s fresco of St. Sigismund and Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. Continue on to the hotel in Città di Castello for the first of three nights.

This tour is an exhilarating study of one of the best-loved and most intriguing artists of the fifteenth century. It also takes you to a select handful of some of Italy’s loveliest places and beststocked galleries, and through some of her most enchanting countryside. Though the theme is a specialised one, the tour is by no means intended only for serious students of the subject. Few art lovers are untouched by the serenity and beauty of the high-key palette of Piero’s works; even fewer would be unmoved by seeing most of his surviving works in the towns and landscapes in which he created them. Born about 1412 in the small town of Sansepolcro on the periphery of Florentine territory, Piero spent little of his life in the Tuscan

Day 2: Perugia, Sansepolcro. Perugia, capital of Umbria, is one of Italy’s most beautiful towns. The National Gallery of Umbria in the mediaeval town hall has a polyptych with The Annunciation by Piero. There is a wealth of other monuments, including a fine merchants’ hall with frescoes by Perugino. Afternoon visit to Borgo Sansepolcro, Piero’s birthplace and home town. Visit the museum in the former town hall, where Piero’s early masterpiece, Madonna della Misericordia, a panel of St Julian, and the marvellous Resurrection

fresco are housed. (At the time of publication, the Resurrection fresco is only partially visible due to restoration work, but should be visible by February 2017). Walk around the centre, passing Piero’s house and the Romanesque Gothic cathedral. Day 3: Urbino, Monterchi. Drive through mountains to the hilltop town of Urbino. As one of the most enlightened and creative courts of the Renaissance, it has an importance in the history of art out of all proportion to its small size. Piero possibly contributed to the design of the beautiful Ducal Palace, which houses his exquisite Flagellation of Christ and the Madonna di Senigallia. Visit S. Bernardino, where Federigo da Montefeltro was buried. In the afternoon visit Monterchi to see Piero’s beautiful fresco The Madonna del Parto. Day 4: Arezzo, Florence. See Piero’s great fresco cycle, The Legend of the True Cross, executed over a 20-year period, at S. Francesco, Arezzo. In the cathedral see his fresco of Mary Magdalene. Continue to Florence where one night is spent. In the late afternoon visit the Uffizi, which contains portrait panels of Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and his wife Battista Sforza. Day 5: Florence. Free time. In the afternoon, travel by 1st class rail to Milan for the first of two nights. Day 6: Milan. The Poldi-Pezzoli Museum and Pinacoteca di Brera house paintings by Piero. Visit the Renaissance church of S. Maria delle Grazie; the refectory houses Leonardo’s Last Supper. Day 7: Milan. The morning is free. Fly from Milan Linate to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 4.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,460 or £2,320 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,790 or £2,650 without flights. Included meals: 5 dinners with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Hotel Tiferno, Città di Castello (hoteltiferno.it): central 4-star hotel, sensitively renovated with a successful blend of old and new. Helpful staff. Hotel Santa Maria Novella, Florence (hotelsantamarianovella.it): delightful 4-star hotel, centrally-located. Rosa Grand Hotel, Milan (starhotels.com/en/our-hotels/rosa-grandmilan): smart 4-star hotel excellently located directly behind the Duomo. Rooms are well appointed in a clean, modern style.

136

How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking in the town centres where vehicular access is restricted. There is a lot of walking over unevenly paved ground. Fitness is essential. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 62 miles. Train travel. We choose to travel by train from Florence to Milan because it is less harmful to the environment, quicker and more comfortable than travelling by coach. However, trains can be crowded and there is often little room for luggage, even on the Frecciarossa, and buffet cars can run out of food. You will need to be able to move your own luggage on and off the train and within stations. Some train stations do not have escalators or lifts and porters are not always readily available. Perugia cathedral, lithograph by V. Faini c. 1930. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Footpaths of Umbria Walks, art & wine between Arezzo & Assisi

Umbrian Christmas 20–27 December 2016 (md 981) This tour is currently full Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com.

Six walks of between 5 and 7.5 km between Arezzo and Assisi through the Umbrian countryside. Enjoy the art of Piero della Francesca, Luca Signorelli and Giotto. Visit isolated hermitages, churches and cathedrals associated with St Francis.

Based in Perugia, one of the largest, loveliest and artistically well-stocked of Italian hill towns – without the high-season crowds.

Led by Dr Antonia Whitley, art historian and lecturer specialising in the Italian Renaissance.

Also Assisi, Arezzo, Gubbio, Spello and other astoundingly attractive mediaeval towns.

Itinerary Day 1: Citta di Castello. Fly at c. 8.45am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Bologna. Spend the first of four nights in Città di Castello.

Art and architecture of the utmost importance and of memorable beauty, particularly from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Led by Dr Michael Douglas-Scott, specialist in the Italian Renaissance. Assisi, St Francis, watercolour by Frank Fox c. 1900.

Day 2: Montecasale, Sansepolcro. St Francis passed through the Convent of Montecasale in 1213 on his journey to the Adriatic and Jerusalem, and a small community of friars have continued to provide pilgrim accommodation since then. Walk 7.5 km to Montecasale, a high-level walk on paths, tracks and exposed ground, and through woodland. Lunch in Sansepolcro, then visit the museum in the former town hall, where Piero della Francesca’s early masterpiece, Madonna della Misericordia and the marvellous Resurrection fresco are housed. (Tthe Resurrection fresco is currently only partially visible due to restoration work, but should be visible by February 2017). Day 3: Arezzo, Monterchi. Drive to Arezzo to see Piero della Francesca’s great fresco cycle, The Legend of the True Cross, painted for the Franciscan order and executed over a 20-year period. After lunch a 5.5 km walk to Monterchi on gently undulating farm tracks and country roads. Piero della Francesca’s beautiful Madonna del Parto has its own museum in the village. Day 4: Le Celle, Cortona. Begin the morning’s walk from the immaculately kept Eremo Le Celle, which Francis visited in 1226. Starting gently downhill from the Eremo, this walk (5 km) begins on woodland tracks outside Cortona before joining a cobbled Roman path that leads uphill to the town centre. Cortona is highly attractive and has a good art gallery, notable for paintings by Fra Angelico and Signorelli. Day 5: Collepino, Spello. Drive to Collepino, a restored mediaeval borgo with views of Monte Subasio and, on a fine day, the Monti Sibillini. Walk 6 km downhill and on a level track to Spello, through olive groves running alongside the Roman aqueduct built to supply the ‘splendissima colonia Julia’. Time to enjoy Spello’s harmonious architecture and the richly coloured Renaissance frescoes by Pinturicchio in the church of Sta. Maria Maggiore. First of three nights in Spello. Day 6: Assisi. A 6 km walk on strada bianca (rough farm tracks), minor roads and woodland paths to Assisi. The path predominantly descends, although the last section is uphill through the Bosco Francescano. The walk ends through the

city gate which leads directly to the Basilica. Here we see one of the greatest assemblages of mediaeval fresco painting, including the cycle of the Life of St Francis which some attribute to Giotto. There is time to walk through the austere mediaeval streets and visit the church of Sta. Chiara. Day 7: Bevagna, Montefalco. Known as the ‘Balcony of Umbria’, Montefalco’s mediaeval church houses 15th-century frescoes of the Florentine and Umbrian school; the town is also well known for its inky and full-bodied Sagrantino wines. Walk (5 km) downhill from Montefalco on country trails and lanes. Drive to Bevagna, the Roman Mevania, home to one of Italy’s most harmonious squares. Day 8. Drive to Rome with a break in Montegiore en route. Fly from Rome Fiumicino to Heathrow, arriving c. 8.20pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,570 or £2,380 witout flights. Single occupancy: £2,770 or £2,580 without flights. Included meals: 5 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Tiferno, Città di Castello (hoteltiferno.it): central, 4-star hotel, renovated respecting the original architecture. Hotel La Bastiglia, Spello (labastiglia.com): new, wellappointed 4-star hotel at the apex of Spello, with wonderful views from the terrace. How strenuous? This tour should only be considered by those who are used to regular country walking with uphill content. There are six moderate to strenuous walks of between 5 and 7.5 km. Strong knees and ankles are essential, as are a pair of well-worn hiking boots with good ankle support. If you are used to them you may find walking poles useful. Walks have been carefully selected but some steep paths are unavoidable (both uphill and downhill) and terrain can be loose underfoot, particularly in wet weather. Average distance by coach per day: c. 60 miles. Group size: between 10 and 18 participants.

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Umbria brings together art and architecture of the highest importance, unspoilt countryside of breath-taking beauty and pockets of rare tranquillity. Land-locked, and located more or less in the centre of the peninsula, the region is crisscrossed by ancient paths, used for millennia by myriad travellers, traders, pilgrims and preachers. Two itinerant denizens in particular are encountered time and again on this tour, St Francis of Assisi and Piero della Francesca. Stimulated by the movement of people, goods and ideas along the Via Flaminia, the main route from Rome to Ravenna, the economic and artistic life of Umbria began to flourish in the Middle Ages. Ideas absorbed from Byzantium were encountered and transformed by stylistic novelties from Rome, Florence and Siena. In the early thirteenth century, the son of a rich cloth merchant in Assisi, one Francis, came to prominence in the region; he shunned the material excess and increasing secularization around him and embraced humility, simplicity and harmony with nature as an alternative Christian approach. Perambulating throughout Umbria and central Italy he preached with fervour, touched the hearts of thousands and attracted devoted disciples. Out of this movement the Franciscan Order grew. Building work on the Basilica di San Francesco began two years after Francis’s death in Assisi in 1226; the fresco cycles here are some of the most art historically important in Italy. Cimabue, Giotto, Cavallini, Pietro Lorenzetti and Simone Martini are all thought to have been involved in the work and, despite varying degrees of restoration and preservation, they constitute one of the great achievements of western civilization. The early Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca is also associated with the region. Born c. 1412 in Sansepolcro, which lies just over the border in Tuscany, like all artists of his time he led a peripatetic existence, travelling wherever work took him. In many ways, he stands like a lone star, one who did not leave an obvious trail in terms of followers, but one so bright as still to shine today. Our Piero trail also includes The Resurrection, dubbed by Aldous Huxley ‘the best picture’, and the quiet power and subtle beauty of The Legend of the True Cross in Arezzo’s Basilica di San Francesco.

ItaLy

15–22 May 2017 (md 267) 8 days • £2,570 Lecturer: Dr Antonia Whitley

137

Villas & Gardens of Campagna Romana From formal to frivolous in spectacular settings ItaLy

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 10.45am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino. Drive to the countryside near Viterbo where the first two nights are spent. Day 2: Bagnaia, Caprarola. The Villa Lante at Bagnaia, designed by Vignola, has been universally admired since its creation: the twin casinos are subordinate to the design of the delightful terraced gardens with restored giochi d’acqua and fountain by Giambologna. On a hilltop at Caprarola, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had an imposing pentagonal villa built by Vignola, with an extensive park adorned with fountains, walled gardens and a casino. Day 3: Bomarzo, Vignanello. Vicino Orsini created a Renaissance ‘theme park’ at Bomarzo of extraordinary grotesque animals and statues based on figures from Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso. Visit the Renaissance Castello Ruspoli and its enchanting gardens (by special arrangement). First of three nights in Grottaferrata, near Frascati. Day 4: Tivoli. Spend the morning at Hadrian’s Villa, designed entirely by him and inspired by sites he visited during his travels in the Empire, undoubtedly the richest building project in the Roman Empire. Lunch is in a good restaurant with astonishing views. The vast garden at Villa d’Este became one of the classic visits on the Grand Tour. Day 5: Ninfa, La Landriana. Drive to Ninfa, one of the most famous and best-loved English gardens abroad, where the ruined buildings of a mediaeval town have been transformed into a place so extraordinarily beautiful that it has long been a place of pilgrimage for gardeners. Continue to La Landriana where Lavinia Taverna worked with Russell Page to create one of the most important modern Italian gardens of its day.

Villa d’Este, after a watercolour by Walter Tyndale c. 1910.

17–22 April 2017 (md 240) 6 days • £2,330 Lecturer: Amanda Patton

MAINLAND EUROPE 138

Renaissance villas and gardens, many accessible only by special arrangement. The tour is led by garden designer and writer Amanda Patton. Beguiling scenery of tufa hills and ‘classical’ compositions. The countryside around Rome has long been the playground of the privileged, but it was in the sixteenth century that the region of Lazio took the lead in garden design. The wealthy families of popes and cardinals such as the Farnese and Este commissioned villas and gardens in the campagna romana to escape from the noise and worldly cares of the capital to places of tranquillity and repose. Vasari wrote of Caprarola in the sixteenth century that it was ‘marvellously situated for one who wishes to withdraw from the worries and tumult of the city’. book online at www.martinrandall.com

But Renaissance gardens developed to offer more than a haven of peace and a chance for contemplation; they also provided the patron with the opportunity to vaunt his knowledge of the antique world. Garden design and ornamentation were steeped in references to classical mythology. Gardens also became places of entertainment, whether formal or frivolous. The use of water tricks or giochi d’acqua – allowing the owner to ‘drown’ an unsuspecting visitor at the pull of a hidden lever – is a prime example of the latter. The towns, villas and gardens to the north of Rome are set against a backdrop of an almost fantasy, surreal landscape: villages perch high on volcanic outcrops, villas and gardens are carved out of purple tufa. To the west and south of Rome this often extraordinary scenery gives way to more classically pastoral scenes, offering glimpses of Claude Lorrain’s inspiration for many of his depictions of the campagna romana, which in turn became the foundation of the landscape style of gardens in eighteenth-century England. Some of the gardens can only be visited by special arrangement and it is possible that the order of visits will change from that listed here.

Day 6: Castel Gandolfo. Visit the Pope’s gardens, overlooking the lake of Castel Gandolfo and only recently opened to the public (by special arrangement). Fly from Rome, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 5.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,330 or £2,140 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,570 or £2,380 without flights. Included meals: 3 lunches, 4 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Alla Corte delle Terme, near Viterbo (allacortedelleterme.it): comfortable 4-star hotel in the countryside outside Viterbo; all rooms are suites. Park Hotel Villa Grazioli, Grottaferrata (villagrazioli.com): outstanding 4-star hotel overlooking Frascati and Rome in a 16th-century villa containing frescoes by Ciampelli, Carracci and Pannini. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking, much of it on rough, uneven ground in the gardens. Average distance by coach per day: 60 miles Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Gardens of the Riviera, 23–29 April 2017 (p.85).

Connoisseur’s Rome With private visits including the Sistine Chapel ItaLy

1–6 November 2016 (md 931) 6 days • £2,740 Lecturer: Dr Kevin Childs 28 February–5 March 2017 (md 159) 6 days • £2,810 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 7–12 November 2017 (me 679) 6 days • £2,810 Lecturer: Dr Kevin Childs Artistic riches which are diﬃcult to access or are rarely open to the public, including an out-ofhours visit to the Sistine Chapel. Highlights of the Renaissance and Baroque. Led by Dr Michael Douglas-Scott and Dr Kevin Childs, both specialists in Renaissance Italian art. As appealing for those new to the city as for frequent visitors. Many of Rome’s artistic riches are not easily accessible to the visitor. The emphasis of this tour is on places which are difficult of access or are rarely open to the public – on treasures which lie beyond normally impenetrable portals. Privileged access also takes the form of visits to places outside their normal opening hours. Instead of sharing the Sistine Chapel with hundreds of others, around forty Martin Randall Travel clients, from two tours which do not otherwise meet, will have the place to themselves for a couple of hours. The two tours overlap so that the high cost of private admission to the Vatican museums is spread between the two. What we manage to include varies each time we run the tour. Though it is likely that most of the places mentioned in the itinerary will be visited, arrangements depend on the generosity of owners and institutions and are occasionally subject to cancellation, but our network of contacts and know-how would enable us to arrange alternatives. Some better-known and generally accessible places are included in the itinerary as well, so the tour should appeal both to those who are unfamiliar with the city as well as to those who have been many times before.

Itinerary

Day 2. See Bernini’s oval church of S. Andrea, and in the attached monastery the rooms of St Stanislav Kostka with sculpture by Pierre Legros. The ceiling fresco by Guido Reni in the Casino dell’Aurora in the garden of the Palazzo Pallavicini Rospigliosi is one of the greatest works of 17th-century classicism. In the afternoon visit the Sancta Sanctorum, adjacent to St John Lateran, part of the mediaeval papal residence and decorated with Cosmati mosaics dating to 1278. Day 3. In the morning visit the stunning collection of sculpture and painting in the Villa Borghese. Continue to the Villa Ludovisi, which houses Caravaggio’s early ceiling painting Jupiter, Neptune & Pluto. In the evening there is a private visit to the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel and

the adjacent Stanze. With Michelangelo’s ceiling fresco, his Last Judgement on the end wall and the quattrocento wall frescoes, together with Raphael’s frescoes in the Stanze, this is the most precious assemblage of painting in the western world. Day 4. Visit the 16th-century Villa Medici, now the seat of the French Academy. Palazzo della Cancelleria, begun in 1485 by Cardinal Raffaele Riario, is a masterpiece of Early Renaissance secular architecture and has frescoes by Vasari of the life of Pope Paul III. The delightful Villa La Farnesina has frescoes by Raphael. Day 5. Palazzo Colonna is an agglomeration of building and decoration of many centuries, and has a collection which includes works by Bronzino, Titian, Veronese and Guercino. The 17th-century Great Hall is surely one of the most magnificent secular rooms in Europe. Palazzo Doria Pamphilj holds a famous picture collection (Caravaggio, Velasquez), and S. Ignazio has an illusionistic ceiling painting by Andrea del Pozzo. Day 6. Some free time. Fly from Rome Fiumicino, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 7.00pm. This gives a fair picture of the tour, but there may be substitutes for some places mentioned and the order of visits will probably diﬀer.

Dr Kevin Childs. Writer and lecturer on culture and the arts with a focus on the Italian Renaissance. He obtained his PhD from the Courtauld and has been a Fellow of the Dutch Institute in Florence and the British School at Rome. He blogs for The Hufﬁngton Post and has published in The New Statesman. Dr Michael Douglas-Scott. associate Lecturer in History of Art at Birkbeck College, specialising in 16th-century Italian art and architecture. He studied at the Courtauld and lived in Rome for several years. He has written articles for Arte Veneta, Burlington Magazine and the Journal of the Warburg & Courtauld Institutes. (Photo ©Bill Knight.) See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,810 or £2,620 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,220 or £3,030 without flights.

How strenuous? Unavoidably, there is a lot of walking on this tour. The historic area is vast, and vehicular access is increasingly restricted. Minibuses are used on some occasions but otherwise the city is traversed on foot. The tour should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stairclimbing. Fitness is essential. Average distance by coach per day: 9 miles

Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Accommodation. Hotel Bernini Bristol (berninibristol.com): 5-star hotel excellently located on the Piazza Barberini.

Combine this tour with: Florence, 6–12 March 2017 (p.128); Art History of Venice, 13–19 November 2017 (p.118).

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £2,740 or £2,560 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,070 or £2,890 without flights.

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 1. Fly at c. 12.45pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino.

Engraving c. 1880 by A.H. Payne after a section of Raphael’s Stanze in the Vatican, Rome.

139

Essential Rome the complete spectrum of art, architecture & antiquities ItaLy

1–7 November 2016 (md 932) 7 days • £2,770 Lecturer: Dr Thomas-Leo True 28 February–6 March 2017 (md 158) 7 days • £2,780 Lecturer: Dr Thomas-Leo True Major buildings, monuments and works of art, a representative selection of all periods from Ancient Rome onwards. Led by Dr Thomas-Leo True, an art historian specialising in Renaissance and Baroque architecture in Rome, and Assistant Director of the British School at Rome. Private visit to the Sistine Chapel, shared with participants travelling on Connoisseur’s Rome (see the previous page for details of this tour). Rome presents three major challenges to the cultural traveller. First, it is big. Items of major importance – many of which on their own would make any town in the world worth visiting – are generously strewn through an area that is approximately four miles in diameter. The second problem is that there are hundreds of such places in the city. The third is that these items are from such a wide span of time, well over two millennia, for much of which Rome was the pre-eminent city in its sphere – as capital of the Roman Republic and Empire, as centre of western Christianity, a role regained with consequent splendour with the triumph of the Catholic Reformation and finally, from 1871, as capital of a united Italy. Over the years MRT has devised many tours to Rome, but apart from at Christmas hitherto they have all attempted only a single episode or theme – Ancient, Mediaeval, Baroque; Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Raphael, music. This is

our only tour that selects from the whole range of Rome’s heritage. The key has been generally to give preference to geography over chronology, proximity over theme. Meandering walks explore a particular district, picking out the most significant buildings and works of art, enjoying alluring vistas as they arise, glimpsing major and minor treasures – whatever period they belong to. It is fair to say that the itinerary includes most of the most important places and works of art in Rome. There is a lot of walking, though regular use is made of minibuses and taxis (rarely of cumbersome coaches, which are highly restricted in the city centre). Not every place seen is mentioned in the description below, and the order may differ. There is, incidentally, almost no overlap with Connoisseurs’ Rome except for the private visit to the Sistine Chapel.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.30am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Rome. The tour starts with the glorious Byzantine mosaics in the churches of Sta. Maria Maggiore and Sta. Prassede. Day 2. Among today’s highlights are the Pantheon, the best preserved of Roman monuments (whose span was only twice exceeded in the next 1,750 years); the lively and wonderfully adorned Piazza Navona, which retains the shape of the Roman hippodrome on which it was built; and the 5thcentury church of Sta. Sabina, as perfect an Early Christian basilica as survives anywhere. See also S. Ivo, a masterpiece of Baroque architecture with a cupola designed by Borromini, and two Roman temples, of Vesta and Fortuna Virile. Day 3. The Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican was the outcome of the greatest architects of several generations – Bramante, Raphael, Sangallo, Michelangelo – and contains major sculpture.

Originally Emperor Hadrian’s mausoleum, Castel S. Angelo became a fortress in the Middle Ages and a residence in the Renaissance. After some free time, return to the Vatican in the evening for a private visit to see Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in peace, together with Raphael’s frescoes in the adjacent Stanze. Day 4. The morning includes the superb sculpture of the Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis) erected by Augustus, paintings by Pinturicchio and Caravaggio in Sta. Maria del Popolo, and a walk in the Pincio Gardens (good views across Rome) to the Spanish Steps. The Palazzo Barberini is a great palace which became Rome’s National Gallery, with paintings by most of the Italian Old Masters. The Galleria Borghese is Rome’s finest collection of painting and sculpture. Day 5. Drive in the morning to three contrasting churches largely or partly dating to the early Middle Ages: the 6th-century circular Mausoleum of Sta. Costanza, the historically complex but exceptionally beautiful Basilica of S. Clemente, and St John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome. The afternoon is free. Day 6. The day is largely devoted to Ancient Rome, beginning with the Colosseum, largest of all amphitheatres, completed ad 80. The Forum has evocative remains of the key temples and civic buildings at the heart of the Roman Empire. The present appearance of the Capitol, first centre of ancient Rome, was designed by Michelangelo, and the surrounding palazzi are museums with outstanding ancient sculpture and a collection of paintings. Day 7. Before departing for the airport, visit two churches to see paintings by Caravaggio, S. Agostino (Loreto Madonna) and S. Luigi dei Francesi (St Matthew series). In 2016: return to London Heathrow at c. 7.00pm. In 2017: return to London Heathrow at c. 4.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £2,770 or £2,550 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,280 or £3,060 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,780 or £2,590 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,190 or £3,000 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. In 2016: Residenza di Ripetta (residenzadiripettahotelrome.com): recently renovated 4-star hotel in a former 17th-century convent. In 2017: Hotel Bernini Bristol (berninibristol.com): 5-star hotel excellently located on the Piazza Barberini. How strenuous? There is unavoidably a lot of walking. The historic area is vast, and vehicular access is increasingly restricted. Minibuses are used on some occasions but otherwise the city is traversed on foot. Fitness is essential. Average distance by coach per day: 9 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

140

Rome, Pantheon, wood engraving c. 1890. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Pompeii & Herculaneum Antiquities of the Bay of Naples ItaLy

24–30 October 2016 (md 923) 7 days • £2,130 – flights not included Lecturer: Henry Hurst 3–8 April 2017 (md 203) 6 days • £2,140 Lecturer: Dr Mark Grahame 25–30 September 2017 (me 571) 6 days • £2,140 Lecturer: Dr Nigel Spivey One of the most exciting tours possible dealing with Roman archaeology. A unique insight into everyday life in the Roman Empire. Two principal sites, both buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in ad 79 and preserved with unparalleled completeness. Led by experts on the ancient world. Important early Greek settlements, including Paestum, Cumae and Pozzuoli.

Itinerary Day 1. In 2016: the coach departs Naples Airport following the arrival of the British Airways flight from London Gatwick currently arriving c. 6.45pm. In 2017: fly at c. 3.00pm from London Gatwick to Naples (British Airways). Drive to the hotel in the hamlet of Seiano, above the town of Vico Equense, where all five nights are spent. Day 2: Paestum. Paestum was a major Greek settlement and is one of the most interesting archaeological sites in Italy. Three outstanding

Pompeii, watercolour by Frank Fox, publ. 1915.

Greek Doric temples stand in a remarkable state of preservation. Visit also the excellent museum which contains a very rare ancient Greek painted tomb and fascinating sculptured panels (metopes) of the 6th century bc, among the earliest anywhere. Day 3: Cumae, Baia, Pozzuoli. Spend the day around the Bay of Naples at some little-visited but exciting sites. Cumae was the first Greek settlement on mainland Italy, and material from here and other sites visited during the tour can be seen in the archaeological museum of the Phlegraean fields in the spectacularly-situated castle at Baia. The port of Pozzuoli has a wellpreserved amphitheatre and market. Day 4: Pompeii. Since its first exploration during the 18th century, ancient Pompeii has been one of the world’s most famous archaeological excavations. The fascination of the site lies not only in the major public buildings such as the theatre, temples and the forum but also in the numerous domestic dwellings, from cramped apartments to luxurious houses with their mosaic pavements and gaudily frescoed walls. Day 5: Herculaneum, Oplontis. At Herculaneum, engulfed by mud rather than ash, timber and other fragile artefacts that normally do not survive have been preserved by the unique conditions of burial. Less than a quarter of this town has been excavated, and in the part preserved the emphasis is on private dwellings and their decoration. Visit the lavish villa at Torre Annunziata (ancient Oplontis), which may have been the home of Poppaea, wife of Nero. It is one of the loveliest of ancient sites, with rich wall paintings, a replanted garden and a swimming pool. (October 2016 only) Day 6: Pompeii. Return to the site for further exploration, including visits to some lesser-visited parts. Free afternoon, perhaps to visit Sorrento or the island of Capri.

Final day: Naples. The Archaeological Museum in Naples has one of the finest collections in the world, and is the principal repository for both the small finds and the best-preserved mosaics and frescoes discovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum. In 2016: drive to Naples Airport in time for the flight to London Gatwick, currently departing at c. 7.15pm. In 2017: fly from Naples to London Gatwick, arriving c. 9.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £2,130. Single occupancy: £2,420. Flights not included. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,140 or £1,940 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,380 or £2,180 without flights. Included meals: 2016: 2 picnic lunches and 3 dinners; 2017, 3 lunches (1 is a picnic) and 3 dinners; wine included. Accommodation. Grand Hotel Angiolieri (grandhotelangiolieri.it): modern 5-star hotel on the hill-top above the town of Vico Equense. Rooms with a sea view are available on request and for a supplement. How strenuous? A lot of walking, some of it over rough ground, and a lot of standing. The day spent in Pompeii can be tiring. Average distance by coach per day: 70 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Campania’s favourable climate, fertile soils and natural harbours were attractive to the Greeks looking to trade and for places to settle. They founded their earliest colony at Cumae and others soon followed with Naples and Paestum (Posidonia) among them. The prosperity enjoyed by the Greek colonies is best seen at Paestum where three of the most complete Doric temples anywhere still stand. After falling under Roman dominion, Campania continued to prosper with wealth generated by agriculture and trade. Towns like Pompeii and Herculaneum thrived and wealthy Romans seeking to escape from the summer heat of Rome built villas along its coast. Campania became an imperial playground with the emperor among the most famous and notorious of all villa owners on the Bay of Naples. However, life on the Bay of Naples was struck by tragedy when Mount Vesuvius erupted in ad 79 and buried Pompeii and Herculaneum with volcanic ash. Paradoxically, this sudden obliteration preserved the towns with a level of completeness which has no parallel with any other archaeological site in the world. Excavation has revealed them almost in their entirety, providing a unique insight into everyday life in the Roman Empire. Even the smallest and most fragile objects of daily use have survived, along with wall paintings, floor mosaics, precious jewellery and household utensils. The immediacy and vividness with which the imagination is able to grasp a past civilization is startling and unique.

Naples at Christmas 21–27 December 2016 (md 980) This tour is currently full Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

141

Essential Puglia art & architecture in the heel of Italy ItaLy

conical stone trulli, to Martina Franca, a beautiful hill town of winding streets, sudden vistas and Baroque and Rococo houses and churches. Overnight near Martina Franca. Day 5: Martina Franca, Brindisi. Before leaving Martina Franca, see the 17th-century Palazzo Ducale with its fine Baroque façade and the cathedral of San Martino. Possessing the safest natural harbour on the Adriatic, Brindisi has been of intermittent strategic importance for over twenty-four centuries. Visit the Romanesque church of Santa Maria del Casale, which has Byzantine frescoes and a polychrome façade, and San Giovanni al Sepolcro with a splendid portal decorated with reliefs. Drive to Lecce where the final three nights are spent. Brindisi, steel engraving c. 1850.

27 September–4 October 2017 (me 581) 8 days • £2,410 Lecturer: Dr Richard Plant Fascinating architecture, especially Norman and Baroque. Exceptionally attractive streetscapes in hilltop towns and coastal cities. Distinctive, dramatic limestone landscapes.

MAINLAND EUROPE 142

The heel and spur of boot-shaped Italy, Puglia is now returning to the limelight after being ignored or disparaged for centuries. While the sobriquet ‘the new Tuscany’ is a lazy cliché and dangerously misleading (with its raw limestone landscape Puglia looks and feels like a different country), it is the case that only in the last couple of decades have Italophiles and discerning travellers been taking the region seriously. The region’s strategic position meant that it was repeatedly invaded and conquered, and each dynasty left its mark. Roman remains are frequent but tend to have been all but eradicated by later prosperity – or warfare. The many magnificent Romanesque cathedrals bear witness to the Norman conquest of southern Italy, one of the most notable episodes in mediaeval history. Churches and castles from the subsequent Hohenstaufen and Angevin eras abound and exhibit French, Lombard, Byzantine and Saracenic influences. Much later there was another artistic outburst, appropriately international but characteristically idiosyncratic, a highly elaborate version of Baroque architecture and decoration. Lecce is a glorious example: churches and palaces with intricately embellished façades carved from the local stone line the streets and squares of this lively town, the regional capital of the Salento. A journey from the north to the south of Puglia, this tour takes in the most important mediaeval and Baroque sites and well as the noteworthy items from other eras. Particularly memorable are the unspoilt centres of ancient cities and villages built up around narrow twisting alleys, some tumbling down hillsides, most whitewashed, all full of picturesque incident. Waterfronts with ancient harbours are another feature. book online at www.martinrandall.com

There is scenic variety from rolling hills to open plains, in parts enlivened by trulli, conical stone houses which are a unique vernacular phenomenon. In the autumnal light and cooler temperatures Puglia’s charms can now be enjoyed with comfort and ease. While including many of the major items visited on our nine-day Normans in the South tour, this itinerary differs by lessening the focus on that era and encompassing a wider range of architecture, art and history.

Itinerary Day 1: Bitonto. Fly at c. 9.00am from London City to Bari via Milan Linate (Alitalia). Drive to Bitonto, which has one of the finest of Romanesque cathedrals in the region, with good sculpture and an Early Christian lower church. Continue to Trani, where the first three nights are spent. Day 2: Trani, Castel del Monte. A walk along the harbour of the small city of Trani includes the 12th-century church of Ognissanti and the magically beautiful Romanesque cathedral perched on the waterfront. In the afternoon drive out to Castel del Monte. Situated on an isolated peak, Frederick II’s extraordinary octagonal hunting lodge of c. 1240 is one of the most intriguing secular buildings of the Middle Ages. Day 3: Monte Sant’Angelo, Santa Maria di Siponto. High on the southern slopes of Monte Gargano sits Monte Sant’Angelo, where the apparition of the Archangel Michael in the 5th century has made the grotto sanctuary a popular destination for pilgrims. The massive castle was started by the Normans and extended by the Swabians, Aragonese and Bourbons. The Tomba di Rotari is a baptistery with 12th-century decorations and a domed roof. Seemingly of Tuscan Romanesque influence is the isolated church of Santa Maria di Siponto. Day 4: Bari. Capital of Puglia, Bari has a wonderful walled mediaeval quarter beside the sea, extensive and unspoilt. The Basilica of San Nicola, begun in 1087, is not only the first but also the greatest of Puglian Romanesque churches; the episcopal throne here is remarkable. Also visit the cathedral (1170) and the later mediaeval Angevin castle. There is a good art gallery. Continue through the Itria Valley, an area peppered with

Day 6: Lecce, Galatina. Lecce is distinguished by an elaborate style of Baroque and Rococo decoration wrought in the soft, honey-coloured tufa of the region. The outstanding examples are the cathedral and the church of Santa Croce. See also the well preserved Roman theatre. Drive out in the afternoon to the pretty little town of Galatina to see the remarkable frescoes from the first half of the 15th century in the Franciscan church of St Catherine. There is some free time in Lecce. Day 7: Casarano, Gallipoli, Otranto. Explore the Salentine Peninsula, the southernmost tip of the heel of Italy. Gallipoli was the centre of Byzantine Italy until conquered by the Normans in 1071. The highly picturesque old town is on an off-shore island protruding into the Ionian Sea. The ancient city of Otranto, the easternmost in Italy, has a Norman cathedral with outstanding 12th-century floor mosaics. Day 8: Ostuni. Ostuni is another delightful whitewashed hilltop town with bemusingly winding streets. At its centre is a late Gothic cathedral with three fine rose windows. Fly from Bari via Milan Linate, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 8.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,410 or £2,170 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,660 or £2,420 without flights. Included meals: 5 dinners with wine. Accomodation. Hotel San Paolo al Convento, Trani (hotelsanpaoloalconvento.it): charming 4-star hotel converted from a 15th-century convent, although service and maintenance are not always quite up to standard. Relais Villa San Martino, Near Martina Franca (relaisvillasanmartino.it): converted villa 3 km outside the town. Rooms are tastefully and individually decorated but vary in size. Patria Palace Hotel, Lecce (patriapalacelecce.com): stylish 5-star hotel in an excellent location near the church of Santa Croce. Rooms are spacious and elegantly furnished. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking, some of it uphill as the coach cannot enter the historic town centres. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 70 miles Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Normans in the South Castles & cathedrals in Puglia, Basilicata & Campania

An architectural tour of one of the most sophisticated kingdoms in mediaeval Europe. Splendid Norman legacy of Romanesque, with churches of unprecedented size and grandeur.

The heel and spur of boot-shaped Italy, Puglia is remote from the better-known parts of the peninsula, and its raw limestone landscape wholly different from the silky richness of central and northern Italy. The last day of the tour is spent across the Apennines in Campania. This region presents another face of Italy, distinctly southern but with an equally cosmopolitan and panMediterranean cultural history.

Led by John McNeill, a mediaevalist who has become an expert on the region.

Itinerary

Later architecture of equal magnificence, in particular an elaborate flowering of Baroque.

Day 1. Fly at c. 10.45am (Alitalia) from London City to Brindisi, via Rome, and drive on to Lecce where the first three nights are spent.

Attractive, well-preserved town centres and a dramatic landscape of raw limestone.

Day 4: Brindisi, Bitonto. With the safest natural harbour on the Adriatic, the provincial capital of Brindisi has been of intermittent strategic importance for over 24 centuries. Visit S. Benedetto, with Romanesque bell tower. Bitonto has one of the finest Romanesque cathedrals with good sculpture and an Early Christian lower church. Drive to Trani for the first of four nights. Day 5: Bari, Trani. Bari, capital of Puglia, has an extensive and unspoilt mediaeval quarter beside the sea. The Basilica di S. Nicola, begun in 1087, is the first and the greatest of Puglian Romanesque churches; the episcopal throne here is remarkable. Also visit the cathedral (1170) and later mediaeval Angevin castle. Back in Trani, visit the magically beautiful Romanesque cathedral on the waterfront.

MAINLAND EUROPE

The Norman conquest of southern Italy was one of the most remarkable episodes in mediaeval history. Whereas England was subjugated by a sizeable and highly organised Norman army, the ‘Kingdom in the Sun’ was won by small bands of soldiers of fortune. They trickled in during the eleventh century when the tangled political situation and incessant feuding made the area ripe for exploitation by ambitious knights in search of adventure and personal gain. By the end of the century they had expelled the Byzantines from the mainland and the Saracens from Sicily, and by 1127 all Sicily and southern Italy was ruled by one Norman king. This cosmopolitan kingdom was one of the best administered and most culturally sophisticated in Europe. As in England, in the wake of conquest there arose splendid new churches of unprecedented size and grandeur. A mixture of French, Lombard, Byzantine, Saracenic and ancient Roman elements, south Italian Romanesque is one of the most distinct and beautiful of the variants of this truly international style. Prosperity and creativity continued after the extinction of the Norman dynasty in 1194 by the Hohenstaufen from Germany. In the first half of the thirteenth century the region was dominated by the extraordinary Emperor Frederick II, ‘Stupor Mundi’, ‘Wonder of the World’. He was as courageous and ambitious in artistic and intellectual spheres as he was in administration, diplomacy and war. Much later there was another artistic outburst, appropriately international but characteristically idiosyncratic: a highly elaborate version of Baroque architecture and decoration.

Day 2: Squinzano, Gallipoli, Otranto. Explore the Salentine Peninsula, the southernmost tip of the heel of Italy. Visit the Abbey of Sta. Maria di Cerrate, a 12th-century Romanesque complex. Gallipoli was the centre of Byzantine Italy until conquered by the Normans in 1071; the old town is on an off-shore island. Otranto, captured by Normans in 1068, has a cathedral with outstanding 12th-century floor mosaics.

Day 3: Lecce is distinguished by an elaborate style of Baroque and Rococo decoration wrought in the soft, honey-coloured tufa of the region, an outstanding example being the church of Sta. Croce. See also the Norman church of SS. Niccolò e Cataldo, founded by Tancred. Some free time.

italy

21–29 March 2017 (md 198) 9 days • £2,660 Lecturer: John McNeill

143

Trani cathedral, engraving c. 1900. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Normans in the South continued

Sicily Centre of Mediterranean civilizations

italy

Day 6: Castel del Monte, Barletta. Castel del Monte, situated on an isolated peak, is Frederick II’s extraordinarily sophisticated hunting lodge and one of the most intriguing secular buildings of the Middle Ages. The castle at Barletta houses a bust of Frederick II. Day 7: Canosa, Melfi, Venosa. Canosa di Puglia has an 11th-century cathedral. Continue to the hilltop town of Melfi in Basilicata, which was for a while the main centre of Norman power in Italy. The impressive but unfinished Abbazia della SS. Trinità at Venosa was built from the 12th-century over an early Christian church. Return to Puglia for the final night in Trani. Day 8: Benevento, Salerno. Cross the Apennines to Campania. Benevento was a strategic Roman colonia, Lombard Duchy and Norman from 1081. The Arch of Trajan is one of the finest surviving Roman triumphal arches. Sta. Sofia has a magnificent 12th-century cloister. The seaport of Salerno has an 11th-century cathedral with a fine sculpted portal and a 12th-century ivory altarpiece. Overnight in Seiano. Day 9: Sant’Angelo in Formis. The Basilica di S. Angelo in Formis has outstanding 11th-century frescoes. Fly from Rome to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 7.15pm.

“I loved every minute – even though we visited many places we did not seem rushed – the pace was perfect.” Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,660 or £2,440 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,960 or £2,740 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 5 dinners with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE 144

Accommodation. Patria Palace Hotel, Lecce (patriapalacelecce.com): stylish 5-star hotel in an excellent location near the church of Sta. Croce in the historic centre. Hotel San Paolo al Convento, Trani (hotelsanpaoloalconventotrani. it): charming 4-star hotel converted from a 15thcentury convent. Grand Hotel Angiolieri, Seiano (grandhotelangiolieri.it): modern 5-star hotel in the village of Seiano, close to Vico Equense. How strenuous? A lot of walking on uneven pavements in archaeological sites, and in town centres where vehicular access is restricted. Fitness is essential. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 99 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Pompeii & Herculaneum, 3–8 April 2017 (p.141); Palladian Villas, 4–9 April 2017 (p.117).

What else is included in the price? See page 6. book online at www.martinrandall.com

17–29 October 2016 (md 914) This tour is currently full 7–19 November 2016 (md 939) 13 days • £4,240 Lecturer: Christopher Newall 20 March–1 April 2017 (md 183) 13 days • £4,360 Lecturer: Dr Philippa Joseph 17–29 April 2017 (md 225) 13 days • £4,360 Lecturer: Christopher Newall 18–30 September 2017 (me 530) 13 days • £4,360 Lecturer: Dr Luca Leoncini 16–28 October 2017 (me 618) 13 days • £4,360 Lecturer: John McNeill Covers all the island, showcasing the main sights and many lesser-known ones. The whole gamut – Ancient Greek, Roman, mediaeval (particularly Norman), Renaissance, Baroque and nineteenth-century. A full tour but carefully paced. Hotel changes are kept to a minimum – there are only three hotels during the entire tour. Combine the March 2017 departure of this tour with A Festival of Music in Florence, 12–18 March 2017 (see page 133). By virtue of both size and location, Sicily is the pre-eminent island in the Mediterranean. It is the largest, and it is also close to the sea’s centre, a stepping stone between Europe and Africa and a refuge between the Levant and the Atlantic. The result is that throughout history Sicily has been viewed as a fortuitous landfall by migrating peoples and a prized possession by ambitious

adventurers and expansionist princes. And as the Mediterranean has been catalyst and disseminator of a greater variety of civilizations than any other of the world’s seas, the island has acquired an exceptionally rich encrustation of art, architecture and archaeological remains. For the Phoenicians, Sicily was an irresistible objective in the extension of their trading empire in the central Mediterranean, and from the eighth century bc exchanges of population took place between bases in the western and northern part of the island and Carthage. From about the same period Greeks from various points of origin in the Hellenic world established themselves in the east of the island and along the south coast. Competition for territory and trading rights between Phoenicians and Greeks, as well as cultural and commercial exchanges, took place for centuries until finally the Romans drove the Phoenicians off the island in the course of the Punic Wars in the late third century bc. The remnants of remarkable Doric temples, as well as military fortifications, built by the Greek colonists survive in Selinunte, Agrigento and Syracuse, including in the two last places buildings which are extraordinarily intact. Great wealth accrued under Roman rule when the island was clothed in fields of corn, and endless oak forests and abundant fauna provided sport for grandees and emperors. One of them has bequeathed to us on the floor of his luxurious villa the most splendid Roman mosaics to have survived. Overrun by Germanic barbarians in the fifth century, Sicily was wrested back for the twilight of classical civilization by the Byzantines, but at the cost of military campaigns which devastated the island. Byzantine rule was in turn supplanted from the ninth century by Muslim Arabs, and a period of prosperity and advanced civilization ensued. Two hundred years later Arab rule was swept aside by conquering Normans, who, by succumbing to the luxuriant sophistication of their predecessors, distanced themselves as far as is imaginable from their rugged northern roots. The unique artistic blend of this golden age survives in the Romanesque churches with details of Norman, Saracenic, Levantine and classical origin. Byzantine mosaicists were much employed. The wealth and power of Sicily began to wane again from the later Middle Ages as a succession of German, French and Spanish dynasties exploited the island with colonial disregard for long-term interests, but pockets of wealth and creativity remained as Gothic and Renaissance masterpieces demonstrate. Artistically, however, a final flourish was reached in the Age of Baroque which saw the erection of churches and palaces as splendid and exuberant as anywhere in Europe. The raw beauty of the landscape changes continually across the island. The Sicilians can be as welcoming as Italians anywhere, but the island continues to retain its enigmas, and differences with the mainland sometimes seem profound.

Itinerary Day 1. November 2016: fly at at c. 9.00am from London City Airport, via Milan or Rome (Alitalia), to Palermo. March 2017: fly at c. 7.30am from London Heathrow, via Milan or Rome (Alitalia) to Palermo. April, September & October 2017: fly at c.

Day 11: Syracuse. Founded as a Greek colony in 733 bc, Syracuse became the most important city of Magna Græcia. Afternoon walk on the island of Ortygia, the picturesque and densely built original centre of Syracuse, and see the Caravaggio painting in the church of Sta. Lucia alla Badia. First of two nights in Syracuse.

Day 2: Palermo. A walk through the old centre includes a visit to several oratories and outstanding Norman buildings including La Martorana with fine mosaics. Drinks at a private palace, by special arrangement. In the afternoon see the collection of pictures in the 15th-century Palazzo Abatellis.

Day 12: Noto, Syracuse. Rebuilt after an earthquake in 1693, Noto is one of the loveliest and most homogenous Baroque towns in Italy. Visit the 5th-century bc Greek theatre in Syracuse, the largest of its type to survive, as well as the stone quarries and the Roman amphitheatre. There is also time to visit the excellent museum of antiquities in Syracuse.

Day 3: Monreale, Cefalù. Monreale dominates a verdant valley southwest of Palermo, and its cathedral is one of the finest Norman churches with the largest scheme of mosaic decoration to survive from the Middle Ages. Cefalù, a charming coastal town, has a massive Norman cathedral with outstanding mosaics and an art gallery with a painting by Antonello da Messina. Day 4: Segesta, Selinunte. With its magnificently sited temple and theatre, Segesta is one of the most evocative of Greek sites. Selinunte, founded c. 650 bc, is a vast archaeological site, renowned for its picturesque temples and acropolis. Day 5: Agrigento. Spend the whole day in Agrigento to see the ‘Valley of the Temples’, one of the finest of all ancient Greek sites with the virtually complete Temple of Concord, other ruins and a good museum.

Day 13. November 2016 & March 2017: fly from Catania via Milan or Rome, arriving London Heathrow at c. 7.15pm. April, September & October 2017: fly direct from Catania to London Gatwick, arriving at c. 11.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person in November 2016. Two sharing: £4,240 or £4,030 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,760 or £4,550 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £4,360 or £4,150 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,950 or £4,740 without flights.

Included meals: 5 lunches (including one picnic) and 7 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa, Palermo (piazzaborsa.it): centrally located 4-star hotel housed in an assortment of historical buildings. Hotel Villa Belvedere, Taormina (villabelvedere.it): charming 4-star family-run hotel in the old town, with its own garden (rooms vary in size and outlook). Des Etrangers Hotel, Syracuse (desetrangers.com): elegant 5-star hotel on the island of Ortygia. All rooms have sea views.

italy

2.45pm from London Gatwick to Catania (British Airways), and drive to Palermo. The largest and by far the most interesting city on the island, Palermo has been capital of Sicily from the period of Saracenic occupation in the 9th century. It reached a peak under the Normans and again during the Age of Baroque. First of six nights in Palermo.

How strenuous? This tour involves a lot of walking, some of it over rough ground and cobbled or uneven paving. Fitness and sure-footedness are essential. There are also some long coach journeys. Average distance by coach per day: 73 miles. Flights. We travel to and from Sicily with Alitalia in November 2016 and March 2017 because the only direct flights in this period are with low-cost airlines, with whom it is not currently viable to make group bookings. British Airways only flies directly from London Gatwick to Catania April– October (these flights are subject to confirmation). Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Illustration, left: Palermo, Palatine Chapel, watercolour by F. Fox, publ. 1913; below: Syracuse, wood engraving c. 1880 from ‘Picturesque Europe Vol. IV.’

Day 6: Palermo. S. Giovanni degli Eremiti is a Norman church with five cupolas and a charming garden. The cathedral, a building of many periods, has grand royal and imperial tombs. Free afternoon. Private visit to the Palatine Chapel, in the 12th-century Palace of the Normans. Day 7: Palermo, Piazza Armerina. In Palermo visit Castello della Zisa, an Arab-Norman Palace. Drive through the interior of Sicily. At Piazza Armerina are the remains of one of the most sumptuous villas of the late-Roman Empire, whose floor mosaics comprise the most vital and colourful manifestation of Roman figurative art in Europe. Continue across the island for the first of four nights in Taormina.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 8: Taormina. Visit the famed Roman theatre, with spectacular views over the sea to Calabria and inland to Mount Etna, an active volcano. The rest of the day free: one of the earliest and still one of the most attractive of Mediterranean resorts, Taormina has an area of secluded beaches joined by cable car to the delightful hilltop town. Day 9: Messina, Reggio di Calabria. Drive north to Messina to see the art gallery with paintings by Caravaggio and Antonello da Messina. Cross by ferry to Reggio di Calabria on the mainland of Italy, and see the Riace Bronzes – over-life-size male nudes associated with Phidias and Polyclitus, among the finest Greek sculpture to survive. Day 10: Catania. Catania, along the coast from Taormina, has a fine Baroque centre. Here there are special visits to a private palazzo and a Byzantine chapel, where there is a light lunch. See also the cathedral and the Roman Theatre, where Alkibiades addressed the men of Catania to incite them to win the cause of Athens.

145 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Gastronomic Sicily Food & wine in the west of Italy’s most fascinating island italy, latvia, lithuania

spectacular views on a fine day of the coast and surrounding area. Demonstration and tasting of traditional pastries here, before continuing on to the charming port town of Marsala where the following three nights are spent. Day 6: Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Samperi. A tour of Marsala in the morning, including the archaeological museum, most of which is taken up by an extremely well-preserved Punic warship. Visit Il Museo del Satiro Danzante in Mazara del Vallo after a couscous cooking demonstration and lunch. In the afternoon visit the De Bartoli wine estate, famous for the revival and revaluation of traditional Marsala wine made by age-old traditional methods. Day 7: Mozia. Drive north of Marsala to see the saltpans that have been in use since Phoenician times, and take a boat across the lagoon to visit the ancient ruins of Mozia. Visit the small Whitaker Museum which houses the 5th-century bc Auriga (charioteer), one of the most exquisite of surviving Greek sculptures. Free afternoon in Marsala. Private dinner, visit and tasting at the cellars of a historic Marsala producer.

24–31 October 2016 (md 924) 8 days • £2,930 Lecturer: Marc Millon Colourful Palermo street markets, authentic salt flats near Trapani, historic cellars in Marsala. Learn about making wine, olive oil and artisan foods from the craftsmen and women who carry on these age-old traditions. A spectrum of culinary experiences from street food in Palermo to dinner in a palazzo. Emphasis on authentic traditional methods rather than haute cuisine. Led by Marc Millon, wine, food and travel writer, author of The Food Lover’s Companion to Italy.

MAINLAND EUROPE 146

If Sicily’s history is a layer-cake of the different cultures that have colonised the island through the centuries, its food is no less complex. Citrus fruits and ices were brought there by the Arabs before the Middle Ages. Winemaking was introduced by the Phoenicians, and during the Roman era wheat turned the inland hillsides to gold. The magnificent landscape remains a key source of agricultural richness for the island: Trapani is today Europe’s most productive grapegrowing province. What Sicily offers more than any other Italian region is an unrivalled cornucopia of sun-ripened vegetables and fruits, many grown on volcanic soils for added intensity of flavour. The Sicilians cook these products in myriad, colourful ways: sweet and sour, hot and spicy, fresh and nutritious – Sicilian food is arguably more exciting than its northern counterparts. It is also a mix of old and new cultures. Pasta is handmade in unique shapes to accommodate vegetables, capers, herbs and the varied seafood that make up the healthy Sicilian diet. Dessert lovers will be rewarded with some of the most delicious sweetmeats Italy has to offer: from the hollow cannolo filled with fresh ewe’s milk ricotta to elaborately decorated cassata cakes. As the tour travels across the Western part of the island we visit small producers of artisan book online at www.martinrandall.com

foods, winemakers, home cooks and chefs alike, and do not ignore cultural sites that determine its key historical importance. Sample street food from market stalls in Palermo, the freshest seafood in the Mediterranean, and home-prepared dinners whose hospitable cooks will share their secrets with us. Walk in vineyards and olive groves, and around some of the finest archaeological sites on this ever-fascinating island. In Marsala, we’ll be the guests of one of Italy’s pioneer winemakers, who were responsible for relaunching the great wines of the south.

Itinerary Day 1: Palermo. Fly at c. 9.00am from London City Airport to Palermo, via Milan (Alitalia). Palermo is the largest and most interesting city on the island: capital of Sicily from the period of Saracenic occupation in the 9th century, it reached a peak under the Normans and again during the Age of Baroque. First of four nights in Palermo. Day 2: Palermo. A morning walk to the city’s best market, sampling authentic street food. See also key cultural sites such as the cathedral, a building of many periods, and the church of S. Cataldo. In the afternoon see outstanding mosaics at the 12th-century Palace of the Normans, including the Palatine Chapel. Dinner at a private palazzo.

Day 8. Fly from Palermo to London City Airport, via Milan, arriving at c. 3.35pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,930 or £2,710 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,190 or £2,970 without flights. Included meals: 4 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa, Palermo (piazzaborsa.it): centrally located 4-star hotel housed in an assortment of historical buildings. Hotel Carmine, Marsala (hotelcarmine.it): small, charming 3-star hotel, with occasionally erratic service. Flights. We travel to and from Sicily with Alitalia because the only direct flights are with low-cost airlines, with whom it is not currently viable for us to make a group booking. It is possible book your own flights with Easyjet or Ryanair instead, if you wish to fly direct to Palermo – Easyjet’s flights run until around the end of October 2016 (please contact us for information or advice about this). How strenuous? There is a lot of walking, some of it over rough ground and cobbled or uneven paving. Fitness and sure-footedness are essential. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 47 miles.

Day 3: Monreale, Mondello. Monreale dominates a verdant valley southwest of Palermo, and its cathedral is one of the finest Norman churches with the largest scheme of mosaic decoration to survive from the Middle Ages. Lunch is at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Mondello, a charming seaside town known for its Art Nouveau villas, once the seat of the Palermitano high bourgeoisie and aristocracy.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Day 4: Segesta. With its magnificently sited temple and theatre, Segesta is one of the most evocative of Greek sites. Stop for lunch and a wine-tasting at a superb winery nearby before returning to Palermo.

Illustration: Palermo cathedral, engraving c. 1830.

Day 5: Erice. Depart for Erice, a mediaeval town perched on top of a high hill, which boasts

LATVIA, LITHUANIA: Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania, 21 July–3 August 2017. See page 64.

World Heritage Malta From Neolithic to now

2–8 October 2017 (me 592) 7 days • £2,570 Lecturer: Juliet Rix A wonderful exploration of this fascinating, diverse island. A visit to some of the world’s earliest stone temples, amongst a concentration of other astonishing major historic sites. Led by award winning journalist Juliet Rix, author of the definitive guide to Malta (Bradt Guide: Malta & Gozo) and expert on the area. Visit the rural and picturesque Gozo Island, with stunning natural features.

Day 3: Valletta. The morning is spent in the National Museum of Archaeology, home of the unique ‘Fat Ladies of Malta’ and other original carvings from the Neolithic Temples. Visit the charming Manoel Theatre, a rare survival of the early 18th century and the Co-Cathedral of St John, one of the most interesting of Baroque buildings, which has lavish carved wall decoration, ceiling paintings by Mattia Preti, magnificently carved tombs and two paintings by Caravaggio. Finally, a private visit of the Casa Rocca Piccola, providing unique historical evidence into the customs and traditions of the Maltese nobility over the last 400 years. Day 4: Paola, Valletta. In Paola, the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum is a unesco World Heritage Site and the only prehistoric underground temple in the world. The Tarxien Temple site is the most complex in Malta and would have been the most decorative. The afternoon is free in Valletta. Day 5: Gozo. A 30-minute ferry crossing to the island of Gozo, which is more rural and less populated than Malta. See the temple of Ggantija, one of the oldest of Malta’s prehistoric monuments. The chief town is Victoria, which has a cathedral, museum and Sicilo-Norman houses. Fungus Rock, Gharb and Ramla Bay are all of geological, historical and mythical interest respectively.

beauty, centre of the indigenous aristocracy, with mediaeval walls, grand palazzos and Baroque cathedral. Spreading below is the town of Rabat, with Early Christian catacombs. Afternoon drive to Mosta with the third largest dome in Europe. Day 7: Vittoriosa. Cross the Grand Harbour by boat, to see churches, forts, and the Second World War museum in Vittoriosa. Fly to London Heathrow arriving at 7.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,570 or £2,440 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,030 or £2,900 without flights. For the price in 2016, please visit www.martinrandall.com or contact us. Included meals: 2 lunches, 3 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Phoenicia, Valletta (phoeniciamalta.com): 5-star hotel in Valletta, furnished with style and character, the best in Valletta and just outside the city gates. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking, some of it over rough ground. Valletta is relatively hilly so you will need to be comfortable with everyday walking and stair climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 15 miles. Group size: between 10 and 20 participants. Combine this tour with: Art in Madrid, 27 September–1 October 2017 (p.170).

Day 6: Mdina, Rabat, Mosta. Mdina, Malta’s ancient capital, is an unspoilt citadel of great

MAINLAND EUROPE

Malta has an extraordinary 7000-year history beginning with the arrival of a little-known people from Sicily who became the creators of Malta’s unique Neolithic temples. Older than the Great Pyramids and the famous standing stones at Stonehenge, Malta’s temples were built between 3600 and 2500 bc – they are megalithic architecture constructed a millennium before Mycenae. All the temples are unesco World Heritage Sites, as is the unique Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, the extraordinary triple-layered tomb complex cut from solid rock where the ‘Temple People’ buried their dead (a restoration project is due to be completed by mid-2016). And this is just the start of the story. Malta, with its perfect natural harbours, was desired by every trading or invading nation in the Mediterranean from the Phoenicians and Romans to both sides in the Second World War. Each occupier has left its mark from Roman-Byzantine catacombs to British red letter boxes. The Knights of St John Hospitaller, commonly referred to as ‘The Knights of Malta’ have, of course, left the greatest impression. Ousted from Jerusalem and then Rhodes, this order of maritime warrior monks arrived in Malta in 1530 and ruled until 1798. After nearly losing the country to the Ottoman Turks in The Great Siege of 1565, the Knights built a near-impregnable new city on a rocky peninsula between two harbours: Malta’s delightful diminutive capital, Valletta. Despite the ravages of the Second World War, Valletta remains fundamentally the Knights’ city although one area has just received a very twenty–first century makeover. Badly bombed and minimally restored, the City Gate area has been redesigned by the architect of the Pompidou Centre and the London Shard, Renzo Piano.

temples overlooking the sea, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. In the afternoon, see the ancient trackworks, Clapham Junction cart ruts.

Itinerary Day 1: Valletta. Fly at c. 11.00am from London Heathrow to Malta. Drive to Valletta, a peninsula flanked by fine natural harbours and once the most strongly fortified city in Christendom. Here, survey the massive fortifications protecting the landward approach and view the Grand Harbour from the ramparts. Day 2: Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, Ghar Lapsi. Drive through attractive countryside to the prehistoric

MaLta

3–9 October 2016 (md 883) This tour is currently full

Part of th prehistoric complex at Hagar Qim, wood engraving from ‘The Illustrated London News’, 1868. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

147

Valletta Baroque Festival Music & art in the heart of the Mediterranean MaLta, MONtENEGRO

Juliet Rix. Writer and broadcaster with a particular interest in the history of Malta. She studied History of Art at Cambridge and is the author of the Bradt Guide: Malta & Gozo. Her career in journalism has involved working for the BBC and writing for British national newspapers, magazines and online media. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Day 6: Mdina, Rabat. Mdina, Malta’s ancient capital and centre of the indigenous aristocracy, is an unspoilt citadel of great beauty, with mediaeval walls, grand palazzos and Baroque cathedral. Visit Palazzo Falson, a 13th-century private residence and the second oldest building in Mdina. Spreading below is the town of Rabat, with Early Christian catacombs. Late afternoon concert of ‘La Music Notturna Nelle Strade di Madrid’, string quintet by Boccherini, with Accademia Ottoboni. Valletta, the harbour, wood engraving from ‘The World, its Cities & Peoples’, 1890.

17–24 January 2017 (md 120) 8 days • £2,690 (including tickets to 5 performances) Lecturer: Juliet Rix Baroque music in one of the most complete and compact of Baroque cities. Performances from world-class musicians including The Sixteen and Tenebrae. Guided tours of Malta’s principal archaeological and architectural treasures.

MAINLAND EUROPE 148

Malta is a highly apposite setting for the performance of Baroque music. During the Baroque period the island was ruled by the Knights of Malta or Knights Hospitaller, Valletta was completely rebuilt and the knights themselves were vigorous patrons of the arts, including music and architecture. One of Europe’s oldest working theatres is the Teatru Manoel, built in 1731 at the behest of the Grand Master of the order, Fra António Manoel de Vilhena. With only 600 seats, the theatre is a masterpiece of carpentry, with three tiers of wooden boxes, gilded and painted, and a trompel’oeil ceiling. Opera companies visited Malta regularly, performing works by Hasse, Piccini and Galuppi. Other buildings hosting concerts include the President’s (formerly Grandmaster’s) Palace; St John’s Co-Cathedral, begun in 1573 and gradually embellished to become a great ensemble of Baroque art; and the Church of St Catherine d’Italie (1713). Valletta’s beautiful position on one of the world’s greatest natural harbours, and the fine buildings which still dominate the city, make it a splendid location in which to hear the music of Bach, Vivaldi and their contemporaries. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Itinerary Day 1: Valletta. Fly at c. 11.30am (Air Malta) from London Heathrow to Malta. Drive to Valletta, a peninsula flanked by fine natural harbours and once the most strongly fortified city in Christendom. Day 2: Valletta. Survey the massive fortifications protecting the landward approach and view the Grand Harbour from the ramparts. Visit the National Museum of Archaeology, home of the unique ‘Fat Ladies of Malta’ and other carvings from the Neolithic Temples. Some free time followed by dinner. Evening concert: ‘The Rival Queens’, arias and duets by Handel performed by Vivica Genaux and Simone Kermes with The Basel Chamber Orchestra. Day 3: Hagar Qim, Mnajdra, Marsaxlokk, Valletta. Drive through attractive countryside to the prehistoric temples overlooking the sea, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra (the Hypogeum is closed for renovation). Return to Valletta after lunch in the picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk. Day 4: Gozo. A 30-minute ferry crossing to the island of Gozo which is more rural and less populated than Malta. See the temple of Ggantija, amongst the oldest of Malta’s prehistoric monuments. The chief town is Victoria, which has a citadel, cathedral and Sicilo-Norman houses. Stop for lunch in the citadel to try homemade Gozitan food. Evening concert with The Sixteen: music by Lotti, Melgas, Scarlatti, Rebelo, Caldara. Day 5: Paola, Tarxien. Visit the Ghar Dalam Cave, the earliest evidence of human settlement in Malta; also the Tarxien Temples, rediscovered by local farmers in 1913-14 and the source of outstanding carved reliefs and statues. Early evening concert: Messiaen, ‘Le Banquet Celeste’, performed by Tenebrae.

Day 7: Valletta. Guided tours of the Manoel Theatre and the Co-Cathedral of St John, which has lavish carved wall decoration, ceiling paintings, magnificent tombs and two paintings by Caravaggio. A private tour of the Casa Rocca Piccola, a 16th-century palazzo owned by the Marquis de Piro. Final evening concert with the Haymarket Opera Company: Stradella, ‘San Giovanni Battista’. Day 8: Vittoriosa. Cross the Grand Harbour by boat (weather permitting) to see churches, forts, and the Second World War museum in Vittoriosa. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving c. 7.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,690 or £2,520 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,970 or £2,800 without flights. Included meals: 6 dinners, 3 lunches, with wine. Music: first category concert tickets are included in the price, costing c. £250. Accommodation. Hotel Phoenicia, Valletta (phoenicianamalta.com): deluxe 5-star hotel furnished with style and character; the best in Valletta and just outside the city gates. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking on this tour, some of it over rough ground. Valletta is relatively hilly so you will need to be comfortable with everyday walking and stair climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 12 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

MONtENEGRO: The Western Balkans, departures in October 2016; October & May 2017. See page 56.

Art in the Netherlands Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh

15–21 October 2017 (me 615) 7 days • £2,660 Lecturer: Dr Guus Sluiter A study of Dutch art in some of the finest museums of the Netherlands. Features artists of the seventeenth-century Golden Age (Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer), Van Gogh and other major figures.

the loveliest capitals in the world. Our visit to the brilliantly refurbished Rijksmuseum concentrates on the major works in its unrivalled collection of 17th-century paintings, Rembrandt’s Night Watch and four Vermeers among them. The house where Rembrandt lived and worked for nearly 20 years is well restored and has a display of prints. Also newly extended, the Van Gogh Museum houses the biggest holding (over 200) of the artist’s works, largely from his brother Theo’s collection.

Day 3: Utrecht. One of the best-preserved historic cities in the Netherlands, Utrecht features canals flanked by unbroken stretches of Golden Age houses. The excellent art museum has a major collection of paintings of the 17th-century Utrecht School. See also the Rietveld House (1924), a landmark of 20th-century architecture.

the netherlands

2–8 October 2016 (md 884) 7 days • £2,570 Lecturer: Dr Guus Sluiter

Utrecht, lithograph c. 1830 after Samuel Prout.

Led by Dr Guus Sluiter, who is an art historian resident in The Netherlands. Also architecture and design from mediaeval to modern, and several highly picturesque historic town centres.

MAINLAND EUROPE

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, one of the world’s great museums, closed for major refurbishment for over ten years. It reopened in 2013 allowing us to offer comprehensive art history tours to the Netherlands once again. In the last few years the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art have also re-opened to great acclaim after periods of closure. The seventeenth century was the Golden Age in the history and art history of the northern Netherlands. (Much of this activity was concentrated in Holland, though that was but one of seven provinces which constituted the United Provinces, now the Kingdom of the Netherlands.) This was the time of Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer and innumerable other great masters. The Dutch School is of universal appeal, with its mix of realism, painterliness and potency, though it is best appreciated in the excellent art galleries of their native country – and against the background of the well preserved and wonderfully picturesque towns and cities. With their canals, cobbled alleys and gabled mansions, many have changed little in three hundred years. There is also focus on Vincent Van Gogh, the bulk of whose output is in the Netherlands. Painters of the Hague School of the nineteenth century have a presence, as do pioneers of modernism in painting and architecture, the architects Van der Velde and Gerrit Rietveld for example, and the abstract painter Piet Mondriaan. More recent art and architecture also features. The base for the tour is a five-star hotel in Utrecht, whose central location means relatively short journeys to all places visited.

Itinerary Day 1: Haarlem. Fly at midday (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol. Haarlem was the chief artistic centre in the northern Netherlands in the 16th century and home of the first of the great masters of the Golden Age, Frans Hals, whose finest works are in the excellent museum here. Drive to Utrecht, where all six nights are spent. Timing is tight on this day; the visit may have to be cut short if the flight is delayed. Day 2: Amsterdam. With its rings of canals lined with merchants’ mansions, Amsterdam is one of

149 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

art in the Netherlands continued

Van Gogh’s Journey Visions of Nature

tHE NEtHERLaNDS

Day 4: Otterlo. Located in gardens and surrounded by an extensive heath, the beautiful Kröller-Müller Museum has the second great collection of works by Van Gogh as well as an eclectic holding of paintings, furniture and sculpture. A leisurely visit here allows time to explore the 75-acre park with outdoor sculptures. Day 5: The Hague. The Mauritshuis at Den Haag contains a superb collection of paintings including masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer. Exhibited in the Gemeentemuseum are 19thcentury Hague School paintings, the realist milieu from which Van Gogh emerged, and works by the pioneer abstractionist Mondriaan. Visit also the illusionistic Mesdag panorama and the centre of the city, seat of the court and parliament. Day 6: Amsterdam. Return to Amsterdam. The Hermitage Museum, which celebrates the historical ties between Amsterdam and St Petersburg, has an exhibition devoted to Dutch Masters from Russian collections. Free afternoon: revisit the Rijksmuseum (there is much to see other than the Golden Age paintings), the Van Gogh Museum, or the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art. Day 7: Rotterdam is a thriving city and a centre of contemporary architecture. The Boijmans van Beuningen Museum is the second largest art gallery in the Netherlands and has many important Dutch paintings and good decorative arts. Fly from Amsterdam Schiphol, returning to London Heathrow at c. 4.30pm. We sometimes change the visits on this itinerary to take advantage of temporary exhibitions.

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £2,570 or £2,420 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,950 or £2,800 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £2,660 or £2,520 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,040 or £2,900 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. The Grand Hotel Karel V, Utrecht (karelv.nl): 5-star hotel converted from a 19th-century hospital in a quiet location within the city walls.

MAINLAND EUROPE 150

including the parish church – and visit the austere room in which he stayed at the Auberge Ravoux. The final destination is the graveyard where both Vincent and Theo, his younger brother and indispensable supporter, both lie buried. It is sited – fittingly – among the cornfields that provided one of the last and most memorable subjects of Van Gogh’s art.

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing around, and the tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 70 miles. Group size: between 10 and 20 participants. Combine this tour with Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 9–14 October 2017 (p.112); Courts of Northern Italy, 22–29 October 2017 (p.122).

What else is included in the price? See page 6. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Itinerary Day 1: Amsterdam, Utrecht. Fly from London Heathrow to Amsterdam (British Airways) at c. 11.00am. With its rings of canals lined with merchants’ houses, Amsterdam is one of the loveliest capitals in the world. It is also home to the newly extended Van Gogh Museum that houses the biggest holding of the artist’s works, largely from his brother Theo’s collection. After the visit, drive to Utrecht for the first of two nights.

Amsterdam, watercolour publ. 1904.

22–25 March 2017 (md 186) 4 days • £1,720 Lecturer: Dr Frances Fowle Led by Dr Frances Fowle, Senior Curator of French Art at the Scottish National Gallery. Van Gogh’s work in the context of the art and landscapes of his home country. The world’s two finest collections of Van Gogh’s work: The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam and the delightful Kröller-Müller Museum at Otterlo. Signifcant works by Van Gogh, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists at the Musée d’Orsay. Centrally located hotel in the picturesque town of Utrecht and a comfortable 4-star hotel in Paris. Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) was among the greatest painters and draughtsmen who have ever lived. Since his early death in 1890, his work and tragic life have exerted an ever-growing fascination on a global public. This itinerary offers the opportunity to visit the world’s two finest collections of his work: The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and the delightful Kröller-Müller Museum at Otterlo near Utrecht in the central Netherlands. In addition, there will be a chance to see more fine Van Goghs at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, which is also enormously rich in paintings by his associates and contemporaries including Paul Gauguin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Paris was Van Gogh’s home for two crucial years, 1887–8, during which he shared a flat with his brother in Montmartre, discovered Impressionism and developed from a painter of sombre browns and greys into an exponent of radiant colour. The journey ends where Vincent’s own life did, at the northern French village of Auvers-sur-Oise, the location of his last, frenetically productive two months, during which he produced an astonishing quantity of masterpieces. There, it is still possible to see many of the places Van Gogh painted –

Day 2: Otterlo. Located in gardens and surrounded by an extensive heath, the beautiful Kröller-Müller Museum at Otterlo has the second great collection of works by Van Gogh, as well as an eclectic holding of paintings, furniture and sculpture. Visit the Early Van Gogh exhibition. Return to Utrecht, where there is free time to explore one of the best-preserved cities in the Netherlands, with canals flanked by unbroken stretches of Golden Age houses. Day 3: Paris. By train, Amsterdam to Paris (c. 3 hours 20 minutes). Visit to the Musée d’Orsay to see several iconic works, including Van Gogh’s The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise. The museum houses not only the world’s finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works but also masterpieces by important precursors such as Courbet and Millet. Overnight Paris. Day 4: Auvers-sur-Oise. Auvers-sur-Oise was a popular artists’ colony, frequented by Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Van Gogh spent the last few weeks of his life here at the Auberge Ravoux. Visit Église Notre Dame, a 12th-century Gothic church that was the subject of Van Gogh’s painting. From here, it is a short walk to the cemetery, the final resting place of both the artist and his brother. Return by Eurostar to London St Pancras at c. 6.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,720 or £1,500 without flight and Eurostar. Single occupancy: £1,960 or £1,740 without flight and Eurostar. Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. The Grand Hotel Karel V, Utrecht (karelv.nl): 5-star hotel converted from a 19th-century hospital in a quiet location within the city walls. Hotel Westminster, Paris (warwickwestminsteropera.com): comfortable 4-star near the Opéra Garnier; traditional décor. How strenuous? There is a fair amount of walking and standing around in museums. Average distance by coach per day: 49 miles. Group size: between 10 and 20 participants. Combine this tour with Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur, 15–21 March 2017 (p.86); Goya, 27 March–6 April 2017 (p.172).

Rijksmuseum & Mauritshuis art in amsterdam, Haarlem & the Hague tHE NEtHERLaNDS, NORWay

4–7 June 2017 (md 332) 4 days • £1,840 Lecturer: Dr Sophie Oosterwijk Painting of the Dutch Golden Age – Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer and contemporaries – as well as art of other eras. Plenty of time for the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam which reopened in 2013 as Europe’s best-displayed national gallery. The Mauritshuis in The Hague also reopened in 2014 after complete refurbishment and ‘looks set to become northern Europe’s most alluring small museum’ (Financial Times). The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is one of the world’s great museums, but it was largely closed for ten years until 2013. Planned extension and refurbishment hit a number of unexpected snags, but the new Rijksmuseum has been greeted with universal praise. Much extra space has been quarried from within the footprint of the 1885 building, and while some of the original decoration has been revealed and restored, the latest museum technology has been adopted and the artworks are beautifully lit. Paintings, sculpture, drawings, tapestries, ceramics, gold and silver – the whole gamut of fine and decorative arts are on display, often in meaningful juxtaposition. Though the gallery has the finest collection by far of the Dutch Golden Age (the seventeenth century, the age of Rembrandt and Vermeer), it has much else besides, including significant international collections. There are two visits to the museum, and visits to a number of Amsterdam’s other main galleries and historic buildings, as well as city centre walks through the enchanting streetscape and along the canals. To enlarge upon the theme, two key galleries in other towns are also visited. The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, housed in the almshouse where the eponymous artist spent his last years, provides a perfect introduction to Golden Age art, while the paintings in the Mauritshuis, also benefiting from brilliant re-display, form one of the richest small collections anywhere.

‘The Five Syndics’ (which hangs in the Rijksmuseum), wood engraving c. 1880 after Rembrandt.

leading Dutch painters of the 17th century (subject to closure for royal functions). Return to the Rijksmuseum for a second visit. There is some free time to visit two other major art museums nearby which have also recently been refurbished and extended, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum of modern and contemporary art.

We sometimes change the visits on this itinerary to take advantage of temporary exhibitions.

Day 4. Opened in June 2014 after long closure for refurbishment, the Mauritshuis at The Hague ‘looks set to become northern Europe’s most alluring small museum’ (Jackie Wullschlager, Financial Times). The superb collection includes masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer. The Gemeentemuseum has 19th-century Hague School paintings, the realist milieu from which Van Gogh emerged, and works by the pioneer abstractionist Mondriaan. Fly from Amsterdam and return to London Heathrow at c. 6.00pm.

Included meals: 3 dinners with wine.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,840 or £1,660 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,140 or £1,960 without flights. Accommodation. Hotel Estheréa, Amsterdam (estherea.nl): centrally located 4-star in a historic building with colourful, comfortable rooms. How strenuous? Quite a lot of walking and standing. Average coach travel per day: 23 miles. Group size: between 10 and 20 participants. Combine this tour with: Kraków & Silesia, 9–16 June 2017 (p.152).

Itinerary

Day 2. With its concentric rings of canals and 17th-century merchants’ mansions, Amsterdam is one of the loveliest capitals in the world. Our first visit to the brilliantly refurbished Rijksmuseum concentrates on Rembrandt, Vermeer and their contemporaries. In the afternoon walk to Museum Van Loon, a private residence built in 1672, and to the house where Rembrandt lived and worked for nearly 20 years. Walk back to the hotel through some of Amsterdam’s most attractive streets. Day 3. Visit the Hermitage, followed by the Royal Palace, formerly the town hall, decorated by the

NORWay

Opera in Oslo June 2017 Details available in December 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

The Bergen Festival

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 1. Fly at c. 12.00 midday (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Amsterdam. Haarlem was the chief artistic centre in the northern Netherlands in the 16th century and home of the first of the great masters of the Golden Age, Frans Hals, whose finest works are in the excellent small museum here. Drive to Amsterdam, where all three nights are spent.

May 2017 Details available in January 2016 Please contact us to register your interest Illustration, left: Norwegian landscape, after an early-20th-century painting. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

151

Kraków & Silesia Art, architecture & history in southern Poland POLAnD

9–16 June 2017 (md 338) 8 days • £2,630 Lecturer: Sebastian Wormell Wrocław and Kraków, two of the most impressive and fascinating historic cities in Central Europe. Passed between Bohemia, Prussia and Poland, the multi-layered region of Silesia is of outstanding interest, historically and architecturally. Wrocław and Silesia are surprisingly little visited. Led by Polish expert and arhitectural historian Sebastian Wormell.

Kraków, Church of St Mary, 1930s woodcut.

Kraków is one of the treasures of Europe, an unspoilt cityscape of the highest architectural importance. Famed for its royal castle, university, great churches and art collections, it was for centuries Poland’s capital, at a time when the country was one of the major kingdoms of Europe. After the dismemberment of Poland at the end of the eighteenth century, the city was subsumed within the Austrian Habsburg Empire and reduced to provincial impotence. Its independent spirit and intellectual life continued undimmed, however. After the revival of Poland as an independent nation in 1918, and during the tribulations it sustained during much

of the twentieth century, Kraków acquired the status of cultural capital, and its literary and artistic life continues to thrive. Miraculously, it largely escaped war-time destruction, but its fabric suffered neglect under Communism. In recent years it has undergone another transformation, restored, cleaned, and once again prosperous. Cafés, shops, restaurants and enterprises of all sorts now fi ll the historic centre, and it has become a popular city-break destination. Wrocław is the capital of Silesia, in the early modern period one of the wealthiest regions of Central Europe. Prosperity has returned to Wrocław (it has the fastest growing economy of any Polish city), but otherwise contrasts outweigh similarities with Kraków. The mediaeval origins of Silesia were Polish, but under Bohemian, Austrian and Prussian rule, and as an integral part of a united Germany until 1945, German culture came to dominate (Wrocław was known as Breslau). When Silesia was added to Poland after World War II the German-speaking population was replaced by Polish settlers – many of them displaced from territory lost in the east. There ensued ambivalence about its status: much was made of Wrocław’s Polish origins, but a veil was drawn over its later history. It is only since the end of Communism that Wrocław has really come to terms with its multilayered past and the glories of its artistic heritage, now painstakingly restored: the imposing Gothic churches, magnificent Baroque sculpture and pioneering modernist architecture. The impressive old town centre is one of the grandest in Central Europe – evidence of the city’s status as a great metropolis in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was to remain an important place of cultural interchange between the German west and the Slavic east, and between the Protestant north and the Catholic south.

Itinerary Day 1: London to Kraków. Fly at c. 10.00am from London Heathrow to Kraków (British Airways). Settle in at the hotel before an introductory lecture and dinner. First of three nights in Kraków.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 2: Kraków. The heart of the old town, the enormous mediaeval market square (the largest in Europe) has fine façades of many styles. At its centre is the arcaded Cloth Hall, still a covered market below and with a gallery of magnificent 19th-century Polish art above. The soaring Gothic church of St Mary contains the greatest of all late mediaeval German sculpted altarpieces, by Veit Stoss. The 15th-century university complex includes cloister, Collegium Maius and St Anne’s Church, a major work of Polish Baroque. Visit the City History Museum. Overnight Kraków. Day 3: Kraków. Wawel Castle was rebuilt by Italian designers in the 16th century to become one of the earliest and greatest of Renaissance palaces north of the Alps, with arcaded courtyard and splendid interiors. Works of art include an excellent tapestry collection and Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine. The cathedral is also situated on Wawel Hill; essentially a Gothic structure, it is a Polish pantheon, with tombs of 41 monarchs and national heroes. In the afternoon an architectural walk

152 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Walking in Madeira Garden of the Atlantic

Day 4: Kraków, Wrocław. Adjacent to Kraków but across a branch of the Vistula, Kazimierz was an independent town until the 19th century. Here the Jewish population was concentrated, but there are fine churches as well as synagogues and the former ghetto. It is a place of beauty as well as poignancy. After lunch drive west to the Silesia and Wrocław. The Racławice Panorama, an enormous cycloramic painting (120m x 15m) commemorating the centenary of the defeat of the Russian army in 1794 during the Kościuszko Insurrection. First of four nights in Wrocław. Day 5: Wrocław. Slav by origin, for centuries Wrocław was predominently German (Breslau). The main square is dominated by the elaborate Gothic town hall and lined by a colourful assortment of Renaissance and Baroque mansions. In the academic quarter, and inside the 171m-long Collegium Maximum, the Aula Leopoldina is an ornate Baroque hall with illusionistic ceiling frescoes. Cross the Piaskowy Bridge to Cathedral Island. Among the highlights of the National Museum are Matejko’s Vows of King Jan Kazimierz Waza and an important collection of mediaeval sculpture. Overnight Wrocław. Day 6: Kzreszów, Świdnica. The magnificent Baroque abbey at Krzeszów, with imposing interiors, sculpture and paintings, is remarkably well preserved. Polish nuns expelled from Ukraine settled here after the War. The huge ‘Peace Church’ at Świdnica is an extraordinary building, constructed of timber and brilliantly exploiting the tight constraints of the terms under which Lutherans were permitted to build three churches in Catholic Silesia after the 1648 Treaty of Munster. Overnight Wrocław.

31 October–5 November 2016 (md 929) 6 days • £2,440 Lecturer: Dr Gerald Luckhurst Four moderate walks of a maximum of four miles through Madeira’s magnificent landscapes: coastal, woodland and mountainous. A focus on both Madeira’s formal gardens and its natural flora and wildlife. The lecturer is Dr Gerald Luckhurst, landscape architect and author on Madeira’s gardens. Stay in Madeira’s most famous hotel. Sitting in the sub-tropical Atlantic, closer to Morocco than to Portugal, Madeira is a startling island, rising high and steep from the ocean. Consisting overwhelmingly of basalt rock, which started spewing from the earth’s core around 130 million years ago, the land of Madeira itself is probably two-and-a-half-million years old. The volcanic nature of this island produces not only steep gorges radiating from the rugged central mountains – the highest of which, Pico Ruivo, stands at 1,861 metres above sea level – but also accounts for the spectacular coastal scenery. This tour explores both settings. A hugely varied number of plants and flowers enjoy this dynamic combination of fertile soil and warm temperatures. Bananas and vines, two of Madeira’s major exports, flourish on the coastal plains, while lush deciduous vegetation covers the higher mountain slopes. As is standard on remote islands, there has been considerable speciation,

and more than seven hundred plant species are indigenous to Madeira. Of particular interest are the laurisilva woodlands, the large house leeks, woody sow-thistles and marguerites, the beautiful shrubby Echium species and the curious Dragon tree. By exploring the terrain on foot we examine these species and their setting in greater and more rewarding detail. Aside from the ecological and horticultural aspects of this tour, there is also the opportunity to study the history of the island’s greatest export, Madeira wine. Although established as a Portuguese colony since Prince Henry the Navigator’s expedition landed in the early fifteenth century, it was during the period of Spanish ownership that a commercial treaty was established with the British in 1660. This marked the beginning of the wine trade, which has been significant ever since. We have organised a private tasting and visit to a winery that has been operating on the island for over two hundred years.

POLAnD, PORTUGAL

includes a number of churches, picturesque streets and other buildings. Overnight Kraków.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 12.45pm from London Gatwick to Funchal, (Monarch Airlines). Introductory lecture and dinner in the hotel. First of five nights in Funchal. Day 2. Morning walk (level and easy walk along the levada, narrow in places with a descent onto the road to finish, c. 5 km) along the Levada dos Tornos. Starting in the hills above Funchal, we walk to the Blandy family estate at Palheiro for lunch and a guided visit. The extensive sub-

Day 7: Małujowice, Brzeg, Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. A second excursion into the Silesian countryside. The Renaissance castle at Brzeg has a remarkable sculptured entrance gateway, and there are extensive 15th century wallpaintings in the nearby village church of Małujowice. Kamieniec Ząbkowicki, a huge neo-Gothic country residence, was the last major project by the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1838). Overnight Wrocław. Day 8: Wrocław to London. Drive to Kraków and fly to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 3.45pm.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,630 or £2,510 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,050 or £2,930 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Pod Roza, Krakow (podroza.hotel.com): 4-star hotel housed in a Renaissance palace just off the main square. Art Hotel, Wroclaw (arthotel.pl): comfortable 4-star hotel in the old town. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking, much of it on roughly paved streets. There are long drives on four of the days. Average distance by coach per day: 109 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

153

Funchal, wood engraving c. 1880. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Walking in Madeira continued

PORTUGAL

Dr Gerald Luckhurst. Landscape architect and garden historian involved in both historic restoration and contemporary garden design. He is an expert on sub-tropical and Mediterranean garden ﬂora and his books include The Gardens of Madeira and Sintra: A Landscape with Villas. His doctoral thesis is focussed on the gardens of Monserrate in Sintra, near Lisbon. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Day 5. In the cool hills above Funchal is the unesco Biosphere site at Ribeiro Frio, where a botanical garden and trout hatchery sit among quiet glades. Walk along the path to Balcões and back (3 km), with views of the craggy valleys below, followed by a picnic lunch. Afternoon walk (moderate, 5.6 km, a stoney path with some steep sections) to Madeira’s highest peak, Pico Ruivo, with wonderful 360° views stretching to the horizon, and a dramatic vista down to the small town of Curral das Freiras. Day 6. Drive to Funchal airport for the flight to London Gatwick, via Lisbon, arriving at c. 3.40pm (TAP Airlines). Although we have chosen the walks on this itinerary with due care and consideration, Madeira is subject to high winds which may mean that walks have to be changed or modified at short notice. We follow the advice of local walking guides.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,440 or £2,180 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,880 or £2,620 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 3 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Reid’s Palace Hotel, Funchal (belmond.com): arguably the best hotel on the island, this famous 5-star luxury hotel is set in subtropical gardens overlooking the Atlantic. Rooms are elegant in décor with sea or garden views. There are three excellent restaurants to choose from. Service here is second to none.

Madeiran mountain view, wood engraving c. 1880.

MAINLAND EUROPE 154

tropical gardens, first acquired by John Blandy in 1885, have been continually developed by the family. Some free time to enjoy the camellias, centennial trees, the rose garden and myriad other flowers and climbers. Private evening visit to the Blandy Wine Lodge with a Madeira wine tasting. Day 3. A guided tour of Funchal’s centre focusing on its city gardens and historic monuments. The Mercado dos Lavadores (farmers’ market) is a brilliantly vibrant showcase of the island’s produce. Visit the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, with its whitewashed walls and mudéjar-inspired ceiling, and the Jesuit collegiate church. Drive to Madeira’s easternmost peninsular, Ponta do São Lourenço, for an afternoon walk (c. 6 km, with steep ascents and descents on stepped paths; the length of the walk is book online at www.martinrandall.com

subject to weather conditions) in a rugged, almost lunar landscape, home to fossils, cacti and the odd flash of desert flowers. Day 4. A morning visit to the Boa Vista orchid gardens which houses the rarest and most unusual collection of orchids on the island. The Jardim Botánico located in the Quinta of Bom Sucesso is home to over 100 species of indigenous plants, as well as tropical and sub-tropical fruit trees and coffee trees, sugar cane and popular medicinal plants. Visit one of the island’s newest gardens, located on Ponta da Cruz, the southernmost point of Madeira. This is the warmest and sunniest spot on the island which makes for an extraordinarily colourful garden. The rest of the day is free.

How strenuous? Walking is an integral part of this tour and if you cannot complete a 3-mile country walk with ascents and descents, do not consider booking. There are four walks of between 2 and 4 miles. These walks can be rated as easy to moderate though strong knees and ankles are essential, as are a pair of well-worn hiking boots with good ankle support. Walks have been carefully selected but some steep rises and falls are unavoidable and terrain can be loose under foot, particularly in wet weather. This tour is not suitable for people who suffer from vertigo. Please contact us if you would like to discuss the walks in further detail. Average distance by coach per day: 39 miles. Group size: between 10 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with: Pompeii & Herculaneum, 24–30 October 2016 (p.141).

The Douro From Porto to Pinhão PORTUGAL

12–19 May 2017 (md 308) 8 days • £2,410 Lecturer: Adam Hopkins

The Douro, lithograph 1813.

One of the most remote and picturesque corners of Europe. Variety of visits including major museums, mediaeval and Baroque architecture, gardens, Paleolithic art and wine tastings at private estates. Journeys of immense beauty by rail and boat. Led by Adam Hopkins, journalist and author, specialist in Spanish and Portuguese history and culture. One of our more leisurely tours. The upper reaches of the Douro in Portugal present a landscape of extraordinary beauty and tranquillity. The banks rise steeply into the surrounding hills which are clothed with terraced vineyards, patches of woodland, little villages and quintas. Until recently one of the remotest clefts in western Europe, the region remains remarkably unspoilt and difficult of access. It is best approached by train; a journey into mountains that begins at the mouth of the river in Porto (Oporto). The capital of northern Portugal, Porto is synonymous with the port wine trade, which since time immemorial has been dominated by the British. Hence an architectural peculiarity of Porto: the serene Neo-Palladianism of buildings by John Carr of York and his imitators cheek-by-jowl with the highly wrought, startlingly pigmented and lavishly gilded Baroque style of churches and public buildings. Baroque was virtually introduced by another foreigner, the Tuscan painter-architect Nicolau Nasoni who had a hand in the design of many churches and houses in the city and along the Douro. Porto is also relatively unspoilt, retaining a jumble of historic architecture on its undulating even precipitous site, but it is also a city of parks and gardens and the occasional flash of ultramodern architecture. This is not a tour in pursuit of masterpieces, rather an exploration of delicious scenery and ancient townscapes in a most beautiful but often overlooked corner of Europe. The port wine industry is a subsidiary theme, along with the excellent red wines now produced here. The pace on this tour is slower than on many.

Day 1: Porto. Fly at c. 1.00pm from London Gatwick to Porto (TAP Portugal). Introductory talk and time for a stroll along the river front before dinner. First of three nights in Porto. Day 2: Porto. Porto is dense with historic architecture and falls steeply down to the River Douro. The cathedral is basically 13th-century with later embellishments, many by the painterarchitect Nicolau Nasoni. The Clerigos Church with its wonderful Baroque tower is also by Nasoni, the church of the Misericordia has good Flemish paintings and São Francisco has an amazingly rich carved and gilded interior. Also see the magnificent decorative tiles, azulejos, in the railway station and visit the Factory House

Day 3: Porto. See the façade of the Hospital de São António designed by John Carr of York (1770). The Soares dos Reis was Portugal’s first national museum and has collections of Portuguese fine and decorative arts, and the nearby Museu Romântico in the Quinta da Macieirinha has a garden and 19th-century furnishings. Álvaro Siza’s Fundação de Serralves is set in an attractive park and houses contemporary art. Cross the Douro for a tasting at a port lodge and study the scene of Wellington’s impulsive and brilliant 1809 river crossing which enabled him to finish Marshal Soult’s still-warm lunch. Day 4: Porto, Douro Valley, Pinhão. Free morning in Porto. Early afternoon train journey up the Douro Valley which becomes increasingly rural, unspoilt and beautiful, with vineyards, patches of woodland and quintas clinging to the hills. Pinhão is a tiny town with a hotel in a former port lodge overlooking the Douro. First of four nights in Pinhão. Day 5: São João de Tarouca, Lamego. At the village of São João de Tarouca, there are paintings by Grão Vasco (1506–42) and Gaspar Vaz (1490– 1569) in the church beside which are the ruins of the first Cistercian abbey in Portugal (1169). Continue to the busy little town of Lamego, replete with Baroque mansions and dominated by the pilgrimage church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios atop a ceremonial stairway. The town museum in the former episcopal palace contains a series of panels by Grão Vasco. See also the cathedral, largely Renaissance behind a Romanesque belfry and has a Gothic west front. Day 6: Vale do Côa. Up the Douro is the small town of Vila Nova Foz Côa with church with Manueline doorway. Close to the border with Spain the River Côa valley holds one of the greatest archaeological finds of recent years, an extensive array of outdoor Paleolithic art, the largest in

Europe. There are well-preserved engravings of auroch, horse, deer and goat along a long stretch of steeply slate-banked river. Visit one of the key sites by 4WD, then continue on foot. Return to Pinhão on the train beside the Douro. Day 7: the Douro by train and boat. A leisurely day in the heart of the wine-making area. Travel by rail downstream to the Quinta do Vallado; visit and lunch here. Sail back to Pinhão on a private rabelo boat. Day 8: Vila Real. The Palácio de Mateus at Vila Real, a Nasoni design made familiar by the rosé wine label, is a fine 18th-century manor house, well furnished and with gardens including a box tree avenue. Continue to Porto airport for the flight to London Gatwick, arriving c. 7.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,410 or £2,240 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,860 or £2,690 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 5 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Pestana Vintage, Porto (pestana.com): excellently situated 4-star hotel in the historic centre, on the right bank of the river Douro. Vintage House, Pinhão (csvintagehouse.com): delightful hotel surrounded by vineyards and with gardens and terrace overlooking the river. How strenuous? Visits in Porto are on foot and uphill (via some flights of steps). The archaeological park requires sure-footedness. Travel is by coach, train and boat. Average distance by coach per day: 37 miles.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Itinerary

(by special arrangement), a club of British port wine traders founded in the 18th century. Overnight Porto.

Group size: between 12 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Lisbon Neighbourhoods, 6–11 May 2017 (p.156); A Festival of Music in Toledo, 20–25 May 2017 (p.171).

155 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Lisbon neighbourhoods Art, architecture & gardens in & around the capital PORTUGAL

Day 3: Lapa, Bairro Alto. Drive to Lapa to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga with 15th- and 16th-century Portuguese works of art – displayed in a handsome palace. Back in the centre of Lisbon, walk around the Bairro Alto, a now fashionable hub of theatres, boutiques, cafés and restaurants. Visit the highly ornate church of São Roque and the ruined Convento do Carmo and its archaeological museum. Day 4: Queluz, Sintra. Drive to the royal palace and gardens at Queluz, built for the Infante Dom Pedro, a version of Versailles tempered by a Rococo elegance and a more intimate scale. Continue to the beautifully situated town of Sintra, the favoured summer residence of the kings of Portugal for six centuries, and much praised in poetry and prose. Visit the Palácio Nacional with its curious oast-house-like conical towers and remarkable 16th- and 17th-century azulejos. Lunch in the elegant 18th-century Palácio de Seteais, now a hotel. Visit the gardens of Quinta da Monserrate, laid out in 1856 for Sir Francis Cook, first Visconde de Monserrate, and his curious Mughal style mansion with restoration nearing completion.

Old Lisbon, watercolour by Donald Maxwell, publ. 1932.

6–11 May 2017 (md 290) 6 days • £1,970 Lecturer: Dr Gerald Luckhurst Superb and varied collections of decorative and fine arts as well as some of the best examples of Portuguese ceramic tiles. Palaces and gardens are well represented including the National Palace at Sintra and the Royal Palace at Queluz. Led by Dr Gerald Luckhurst, landscape architect and garden historian based in Lisbon. Rejuvenation in the last decade has transformed Lisbon into a vibrant and attractive city.

MAINLAND EUROPE 156

Each of Lisbon’s neighbourhoods has its own atmosphere and its own treasures – and the same is emphatically true of the nearby hill – or mountain – of Sintra, with palaces and gardens, and a tendency for mist to hang romantically about its peak. Despite the nation’s money troubles (now easing somewhat) and the city’s pockets of poverty, Lisbon itself remains one of the most romantic capitals of Europe. The Alfama neighbourhood rises high to east of centre, its castle synonymous with the fortunes of early Lisbon and with fine views of the bellying Tagus below. The centre itself – the ‘Baixa’, at river level – was built on a grid plan by the dictator Pombal in the eighteenth century, one of the great successes of early town planning. Above to the west rises the ever more lively – and stylish – Bairro Alto or High District and far beyond, where the Tagus reaches out towards the Atlantic, comes Belém. book online at www.martinrandall.com

King Manuel the Fortunate, his coffers heaving with the riches of India, envisaged a new Bethlehem for a new Christian mission to the East. The result: two of Portugal’s great buildings: the Belém tower, feet washed by the river, and the gorgeous Jerónimos Monastery, itself once standing on the foreshore. Add to these museums and galleries with fine and applied arts of the highest level, swelling hills and the constant presence of the river, glimpsed when least expected, not to mention the world’s finest grilled sardines.

Itinerary Day 1: Lisbon. Fly at c. 1.30pm (TAP Portugal) from London Heathrow to Lisbon. Drive to the hotel and settle in. Introductory talk before dinner. Day 2: Belém, Alfama. Drive out to the Jerónimos Monastery at Belém, an outstanding example of the exuberant Manueline style with fine carving and vaulting. On the banks of the Tagus are the monument to the ‘Explorers’ and the Torre de Belém (a stylish fortress) – also Manueline with Moorish decoration. Continue to the Castelo de São Jorge – Arab castle conquered by the Christians in 1147, embellished over centuries by Portugal’s kings, destroyed and now restored. Descend with views of the labyrinthine Alfama to the Romanesque cathedral. Once fortified, later on much remodelled, it has a fascinating and important archeological site in its cloister. End the day at the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (ceramic tiles), a superb collection of one of Portugal’s great art forms with pieces from the 15th century to the present day.

Day 5: Benfica. The morning is free for independent exploration. In the afternoon drive to Benfica and visit by arrangement the Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira. The tile work is excellent, particularly the Battle Room depicting the War of Independence against Spain 1640–1668. Drive back to the centre to visit the Medeiros e Almeida Foundation, an excellent and varied collection of decorative and fine arts, assembled by the Medeiros family in the 20th century and housed in the family home. Highlights include the French and Chinese collections, and an impressive British thunder box. Day 6: Lisbon. The morning is spent at the Gulbenkian Museum, an outstanding private art collection given to the city of Lisbon and beautifully displayed in a modern building. Continue to the airport for the flight to Heathrow, arriving c. 6.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,970 or £1,810 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,260 or £2,100 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Avenida Palace, Lisbon (hotelavenidapalace.pt): comfortable hotel of generous proportions with an air of faded grandeur and old-world charm. Adjacent to Rossio Square. Comparable to 4-star. Single rooms are double for sole use although many have twin beds. How strenuous? This is a short but busy itinerary with a lot of walking and standing around. Terrain is often uneven and steep and cobbled tiles can be slippery when wet. Average distance by coach per day: 12 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: The Douro, 12–19 May 2017 (p.155).

Monasteries of Moldavia Painted churches in the foothills of the Carpathians Itinerary

Concentrates on fortified 15th and 16th-century Orthodox monasteries.

Day 2. Bucharest. Visit the National Art Museum with its comprehensive collection of 14th- to 20th-century Romanian art, Stavropoleos Church (1724), a harmonious blend of Renaissance and Baroque features, and the world famous Peasants Museum and its outdoor collection of village houses. Internal flight from Bucharest to Suceava. Drive to Gura Humorului. First of four nights in Gura Humorului.

Exquisite authentic frescoes, a unique phenomenon in Byzantine art. Long coach journeys through scenically enchanting Southern Bucovina. Led by Alan Ogden – travel writer and historian specialising in Romania.

Day 3. Humor, Răsca, Voronet. The interior frescoes at the church at Humor (1530) are unsurpassed. Răsca (1540), located in a remote valley, is a charming working monastery and boasts a Ladder of St John on its South wall. Voronet Monastery (1488), considered by many to be the most splendid in Bucovina, offers a magnificent Last Judgement. Day 4. Arbore, Suceviţa, Moldovitsa. Arbore’s (1501) superbly executed frescoes on the western wall, with a notably green cast, contain scenes from the Lives of St Nicholas, St George and St Paraskeva. In bucolic surroundings, Suceviţa (1595) with its beautifully preserved frescoes is the last of the great painted monasteries in Bucovina. Moldovitsa’s (1532) remote position and fortifications have protected its frescoes from invaders and marauders alike. Day 5. Dragomirna, Putna. Dragomirna, now a community of nuns, was founded in 1608 by Anastasie Crimca whose legacy of writing and illumination can be seen in the museum. Putna, built between 1466 and 1481, is where Stefan the Great is buried; it still houses an active community

Day 6: Iași. Drive through Bucovina to explore Iași, the capital of the former Principality of Moldavia. The Church of the Three Hierarchs built by Basil the Wolf in the 17th century and its Cathedral which hosts the relics of St Paraskeva. Overnight Iași. Day 7. Fly early morning from Iași to Heathrow via Bucharest, arriving at c. 2.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,090 or £1,910 without international flights. Single occupancy: £2,250 or £2,070 without international flights. Included meals: 5 lunches, 6 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Athenée Palace Hilton, Bucharest (hiltonbucharest.com): centrally located 5-star hotel with excellent service and facilities. Best Western Bucovina, Gura Humorului (bestwesternbucovina.ro): modern 3-star hotel 37km south-west of Suceava, ideally located for exploring the surrounding area. Bathrooms have showers, not baths. The standards of comfort, equipment and service are quite acceptable and commensurate with its category. Single rooms here have single beds. Hotel International, Iași (hotelinternationaliasi.ro/acasa/): modern 4-star hotel in the historic centre. How strenuous? Participants must be reasonably fit as you will be on your feet for long periods. Some long coach journeys and two internal flights. Average distance by coach per day: 64 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

MAINLAND EUROPE

During the second Millennium, Romanian history was defined by its geographical juxtaposition to expansionist states. Resistance to foreign domination from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries led to the gradual establishment of independent principalities – Wallachia (c.1310), Moldavia (1359) and Transylvania (1541). Four years after the fall of Constantinople (1453), Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great) became Prince of Moldavia and for the next fift y years led a spirited defence against constant Turkish invasions, safeguarding much of Western Europe in the process. It was against this backdrop that Stefan and his son, Petru Rares, established almost thirty fortified monasteries and churches deep in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in Southern Bucovina, the north-western region of the present-day Romanian province of Moldavia. Keeping church and state intact was key to their survival as one of the last Christian states in southeastern Europe. Peasant armies would gather for battle inside the monasteries’ walls, and to educate and entertain the illiterate soldiers and campfollowers the exteriors of the churches were adorned with paintings of biblical stories and other Christian themes, including a number of anti-Ottoman messages. Byzantine in style as befits their Orthodox congregation, the frescoes have remarkable finesse of draughtsmanship and chromatic refinement. Although the north-facing walls have been damaged by centuries of rain and wind, the images on the other walls have astonishingly retained their original vivacity, including the remarkable intensity of colour – from the greens of Suceviţa, to the pinks of Humor and the famous blue at Voronet. Annexed by the Habsburg Empire in 1775, Southern Bucovina remained under Austrian control until 1918 when it was ceded to Romania. During this period of Catholic rule, many of the monasteries had to close and thus fell into disrepair; others continued to function but with greatly reduced roles. Persecuted by the Communist regime from 1948 onwards, it is only since 1990 that the monastic communities have become active again. The Bucovina landscape is one of gently rolling hills, dense woods, broad rivers and villages with pastel painted houses and riotous flower beds. Horses are still to be found in harness, ploughing the fields and transporting produce to markets. The welcome you will receive in Romania is sure to be warm and the hospitality generous.

Day 1. Fly at c. 2.50pm from London Heathrow to Bucharest (Tarom Airlines). Overnight Bucharest.

of monks and its museum displays many priceless treasures including superb 16th-century embroideries and intricate ecclesiastical treasures.

ROMAnIA

10–16 June 2017 (md 324) 7 days • £2,090 Lecturer: Alan Ogden

157

Sucevita, lithograph by Oskar Laske (1874–1951). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

St Petersburg Pictures & palaces RUSSIA St Petersburg, Palace Square, lithograph c. 1850.

5–12 May 2017 (md 270) 8 days • £2,930 Lecturer: Dr Alexey Makhrov 1–8 September 2017 (me 511) 8 days • £2,930 Lecturer: Dr Alexey Makhrov St Petersburg is perhaps the grandest city in Europe, and one of the most beautiful. Magnificent architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries, especially the palaces of the Romanovs, nobility and merchants. Outstanding art collections, the Hermitage being the largest art museum in the world. Led by Dr Alexey Makhrov, a Russian Art Historian and graduate of the St Petersburg Academy of Arts.

MAINLAND EUROPE 158

Founded by Peter the Great in 1703, the city of St Petersburg was intended to demonstrate to the world not only that Russia was a European rather than an Asian nation, but also that it was an immensely powerful one. This ‘window on the West’ became the capital of the Russian Empire until the government moved back to Moscow in 1918. Peter’s wish was amply fulfi lled: with the assistance of Dutch, Italian and French architects – Russians were to take over later in the century once they had mastered the mysteries of Western art and architecture – St Petersburg was laid out as the grandest city in Europe, with buildings on a monumental scale. The palaces of the imperial family and of the fabulously wealthy magnates vied with each other, and with the military establishments and government institutions to dominate the river front, the broad avenues and the vast squares. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Although one of the newest of Europe’s great cities, St Petersburg is the one least affected by 20th-century building. Despite the well-publicised economic and political troubles Russia has undergone in recent years, there has been a surge of cleaning and restoration which has accentuated the beauty of the city. As impressive as the architecture of St Petersburg are the contents of the museums and art galleries. The Hermitage is one of the world’s greatest art museums, with an immensely rich collection of paintings, sculpture, antiquities and decorative arts fi lling the enormous Winter Palace of the Romanovs. The Russian Museum comes as a revelation to most visitors, for apart from icons (and there is a wonderful collection) the great achievements of Russian painters, particularly during the 19th century, are scarcely known outside the country.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.15am from London Heathrow to St Petersburg (British Airways; time in the air: c. 3 hours 15 minutes). There is time to settle in before a short walk in the vicinity of hotel and dinner. Day 2. Explore the north bank of the Neva and Vasilyevsky Island which, as the original intended site of the city, has some of St Petersburg’s earliest buildings including the Twelve Colleges and the Peter-Paul Fortress. Visit the Menshikov Palace, an early 18th-century residence with impressive Petrine decoration. In the afternoon, visit the Russian Museum in the imposing Mikhailovsky Palace, which houses Russian painting from mediaeval icons to the vast canvases of the Romantics and Realists of the 19th century. Day 3. Walk to the remarkable Neo-Classical buildings of the Synod, Senate and Admiralty. Continue by coach taking in the sumptuous

Marble Palace (exterior), designed by Rinaldi in Baroque and Neo-Classical style and the wonderful group of Smolny Convent and Cathedral, also by Rastrelli. The first of two visits to the Hermitage, one of the world’s greatest art collections, housed in Rastrelli’s Winter Palace and contiguous buildings; walk around to understand the layout and to see the magnificent interiors. Day 4. A full-day excursion to two of the summer palaces about 20 miles from St Petersburg, both set in extensive landscaped parks with lakes and pavilions. At Tsarskoye Selo, formerly Pushkin, the main building is the outsized Rococo Catherine Palace by Rastrelli, its richly ornamented interiors painstakingly restored after war damage. At Pavlovsk, also well restored, the graceful NeoClassical Great Palace with encircling wings was in part built by Scotsman Charles Cameron. Day 5. Take a morning excursion to Peterhof (by hydrofoil, weather permitting), the magnificent palace on the Gulf of Finland with cascades and fountains. Some free time for independent exploration. Day 6. Drive through the city. The Baroque Cathedral of St Nicholas, with its gilded domes, is a memorial to Russian navy sailors who perished at sea. Visit the late 19th-century Yusupov Palace, one of the finest in the city and scene of Rasputin’s murder. A second visit to the Hermitage to concentrate on specific aspects of the collections and to pursue individual passions. Day 7. Visit to the world’s largest collection of Fabergé works, displayed in the Shuvalov Palace. In the afternoon, drive via the Kazan Cathedral with colonnaded forecourt to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, an extensive Baroque layout and cemetery with graves of many famous Russians.

russia, serbia

Dr Alexey Makhrov. Russian art historian and lecturer. He graduated from the St Petersburg Academy of Arts and obtained his PhD from the University of St Andrews followed by post-doctoral work as a Research Fellow at Exeter. He now lives in Switzerland where he teaches courses on Russian art. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Day 8. A free morning; perhaps the Hermitage again, or places not yet visited such as the Dostoyevsky Museum, Academy of Arts, or Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 5.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,930 or £2,630 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,240 or £2,940 without flights. Included meals: 5 dinners with wine. Music: details of opera and ballet performances will be sent to participants about one month before the tour and tickets can be requested. Visas: British citizens and most other foreign nationals require a tourist visa. The current cost for UK nationals is around £90, including service charge. This is not included in the price of the tour because you have to procure it yourself. You will need to complete an online application in the two month period before departure, and submit this along with your passport. As of 10th December 2014, it is obligatory for UK residents of all nationalities to attend one of two application centres, in London or Edinburgh, in order to submit biometric data (fingerprints) as part of the visa application process. Visa issuing times vary from country to country but UK residents should expect to be without their passport for approximately one week. Accommodation. Hotel Angleterre (angleterrehotel.com): an excellently located 5-star hotel in the city centre, within easy walking distance of the Hermitage.

MAINLAND EUROPE

How strenuous? There is a fair amount of standing in galleries and walking on this tour. Traffic congestion means coach journeys can be long and frustrating. Average coach travel per day: 13 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

“We came away from St Petersburg hungry to learn more about Russian life and culture – the mark of a successful trip”

Right: St Petersburg, etching 1912.

SERBIA: The Western Balkans, departures in October 2016; October & May 2017. See page 56. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

159

The Road to Santiago The pilgrimage route through northern Spain SPAIn

1–13 September 2017 (me 512) 13 days • £3,610 Lecturer: John McNeill One of the great historic journeys of the world. Includes all the major sites and deviates to many lesser-known ones. An architectural pilgrimage by coach – not a spiritual one on foot – for lovers of Romanesque and Gothic. Led by architectural historian John McNeill. ‘By land it is the greatest journey an Englishman may go.’ So wrote Andrew Boorde, physician and former bishop of Chichester in his 1542 First Book of the Introduction of Knowledge. The road to Santiago has rarely been without plaudits, from Godescalc, bishop of Le Puy in 950, to Paula Gerson, scholar and sceptic in 1993. What was claimed to be the tomb of St James was discovered in 813 in the wilds of Galicia and soon began to attract pilgrims. Roads and bridges were built along the approaches which soon coalesced into a standard route. Hospices and monasteries were founded and secondary shrines became established. Variously described as the Camino Francés, the Milky Way and the Road Beneath the Stars, the route exerted a pull which was pre-Christian, but the discovery of an Apostolic tomb and the renewal of the

infrastructure conspired to make Santiago the most celebrated of all mediaeval journeys – a byword for Chaucer’s pilgrims, a destination to vie with Jerusalem and Rome. The funds poured into such an enterprise were immense, resulting in an incomparable range of mediaeval – particularly Romanesque – and Renaissance monuments. With cathedrals such as Burgos, León and Santiago, monasteries of the calibre of San Millán de la Cogolla, Silos and Leyre, the paintings of Jaca and Miraflores, the metalwork of San Isidoro, the textiles of Las Huelgas, the road to Santiago does not want for masterpieces. But equally impressive is the landscape, a memorial backdrop through which all must pass – the limestone cliffs and tumbling watercourses of Aragón and Navarra, the forests of chestnut, oak and acacia of the Rioja, the vast wheat fields of Castile and the green, slate-divided fields of Galicia. We have two itineraries in 2017: The Road to Santiago – travelling by coach – and Walking to Santiago. They are markedly different in focus; the former is very much an architectural tour, and the latter a walking tour. But both are journeys in which you are conscious always of participating in a thousand-year-old flow of humankind which constitutes one of the most powerfully felt shared experiences in the spiritual and aesthetic history of Europe.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 4.00pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Bilbao. Drive to Argómaniz (80 km), arriving at c. 9.15pm. Overnight here. Day 2: Pamplona, Roncesvalles. The day is spent in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Reflecting its proximity to France, Pamplona cathedral has a cloister which constitutes perhaps the finest achievement of High Gothic in Spain. Roncesvalles Pass was scene of the famed rearguard action of Charlemagne’s paladin Roland, and has a renowned pilgrims’ church and hospice. Drive through the spectacular gorge of the Urrobi river. First of two nights in Sos del Rey Católico. Day 3: Sos del Rey Católico, Sangüesa, Leyre, Jaca. Stroll through the picturesque town of Sos to the church of San Esteban. Sta María la Real in the little town of Sangüesa has superb architectural sculpture, including some by a craftsman from Burgundy. The monastery of San Salvador de Leyre maintains Gregorian offices in a fascinating church with a good crypt and western portal. Jaca, below the Somport pass, has a Romanesque cathedral with a magnificent collection of mediaeval wall paintings. Day 4: Eunate, Puente la Reina, Estella. At Eunate a mysterious round chapel with encircling arcade rises from the midst of a cornfield. Puente la Reina is the point where pilgrim roads from France converged, and is equipped with hospices, churches and an amazing bridge. Estella, once a largely French-speaking, new town with an important collection of churches including the magnificent San Miguel. Overnight Sto Domingo de la Calzada. Day 5: Nájera, Sto Domingo de la Calzada, Burgos. See the Royal tombs at Santa María la Real in Nájera. Sto Domingo cathedral has Renaissance and Baroque accretions, and a cockerel still crows over the shrine of the saint. Arrive at Burgos, which grew up at the foot of the fortress of the Kings of Castile. The magnificent cathedral combines French and German styles; remarkable vaults, 16th-cent. choir stalls and a wealth of sculpture. Two nights in Burgos.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 6: Burgos, Quintanilla de las Viñas, Sto Domingo de Silos. Free morning in Burgos. In the afternoon drive to the Visigothic chapel at Quintanilla de las Viñas. Sto Domingo de Silos is the largest and finest Romanesque monastery in Spain, and has an epoch-making 12th-cent. cloister with magnificent sculpture.

160

Day 7: Burgos, San Miguel de la Escalada. The Carthusian monastery and royal mausoleum of Miraflores has superb 15th-cent. sculpture by Gil de Siloé. Just outside Burgos is the Early Gothic convent of Las Huelgas Reales, a place of royal burial. Pressing westwards, we stop at San Miguel de la Escalada, an elegant Mozarabic gem. First of two nights in León.

Burgos, copper engraving c. 1700. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 8: León. Former capital of the ancient kingdom of León, the city has many outstanding mediaeval buildings. The royal pantheon of San Isidoro is one of the first, and finest, Romanesque buildings in Spain, with important sculptures. The cathedral is truly superb: Rayonnant Gothic,

Walking to Santiago On foot for selected sections of the pilgrims’ way

Day 9: Lena, Orbigo, Villafranca del Bierzo. Drive through the Puerto de Pájares (mountain pass) to Sta Cristina de Lena, an exquisite 9th-cent. church. Puente de Orbigo is a 13th-cent. bridge which carried pilgrims over the River Orbigo. Villafranca del Bierzo was an ancient haunt of hermits and anchorites and subsequently studded with churches and hospices. Overnight Villafranca del Bierzo. Day 10: Villafranca to Santiago. Three churches punctuate the final stretch of the journey: O Cebreiro, site of a great Eucharistic miracle, Portomarín, a Templar foundation guarding the bridge over the Miño and Vilar de Donas, decayed and evocative knights’ church. Finally: Santiago de Compostela, goal of the pilgrimage. Three nights in Santiago.

6–17 June 2017 (md 328) 12 days • £3,420 – flights not included Lecturer: Dr Alexandra Gajewski 5–16 September 2017 (me 517) 12 days • £3,420 – flights not included Lecturer: Dr Alexandra Gajewski The last great pilgrimage route in Christendom which still attracts walkers; scenically wonderful with much fine architecture. Selected sections from the Pyrenees through northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Walking in comfort: good hotels; luggage transferred separately. The lecturer is Alexandra Gajewski, architectural historian specialising in the Mediaeval.

Still one of the most splendid walking routes in Europe, the Camino de Santiago runs almost 500 miles across northern Spain to the supposed tomb of St James, Sant Iago. Normally, the journey takes a month on foot. We are setting out to walk the highlights in twelve days, taking in the most historically charged and beautiful sections. For earlier pilgrims, the lure was a reduction of the soul’s time in Purgatory; now the motives are more usually historical and cultural, and sometimes also deeply personal. Religious commitment is less in evidence. But for many who undertake the magnificent walk there is also a spiritual dimension. Asceticism is not a necessary ingredient. Instead of staying in bunk beds in pilgrim hostels we repose in hotels, ranging from workaday to some of Spain’s finest. Instead of carrying huge packs with all our necessities, we carry only our

SPAIn

with impressive stained glass. The monastery of San Marcos (our hotel) has a splendidly exuberant Plateresque façade.

Day 11: Santiago de Compostela. The morning is dedicated to the great pilgrimage church, the shrine of St James, one of the most impressive of all Romanesque churches; also outstanding treasuries. Explore the university quarter and the narrow picturesque streets and visit Sta María del Sar, where walls splayed and buttressed support a charming Romanesque church against its cloister. Day 12: Santiago de Compostela. Free day. Day 13: Santiago de Compostela. Drive around midday to La Coruña. The flight (Vueling) arrives in London Heathrow at c. 4.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,610 or £3,370 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,040 or £3,800 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 9 dinners, with wine.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Parador de Argómaniz (parador.es): 4-star hotel; simple rooms. Parador de Sos del Rey Católico (parador.es): 4-star parador with views of surrounding countryside. Parador de Sto Domingo de la Calzada (parador. es): 4-star parador in the heart of town. NH Palacio de Burgos (nh-hotels.com): 4-star hotel in the centre of town. Parador de León (parador. es): 5-star parador in grandiose Plateresque pilgrim hostel. Parador de Villafranca del Bierzo (parador.es): 4-star parador in a contemporary building. Parador de Santiago de Compostela (parador.es): 5-star parador, for centuries the abode of the grander pilgrims. How strenuous? We stress that this is a long tour with a lot of coach travel, seven hotels and a lot of walking, often on uneven ground. The tour would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stair climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 85 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: The Age of Bede, 16–19 September 2017 (p.18); Classical Greece, 16–25 September 2017 (p.106).

161

Santiago Cathedral, Porta de la Gloria, wood engraving c. 1890. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Walking to Santiago continued

SPAIn

own day sacks while the luggage moves by road. Our coach intersects with walkers every two or three hours, allowing respite to anyone who needs to ride. We eat well, often picnicking in deep country, and try some of the fine wines grown along the route. But as with all pilgrimages this is a linear walk, involving a new hotel each night except on two rest days. We are like pilgrims, rather than tourists, visiting monuments along the route and what time and tiredness allow at the end of the day’s walking. There will be interpretative commentary by the lecturer and an introduction to the major buildings. But the experience of walking the camino is what is essentially on offer, along a route which has for centuries compelled the imagination.

on to Monte del Gozo. Here pilgrims once fell to their knees at the first view of the cathedral spires of Santiago (harder to see now through eucalyptus). Walk a further 5 km through suburbs into increasingly ancient city centre and right into the Parador, another important and beautiful historic building. First of two nights in Santiago de Compostela. Day 11: Santiago. The cathedral is a Romanesque masterpiece with a magnificent carved portal. Guided tour of the cathedral roof and those who wish may attend Pilgrim’s mass at midday. The rest of the day is free. Day 12. Drive to Santiago Airport in time for the flight to London Gatwick (Easyjet, currently departing at 10.15am).

Itinerary

Practicalities

Day 1: Biarritz to Roncesvalles. Leave from Biarritz Airport following the arrival of the flight from London Stansted (Ryanair, currently 2.05pm) (flights are not included – see ‘Practicalities’). Drive to Roncesvalles for the night.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,420. Single occupancy: £3,770.

Day 2: Roncesvalles to Lintzoaín/Erro, total walk 14.7 km. Weather permitting, we start at the summit of the pass and drop down on foot to Roncesvalles, traditional starting point of the pilgrimage in Spain. It has a fine collegiate church preserving memories of Sancho the Strong of Navarre. From here, walk downward through rustic, gentle sub-Pyrenean landscape and stately stone-built villages. After a picnic lunch, drive to Haro. Overnight Haro. Day 3: Nájera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, total walk 21 km. Drive to Nájera, another of the burial places of the royal house of Navarre. Climb through red sandstone with vines in rocky corners, through varied irrigated crops and out into rolling wheat country with mountains lying north and south - this is a good day for striding out. Lunch is in a village café. Afternoon walkers continue to Santo Domingo de la Calzada where there is time to visit the cathedral. Overnight Sto Domingo.

MAINLAND EUROPE 162

Procession in Santiago cathedral, drawing by Muirhead Bone from ‘Days in Old Spain’, 1938.

Day 4: Villafranca Montes de Oca to Agés, total walk 15.8 km. Begin with an hour’s walk uphill into mildly mountainous country, passing a disturbing monument to victims of Civil War assassination. Cross a plateau and continue through pine and oak forest to a beautiful valley enclosing the monastery of San Juan de Ortega (fine Gothic church). Picnic in the woods. Afternoon walkers continue to the village of Agés. Drive to Burgos for the first of two nights. Day 5: Burgos, rest day. Rest, nurse feet and loiter in this Castilian city rich in memories of El Cid and mediaeval pilgrimage, Wellington and Franco. There is time to see the magnificent cathedral, the charterhouse of Miraflores (superb sculpture by Gil de Siloé), and the monastery of Las Huelgas (fine architecture and images relevant to the camino). Overnight Burgos. Day 6: Rabé de las Calzadas to Hontanas, total walk 18.8 km. A fine if strenuous walk, swinging through hills with an upland feel, plenty of skylarks, wide views, scant shade and stone built villages. There are three manageable climbs, each one shorter than the last. Drive to nearby book online at www.martinrandall.com

Included meals: 8 lunches (3 are picnics) and 8 dinners, with wine.

Castrojeriz for lunch and then to León with its fine Gothic cathedral and Spain’s finest stained glass. The Parador of S. Marcos, our hotel, is one of the major historic buildings of the pilgrim route. Overnight León. Day 7: Hospital de Orbigo to Astorga, total walk 16.4 km. About one hour into the walk, we make a modest ascent and suddenly the plains are over. There are two or three small climbs this morning through remote-feeling countryside and wheat fields ending in shady corners under small oaks. We picnic with views down to the cathedral of Astorga. Stalwarts continue the walk into town. Here, the bishop’s palace was designed by Gaudí and there is a charming town hall. Overnight Astorga. Day 8: Foncebadón to Acebo, total walk 11 km. From the charming village of Foncebadón with its reticulated slate roofs and crooked balconies, climb to the highest point of the Camino, with spectacular views. Lunch in a pilgrim’s restaurant in Acebo. Drive from here to Villafranca del Bierzo for the night. Day 9: Triacastela to Sarriá, total walk 18.5 km. Drive to Triacastela via O Cebreiro, first port of call in Galicia for pilgrims, with Celtic buildings and an ancient church. The walk starts low and climbs through Galician-green valley and into country of tiny hamlets where cows chew the cud in dark mediaeval sheds. Sunken tracks, ferns and ivy abound and there is later a fine upland feel. After lunch in a bar en route we begin a slow descent to Sarriá. Overnight Sarriá. Day 10. Phase 1: Sarriá to Ferreiros. Phase 2: Monte del Gozo to Santiago de Compostela. Total walk 18.2 km. Walk 13.2 km from Sarriá to Ferreiros and have lunch in a bar before driving

Flights are not included in the cost of the tour as the most convenient are with Ryanair and Easyjet and we cannot make a booking without knowing the passenger name. We can book flights on your behalf, quoting the fare at the time of booking, or you can make the bookings yourself. Suggested flight details are provided with your Confirmation of Booking, but please contact us if you require details sooner. Accommodation. Hotel Roncesvalles (hotelroncesvalles.com): 3-star hotel in an 18th-cent. building. Hotel Los Agustinos, Haro (hotellosagustinos.com): 4-star in a converted convent. Parador de Sto Domingo la Calzada (parador.es): 4-star parador, former mediaeval pilgrim hospital. NH Palacio de la Merced, Burgos (nh-hotels.com): 4-star hotel in a converted palace. Parador de León (parador. es): 5-star parador in grandiose Plateresque pilgrim hostel. Hotel Spa Ciudad de Astorga (hotelciudaddeastorga.com): modern 3-star hotel in the centre. Parador de Villafranca del Bierzo (parador.es): 4-star parador in a contemporary building. Hotel Alfonso IX, Sarriá (alfonsoix. com): modern hotel near the river. Parador de Santiago de Compostela (parador.es): 5-star parador in the former pilgrims’ hospital. How strenuous? We cover up to 77 miles of the full 500-mile route with an average of 10–12 miles of walking per day. Participants should be used to walking cross-country, uphill and down, and be able to walk pleasurably for several hours at a time. Fitness is essential. Please do not book this tour in order to get fit. Safety and comfort are our main concern and there are opportunities to retire but the coach is intended as back-up rather than an alternative means of transport. Group size: between 8 and 18 participants. Combine this tour with The Miracle of Salzburg, 18–24 June 2017 (p.48); Imperial Istanbul, 18–24 September 2017 (p.180).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Castile & León Ancient kingdoms in the heart of Spain spain

13–22 October 2017 (me 617) 10 days • £2,770 Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen Led by Gijs van Hensbergen, art historian and author specialising in Spain. Architectural magnificence throughout including the cathedrals of Burgos and León. Much fine sculpture as well. Walled villages, grand monasteries, hilltop castles and a backdrop of vast, undulating landscape. Includes the 16th-century Palace of El Escorial. Good food: suckling pig, slow-roast lamb and kid; good wine of the Ribera de Duero. Since their fusion under one crown in the eleventh century, the ancient kingdoms of Castile and León have been responsible for some of the most emblematic periods of Spanish history. These former rival territories established themselves as the heart of Spain and exerted great influence over language, religion and culture far across the mediaeval map. Innumerable castles were built here (hence ‘Castile’) for this was the principal battleground of the Reconquista, the five-hundredyear war of attrition against the Moors which reclaimed Spain for Christendom. The region occupies much of the Meseta, the vast and austere plateau in the centre of the Iberian peninsula. Here are many of Spain’s finest cities, buildings and works of art. Lovers of Romanesque will feel particularly satisfied for there are many excellent examples of the style. Great Gothic churches are another magnificent feature, the cathedrals at León, Burgos, Segovia and Salamanca among them. French, German and English influences are to be found, though the end result is always unmistakably Spanish. Another striking aspect of the tour is the wealth of brilliant sculpture, especially of the late-mediaeval and Renaissance periods. Castles, of course, abound, and some of the defensive curtain of frontier cities such as Ávila are remarkably well preserved. As well as the prominent cities, we include a number of lesser-known places, all strikingly attractive, many with outstanding buildings or works of art, all barely visited by tourists.

Day 1: Ávila, Salamanca. Fly at c. 9.15am from London Heathrow to Madrid (Iberia Airlines). Drive to Ávila: a fortress town built during the Reconquista, it retains its entire circuit of 11th-century walls complete with battlements and 88 turrets. The 12th-century Basilica of San Vicente has fine sculpture. First of two nights in Salamanca. Day 2: Salamanca. Distinguished by the honeycoloured hue of its stone, Salamanca is one of the most attractive cities in Spain and home to its most prestigious university. See the magnificent 16th-century Gothic ‘New Cathedral’ and austere Romanesque ‘Old Cathedral’, the 18th-century Plaza Mayor and superb, elaborate Plateresque sculpture on the façades of the university and church of San Esteban. The University has 15th-

Day 3: Zamora, León. On the Roman road that connected Astorga to Mérida, Zamora rose to importance during the Reconquista as a bastion on the Duero front. Much of its Romanesque architecture survives, including the cathedral of Byzantine influence. Drive to León, former capital of the ancient kingdom and visit the monastery of San Marcos (our hotel) with an exuberant Plateresque façade, magnificent late-Gothic church, Renaissance chapels and fine choir-stalls. First of two nights in León. Day 4: León. A morning walk to some of the outstanding mediaeval buildings of the city. The royal pantheon of San Isidoro is one of the first, and finest, Romanesque buildings in Spain, with important sculptures. The cathedral is truly superb Rayonnant Gothic with impressive stained glass. The afternoon is free to visit the archaeological or contemporary art museums.

Day 5: San Miguel de Escalada, Lerma, Santo Domingo de Silos. The beautiful, remote church at San Miguel de Escalada displays a fusion of Visigothic and Islamic building traditions. The village of Lerma has a wealth of buildings from the early 17th century including an arcaded main square with ducal palace and the Collegiate church of San Pedro. Drive in the late afternoon to Santo Domingo de Silos, which has the finest Romanesque monastery in Spain, outstanding for the sculpture of the 12th-century cloister. First of two nights in Lerma. Day 6: Burgos, Quintanilla de las Viñas, Covarrubias. Drive to Burgos, the early capital of Castile, whose cathedral combines French and German Gothic styles and has remarkable vaults and 16th-century choir stalls. On the outskirts is the convent of Las Huelgas Reales with its important early Gothic church. Visit the Visigothic chapel at Quintanilla de las Viñas. Covarrubias is an attractive walled village with a mediaeval Colegiata containing fine tombs. Segovia, Alcázar, wood engraving c. 1880. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Itinerary

and 16th-century quadrangles, arcaded courtyards and original lecture halls. The Convento de las Dueñas has a Plateresque portal and an irregular, two-tiered cloister.

163

Castile & León continued

The Pyrenees Catalonia, Rousillon & the Comte de Foix

SPAIn

Day 7: El Burgo de Osma, San Esteban de Gormaz, Segovia. El Burgo de Osma is a walled town with arcaded streets and one of the finest Gothic cathedrals in Spain. At San Esteban de Gormaz see the 12th-century churches of San Miguel and Del Rivero with exterior galleries. Built on a steep-sided hill, Segovia is one of the loveliest cities in Spain and architecturally one of the most richly endowed. First of three nights in Segovia. Day 8: Segovia. Straddling the town, the remarkable Roman aqueduct is one of the biggest in Europe. See the outstanding Romanesque exteriors of San Martín, San Millán and San Esteban and the circular Templar church of La Vera Cruz. An afternoon walk includes the cathedral, a soaring Gothic structure, and the restored Alcázar (castle), dramatically perched at the prow of the hill. Day 9: Segovia, La Granja. Free morning; suggestions include the contemporary art museum of Esteban Vicente and the Museum of Segovia. Drive to La Granja de San Ildefonso, the palace constructed for Philip V in the early 18th century, with magnificent formal gardens. Day 10: El Escorial. This vast retreat-cumpalace-cum-monastery-cum-pantheon was built from 1563 to 1584 for Philip II, successfully embodying his instructions for ‘nobility without arrogance, majesty without ostentation, severity in the whole’. Fly from Madrid, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 6.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,770 or £2,640 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,130 or £3,000 without flights. Included meals: 7 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hospes Palacio de San Esteban, Salamanca (hospes.com): centrally located 5-star hotel in a converted 16th century convent. Parador de León (parador.es): 5-star parador in grandiose Plateresque building; public areas are impressive. Parador de Lerma (parador.es): 4-star parador in the Ducal Palace. Eurostars Convento Capuchinos, Segovia (eurostarsconventocapuchinos.com): 5-star hotel set in a converted 17th century church and monastery complex.

MAINLAND EUROPE

How strenuous? This is a long tour with a lot of walking in town centres, some of it on cobbled streets and uphill. It should not be undertaken by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stairclimbing. Average distance by coach per day: 73 miles. Dinners tend to be at 8.30 or 9.00pm in Spain, so you might get to bed later than you would usually. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Aragón: Hidden Spain, 3–11 October 2017 (p.166).

164

What else is included in the price? See page 6. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Girona, etching c. 1920s (detail).

6–15 June 2017 (md 325) 10 days • £3,030 Lecturer: Dr Richard Plant A thorough survey of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Delves deep into the Pyrenees but also takes in low-lying and coastal Catalonia. Led by architectural historian Dr Richard Plant. Scenically and architecturally stunning. During the Middle Ages the Pyrenees supported two very distinct ways of life: the fundamentally urban civilisation of the coastal reaches, mercantile in ambition and Mediterranean in outlook, and that unsung, tireless village culture which flourished in the high places and valleys inland. Here in the remote mountains a rural and essentially feudal Christianity emerged, consecrated in innumerable small Romanesque churches and largely immune to news from elsewhere. The mediator was monasticism, introduced uncertainly at first but becoming in fact a vehicle of political will under the mighty Oliba of Cerdagne. Oliba’s early foundations, at Ripoll and Cuxa embody this ambition and are among the seminal essays of Romanesque architecture in Europe. They found a reflection in the parish churches of the High Pyrenees and, moderated by the vernacular of Catalonia, resulted in some of the most serene and beautiful buildings of twelft h-century Europe. Even more remarkably, these churches were largely spared the calamities of the post–Renaissance

period, leaving their glorious marble sculpture intact and preserving, albeit often in museums, the finest of their paintings. These early achievements were enhanced by the arrival of the Cistercians, invited by Count Ramón Berenguer to fi ll the void left by the expulsion of the Moors from south–western Catalonia, and their monasteries at Poblet and Santes Creus remain even more complete than Fontenay or Fossanova. Neither were the cities neglected: ever more responsive to distant developments, Girona, Barcelona and Lérida were provided with cathedrals of the first rank. Shortly after came that extraordinary flowering of late mediaeval mercantile culture which transformed the previously neglected market towns of the north, St-Girons, Foix and StBertrand-de-Comminges.

Itinerary Day 1: Barcelona, Vic. Fly at c. 11.15am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Barcelona. Visit the Museum of Catalan Art; a superb collection of mediaeval painting and sculpture from many of the churches to be visited on the tour. Continue to Vic for the night. Day 2: Ripoll, San Juan de Las Abadesas, Arlessur-Tech, Collioure. Oliba’s astonishing monastery of Sta Maria at Ripoll has one of the greatest libraries of early mediaeval Europe. San Juan de las Abadesas is a Romanesque church founded in 887 by Count Wilfred the Hairy as a Benedictine nunnery. Cross into France to Arles-sur-Tech, famed for its tranquil cloister and 12th-cent. sculpture. Continue to the pretty seaside town of Collioure for the first of four nights.

Practicalities

Day 3: Serrabonne, Villefranche-de-Conflent, St Michel de Cuxa. Drive in the morning into the foothills of the Canigou Massif. Serrabonne abbey church has a magnificent 12th-cent. carved choral tribune in pink marble. St Jacques at Villefranche-de-Conflent has a fine 12th-cent. portal while St Michel de Cuxa, an important early mediaeval foundation, was gloriously refurbished by Abbot Oliba during the early 11th cent. Overnight Collioure.

Accommodation. Parador de Vic (parador.es): excellent 4-star parador. Relais des trois Mas, Collioure (relaisdestroismas.com): a comfortable 4-star hotel overlooking the bay. Hotel Eychenne, St Girons (hoteleychenne.com): splendid 3-star French coaching house with good restaurant. Parador de Vielha (parador.es): a 4-star parador in the Arán Valley. NH Pirineos, Lérida (nh-hoteles. es): centrally located 4-star hotel, member of a reliable Spanish chain.

Price – per person. Two sharing: £3,030 or £2,810 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,340 or £3,120 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 7 dinners with wine.

How strenuous? A full tour with a lot of driving, at times on minor roads, and walking, some of it over steep terrain. There are many hotel changes. Average distance by coach per day: 96 miles.

SPAIn

“...the perfect mix of an indepth survey of Romanesque architecture and absolutely stunning scenery.”

Group size: between 12 and 22 participants.

Bilbao to Bayonne 24–31 October 2016 (md 922) This tour is currently full Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com

Day 4: Girona, St Pedro de Roda. Back into Spain to visit Girona. The Gothic Cathedral, perhaps the finest in Catalonia, houses important illuminated manuscripts and tapestries in the chapterhouse. The early Romanesque abbey of San Pedro de Roda has wonderful views of the coast. Day 5: St Martin de Fenollar, Elne. The Romanesque chapel at Fenollar has tiny spaces that carry the most complete cycle of mediaeval wall paintings to have survived in French Catalonia. See also the fortified cathedral at Elne and fine Pyrenean marble sculpture at St Genis des Fontaines. Free time in Collioure. Day 6: Montségur, Foix. Drive in the morning beneath the northern flank of the Pyrenees to Montségur, the great Cathar redoubt and scene of the virtual obliteration of the Albigensian cause. There is an arresting three-towered feudal castle at Foix. Overnight St Girons. Day 7: St Lizier, St Bertrand de Comminges, Arties, Vielha. The Cathedral of St Lizier has a Romanesque cloister and a 14th-cent. brick tower. St Bertrand de Comminges is aisleless and majestic and perhaps the most accomplished late mediaeval building in the High Pyrenees. Drive via the secluded Aran Valley to Arties. Walk over the bridge to the 12th-cent. Sta Maria with a fine sculpted north door and baptismal font. Overnight in nearby Vielha.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 8: Vielha, Taull, Val de Boí. See remote Romanesque churches of the high mountains. Vielha is abundant with Romanesque sculpture. Taull has a superb pair of 12th-cent. churches: San Climent, with columnar nave and slender belltower and Sta Maria has a bell-tower to outdo even that of its great neighbour. San Joan de Boí has a small and beautifully proportioned single-apsed church. First of two nights in Lérida. Day 9: Lérida, Poblet, Santes Creus. Lérida Cathedral is a sprawling complex of Gothic architecture, painting and sculpture. Poblet has a breathtaking Cistercian church containing tombs of the mediaeval monarchs of Aragón and a magnificent group of conventual buildings. Santes Creus has a slightly later Cistercian abbey with a superbly sculpted cloister and chapter house. Day 10: Terrassa, Barcelona. Drive to Barcelona via Terrassa, a stunning and largely early medieval precinct arranged around three churches. The mid afternoon flight from Barcelona arrives at Heathrow at c. 4.30pm.

165

The monastery at Poblet, early-19th-century engraving. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Aragón: Hidden Spain Teruel, Zaragoza, Jaca SPAIn

3–11 October 2017 (me 595) 9 days • £2,570 Lecturer: Adam Hopkins One of the least-visited regions of Spain, and yet one of the richest in history, architecture and landscapes. Adam Hopkins is a journalist and author, specialist in Spanish history and culture. As diverse a tour as we oﬀer with Paleolithic and Neolithic cave painting, Roman remains, Moorish palaces, Spain’s finest examples of Mudéjar architecture, Romanesque castles and churches. Themes of military history: El Cid, Peninsular War, Civil War. Visit Goya’s birthplace and see his Horrors of War. You cannot know Spain unless you know Aragón, that former kingdom rich in fine landscape, history and architecture, including Arab works and the Arab-Christian style known as Mudéjar, here at its most extravagant and surprising. It is the swift ly-flowing River Aragón, running down from the High Pyrenees, which gave its name to one of the most dynamic mini-kingdoms of early mediaeval Europe. Soon Aragón advanced to meet the Moorish occupiers of the Ebro basin and wrested Zaragoza (Roman Caesar Augusta) from them. From there, it was on to smaller Teruel and the rugged sierras which flank it, to establish, in the end, a shield-shaped territory. With Catalunya, Aragón came to rule Sicily, southern Italy and most of Greece, truly a power in the Mediterranean. Later, in the fifteenth century, it

Add to all of this four different wine regions, each with its own denominación de origen; pottery still made in the Arabic tradition; intriguing country towns; and robust, big-city Zaragoza, studded with major monuments.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.15am (Iberia) from London Heathrow to Madrid. Drive to Teruel with a stop en route (c. 190 miles) arriving at the hotel at about 6.30pm. First of two nights in Teruel. Day 2: Teruel, Albarracín. Albarracín is a gorgeringed hill town founded by Arabs and long ruled by its Christian reconquerors. The defensive wall high on the ‘landward’ side, mediaeval streets and narrow site make it a remarkable spot. Close by lies a tract of well-wooded country above red sandstone cliffs. Here Palaeolithic and Neolithic communities painted animals and humans in rock shelters. Here we walk to see some of the most revealing paintings, mostly in woods, but also visiting a magnificent cliff top with wide views. Back in Teruel, see the little city’s famous Mudéjar towers and the cathedral’s painted ceiling. Day 3: Teruel, Daroca, Zaragoza. Spend the morning in Teruel and visit the mausoleum of the famous Lovers of Teruel who perished for love of one another, and the fine Provincial Museum housed in an Arágonese mansion. Drive north to Daroca, a well-preserved mediaeval town of great beauty and curiosity. Continue to Zaragoza, capital of Aragón. First of three nights in Zaragoza. Day 4: Zaragoza. Visit the mediaeval/Renaissance cathedral with Mudéjar work and the Lonja, fine Gothic/Renaissance exchange. In the newer part of town, see the Fine Arts Museum and the adjacent monument to the Napoleonic sieges of the city. The Aljaferia is an Arab palace incorporating brilliant additions by Ferdinand and Isabella. The Basilica of El Pilar is the 18th-century site of modern pilgrimage built around the pillar on which the Virgin Mary appeared to St James. Ceiling paintings include works by Goya. Day 5: Belchite, Fuendetodos, Zaragoza. Belchite was the site of fierce fighting in 1937 which left the town completely ruined. In open and semidesert country, the visit is an eerie experience. At Fuendetodos, in equally bleak country, Goya’s birthplace has been well-restored. The Museum of Etching contains the Caprichos, Disparates, and Horrors of War. Free afternoon in Zaragoza.

MAINLAND EUROPE 166

became a partner for Castile in forging the identity for what we know today as Spain. But since then it has been side-lined in the political structure, enabling it, through misfortune, to retain and still convey a sense of its early origins. The landscape is as dramatic as the history. The peaks and summer pastures of the highest Pyrenees fall almost entirely within Aragón. Dropping south, the Ebro valley is like a winding oasis between deeply eroded, dry clay banks. South again lies steppe country, sometimes desert-like, turning finally to a territory of cliff and gorge. Here Neolithic man left paintings in rock shelters. The architectural legacy is outstanding. The early stonemasons and architects of Aragón, in tandem with French craftsmen on the Pilgrims’ Way to Santiago, produced some of the most charming Romanesque buildings in Spain, marked by particularly engaging stone carving. The castle of Loarre is arguably Spain’s finest Romanesque military construction. This is matched in beauty and surprise-value by the Arabesques and interlocking arches of the (Arab) Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza. The four Mudéjar towers of Teruel are among the wonders of Spain. Military history gives us El Cid Campeador. Though touted as a Christian hero, he worked for years as a mercenary general for the Moorish rulers of Zaragoza. During the Peninsular War – known in Spain as the War of Independence – Zaragoza endured two exceptionally bitter sieges. During the civil war of 1936–39, Belchite, close to Zaragoza, was furiously contested – and left in ruins as a warning for the future. The three-month battle for Teruel, fought in sub-zero temperatures from December 1937, was one of the most cruel of defeats for the Spanish Republic.

Day 6: Huesca, Loarre, Sos del Rey Católico. Huesca, second ‘capital’ of infant Aragón, has a cathedral with a dramatic altarpiece. Follow the river Gállego as it flows past the extraordinary rock formations of Riglos de los Mallos. Emerge from the sierras to encounter the Castle of Loarre, arguably the finest Romanesque military building in Spain. Drive to the picturesque town of Sos for the first of three nights.

Zaragoza, wood engraving c. 1880. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 7: Sos del Rey Católico, Leyre. In remote hill country, Sos del Rey Católico is one of the chief sites of the mediaeval kingdom: Ferdinand of Aragón was born here in 1452 and the town retains much of its mediaeval atmosphere. The monastery of San Salvador de Leyre maintains Gregorian offices in a fascinating church with a good crypt and western portal.

Gastronomic Catalonia Fine food & wine, art & architecture spain

Engraving 1864 after Gustave Doré.

Day 8: San Juan de la Peña, Santa Cruz de la Serós, Jaca. The monastery of San Juan de la Peña, dramatically sited under a bulging rock face, is the burial place of the kings and queens of early Aragón and key to understanding Aragón’s religious sentiment and history. See the magnificently carved mini-cloister. The 11th-cent. church at Santa Cruz de la Serós is a fine example of Aragonese Romanesque. Continue to the cathedral of Jaca with fine stone carvings. Day 9. At 7.00am drive north out of Aragón to Bilbao (143 miles) for the midday flight arriving at London Heathrow at c. 1.15pm (British Airways).

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,570 or £2,360 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,820 or £2,610 without flights. Included meals: 4 lunches, 6 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Gran Hotel Botánicos, Teruel (granhotelbotanicos.com): modern, centrally located 4-star hotel with well-equipped rooms. Hotel Catalonia el Pilar, Zaragoza (hotelescatalonia.com): modern 4-star hotel in an attractive turn-of-the-century building in the historic centre. Parador de Sos del Rey Católico, Sos (parador.es): 4-star parador with views of surrounding countryside.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Castile & León, 13–22 October 2017 (page 163).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Eat well, drink well: Michelin-starred meals, award-winning chefs and quality wine producers. Sightseeing ranges from mediaeval to Modernist art and architecture. Led by Gijs van Hensbergen, author of books on Spanish art and food. Also includes the lesser-visited city of Girona, and a day in the northernmost reaches of the region, crossing into France. Food is at the very core of Catalan existence, and the glorious variety of Catalan gastronomy reflects both the universal passion for food and the diverse cultural history of Catalonia. Food culture, husbandry and interest in medical and dietary matters reach back to the period when the Greeks first settled at Empúries to worship the healing image of Asklepios. The Carthaginians followed, bringing lentils, chickpeas and fava beans; the Romans introduced the vine and olive. Four centuries of Moorish domination brought a passion for sweetmeats, spices and aubergine. The Catalan larder expanded further in the late Middle Ages when control over Mediterranean trade routes brought pasta from Naples and the discovery of the Americas introduced the key ingredients for the Provençal and Catalan table: tomato, potato and paprika. The Barcelona food markets are among the most beautiful and enticing in the world. Set out in cartwheels under ceilings of Art Nouveau stained glass, the stalls fan out from their fresh fish hub. Marble sinks soak the milky salt cod; cornucopia

of fruit and vegetables are displayed with the subtlety of a still-life; butchers offer specialities and recipes upon request; the mushroom man has thirty varieties, fresh and dried. At the outer edges are the dealers in nuts and artisan cheeses that never find their way out of Catalonia. In the city of the exuberance and riotous colour of Antoni Gaudí’s architectural confections, it is but a little way to the tour de force of a zarzuela fish stew, shot through with a firework display of saffron, bright red peppers and the creamy smooth burnt allioli sauce. The mar i muntanya dishes – the original surf and turf – marry together a remarkable blend of game, fowl or rabbit with langouste, enriched with a subtle chocolate sauce. The pioneering Nouvelle Catalan cuisine offers new tastes and complex techniques which find their echo deep into France, even to the Lycée Palace. The chefs that create them are some of the most talked about in and outside Barcelona. Sergi Arola is the former assistant of Ferrán Adriá and a proponent of authentic Catalan cuisine. Jordi Cruz mixes tradition and creativity at his 2-Michelin-starred restaurant ABaC in Barcelona, voted the best in Catalonia in 2011. Michelinstarred chef Nandu Jubany grows his own fruit and vegetables to serve in his restaurant, a converted farmhouse near Vic. Disciples of Ferran Adrià, chef Xavier Sagristà and maitre d’ Toni Gerez have been working together for over 30 years. Now in Peralada, they continue to create a contemporary vision of Empordà cuisine. However, there is far more to Catalonia than Barcelona, and historically the region extends into France. There are the fishing ports and the countryside, the Pyrenees and the Vallées Orientales, and the wines: Priorato, rich and tannin-steeped; Cavas which demonstrate brilliance and clarity; sweet Moscatel, peasant foil Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking in town centres and there are some long coach journeys on this tour, particularly on the first and last days. The optional, more strenuous walk on day 2 requires you to be a practised country walker, used to some up and down. It should not be undertaken by anyone who is not sure-footed or who has difficulty with gradients. Average distance by coach per day: 98 miles.

4–10 September 2017 (md 536) 7 days • £2,990 Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen

167

Gastronomic Catalonia continued

SPAIn

“The meals were absolutely superb. One of the reasons I chose this tour.” another twist to contemporary Catalan cooking. In the afternoon visit Gaudí’s La Pedrera building of 1906–10. Day 4: Barcelona, Peralada. Take a morning walk in Gaudí’s Parc Güell before sampling Jordi Cruz’s 2-Michelin-starred, avant garde cuisine at ABaC. Leave Barcelona and drive up the coast to the outskirts of Figueres. First of three nights in Peralada. Day 5: Girona, Vic. Girona has a compact mediaeval Jewish quarter and Gothic cathedral towering over the river. Important illuminated manuscripts and tapestries are displayed in the chapterhouse. Lunch is at Michelin-starred Can Jubany. A light dinner takes the form of cheese and olive oil tasting in Figueres at the restaurant of Artur Sagues, who designed and constructed El Bulli’s cheese trolley for more than a decade. Day 6: Collioure (France), La Selva de Mar. Drive into France to the pretty port of Collioure, a favoured retreat for Matisse and the Fauves. Light lunch of anchovies, a key local industry. Return to Spain, and the coastal town of La Selva de Mar to visit the vineyard of one of the Empordà’s finer producers. Dinner in Restaurante Aires, our hotel restaurant, where Xavier Sagrista makes his mark on Catalan classics. Day 7: Figueres. Free time in Figueres to visit the Dalí museum. Drive south to Barcelona for the flight to Heathrow, arriving c. 5.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,990 or £2,780 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,340 or £3,130 without flights. Included meals: 5 lunches and 5 dinners (including 3 light ones), with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Condes de Barcelona (condesdebarcelona.com): 4-star hotel very well placed for buildings by Gaudí. Hotel Golf Peralada (hotelperalada.com): 5-star spa and golf hotel situated in the Albera mountains with an excellent restaurant.

Barcelona Cathedral, lithograph c. 1840.

MAINLAND EUROPE 168

for the great Gewürztraminer experiments of the last decade; Penedès reds, as good with meat as slightly chilled with fish. Catalan wine is enjoying an extraordinary renaissance.

Itinerary Day 1: Barcelona. Fly at c. 11.15am from London Heathrow to Barcelona, capital of Catalonia and cosmopolitan market place. Take an afternoon walk and visit a chocolate emporium. Dinner has a 1900s theme with recipes from the gent de bé – Barcelona’s legendary good families – at the neo-Baroque Casa Calvet designed by Gaudí. First of three nights in Barcelona. Day 2: Barcelona. Spend the morning in the Art Nouveau Boquería with its extraordinary displays of fresh produce. The Barri Gòtic is book online at www.martinrandall.com

the most complete surviving Gothic quarter in Europe is still the location of some of the finest eating establishments and food suppliers in Catalonia. A wine tasting includes rarities from the Priorato and Penedès. In the afternoon visit the Palau de la Música, the highly ornate concert hall designed by Domenech i Montaner and Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia, the vast, still unfinished church which is one of the best-known buildings in the world. Dinner takes the form of a tapas walk. Overnight Barcelona. Day 3: Barcelona. On the slopes of Montjuïc are the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, which houses the greatest collection of Romanesque frescoes in the world, plus fine Gothic and modern collections, and the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. Lunch is in the rooftop restaurant of the stylish 5-star Hotel Arts where Sergi Arola has added yet

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking in Barcelona – some of it over uneven paving – where vehicular access is restricted. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair–climbing. Meals can be long and large and so expect some late nights. Average distance by coach per day: 52 miles. Combine this tour with The Heart of Italy, 11–18 September 2017 (p.135).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Barcelona 1900 Modernism in Barcelona & beyond

A short and sharp immersion in the art and architecture of the capital of Catalonia. Contrasting the mediaeval treasures of the Gothic quarter with the flamboyant Modernista buildings of Gaudí and his contemporaries. Led by Gaudí biographer, Gijs van Hensbergen.

Day 4: Mataró, Barcelona. Enter the city’s council building, the Ajuntament, to see the paintings by Josep Maria Sert. Drive north to Mataró, home to Gaudí’s first building, now a contemporary art museum. Return to the city to visit Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia, the vast, still unfinished church which is one of the best-known buildings in the world, and Montaner’s Hospital de Sant Pau. Day 5: Barcelona. Drive to Gaudí’s neo-gothic house, Bellesguard with fine gardens and Parc Güell, the incomplete ‘garden suburb’ with sinuous ceramic-clad structures. Lunch in Rubió i Bellver’s Asador de Aranda, one of Barcelona’s great restaurants. Back in the city centre, walk through the district of Gràcia, passing Gaudí’s Casa Vicens, to his La Pedrera building of 1906–10. Day 6: Montserrat, Sitges. The gallery at Montserrat contains works by Dalí and Picasso. Continue to Sitges, one of the most fashionable of costa towns and home to Rusinyol’s collection at the Cau Ferrat. See also the adjoining Museu Maricel with its frescoes by Sert. Day 7: Barcelona. Free morning. In the afternoon journey by Metro to Montjuic hill and the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion (1929), a small masterpiece of International Modernism. The Miró Foundation (Joan Miró was born in Barcelona) has a large and important collection donated by the artist.

Gijs van Hensbergen. Art historian and author specialising in Spain and the USA. His books include Gaudí, In the Kitchens of Castile and Guernica. He studied Art History at the Courtauld and is a Fellow of the Cañada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies at the LSE. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Day 8: Barcelona. Drive out of Barcelona to Gaudí’s crypt at the Colonia Güell, arguably his greatest work, set amongst the pine trees in an industrial paradise. The flight from Barcelona arrives at Heathrow at c. 6.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,860 or £2,620 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,280 or £3,040 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 3 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Condes de Barcelona (condesdebarcelona.com): 4-star hotel, very well placed for buildings by Gaudí; rooms are modern and comfortable. How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking in Barcelona, some of it over uneven paving. Vehicular access is restricted, and we also use the Metro. Average coach travel per day: 25 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Opera in Vienna, 16–21 March 2017 (p.51); The Ring in Berlin, 31 March–10 April 2017 (p.91).

MAINLAND EUROPE

From formal palace to factory floor, no design detail was too insignificant for the architectdesigners of the Modernista age. Architects such as Antoni Gaudí, Domènech i Muntaner and Puig i Cadafalch vied for the patronage of the new urban élite as they transformed the teachings of Ruskin and Morris into a seductive reality of stained glass, marble, tortoise-shell, elaborately carved stone and daring use of iron and brick. Turn-of-the-century Barcelona provided a haven for social and artistic experimentation. Style wars raged over the pre-eminence of Gaudí’s religious vision or of that of the Bohemian world of Picasso and the legendary Quatre Gats café. Outside the city, industrial colonies sat side by side with Utopian garden design and other experiments in social engineering. The many Modernista showcases of the latest thinking in architectural theory and design include Muntaner’s outrageously flamboyant Palau opera house, private mansions, cast-iron markets, pharmacies, patisseries and hospitals. We dine in houses designed by Gaudí and Rubió i Bellver as well as Domènech’s Hotel España, submerged in a marine world of frescoed mermaids, angel fish and slippery squid. Outside the city we visit the mountain-top shrine of Montserrat, Catalonia’s spiritual home, and Gaudí’s first edifice in Mataró, built for a textile workers union and his only building not to be funded by the bourgeoisie or the Catholic church. No single building can better explain the apparent paradoxes of the Quatre Gats and Modernista style than Rusinyol’s rock-ledge haven, the Cau Ferrat, with its views across the Mediterranean. Side by side, sketches by Picasso, tiles, cartoons by the great draughtsman Ramon Casas, all fight for space against their shared heritage of mediaeval ironwork, Gothic carving and two masterpieces by El Greco.

Catalonia. End at the Picasso museum, spread through five adjacent palaces in the Gothic Quarter, it is the world’s most comprehensive display of the artist’s artistic development. Lunch in Domènech’s Hotel España. Afternoon walk to see the exteriors of Sert’s Tuberculosis Clinic, the Secessionist Casa Heribert Pons and Domènech’s landmark Editorial Muntanyer i Simon (now the Fundaciò Antoni Tàpies) to the Manzana de la Discordia, the square of discord, where Gaudí’s Casa Batlló fights it out with Puig’s Casa Amatller, which we enter.

Itinerary Day 1: Barcelona. Fly at c. 11.15am from London Heathrow to Barcelona (British Airways). The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya houses the world’s finest collection of Romanesque murals, a constant source of inspiration for the generation of 1900. Day 2: Barcelona. A morning walk includes Domènech’s exuberant Palau de la Música and the Cathedral. In the afternoon see Gaudí’s sumptuous Palau Güell, Boqueria market, finishing with a drink at the bohemian Quatre Gats (café). Dinner in Gaudí’s award-winning Casa Calvet. Day 3: Barcelona. Morning walk through the Ciutadella park, with sculpture by Tapíes, to Santa María del Mar, the finest Gothic church in

SPAIn

23–30 March 2017 (md 190) 8 days • £2,860 Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen

169

Barcelona, Sagrada Familia. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Art in Madrid The Great Galleries SPAIn

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.15am (Iberia Airlines) from London Heathrow to Madrid. Begin at the recently renovated Archaeological Museum, good on ancient Iberian civilization and Roman Spain. Settle into the hotel before dinner. Day 2. Start with a first visit to the Prado Museum, which is among the world’s greatest art galleries, concentrating on the Spanish school. Continue to the arcaded, balconied Plaza Mayor, centrepiece of Habsburg town planning. In the afternoon visit the Lázaro Galdiano Museum with works by El Greco, Goya and Murillo and then the Sorolla Museum, in the charming house of the eponymous Impressionist painter. Day 3. Morning visit to the Royal Tapestry Factory, founded in 1721 by Phillip V with designs by Goya, many of which are still reproduced today. Continue to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, home to works by Goya, Zurbarán, Ribera and Murillo. The afternoon is spent at the ThyssenBornemisza Collection, housed in the 18thcentury Palacio de Villahermosa until its purchase by the Spanish state in 1993 one of the world’s largest private art collections. Madrid, Prado, wood engraving c. 1880.

19–23 October 2016 (md 917) 5 days • £1,790 Lecturer: Gail Turner 16–20 May 2017 (md 309) 5 days • £1,810 Lecturer: Dr Zahira Véliz Bomford 27 September–1 October 2017 (me 580) 5 days • £1,810 Lecturer: Gail Turner

MAINLAND EUROPE 170

The great Spanish painters – including El Greco, Murillo, Velázquez, Goya and Picasso – are of course magnificently represented on the tour, but the collecting mania of the Habsburgs and Bourbons and their subjects has resulted in a wide range of artistic riches which will surprise and delight. There is a large number of outstanding paintings by Titian and Rubens, for example, and the Prado has by far the largest holding of the bizarre creations of Hieronymus Bosch.

Day 4. Travel by coach to the church of San Antonio de la Florida, with fine Goya frescoes, before returning to the Prado, this time primarily to see the Italian and Netherlandish schools. The afternoon is free to allow for temporary exhibitions (details nearer the time) or a visit to the 18th-century Royal Palace. Day 5. Walk via Herzog & de Meuron’s Caixaforum to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, one of the greatest modern art museums and home to Picasso’s Guernica plus works by Miró, Dalí and Tàpies. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 6.00pm.

Practicalities

Two visits to the Prado plus the ThyssenBornemisza Collection and the Reina Sofía, home to Picasso’s Guernica.

Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £1,790 or £1,580 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,080 or £1,870 without flights.

Lesser-known places include the Sorolla Museum, Archaeological Museum and Goya frescoes at San Antonio de la Florida.

Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £1,810 or £1,530 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,130 or £1,850 without flights.

Combine the May departure with A Festival of Music in Toledo, 20–25 May 2017 (see page 171).

Included meals: 3 dinners with wine. Accommodation. NH Palacio de Tepa, Madrid (nh-hoteles.com): small, excellently located 5-star hotel. Comfortable rooms; contemporary décor.

The lecturers Gail Turner and Dr Zahira Bomford are art historians specialising in Spain. While the Museo del Prado alone might justify a visit to Madrid – and this tour has two sessions there – the city has other excellent collections which reinforce its reputation as one of the great art centres of Europe. This city of Velázquez and Goya has been enormously enhanced over the years by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection and the Reina Sofía Museum. Both these and the Prado boast superb facilities and exhibiting spaces thanks to the work of architects Jean Nouvel (Reina Sofía), Manuel Baquero and Francesc Plá (Thyssen) and Rafael Moneo (Prado) converting them into worldclass galleries. Our stints at the ‘big three’ are interspersed with less-visited collections. book online at www.martinrandall.com

How strenuous? The tour involves a lot of walking and standing around in museums (which can be more tiring than moving around). Participants need to be able to cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty. Group size: between 9 and 19 participants. Combine this tour with: A Festival of Music in Toledo, 20–25 May 2017 (p.171); Aragón: Hidden Spain, 3–11 October 2017 (p.166).

Diego Velázquez, engraving c. 1830.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

The Heart of Spain Ancient kingdoms of Castile SPAIn

14–20 May 2017 (md 306) 7 days • £2,070 Lecturer: Dr Nicola Jennings A shorter tour of the Castile & León region, this version is designed to precede the A Festival of Music in Toledo, 20–25 May 2017 (see below) – although it is open to all. Stay in Salamanca, Burgos & Segovia, some of Spain’s most beautiful cities. Led by Nicola Jennings, art historian with a particular interest in Renaissance Spain.

Itinerary Day 1: Ávila, Salamanca. Fly at c. 9.15am from London Heathrow to Madrid (Iberia Airlines). Drive to Ávila: a fortress town built during the Reconquista, it retains its entire circuit of 11th-century walls complete with battlements and 88 turrets. The 12th-century Basilica of San Vicente has fine sculpture. First of two nights in Salamanca. Day 2: Salamanca. Distinguished by the honeycoloured hue of its stone, Salamanca is one of the most attractive cities in Spain and home to its most prestigious university. See the magnificent 16th-century Gothic ‘New Cathedral’ and austere Romanesque ‘Old Cathedral’, the 18th-century Plaza Mayor and superb, elaborate Plateresque sculpture on the façades of the university and church of San Esteban. The University has 15thand 16th-century quadrangles, arcaded courtyards and original lecture halls. The Convento de las Dueñas has a Plateresque portal and an irregular, two-tiered cloister. Day 3: Tordesillas, Valladolid, Burgos. The convent of Tordesillas, spectacular combinations of Islamic and Netherlandish artistic traditions, was once the palace of Pedro the Cruel and his lover, Maria de Padilla. The Colegio de San Gregorio, now the National Museum of Sculpture, with Gil de Siloé’s intricately carved stone portal houses works by all the great Renaissance masters including Berruguete. Continue to Burgos for the first of two nights.

Day 5: Lerma, Santo Domingo de Silos, Segovia. The village of Lerma has a wealth of buildings from the early 17th century including an arcaded main square with ducal palace and the Collegiate church of San Pedro. Santo Domingo de Silos has the finest Romanesque monastery in Spain, outstanding for the sculpture of the 12th-century cloister. Segovia is one of the loveliest cities in Spain and architecturally one of the most richly endowed. First of two nights in Segovia. Day 6: Segovia. An morning walk includes the remarkable Roman aqueduct, one of the biggest in Europe the Monasterio de El Parral, with gothic

nave and splendid carvings, the cathedral, a soaring Gothic structure, and the restored Alcázar (castle), dramatically perched at the prow of the hill. Afternoon excursion to La Granja de San Ildefonso, the palace constructed for Philip V in the early 18th century, with magnificent formal gardens. Return to the city via the Monastery of San Antonio el Real, with fine wooden Mudéjar coffering. Day 7: El Escorial. This vast retreat-cum-palacecum-monastery-cum-pantheon was built from 1563 to 1584 for Philip II, successfully embodying his instructions for ‘nobility without arrogance, majesty without ostentation, severity in the whole’. Fly from Madrid, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 6.00pm, or continue by coach to Toledo for the start of A Festival of Music in Toledo (full details available in August 2016 – see below).

Illustration below: from ‘Days in Old Spain’, publ. 1938.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,070 or £1,910 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,330 or £2,170 without flights. Included meals: 5 dinners with wine. Accommodation. NH Palacio de Castellanos (nh-hotels.com): attractive 4-star hotel in a converted palace, close to the Cathedrals and key sites. NH Palacio de la Merced, Burgos (nhhotels.com): 4-star hotel in a converted palace. Eurostars Convento Capuchinos, Segovia (eurostarsconventocapuchinos.com): 5-star hotel in a converted 17th century church and monastery. How strenuous? This tour involves walking in town centres, some of it on cobbled streets and uphill. Average distance by coach per day: 77 miles. Dinners tend to be at 8.30 or 9.00pm in Spain, so you might get to bed later than you would usually. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

A Festival of Music in Toledo 20–25 May 2017 Details available in August 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 4. Burgos. Burgos was the early capital of Castile, whose cathedral combines French and German Gothic styles and has remarkable vaults and 16th-century choir stalls. On the outskirts is the convent of Las Huelgas Reales with its important early Gothic church while the charterhouse of Miraflores has superb sculpture by Gil de Siloé.

Segovia, La Granja de San Ildefonso, watercolour by Mima Nixon, publ. 1916.

Seven private concerts in historic buildings within Toledo, including the Cathedral, the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, the Convent of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, the Sinagogue of Santa María la Blanca and the 19th-century Teatro de Rojas. Confirmed musicians include the Tallis Scholars, Ex Cathedra, La Grande Chapelle, Eduardo Paniagua, Orphénica Lyra and Carlos Bonell. One of the most architecturally varied cities with Moorish, Jewish and Christian monuments. Masterpieces by El Greco to admire. Admission to the concerts is exclusive to those who take a package including hotel accommodation, transport and meals.

171 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Goya Zaragoza & Madrid SPAIn

27 March–1 April 2017 (md 219) 6 days • £2,110 Lecturer: Dr Xavier Bray Balances Madrid’s great collections with Zaragoza, monumental capital of Aragón and home to a number of works by the artist. Visit areas of the palace at El Escorial that are not open to the public, and a private art collection in Madrid. Led by Dr Xavier Bray, curator of the 2015–16 National Gallery exhibition Goya: the Portraits. The eighteenth century was an uneventful chapter in the history of Spanish painting. Foreigners dominated, and the prettiness of Rococo vitiated the traditional strengths of naturalism and expressionistic intensity.

The arrival of Francisco de Goya y Lucientes into this enervated world had an explosive effect. Goya’s early years were spent in unpropitious circumstances having been born in a remote village on the Aragonese plain. He learnt his craft in the equally unpromising location of Zaragoza before escaping to Madrid. At first he made little headway in this more competitive environment, but after a couple of years in Italy his fortunes began to change. Upon returning to Madrid, he was employed in making cartoons for the Royal Tapestry Factory. His astonishingly candid portraits were no barrier to his rapid rise to success, and in due course he became Principal Painter to the King and Director of the San Fernando Academy. However, the experience of the Napoleonic occupation and the War of Independence, and an illness which led to deafness, stimulated some of the most nightmarish images in the history of art.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 10.40 am from London Heathrow to Madrid (Iberia Airlines) and continue by coach to Zaragoza (c. 4 hours including stops). An evening walk includes the basilica of El Pilar with ceiling paintings by the youthful Goya. First of two nights in Zaragoza. Day 2: Zaragoza. The Fine Arts Museum has an extensive collection of works by Goya while a savings bank displays his works in its Plateresque patio. Outside the city, the monastery of Aula Dei has Goya frescoes in its church. Day 3: Muel, Fuendetodos, Madrid. See Goya’s ceiling paintings at the hermitage in Muel. Continue to Fuendetodos, where Goya’s childhood home survives and the Museum of Etching contains his complete works. Take the high speed AVE train from Zaragoza to Madrid with lunch on board. On arrival visit the Prado to study Goya’s cartoons. First of three nights in Madrid. Day 4: Madrid. The Lázaro Galdiano museum has an early Goya and two of his famous witchcraft scenes. Continue to the Royal Tapestry Factory where Goya worked as a designer for 20 years. At the Royal Palace at El Escorial see Goya tapestries that are not on public display. Day 5: Madrid. A second visit to the Prado includes Goya’s Black Paintings. The Academy of San Fernando holds paintings and etchings by the artist. In the afternoon visit the Royal Palace to see works created while Goya was painter to Charles III in the 1780s. Evening visit to the privatelyowned Palacio de San Bernardino with a collection of art by Vicente Lopez, Madrazo, Sorolla and of course Goya. Day 6: Madrid. The ceiling of the church of San Antonio de la Florida is fi lled with impressionistic works by Goya and the artist is buried here. The Basilica of San Francisco el Grande has a large altarpiece by Goya, painted in the early stages of his career, while the church of Escuelas Pías San Antón was home to one of his last, great altarpieces. Fly from Madrid to London Heathrow, arriving c. 6.00pm.

Practicalities

MAINLAND EUROPE

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,110 or £1,970 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,400 or £2,260 without flights. Included meals: 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Catalonia el Pilar, Zaragoza (hoteles-catalonia.com): modern 4-star hotel, comfortable and excellently situated. NH Palacio de Tepa, Madrid (nh-hotels.com): small and excellently located hotel, walking distance from the major museums including the Prado, rated locally as 5-star. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking on this tour, and a lot of standing around in museums. One long coach journey and one journey by train. Average distance by coach per day: 62 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

172

El Escorial, 19th-century engraving. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Combine this tour with: Florence & Venice, 19–26 March 2017 (p.129).

Gastronomic Valencia Food & art in south-east Spain Valencia, Quart Towers, wood engraving 1875 after a drawing by Samuel Read

12–19 May 2017 (md 307) 8 days • £3,290 Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen

spain

7–14 November 2016 (md 940) This tour is currently full

From the sea to the mountains of south-east Spain, a conspectus of Valencian cuisine. Myriad historical influences (Phoenician, Arab, Jewish) as well as current cutting-edge chefs, such as 3-star Michelin chef Quique Dacosta, make this an incredibly rich gastronomic region to explore. Led by Gijs van Hensbergen, art historian and author of books on Spanish art and food. Based in the handsome, vibrant city of Valencia, excellent for its variety of art and architecture, and in the smaller charming seaside town of Dénia. There is the option to combine this tour with A Festival of Music in Toledo, 20–25 May 2017 (see page 171).

Itinerary Day 1: Valencia. Fly at c. 4.00pm from London Gatwick to Valencia, (British Airways). First of three nights in Valencia.

Day 2: Valencia. Peruse the produce in the fine modernista-style Mercado Central with a Michelin-starred chef, to learn his zero-kilometre philosophy. Mercado Colón is home to the Ricard Camarena cooking laboratory, where there is a cooking demonstration followed by lunch. Evening brings a private visit to the IVAM (Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno) with its superb collection of cubist sculpture by Julio González. Day 3: Valencia. Visit the Museum of Fine Arts, one of the best in Spain, with works by Valencian, Spanish and Flemish masters; and the National Ceramics Museum, housed in its exuberantly Churrigueresque palace. Paella originates from La Albufera, a freshwater lagoon nearby on the Gulf of Valencia. Taste this authentic rice dish, cooked over a wood fire, before a sunset cruise on a traditional fishing boat. Dinner is in La Sucursal (1-star Michelin) housed in the Veles e Vents building on the Marina. Day 4: Fontanars dels Alforins, Cocentaina. Leave Valencia and drive south, stopping at Fontanars dels Alforins for a wine tasting at the prestigious Casa los Frailes. Continue to Cocentaina, located between the Sierra de Mariola and Serpis river, for lunch at the family-run L’escalata restaurant (1-star Michelin). Drive to the coast for the first of four nights in Dénia. Day 5: Gandia. Dating from the 14th century and home to the Borgias, the Palacio Ducal de Gandia displays Gothic architecture, with Renaissance and Baroque additions. Gandia is also where the dish fideuà originated, a noodle dish usually cooked with seafood. Return to Dénia in time for the arrival of the fishing boats and exclusive access to the fish auction. Day 6: Dénia, Parcent. A morning walk takes in the historical centre of Dénia, including the 11th-century Moorish Castle. Ascend into the mountains through orange and almond groves to Parcent for a wine tasting, cooking demonstration

and lunch at Bodegas Gutiérrez de la Vega, a family-run business famous for their sweet Moscatel wine. Day 7: Dénia. The morning is free. Take a walk before lunch along the impressive coastline of Las Rotas before continuing to Quique Dacosta’s restaurant (3-star Michelin). Dacosta combines local, seasonal produce with cutting-edge creativity and technique. Day 8. Drive north to Valencia for a tapas lunch at Casa Montaña and a walk through Calatrava’s science park. The evening flight arrives into London Gatwick at c. 9.30pm. Or, if combining this tour with A Festival of Music in Toledo, take the AVE (high speed train) from Valencia to Madrid (c. 1 hour 40 minutes) and travel by coach to Toledo (c. 1 hour), arriving c. 10.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,290 or £3,160 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,560 or £3,430 without flights. Included meals: 7 lunches, 2 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. SH Hotel Inglés, Valencia (inglesboutique.com): 4-star hotel installed in an 18th-century palace in a very central location next to the National Ceramics Museum. Rooms for single occupancy have queen-size beds. La Posada del Mar, Dénia (laposadadelmar.com): 4-star hotel near the historic centre; overlooks the harbour. How strenuous? Coach access is restricted in historical centres and there is a fair amount of walking and standing around in museums, vineyards and at cooking demonstrations. Dinners tend to be at 8.30 or 9.00pm in Spain, so you might get to bed later than you usually would. Average distance by coach per day: 40 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

From market to plate there is nothing fresher or more vibrant than Valencian cuisine. The legendary huertas – market gardens, orange groves, paddy fields and Mediterranean orchards – are the city’s larder. Valencian markets are some of the most beautiful in the world; the Gothic silk market is a World Heritage Site. The tour includes experiences such as market shopping with a Michelin-starred chef, exclusive backroom access to the fish auction at La Lonja in Dénia, and tasting unctuous goat’s milk cheeses dribbled with thyme honey in the mountains. There is hospitality at great bodegas like Casa los Frailes, source of wines served to visiting heads of state at Madrid’s Palacio Real. There are also lowkey everyday experiences – a refreshing horchata, a tiger nut milk pick-you-up; an Aqua de Valencia, a fresh orange-based cocktail; and rifling the wine cellar, feasting on organic potatoes and nibbling at a perfectly burnt brandade at Casa Montaña, arguably the best bar in the world. Valencian cuisine is both ancient and new. Wind-dried octopus prepared to a 3,000-year-old Phoenician recipe is a revelation, as are the sweet luxury of almond biscuits accompanied by an ice cold Moscatel. The Moors held the Levante for 400 years and the phantom flavours live on. We feel the weight of Borgia rule and the Naples connection, and taste history with alioli-steeped fideuà – Europe’s first pasta dish? There are Baroque splendours, shimmering Valencian tiles and the hedonistic sun-drenched canvases of Joaquín Sorolla. There are back streets and museums and hideaway cafés to be explored: the Jewish call, the Almohad Arab walls, the twelfth-century Christian settlement. Dénia’s museum contains artefacts from the Romans and the Iberians, who were pressing wine 5,000 years ago. The final lunch is provided by 3-star Michelin chef Quique Dacosta, a whirlwind of inventive brilliance, theatre and caprice.

173

Extremadura Landscape, architecture, rural life SPAIn

18–26 April 2017 (md 231) 9 days • £2,440 Lecturer: Adam Hopkins Remote and unspoilt: one of the most consistently beautiful regions in Europe. Monumental cities of the Conquistadors: Trujillo, Cáceres, Plasencia, packed with palaces and churches. Mérida has excellent Roman remains. Monasteries of Guadalupe and Yuste, both in splendid isolation in the hills. Opportunity to walk in the hills and around a livestock farm. The lecturer is Adam Hopkins, journalist and author, specialist in Spanish history and culture. Extremadura means ‘beyond the Duero’, a designation coined by the conquering Christians as they bludgeoned their way southwards against the Moors. The Moors were finally defeated; but much of the countryside of Extremadura remains unsubjugated. Together with the adjoining Alentejo in Portugal, this, though tawny as a lion’s pelt in sweltering midsummer, is the largest ‘green’ region in western Europe. Monfragüe in the Tagus gorge has a colony of griffon vultures, the Iberian lynx is still a resident in these parts, hawks and other birds of prey

abound. The Sierra de Gata in the north, the Sierra de Guadalupe in the centre and the wild country of the south-west around Jerez de los Caballeros all remain rough and uncultivated. Equally, Extremadura is cattle country, with fighting bulls and the local Retinta breed making the most of some of the gentler lands. In the autumn, when there are acorns to be eaten, the black-foot pig, source of the finest of mountain hams, comes on the scene. The landscape has a mixed array of well-spaced trees, mainly holm oak and cork oak, which together with the wild grasses constitute the habitat known as dehesa. The river valleys, notably the Tiétar and Guadiana, are now well-irrigated and grow fruit and vegetables: apricots, cherries and peppers. From the south comes wine, much improved of late. There is virtually no industry which is not based on agriculture. This tour offers a walk in the Guadalupe mountains, hoping to come close to the spirit of a countryside where many ancient ways survive. However, the history and architecture are as rewarding as the landscape. Before the Visigoths and Moors, this was a major Roman centre, with Mérida – Augusta Emerita – the capital of the western province of Lusitania. It remains the major Roman site in Spain. Above all, this is conquistador country. An astonishing proportion of the leaders of the rough bands which savaged South and Central America,

in the names of king and queen and Christianity, came from Extremadura. Trujillo and Cáceres are well-known for the rich monumentality of palaces assembled by conquistadors returning with their ill-gotten gains. The spiritual centre was and remains the shrine of Guadalupe. Here a rich and beautiful Hieronymite monastery grew up, with swirling Moorish-Gothic tracery and a suite of paintings by Zurbarán. The little mountain town which formed beneath the monastery is balconied and full of geraniums, one element of a varied vernacular architecture which is a particular Extremeñan pleasure. Zafra, in the south, is a white town, intermediate between Andalucía and the stony sobriety of Old Castile. Most curious is Plasencia in the north, where seven roads lead out of the arcaded plaza and two cathedrals stand back to back. The most moving is Yuste, the monastery to which the Emperor Charles V retired, gout-ridden and exhausted. He chose it, he said, because of its climate of continual springtime. In its deep rurality and concentration of human monuments, Extremadura is a far cry from ‘ordinary’ Europe.

Itinerary Day 1: Zafra. Fly at c. 12.00 midday (TAP Portugal) from London Heathrow to Lisbon. Drive to the small town of Zafra (c. 4 hours, stops are made en route). The towered castle where Hernán Cortés was received by the Count of Feria en route for the conquest of Mexico is now the parador. First of two nights in Zafra. Day 2: Zafra, Jerez de Los Caballeros. In Zafra begin with the two adjacent squares, the Plaza Grande and the (smaller) Plaza Chica and the Collegiate Church (with altarpiece by Zurbarán). Lunch in a rural restaurant. The afternoon is spent in Jerez de los Caballeros, once a Templar town, with famously ornate Baroque church towers. Day 3: Mérida, Guadalupe. The Roman legacy of Mérida includes architecture both grand and domestic: theatre, villas, temples, fortresses. See Moneo’s outstanding National Museum of Roman Art. The tiny town of Guadalupe is hidden in hills. Columbus prayed here and gave its name to a Caribbean island. First of two nights here.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 4: Guadalupe. There is the choice of a walk in the Guadalupe mountains, or time to stroll at leisure through the village. In the afternoon see the monastery, with splendid church, Mudéjar cloister and sacristy with paintings by Zurbarán. The museum contains exceptional vestments. Day 5: Trujillo. Drive down the mountains to Trujillo, a hilltop conquistador town (birthplace of Pizarro). The magnificent, irregular main square is surrounded by conquistador mansions and the

Roman Spain 174

Mérida, ruined temple, lithograph c. 1830. book online at www.martinrandall.com

October 2017 Details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Granada & Córdoba with Úbeda & Baeza spain

grand church of S. Martín. Climb up to the Gothic church of Sta María and the castle with fine views of the surrounding countryside. Continue to Cáceres for the first of three nights. Day 6: Cáceres. The historic town centre is enclosed within almost perfectly preserved Moorish walls and is a myriad of narrow streets and squares lined with Renaissance mansions. Visit the Provincial Museum housed in the 17thcentury Casa de las Valetas, built over an 11thcentury Arabic cistern. Free afternoon. Day 7: Arroyo de la Luz, Alcántara, El Vaqueril. The 16th-century church at Arroyo de la Luz has a remarkable altarpiece by Luís de Morales. At Alcántara, the Roman bridge spanning the Tagus dates to ad 106. Finca el Vaqueril is an Extremaduran ranch with Retinta cattle and pata negra pigs. Our visit includes lunch and an optional walk. Day 8: Monfragüe, Plasencia, Yuste, Jarandilla de la Vera. Pause in Monfragüe National Park to see colony of griffon vultures at Salto de Gitano on the Tagus. At Plasencia, start in the arcaded Plaza Mayor and then visit the two cathedrals, Renaissance and Gothic backing into one another, also a fine ethnographic museum of traditional rural life and handicraft. Drive into the hills to the monastery of Yuste to which the Emperor Charles V retired in 1556, building a gent’s des. res. right up against the fabric of the Gothic monastery. Get a moving insight into the last days of the man who once ruled most of Europe and Latin America. Spend the final night in the Parador at nearby Jarandilla de la Vera. Day 9. Drive to Madrid Airport (c. 4 hours) for the lunchtime flight (Iberia) which arrives at London Heathrow c. 4.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,440 or £2,280 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,710 or £2,550 without flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 6 dinners, with wine.

How strenuous? There is a lot of walking in town centres, sometimes on uneven ground, and sure-footedness is essential. The optional walk in the Sierra de Guadalupe requires a greater level of fitness. There is a large amount of coach travel. Dinners tend to be at 8.30 or 9.00pm in Spain, so you might get to bed later than you would usually. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 78 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Ravenna & Urbino, 26–30 April 2017 (p.127).

Ample time at the key sites of Moorish Spain: the Alhambra in Granada and the Mosque in Córdoba, with time also for the lesser-known. Visits the Picasso Museum, Carmen Thyssen collection and the small Renaissance towns of Úbeda and Baeza. Led by Dr Philippa Joseph, specialist in late mediaeval and early modern societies in Andalucía and Sicily. Southern Spain – savage peaks soar over passes that are snow-bound in winter, while plains below are well-watered by spring rivers, hot, harsh and arid in the summer, mellow in late autumn and winter. The cities reveal the magnitude of past achievements through the greatness of the architecture and the brilliant elaboration of decoration. Andalucía was a bountiful Roman province, in Arab times the scene of highly sophisticated Umayyad and Nasrid princedoms and a major province of the most powerful kingdom in (Christian) Europe’s sixteenth century. The artistic riches are immensely varied, though the unique distinguishing mark is the heritage from eight hundred years of rule by Muslims from North Africa and Arabia.

Arab Córdoba became the capital of alAndalus and the largest city in Europe, market for all the luxuries of East and West and scene of Europe’s most splendid court until its fall to the Reconquistadors in 1236. The mosque, La Mezquita, was one of the largest anywhere, and arguably the most beautiful; Christian possession in the sixteenth century created within it a totally contrasting cathedral. Granada was the last Islamic princedom in Spain, only falling to the Christians in 1492. The concatenation of palaces and gardens of the Alhambra, with its cascading domes and gilded decoration like frozen fireworks, is one of Spain’s most enthralling sights. Although millions of tourists pour through Málaga Airport every year en route to the Costa del Sol, comparatively few set foot in the old town. The narrow streets, palm-lined squares and seafront promenades conserve Phoenician, Roman, Moorish, Gothic, Baroque and late-ninteenthcentury monuments. Birthplace and childhood home of Pablo Picasso, the city boasts a major collection of his works, while the eponymous museum of Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza includes some excellent nineteenth-century Spanish art with Andalusian themes.

Illustration: Córdoba, La Mezquita, engraving from ‘The Magazine of Art’ 1883. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Parador de Zafra (parador.es): 4-star parador in the 15th-century castle. Parador de Guadalupe (parador.es): 4-star parador in the converted 15th-century pilgrims’ hospital of St John the Baptist. NH Palacio de Oquendo (nhhotels.com): 4-star hotel in the historic centre of town. Parador de Jarandilla (parador.es): 4-star parador with historic connections to Charles V.

6–13 March 2017 (md 170) 8 days • £2,470 Lecturer: Dr Philippa Joseph

175

Granada & Córdoba continued

SPAIn

Granada, Courtyard of the Lions in The Alhambra, chromolithograph c. 1890.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 11.00am from London Gatwick Airport to Málaga (British Airways). Arrive in time for an introductory walk and lecture in the hotel. Overnight in Málaga. Day 2: Málaga. Begin at Picasso’s birthplace, which houses a small collection of his belongings. The Picasso Museum is magnificent, both the 16th-century building and the collection, which places emphasis on his earlier works. The Carmen Thyssen museum has a fine collection of old masters and 19th-century Spanish painting. In the afternoon drive north to Granada. First of three nights in Granada.

MAINLAND EUROPE 176

Day 3: Granada. The 13th-century Arab palaces of the Alhambra ride high above the city. They are often reckoned to be the greatest expression of Moorish art in Spain, with exquisite decoration and a succession of intimate courtyards. Adjacent are the 16th-century Palace of Charles V and the Generalife, summer palace of the sultans, with gardens and fountains. Day 4: Granada. Morning walk through the Albaycín, the oldest quarter in town, including El Bañuelo (Arab baths). Climb up to San Nicolás from where there are fine views of the Alhambra. In the late afternoon visit the Cathedral and Royal Chapel which retains Isabel of Castile’s personal collection of Flemish, Spanish and Italian paintings. Day 5: Baeza, Úbeda. Drive to Baeza, once a prosperous and important town and now a book online at www.martinrandall.com

provincial backwater set among olive groves stretching to the horizon. It has a 16th-century cathedral by outstanding regional architect Andrés de Vandelvira and many grand houses of an alluring light-coloured stone. In Úbeda walk to the handsome Plaza Vázquez de Molina, flanked by elegant palaces including Vandelvira’s Casa de las Cadenas and the present day parador. The church of El Salvador was designed by Diego de Siloé in 1536. Drive to Córdoba for the first of three nights. Day 6: Córdoba. From the middle of the 8th century Córdoba was the capital of Islamic Spain and became the richest city in Europe until its capitulation to the Reconquistadors in 1236. La Mezquita (mosque) is one of the most magnificent of Muslim sites, for some the greatest building of mediaeval Europe. It contains within it the 16thcentury cathedral. In the afternoon drive out to the excavations of Medina Azahara, with remains of a huge and luxurious 10th-century palace complex. Day 7: Córdoba. Morning visit to the Archaeological Museum, housed in brand new galleries and a Renaissance mansion, with a fine collection of Roman and Arab pieces. Visit the Alcázar, mediaeval with earlier architectural remains (and good Roman mosaics), and the narrow streets of the old Jewish quarter, including the 14th-century synagogue. The Fine Arts Museum (optional visit), with Plateresque façade and one delightful ceiling, houses some good Spanish paintings, and the Museo Julio Romero de Torres (optional visit), the former residence of the Cordoban painter, contains a collection of his works. Free afternoon in Córdoba.

Day 8. Drive to Málaga airport via the pretty town of Antequera for the mid-afternoon flight, arriving at London Gatwick airport at c. 5.30pm.

“First rate – it covered everything I had hoped for and more.” Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,470 or £2,280 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,900 or £2,710 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Molina Lario, Málaga (hotelmolinalario.com): functional 4-star in the centre. AC Palacio de Santa Paula, Granada (marriott.com): comfortable, contemporary hotel in the centre; comparable to a 4-star. NH Amistad, Córdoba (nh-hotels.com): 4-star in an 18thcentury mansion, a short walk from the mosque. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking, some of it uphill and some over uneven ground. Average distance by coach per day: 52 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Connoisseur’s Rome, 28 February–5 March 2017 (p.139).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Essential Andalucía Spain’s southern province

Three nights in each of the major cities: Granada, Córdoba and Seville. The lecturer is Dr Philippa Joseph, specialist in late mediaeval and early modern societies in Andalucía and Sicily. Visits the Picasso Museum in Málaga, the Alhambra in Granada and the small Renaissance towns of Úbeda and Baeza. Varied itinerary covering the great Moorish sites, mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque architecture, fine art collections and gardens.

Day 8: Ecija, Seville. The many church towers of Ecija are visible from afar across the surrounding plain. Of numerous Baroque mansions see the Palacio de Peñaflor and Palacio del Marqués de Benameji, and visit the GothicMudéjar church of Santiago. Drive to Seville for the first of three nights. Day 9: Seville. Walk to the church and hospital of the Caridad, Seville’s most striking 17th-century building, with paintings by Murillo and Valdés Leal. The cathedral is one of the largest Gothic churches anywhere (‘Let us build a cathedral so immense that everyone...will take us for madmen’). The Capilla Mayor, treasury and sanctuary are of particular interest. Free afternoon. Day 10: Seville. The Alcázar, the fortified royal palace, is one of Spain’s greatest buildings; built by Moorish architects for Castilian kings, it consists of a sequence of apartments and magnificent reception rooms around courtyards and gardens. Walkthrough the Barrio de Santa Cruz, a maze of whitewashed alleys and flowerfilled patios, to the Casa de Pilatos, the best of the Mudéjar style palaces, with patios and azulejos. Afternoon at the Fine Arts Museum, the best in Spain after the Prado. Day 11. Free day in Seville. Fly from Seville to London Gatwick arriving c. 9.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,230 or £3,060 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,730 or £3,560 without flights. Included meals: 1 lunch and 7 dinners with wine. Accommodation. Hotel Molina Lario, Málaga (hotelmolinalario.com): functional 4-star in the centre. AC Palacio de Santa Paula, Granada (marriott.com): comfortable, contemporary hotel in the centre, comparable to a 4-star. NH Amistad, Córdoba (nh-hotels.com): 4-star in an 18th-century mansion, a short walk from the mosque. Hotel Las Casas de la Judería, Seville (casasypalacios.com): charming 4-star hotel in the Barrio Sta Cruz created from several contiguous buildings connected by open-air patios. How strenuous? This is a lengthy tour with four hotels, a lot of walking and a fair amount of coach travel. You need to be fit. Walking is often on uneven streets and uphill. Average distance by coach per day: 33 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Castile & León, 13–22 October 2017 (p.163); Art in the Netherlands, 15–21 October 2017 (p.149).

Below: Seville, Golden Tower, wood engraving c. 1880.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Andalucía is Spain’s most fascinating and varied region. Varied geographically: stretching southwards from the Sierra Morena to the Mediterranean, it encompasses the permanent snow of the Sierra Nevada as well as the sunscorched interior. And varied culturally: here it is possible to see great art and architecture of both Islamic and Christian traditions side by side – even, at Córdoba, one within the other. For Spain is unique in Western Europe in having been conquered by an Islamic power. The Moors first crossed from Africa in ad 711, and in the south of the country they stayed for nearly eight centuries. The Moorish civilization of the cities of Andalucía was one of the most sophisticated of the Middle Ages. There are also tantalising glimpses of the preceding Visigothic kingdom, and remains of the still earlier Roman occupation – the province of Baetica was one of the most highly favoured in the Roman Empire. Later, both Jews and gypsies made their influence felt, but overwhelmingly the dominant contribution to man-made Andalucian heritage has been created by and for unwavering adherents to Catholicism. The Christian religion does not get much more intense than in southern Spain, and its artistic manifestations rarely more spiritually charged. The unification of Spain which was ensured by the marriage in 1469 of the ‘Catholic Kings’, Ferdinand and Isabella, ushered in the period when Spain became the dominant power in Europe. This also coincided with the discovery of the Americas. The cities of the south, particularly Seville, were the immediate beneficiaries of the subsequent colonisation and inflow of huge quantities of bullion and of boundless opportunities for trade and wealth creation. The result was a boom in building and a cultural renaissance, a Golden Age which lasted into the eighteenth century, long after the economy had cooled and real Spanish power had waned. The poverty and torpor of subsequent centuries allowed much of the beauty of the glory days to survive to the present time, when a revival of prosperity has enabled extensive restoration and proper care of the immense artistic patrimony.

Days 2–7 are identical to that of Granada & Córdoba – see the opposite page.

spain

23 October–2 November 2017 (me 616) 11 days • £3,230 Lecturer: Dr Philippa Joseph

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.45am from London Gatwick to Málaga (British Airways). Arrive in time for an introductory walk and lecture in the hotel. Overnight in Málaga.

177 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Gastronomic Andalucía Food, wine, art & architecture SPAIn

3–10 March 2017 (md 162) 8 days • £2,410 Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen Journey south from Las Pedroñeras in La Mancha in a sweeping curve through Andalucía: Úbeda, Córdoba, Seville, Jerez, Cádiz, Aracena. Surveys the history of the region with its cuisine: Roman, Jewish, Moorish, Christian; from the simplest cooking to the elaborate and contemporary. Some of Spain’s greatest monuments are here including the mosque at Córdoba and Seville Cathedral, but also good museums, small towns and spectacular countryside. Led by Gijs van Hensbergen, art historian and author of books on Spanish art and food. ‘Al-Andalus’ (the Andalucía of the Moors) are words which immediately evoke fantasies of displays of sweetmeats, saff ron-stained rice and jewels of livid red pomegranate. Exotic flavour combinations are countered by the simplicity of

perfectly prepared fish; flaking, moist and ivory white. Sophisticated techniques are often tempered by the deeply felt philosophy that, yes, less can be more. Gastronomic Andalucía is a true feast of the senses: earthy smells are countered by elusive and piquant tastes; sherries, montillas and punchy red caldos of La Mancha wine stand up perfectly to the pickled escabeches of game, the deep-flavoured fish soups, and the marriage of almonds, lemonsteeped olives and air-dried tenderloin of albacore tuna. The backdrop of Gastronomic Andalucía is no less exotic: Úbeda and Baeza, the twin cities of Spain’s Renaissance, are surrounded by stands of olive trees that lead the eye out to the horizon and the sierras beyond. The mosque in Córdoba, at the very heart of the Caliphate, makes a complete nonsense of the received wisdom about the socalled Dark Ages. Seville’s barrio of Santa Cruz still offers up phantom vistas of an extraordinary cosmopolitan past. Andalucía, it must be remembered, has a large variety of climates. In the mountains above Seville the hams of the wild Iberian pig dry perfectly into a product that is second to none. Sea breezes

around Sanlucar signal the flavour of salt on the tongue. South to Baeza, off the tourist track, we enter the land of olives, and a tasting at the family run Castillo de Canena, where Spain’s former Business Woman of the Year, Rosa Vañó, inducts us into the arcane wonders of olive oil tasting. Córdoba, of course, needs no advertising but a fourteenth-century convent restaurant on the edge of the gypsy quarter is just one way of retiring from the Caliphate’s wealthy past and the powerful midday sun. Perfectly fried aubergines are a foil for the oxtail, fi llets of fish with herbs and oil are trapped in a flash, in a fi lm of the lightest batter and laid out on a bed of the speciality, fried lettuce. Oaky Montilla wine is taken standing. Seville, Jerez, Cádiz are worlds of their own. Sherry houses are famous for producing unique tastes. Less known are the almacenistas, passionate amateurs, whose houses, basements, shops and even living rooms are turned over to storing and nursing their barrels. Cádiz’s legendary restaurant El Faro takes fish frying to a new level with wafer thin pancakes of miniature shrimp and is the best place in Spain to eat line caught bass baked in a salt crust. The tour ends in Seville with Michelinstarred Julio Fernández Quinteiro’s take on Andalusian cuisine at Restaurante Abantal.

Itinerary Day 1: London to La Mancha. Fly at c. 9.15am (Iberia Airlines) from London Heathrow to Madrid. Drive south into La Mancha to the small walled town of Belmonte. In the surrounding countryside visit the vineyards of Pesquera, of Ribera de Duero fame, for a tasting and dinner. Overnight in Belmonte. Day 2: La Mancha to Andalucía. In Belmonte visit the Gothic church of San Bartolomé and the superbly sited 15th-century castle before lunch in nearby Las Pedroñeras. Here chef Manuel de la Osa marries bohemian bonhomie with a passion for garlic. Drive through the magnificent pass of Desfi ladero de Despeñaperros and enter Andalucía. The handsome town of Úbeda has streets and squares lined with palaces, one of which is our hotel. First of two nights in Úbeda.

MAINLAND EUROPE

Day 3: Úbeda. The towns of Úbeda thrived in the 16th century and is richly endowed with Renaissance monuments. Lunch is at the town’s most innovative restaurant, Antique. The Arab Castle of Canena is deep in olive-grove country of the Guadalquivir valley and home to the Vañó family, famed producers; tasting and visit here.

178

Day 4: Córdoba, Seville. Drive west to Córdoba and focus on La Mezquita, one of the largest and most beautiful mosques in the world, and within it the 16th-century cathedral. Walk through the old Jewish quarter, with 14th-century synagogue, to a chilled aperitif and a Moorish lunch. Continue to Seville for an evening tapas walk through the flower-fi lled Barrio de Santa Cruz. First of four nights in Seville.

Seville, Alcázar, wood engraving from ‘Le Tour du Monde’ 1866. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 5: Seville. Begin at the Alcázar, one of Spain’s greatest buildings, built by Moorish architects for Spanish kings, with its courtyards, gardens and magnificent tapestries. The 15th-century cathedral is one of the largest Gothic churches anywhere, with a Late Gothic retable and paintings

The Lucerne Festival Music in Switzerland SPAIn, SWITZERLAnD

by Murillo, Zurbarán and Goya. In the afternoon visit the Fine Arts Museum, the finest collection in Spain after the Prado. Dinner is at a renowned Sevillian restaurant. Day 6: Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz. Drive south to Jerez, at the heart of sherry production. Special arrangements include a tasting at the Lustau bodega and Bodegas Tradición with its own art collection. Continue to the historic port of Cádiz; laid-back and unspoilt, and with a renowned fish restaurant. There is time after lunch to visit the city museum with its significant archaeological collection. Day 7: Sierra de Aracena, Jabugo. Drive north to the Sierra de Aracena, the low mountains which form the border with Extremadura. Here we taste the exquisite jamón ibérico. There is an optional walk in the foothills along farm tracks lined with oak, chestnut and olive trees and livestock. Alternatively remain in the town of Aracena. The evening is spent at Restaurante Abantal, whose chef was the first in Seville to win a Michelin star. Day 8: Seville. Free day in Seville perhaps to visit the 15th-cent. Casa de Pilatos, a mix of Mudéjar, Gothic and Renaissance styles or the church and hospital of the Caridad, Seville’s most striking 17th-century building, with paintings by Murillo and Valdés Leal. Drive to Seville airport for the flight to London Gatwick (British Airways) arriving at c. 10.30pm.

Lucerne, wood engraving c. 1880.

August 2017 Full details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

Please note this tour departs from London Heathrow and returns to London Gatwick.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,020 or £2,800 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,320 or £3,100 without flights.

Walking the Menuhin Festival Music in the Swiss Alps

Included meals: 5 lunches, 5 dinners (including 1 light dinner and a tapas walk), with wine.

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking over uneven ground and up and down hill (as well as an optional countryside walk) and some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 101 miles. Dinners tend to be at 8.30 or 9.00pm in Spain, so you might get to bed later than you would usually. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with A Festival of Music in Florence, 13–18 March 2017 (p.133).

July 2017 Details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

MAINLAND EUROPE

Accommodation. Hotel Infante Don Juan Manuel, Belmonte (hotelspadonjuanmanuel.es): new 4-star hotel built on the ancient fortress of Belmonte. Parador de Úbeda (parador.es): 4-star parador in a Renaissance palace on the most handsome square in town; comfortable rooms, traditionally furnished. Hotel Las Casas de la Judería, Seville (casasypalacios.com): charming 4-star hotel in the Barrio Sta Cruz, housed in several contiguous buildings connected by openair patios.

Illustration: from ‘The Foreign Tour of Messrs Brown, Jones & Robinson’ by Richard Doyle, Publ. 1854. (Our walks will probably not be as strenuous as this.)

Le Corbusier – through France & Switzerland, 14–22 October 2017. See page 75. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

179

imperial istanbul Byzantine & ottoman metropolis TurkeY

outstanding collection of ancient art and artefacts, Hellenistic and Roman sculpture, and sarcophagi. Visit the mosque complex of Sultan Beyazit II, with fine portals, minarets and courtyards. The excellent Islamic Museum in the Ibrahim Pasha Palace has textiles and various artefacts. Optional walk through the Grand Bazaar and free time. Day 4. Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) is the last of Istanbul’s imperial mosques. Contrast the large and imposing Süleymaniye complex (the tombs are currently undergoing restoration), masterpiece of the great architect Sinan, with his beautiful small Rüstem Pasha Camii. Brief walk through the Spice Bazaar. Finish with another small Sinan mosque, the Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Camii. Day 5. Topkapı Palace was the Sultan’s residence and the political centre of the Ottoman Empire. Now used to display the Imperial Treasury, it contains the finest surviving collection of Islamic precious objects and an outstanding collection of Chinese porcelain. Afterwards visit Haghia Eirene, the Church of the Divine Peace, before a free afternoon to explore Istanbul independently. Day 6. Travel by private boat along the Bosphorus, the historic and beautiful strait which divides Europe from Asia, for superb views of Istanbul and the villas and castles of its suburbs. See Beylerbeyi Palace, an imperial summer residence during the late Ottoman Empire. The Sadberk Hanim Museum is a mansion with fine collections spanning the whole period of Anatolian civilizations.

Istanbul, Haghia Sophia, early 18th-century engraving.

18–24 September 2017 (me 529) 7 days • £2,690 Lecturer: Jane Taylor An extraordinarily diverse city: Roman remains; outstanding Byzantine buildings; glorious mosaics and frescoes; Ottoman mosques and palaces. Stay in the heart of the Sultanahmet area.

TURKEY 180

The radical transformations this city underwent are vividly expressed by its changes of name: Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul. The capital successively of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, it is one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities in the world. Initially a modest Greek city, it was chosen by Constantine as the site of the new capital of the Roman Empire and inaugurated in ad 330. The Byzantine Empire continued in direct succession to the Roman, and its capital became one of the largest cities in mediaeval Europe, the guardian of classical culture and a bastion of Orthodox Christianity. The city walls were the most powerful in the western world, and while the Byzantine empire gradually shrank before the onslaughts of Persians, Arabs and Latin Crusaders, it was not finally extinguished until 1453 when Ottoman Turks captured the city. In the century and a half after the Ottoman conquest the city steadily acquired some of the finest Islamic architecture in the world, aided by the example of Haghia Sophia, the architect Sinan and the brilliant tile factories at Iznik. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Minarets and mosques now dominate the skyline, but churches, temples, palaces and other pre-Ottoman buildings, whole or fragmentary, and the arts that decorated them, are to be found in abundance. Istanbul has evolved into a melting-pot of cultures, with a lively streetlife and colourful bazaars. The city’s international outlook is epitomised by its division between Europe and Asia, now linked by modern bridges crossing the mighty Bosphorus, and a new underwater railway tunnel.

Day 7. Drive beside the Golden Horn and along the massive Byzantine land walls to the Yediküle Fortress. Fly from Istanbul, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 3.15pm.

“A wonderfully comprehensive itinerary covering all of the major sites plus a representative range of mosques and several of the more minor Byzantine churches.”

Itinerary

Practicalities

Day 1. Fly at c.11.30am (Turkish Airlines) from London Heathrow to Istanbul. Arrive early evening and drive to the historic quarter of Sultanahmet for the first of six nights.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,690 or £2,470 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,070 or £2,850 without flights.

Day 2. A short stroll around the Hippodrome, originally constructed c. ad 200 by Septimius Severus, it was completely rebuilt on a larger scale by Constantine and inaugurated in ad 330. The day is then spent concentrating on the Byzantine monuments. Begin with Haghia Sophia, the 6thcentury church which is the chief monument of Christian Constantinople. Part of the ornamental pavement of the Byzantine Great Palace is displayed in the small Mosaic Museum. The Kariye Museum (church of St Saviour in Chora) possesses the finest assemblage of Byzantine mosaics and frescoes to survive anywhere.

Visas: entry visas for Turkey must be secured prior to arrival (this can be done online).

Day 3. Yerebatan Saray is a remarkable colonnaded cistern. The Archaeological Museum has an

Included meals: 1 lunch and 5 dinners with wine.

Accommodation. Hotel Eresin Crown (eresincrown.com.tr): elegant 5-star hotel, located in the heart of the Sultanahmet close to the Blue Mosque. Rooms are stylishly furnished and well equipped. It has a roof terrace with views of the Sea of Marmara. How strenuous? You will be on your feet a lot, walking and standing around, and Istanbul is quite hilly. This tour is not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties or difficulties negotiating stairs. Average distance by coach per day: 9 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

The Arabian Gulf Culture & history in Qatar, Bahrain & the emirates

The culture in its broadest sense of the Gulf states – the history, current issues, architecture, arts of accessible Arabia, a fulcrum of the modern world. Some of the world’s most striking new buildings, alongside well preserved vernacular architecture. Major new museums, amazing collections, and a flourishing contemporary arts scene. Led by a museums specialist in Qatar. The pace of change in the city states of the Arabian Gulf beggars belief. In scarcely more than three generations, within the lifetime of some of those living there, these tiny territories on the rim of Arabia have grown from underdeveloped fishing ports and trading emporia into global conurbations of unimaginable size and wealth. At the last count, Dubai had 17 of the world’s 100 tallest skyscrapers – the same number as the whole of the United States, and this for a population of not much over 2 million. The first oil in the region was struck in 1932, in Bahrain, but initially the impact locally was slight and inadequate as a substitute for the

vanishing pearling industry. Amazingly, no oil was exported from any of the Emirates until 1969. But the story is more complex than black gold; to cite Dubai again, the city derives only 5% of its revenues from oil. With riches has come some of the most exciting urban architecture in the world (and lots of vulgar horrors as well), and huge expenditure on cultural infrastructure, with starry architects to the fore. Currently the outstanding example of this is I.M. Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art in Doha (Qatar), which together with its wonderful collection provides one of the finest museological experiences in the world. The imminent opening of Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi will provide it with a worthy rival. The rags to riches story provides part of the fascination of this tour, but equally interesting, and a salutary foil to the massiveness of modernity, are the remains of traditional culture. Preservation and restoration of vernacular architecture arrived in the nick of time; obliteration might otherwise have ensued. There is also a rich seam of archaeology to explore, but ‘old’ tends to mean not much more than a hundred years. Perhaps one of the least expected features of the region is the indigenous contemporary art scene. Much of the work is approachable and appealing but not bland, often expressive and sometimes political. Museums, exhibition halls

and commercial galleries are a significant feature of the tour. Part of the excitement of the tour arises from the different characteristics of each state. We visit five, including three of the seven United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

Gulf sTATes

24 November–6 December 2017(me 717) 13 days • Price to be confirmed Please contact us to register your interest Lecturer: Dr Karen Exell

Itinerary Day 1. Fly c. 9.00am from London Heathrow to Dubai (Emirates Airlines), arriving c. 8.00pm local time. First of four nights in Dubai. Day 2: Dubai. Until the mid-20th century Dubai was a small fishing port and entrepôt around an inlet, the Creek. Amid the bustle of Deira, location of the Gold Souk and workaday shops and businesses, there survive buildings c.1890/1920 including a school and a pearl merchant’s house, now museums. Maximum contrast: staked out by countless skyscrapers, the modern business district marches south for many miles. See some excellent recent architecture, The Gate financial centre and the Emirates Towers. Ascend the world’s highest building, Burj Khalifa (828 metres). Overnight Dubai. Day 3: Sharjah. Sharjah begins only ten minutes from the Dubai hotel. With the profusion of tower blocks it is initially indistinguishable from Dubai, but government and public buildings adopt

MIDDLE EAST 181

Dubai, International Finance Centre (‘The Gate’). Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

The Arabian Gulf continued

gulf states

the 18th century ad – Dilmun, Roman, Islamic and Portuguese. Dilmun sites elsewhere include a partially excavated town, a temple and 85,000 round barrows, the largest necropolis in the world. The first oil well survives as part of a museum in an area of desert crisscrossed with still-functioning pipes and pumps. Overnight Bahrain. Day 10: Bahrain. Before Manama expanded, the main Bahraini town was Muharraq, which thrived on the pearl trade. A number of old houses have been preserved and converted to cultural and educational uses in a rare convergence of conservation and contemporary design. Also seen today are the Riffa Fort at the water’s edge in Muharraq and the Beit al Quran, an excellent and well presented collection of early Koranic manuscripts. Overnight Bahrain. Day 11: Abu Dhabi. Fly to Abu Dhabi, which is blessed with the largest oil reserves of the seven Emirates. Measured by skyscrapers Abu Dhabi has lagged behind Dubai, but its ambitions for cultural development outstrip other Gulf states. By the time of the tour an outpost of the Louvre will have opened on Saadiyat Island, in a building designed by Jean Nouvel. The afternoon is spent here. Overnight Abu Dhabi.

traditional Islamic forms. The vast university campus is a striking and beautiful example of this. Sharjah strives to be pre-eminent among the Emirates for arts and culture. The Art Museum has an excellent collection of recent Arab art, and the Museum of Islamic Civilization presents Arab achievements through historic artworks. By special arrangement, visit the College of Fine Arts. Overnight Dubai.

MIDDLE EAST 182

Day 4: Al Ain. 130km inland and a contrast to the coastal cities, Al Ain arose around a string of oases. The one-time governor and later founder of the OAE, Sheikh Zayed, exploited its natural resources and ancient irrigation system to plant innumerable trees and gardens. It acquired unesco World Heritage status in 2011 for its historical and cultural heritage. Visit a couple of picturesque mud-brick forts, the National Museum and the archaeological remains of tombs of the 3rd century bc. Overnight Dubai. Day 5: Dubai. The biggest cluster of preserved premodern houses is at Shindagha near the mouth of the Creek. Among them are museums devoted to traditional architecture and to photographs which graphically illustrate the recent changes. Another group of old buildings is in the Bastakiya district, some of which are now art galleries. In the late afternoon fly to Qatar (the new airport is by HOK Architects). The hotel is within the Wafiq Souk, a vibrant traffic-free district of retail and restaurants. Overnight Doha. Day 6: Doha. Msheireb is a district which has been handsomely redeveloped while retaining some book online at www.martinrandall.com

old courtyard houses which are now enlightened museums examining local history. Then visit the Museum of Islamic Art, the finest of its kind in the world. In a beautiful lakeside building by I.M. Pei a spectacular collection brilliantly displayed. Plenty of time here, and some free time after returning to the hotel. Overnight Doha. Day 7: Al Zubarah, Doha. Drive through the desert to Al Zubarah, the remains of a 17thcentury fishing and pearl trading town, now a unesco World Heritage Site. The fort is impressive – but dates only to 1938. Return to Doha, see contemporary buildings at the university, and visit the Arab Museum of Modern Art. Invariably there are several good exhibitions here. The Sheikh Faisal Museum has a vast, various and wonderfully old-fashioned private collection of art and antiques and all sorts (e.g. 200 vintage cars). Overnight Doha. Day 8: Bahrain. Fly from Qatar to the Kingdom of Bahrain. An island, the first oil in the Gulf was pumped here in 1932. Manama is less intensively high-rise than the cities of the Emirates, and an exploration begins at the Bab Al Bahrain, the recently restored 1930s centre. Two beautiful recent buildings stand beside water, the National Theatre and the National Museum. The museum has an excellent archaeological section and changing art exhibitions. Overnight Bahrain. Day 9: Bahrain. A day largely outside the city. Qal’at al-Bahrain, a unesco heritage site, has impressive remains of a waterfront settlement which thrived from the 3rd millennium bc to

Day 12: Abu Dhabi. Return to Saadiyat Island to see the New York University campus, the preview exhibitions of the Guggenheim and of the Sheikh Zayed Museum, developed in partnership with the British Museum. Among other sights are the World Trade Centre; designed by Foster Partners it’s an alluring take on traditional forms, and the Emirates Palace Hotel where glamour is underpinned by real grandeur and finesse. Overnight Abu Dhabi. Day 13: Abu Dhabi. Visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, perhaps the most opulent mosque in the world. Fly from Dubai and arrive Heathrow at 8.00pm.

Practicalities Prices will be available from summer 2016. Please register with us if you would like to be sent them – an indication of whether you would want to take the London–Dubai–London flights would be helpful. Accommodation. Sheraton Creek Hotel Dubai (4 nights): originally built in the 1970s, the first fivestar hotel in Dubai, it was thoroughly refurbished in 2013–15. Beside the Creek and with good views from most of the rooms. Mirqab Hotel, Doha (3 nights): one of a group of boutique hotels in the vibrant Souq Wafiq, a traditional shop and restaurant area though largely reconstructed and traffic-free. Comfortable and characterful. Bahrain (3 nights): t.b.c The Ritz-Carlton, Abu Dhabi (2 nights): an opulent and expansive 5-star hotel close to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. All hotels have swimming pools. How strenuous? As on most of our tours, there is quite a lot of walking involved and the tour would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stair climbing. Illustration: Bahrain (unknown location, though not disimilar from the architecture seen on the tour), early-20th-century etching.

Persia Ancient & islamic iran

13–27 April 2017 (md 210) 15 days/14 nights • £4,980 Lecturer: Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones 7–18 September 2017 (me 528) 12 days/11 nights • £4,240 Lecturer: Professor James Allan 14–25 September 2017 (me 545) 12 days/11 nights • £4,240 Lecturer: Professor Dominic Brookshaw A selection of the most interesting cities, major buildings and archaeological sites in this vast, varied and incredibly welcoming country. Three full days to explore Isfahan; three full days in Tehran; ample time in Shiraz and Yazd. Suitable either for first-time visitors or for those with some familiarity already.

Day 3: Persepolis. One of the most spectacular sites of the ancient world, construction of the ceremonial city Persepolis began under Darius I in 516 bc and continued under Xerxes and successive Achaemenid kings until destroyed by Alexander the Great in 300-bc. Much superstructure and many standing columns survive. The sculpture is particularly impressive, especially the low reliefs depicting the 26 nationalities of the empire. Return to Shiraz mid-afternoon and visit the gardens around the tomb of Hafez, the Persian poet. Overnight Shiraz. Day 4: Firuzabad (April departure only). Full day excursion beginning with the scenic drive past the large salt lake of Maharlu and the impressive Qalh Dokhtar that is perched on a cliff top. Visit the large Sassanid palaces and the ancient city of Ardashir Khurreh, known as Gur. Overnight Shiraz.

Day 5: Shiraz (April departure only). Between long days with a lot of travelling, today has a gentle programme of sightseeing with free time in the afternoon. Set in a citrus garden, the opulently decorated Naranjastan-e Qavam was the house of a wealthy 19th-century merchant, and now houses a small archaeological museum. The Vakil Mosque and contiguous Vakil Bazaar are products of the ambitious rule of Karim Khan’s in the mid-18th century. Final night in Shiraz. Day 6 (or Day 4, February & September departures): Naqsh-i-Rustam, Pasargadae. The tombs of four Achaemenid kings were cut high up in the cliff at Naqsh-i-Rustam. Reliefs of Sassanian kings and their captive Roman emperors were added below 500 years later. On a remote plateau ringed by hills, Pasargadae was built by Cyrus the Great (d. 529 bc), the first of the Achaemenid emperors. His ziggurat-like tomb and remains of palaces survive. There follows a five-hour drive (with a refreshment break) through dramatic desert and mountain landscape before dropping down to the ancient caravan city of Yazd (total km today: 470). First of two nights here. Days 7 (or Day 5, February & September departures): Yazd. Yazd has one of the largest surviving Zoroastrian communities in Iran; two funerary ‘Towers of Silence’ rise on hillocks on the edge of the city, and there is a fire temple in

MIDDLE EAST

The successive civilizations of Persia were among the most potent and creative in Asia, and have provided the West with some of our most evocative images – of distant caravanserais and immense vaulted bazaars, of poets and rose gardens, of turquoise domes and priceless carpets. The very names of the cities breathe magic: Shiraz, Persepolis, Isfahan. But the images are no mere symbols of a distant past. Historic Persian ways of life and the monuments which sheltered and articulated them are alive in Iran today. The fabulous mosques of Isfahan, the bustle of great bazaars, immense armies of nomads on the move or the magic of classical gardens bring Persia’s civilizations vividly to life. But it was virtually hidden from foreigners for some years after the 1979 revolution. Iran underwent cataclysmic upheavals: a national uprising against one of the strongest rulers in the world, a revolution with repercussions that still reverberate to this day, and one of the most destructive wars of the twentieth century. From these trials and tragedies the Iranians have emerged changed, but they are eager to show their country to the traveller once more. Visitors to Iran can see some of the greatest sights in all Asia, such as Shah Abbas’s astonishing royal city of Isfahan, one of the great monumental cities of the world, or the silent ruins of Pasargadae and Persepolis, still much as Alexander’s destructive fury left them thousands of years ago. But equally arresting are the lesser-known aspects of Iran’s immensely rich heritage revealed by exploration of old desert cities such as Yazd and Na’in, and by the great museums of Tehran.

17th-cent. secluded courtyard of the Madrassa Khan, still a theological college; the 18th-cent. Citadel, a quadrangular fort with cylindrical towers; and the 19th-cent. Pink Mosque, the sobriquet arising from the profuse revetment of Qajar tiles. The Shrine of Shah Cheragh, rebuilt and added to since the 9th century, remains a major Shia pilgrimage destination. Overnight Shiraz.

irAn

16–27 February 2017 (md 196) 12 days/11 nights • £4,240 Lecturer: Dr Charles Melville

Itinerary Day 1. Fly c. 11.30am from London Heathrow via Istanbul to Shiraz with Turkish Airlines (a routing chosen to avoid domestic flights). Day 2: Shiraz. Arrive Shiraz Airport c. 1.30am and drive to hotel (c. 20 mins) for the first of five nights here. Visits begin at 11.30am today and include the

Isfahan, pavilion of the Royal Palace, early-18th-century copper engraving. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

183

Persia continued

irAn

Day 14 (or Day 11, February & September departures): Tehran. The Carpet Museum displays major examples of historic Persian carpet art. Return to the National Museum, which also has one of the world’s greatest collections of Islamic arts, from the earliest period to the end of Qajar, all Persian. In the hills to the north, the Reza Abbasi Museum shows precious Persian miniature paintings. Final night Tehran. Day 15 (or Day 12, February & September departures). Free morning before flying to London Heathrow via Istanbul, arriving at c. 10.30pm.

“I was rather anxious about going to Iran and wanted to go with a reputable company. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so well looked after on a holiday!” Practicalities Persepolis, Sphinx in the second portal, wood engraving c. 1880.

the centre. Of the Islamic architecture, the 11thcent. Cenotaph of the Twelve Imams is impressive (entry not guaranteed), while the Friday Mosque is spectacularly clad in 14th-cent. tile mosaics. See also an area of traditional vernacular architecture and the beautiful Dolat Abad Garden and pavilion. Overnight Yazd. Day 8 (or Day 6, February & September departures): Meybod, Mohammediye, Na’in. Another long drive (210km) through mountainfringed desert, with three stops. In Meybod, visit the mud-brick citadel of Sassanian (5th century ad) origin, a caravanserai and a remarkable ice house. See traditional kilim-weaving at Mohammediye. In Na’in, the splendid early mosque, with imposing arcades and stucco reliefs, dates to the 10th & 11th centuries. Visit also the fascinating 16th-cent. governor’s house with its precious sgraffito decoration. Spend the first of four (or three) nights in Isfahan.

MIDDLE EAST 184

Days 9 (or Day 7, February & September departures): Isfahan. Shah Abass I, the greatest of the Safavid kings, chose Isfahan as capital in 1598. He began the transformation of the city into one of the loveliest in the world. We begin with a preexisting building, the vast Friday Mosque whose many parts incorporate most periods and styles. To the Zayandeh River, straddled by two beautiful 17th-cent. bridges, and cross to the Armenian Quarter. The cathedral interior is covered in high quality paintings of the 1660s, stylistically a fascinating western-Persian hybrid. The day finishes with a private concert of traditional Iranian music. Overnight Isfahan. Day 10 (or Day 8, February & September departures): Isfahan. The immense Meydan, Imam (formerly Royal) Square, is 500m long and formed of a two-storey arcade and the façades of three architectural masterpieces: the Ali Qapu Pavilion, a palace with loggia and well-preserved interiors; the Imam Mosque, magnificent in book online at www.martinrandall.com

scale and detail; and the private Shaikh Lutfollah Mosque with a near perfect dome and unsurpassed tile work. Set in a garden a few minutes away the exquisite Chehel Sotun pleasure pavilion has very fine 17th-cent. figurative wall paintings. Day 11: Isfahan (April departure only). Walk through the Seljuk Square, another vast arcaded space, pass the Shrine of Harun and the 13thcentury Ali Mosque Minaret, and enter the Great Bazaar. (Bazar-e Bazorg). Parts are a thousand years old, but most was rebuilt during the reign of Shah Abbas I. See the Mosque of al-Hakim before emerging into the Maydan. The afternoon is free, with several options – carpet shop, Museum of Modern Art, Hasht Behesht Pavilion or just relax in the hotel garden. Day 12 (or Day 9, February & September departures): Natanz, Kashan. An early start for the last of the long drives (483km to Tehran). At Natanz, the cobalt blue and turquoise façade of the Friday Mosque is one of the most exquisite sights in Iran. Kashan has an outstanding Seljuk mosque and a number of large and richly embellished 19th-cent. courtyard mansions; we visit two, Tabatabiyeh House and Borujerdiyeh House. The Fin Garden is perhaps the most beautiful of classical Persian examples. First of three nights in Tehran. Day 13 (or Day 10, February and September departures): Tehran. The Qajar period surges to a crescendo of enrichment at the Golestan Palace, which also houses fine carpets and other objets d’art. The archaeological section of the National Museum of Iran is of international importance and includes items from places visited on the tour. Displayed in vaults of the National Bank, the State Jewels Museum is an accumulation of gems and goldsmithery without rival. Return to the hotel mid-afternoon, or extend the day with another visit. Overnight Tehran.

Price, per person in February & September. Two sharing: £4,240 or £3,700 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,810 or £4,270 without flights. Price, per person in April. Two sharing: £4,980 or £4,440 without flights. Single occupancy: £5,660 or £5,120 without flights. Included meals: February & September: 9 lunches and 10 dinners; April: 12 lunches and 13 dinners; soft drinks (no alcohol is served in Iran); meals on flights are also included. Visas are required for most foreign nationals and we will advise on obtaining these. At the time of print, the cost of an individual tourist visa through an agency is approx. £400 for British citizens. This is not included in the tour price. Accommodation. We seek to reserve rooms in the best available hotels, but it is the Iranian custom not to confirm rooms more than a few months – or weeks – in advance, and recent increase in demand has made the situation more unpredictable. How strenuous? This is quite a strenuous tour. Driving distances on two days exceed 400km, though the daily average is 100km, inter-city roads are good and coaches are comfortable and air-conditioned. While most days start at 9.00am, three start at 8.30am and one at 7.45am, but this is compensated for by five days on which the start is 9.30am or later, and some days finish at 3.00 or 4.00pm. There is quite a lot of walking, some of it over rough or badly paved ground, and surefootedness is essential. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Israel & Palestine, 28 March–6 April 2017 (p.185); Imperial Istanbul, 18–24 September 2017 (p.180); Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity, 27 September–6 October 2017 (p.45).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

israel & Palestine Archaeology, architecture & art in the holy land

Some of the most significant and evocative archaeological sites in the western hemisphere. Ancient and mediaeval and modern architecture, from Herod to Bauhaus – Judean, Roman, Christian and Islamic. Dr Garth Gilmour is a Biblical archaeologist who has lived and worked in Israel. Enthralling vernacular building in ancient walled towns; varied landscapes, from rocky deserts to verdant valleys. Several days in Jerusalem – surely the most extraordinary city on earth?

Day 1. Fly at c. 8.10am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv, and then drive to Jerusalem, reaching the hotel c. 5.30pm. Three nights are spent here. Day 2: Jerusalem. The buildings in the Old City and around (the walled kernel has shifted over the millennia) comprise an incomparable mix of ages and cultures from the time of King David to the present day, while continuing to be a thriving, living city. The massive stones and underground tunnels of Herod’s Temple Mount are highly impressive survivals from the ancient world. In the afternoon a walk along a section of the ramparts leads to further Roman-era structures in the Ecce Homo Convent and the Bethesda Pools, and to the Crusader church of St Anne. View the seeming panorama of belfries, domes, minarets and city wall from the Mount of Olives. Overnight Jerusalem. Day 3: Jerusalem, Bethlehem. The intact 7thcentury. Dome of the Rock stands majestically in the vast Haram ash-sharif complex, complete with Umayyad and Mamluk buildings and the El-Aqsa Mosque, all on the site of Solomon’s Temple. Drive through the ‘Separation Wall’ into occupied

the Holocaust Museum. In the afternoon drive through Israel to the Dead Sea Valley, the lowest place on earth, to the oasis of Ein Gedi for the first of two nights. Day 5: Masada, Ein Gedi. Rising high above the Judaean desert, Herod’s fortified palace of Masada, last redoubt of the Jewish rebellion against Roman occupation, is one of the most impressive archaeological sites in the Levant. Spend a free afternoon in Ein Gedi to enjoy the botanical gardens or a swim in the Dead Sea. Final night in Ein Gedi. Day 6: Qumran, Jericho, Galilee. Re-enter occupied Palestinian Territories. Qumran is the site of the settlement of the Essenes, a Jewish sect, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. The palm-shaded oasis of Jericho is the world’s most low-lying town and perhaps its oldest continuously inhabited one, the Tell as-Sultan dating back 10,000 years. Nearby, Hisham’s Palace is a remarkably well preserved 8th-century Umayyad palace. Continue north, re-enter Israel and spend the first of two nights in Tiberias. Day 7: Sea of Galilee, Tzefat. Visit first the archaeological site of Tell Hazor, and then ascend the Galilean highlands to the mediaeval

Jerusalem, Mosque of Omar, watercolour by Phoebe Allen, publ. 1913

territory on the West Bank. On the edge of the Judaean Desert, the Herodion is a remarkable fortified palace and tomb complex built by King Herod. The 4th/6th-century Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem is one of the greatest buildings of its era, and probably the oldest church in continuous use for Christian worship. Overnight Jerusalem. Day 4: Jerusalem. Mainly Constantinian and Crusader, but confusingly complex, compartmentalised and embellished with later ornamentation, a proper study of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre reveals a deeply fascinating building. Among the items seen during the rest of the day are the Roman colonnaded Cardo, the largely 13th-century Armenian Cathedral, and a 17th-century synagogue. Free time is an alternative, possibly with a visit to Yad Vashem,

synagogues and cobbled streets of the town of Tzefat. See the remains of the fishing village of Capernaum, Jesus’s most permanent residence and site of a 5th-century synagogue. Take a boat on the Sea of Galilee, and overnight Tiberias. Day 8: Akko, Caesarea. Akko (Acre) was the principal city of the Crusaders, though the vaulted halls surviving from that period lie below an enthralling maze of narrow streets, Ottoman khans and modern souqs. Drive beside the Mount Carmel range to Caesarea, founded by Herod the Great and capital of Judaea for over 600 years. Once the largest city of the eastern Mediterranean, remains include the Herodian theatre, Byzantine residential quarters and a Crusader church. First of two nights Tel Aviv. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MIDDLE EAST

Ancient Canaan, the bridge between Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria and Mesopotamia; land of the Patriarchs, home to the Philistines, the Jebusites and the tribes of Israel. A land where the kingdom of David triumphantly rose around 1000 bc and where the splendour of Solomon’s Temple was created. Jews, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and Turks all made their mark; the history of the land is characterised by conquest and exile. Herod the Great (37–4 bc) was one of the greatest builders of the ancient world. Christianity brought a new wave of construction after Emperor Constantine and his mother, St Helena, in the fourth century ad consecrated the sites associated with Jesus. The final monotheistic religion to arrive was Islam when in 637 ad Caliph Omar conquered Jerusalem. Another religion, and yet another monumental building, this time the Dome of the Rock. The Crusaders instigated another burst of building activity, planting European Romanesque and Gothic churches and castles tempered by local techniques. Mamluks and Ottomans trampled and rebuilt, and after the First World War, with Jewish immigration accelerating, the British were left to hold the rope until the establishment of Israel in 1948. Jerusalem is the most extraordinary city in the world. Within the walls – and the complete circuit survives, the current edition being sixteenth-century – it is a vibrant, authentic Middle Eastern city, but one with sharply distinct communities and largely composed of ancient and mediaeval masonry. Nowhere else is the historical interpretation of archaeological remains so crucial to current political debate. Israel and Palestine are extraordinary places where Biblical names on road signs demonstrate the closeness of the distant past and where history, politics and religion are impossible to separate. The tour is led by an archaeologist who uses the remains to illuminate peoples and civilizations of the past. It is not a pilgrimage tour in that buildings and sites are selected for intrinsic aesthetic or historical merit rather than religious association. The tour ranges across two countries, and in none: strictly speaking, the old walled centre of Jerusalem is neither Israel nor Palestine.

Itinerary

isrAel

28 March–6 April 2017 (md 197) 10 days • £4,480 Lecturer: Dr Garth Gilmour

185

israel & Palestine continued

essential jordan The major nabatean, roman, Christian & islamic sites

isrAel, jordAn

Dr Garth Gilmour. Biblical archaeologist based at oxford university. his interests include eastern mediterranean trade in the late Bronze Age and the archaeology of religion in ancient israel. he has excavated at the Philistine sites of ekron and Ashkelon and is currently researching the Palestine exploration fund’s excavation in jerusalem in the 1920s. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Day 9: Tel Aviv, Jaﬀa. Tel Aviv began as an English-style garden city suburb of Jaffa, sprouted a Bauhaus extension (the ‘White City’, a unesco Heritage Site) and grew remorselessly in the later 20th century. Jaffa was a port city from the time of Solomon and remains a charmingly picturesque enclave. Overnight Tel Aviv. Day 10: Jerusalem. Drive back to Jerusalem to visit the excellent Israel Museum. This incorporates, among other collections, the Shrine of the Book which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and the outstanding archaeological collection. Fly in the afternoon from Tel Aviv, returning to Heathrow at c. 8.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £4,480 or £3,900 without flights. Single occupancy: £5,240 or £4,660 without flights. Included meals: 7 lunches, 7 dinners, with wine. Visas: obtained on arrival at no extra charge for most nationalities. Accommodation. King David, Jerusalem (danhotels.com): 5-star hotel in West Jerusalem within walking distance of the Old City. Ein Gedi (ein-gedi.co.il): renovated kibbutz near the Dead Sea with comfortable cottages set among beautiful botanic gardens. The Scots Hotel, Tiberias (scotshotels.co.il): long-established 5-star hotel by the lake in Tiberias. Intercontinental David, Tel Aviv (intercontinental.com): 5-star hotel with all expected amenities and well-appointed rooms.

Petra, Ed-Deir (‘The Monastery’), lithograph after David Roberts c. 1850

MIDDLE EAST

How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking involved in the tour, some of it over rough archaeological sites. Sure-footedness is essential. Average distance by coach per day: 36 miles.

28 October–5 November 2017 (me 666) 9 days • £3,440 Lecturer: Professor Hugh Kennedy

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Outstanding monuments of several civilizations – Nabatean, Roman, Early Christian, Umayyad, and Crusader.

Combine this tour with: Persia, 13–27 April 2017 (p.183).

The lecturers have travelled widely in the Middle East and are authorities on Jordan. Petra is the most spectacular archaeological site in the Middle East; we spend three nights here.

186

What else is included in the price? See page 6. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Jordan possesses the most spectacular archaeological site in the Middle East – Petra, ‘rose-red city, half as old as time’, that easternly fascinating, westernly Baroque, altogether extraordinary city of the desert.

Hidden in the mountains at the confluence of several caravan routes, many of its finest monuments are hewn from the living rock, brilliantly coloured sandstone striated with pinks, ochres and blue-greys. Its creators, the Nabataeans, drew on a range of Mediterranean and oriental styles to create a novel synthesis – uniquely Nabataean but with architectural evocations of the Hellenistic world, Egypt, Assyria and Imperial Rome. The Nabataeans were an Arab people, first recorded in the fourth century bc, who grew rich by controlling trade routes across an empire stretching from Saudi Arabia to Syria. With Petra their capital, these nomadic desert traders became administrators and city-dwellers, whose kingdom was eventually incorporated into the Roman Empire. But decline set in, and by the eighth century ad Petra was virtually uninhabited.

Day 1. Fly at c.3.20pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Amman (time in the air: c. 5 hours 30 minutes). Arrive at the hotel at c.11.00pm. First of three nights in Amman. Day 2: Amman, Jerash. The citadel in Amman was the religious and political centre of the ancient city. Here are the remains of the Temple of Hercules, the rebuilt Umayyad palace. Drive north through red earth hills with olive groves and Aleppo pine woods. Jerash, ancient Gerasa, a leading city of the Decapolis and very prosperous in the 2nd and 3rd centuries ad, is one of the best-preserved and most beautiful of ruined Roman cities and we spend the afternoon there. Among the more spectacular remains are a triumphal arch, an oval piazza, the Cardo with its flanking colonnades, a food market, hippodrome, theatres, magnificent temples of Zeus and Artemis and several early Christian churches.

Day 4: Amman, Karak. The impressive new Jordan Museum presenting the history and cultural heritage of Jordan in a series of beautifully designed galleries. Leaving Amman, drive southwards along the Biblical King’s Highway. The 12th century Crusader castle of Karak, modified by the Mamluks in the 13th century, is an impressive example of mediaeval military

Day 5: Petra. The Siq, the narrow mile-long crevice with its Nabataean carvings and hydraulic system would itself merit a detour, but it is just the prelude to one of the most astonishing archaeological sites in the Middle East (also a unesco world heritage site). Emerging from the Siq, the visitor is confronted by the temple-like façade of the ‘Treasury’, vast in scale, both oriental and classical in vocabulary, Hellenistic in inspiration but uniquely Nabataean – supreme among Petra’s wealth of sculptured monuments and those that follow on the ‘Street of Façades’. These are mainly tombs, created in the living rock. There are also impressive remains in the heart of the city, from grand temples, public buildings and churches to houses. Not the least striking feature is the multicoloured, striated but predominantly red sandstone. After lunch, return to the hotel or climb, via the Soldier Tomb complex, up to the High Place of Sacrifice (c. 800 steps) where the cultic installations are still clearly visible. Day 6: Petra. For the second day in Petra walk again through the Siq, past the ‘Street of Façades’ and the theatre to study the more open area around the paved and colonnaded street. The remains of various structures include two mighty buildings, the ‘Great Temple’ and Qasr al Bint. Recent excavations have revealed what is almost certainly a cathedral with 5th- and 6th-century mosaic floors. Climb up (over 900 steps) to one of the finest rock-cut façades, Ed-Deir (the Monastery), and some staggering views of hills and valleys of contorted rock. Day 7: Little Petra, Dead Sea. ‘Little Petra’, a narrow gorge with three natural widenings, is seen as a commercial centre with carved façades and chambers and a fragment of naturalistic Nabataean painting. A spectacular descent through rugged and ragged sandstone leads to Wadi Araba, part of the Jordanian section of the Great Rift Valley. Stop at the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth featuring important archaeological finds recovered from the region, including artefacts from the church and monastery of St Lot. Reach the hotel on the Dead Sea shore mid-afternoon to relax and swim. First of two nights in Sweimeh.

Visit the Byzantine church with remarkable mosaics on Mount Nebo, the reputed burial site of Moses. At Madaba visit the archaeological park, where many mosaics are preserved, and see the unique 6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land in the church of St George. Day 9. Drive to Amman airport (1 hour). Arrive at London Heathrow at c. midday.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £4,660 or £4,030 without flights. Single occupancy: £5,200 or £4,570 without flights. Included meals: 7 lunches (including 2 picnics) and 5 dinners (plus a snack on arrival on day 1) with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals. Passports do not have to be submitted in advance. A group visa is issued on arrival (the cost is included in the price of the tour as long as you are travelling with the group). Passports must be valid for six months beyond the dates of the tour. Accommodation. The Intercontinental, Amman (intercontinental.com): modern, excellently located 5-star hotel. Mövenpick Hotel, Petra (moevenpick-hotels.com): modern, excellently located hotel close to the site. Rated 5-star but more comparable to a 4-star hotel. Mövenpick Dead Sea Hotel, Sweimeh (moevenpick-hotels. com): 5-star hotel comprised of buildings scattered through lush tropical gardens; shady lounges, antique or traditional-style furnishings, spa and health centre. How strenuous? This tour is quite demanding and you must be capable of walking all day over rough sites. A good level of fitness and surefootedness is essential throughout, especially in order to manage the climbs in Petra to Ed-Deir and the High Place. Many sites are exposed with little or no shelter from the sun. Average distance by coach per day: 72 miles.

MIDDLE EAST

Day 3: Umayyad desert residences. In the desert to the east of Amman are remarkable survivals from the Umayyad Caliphs, the first dynasty of Islam – early 8th-century small pleasure palaces and hunting lodges. The fortress-like desert complex of Qasr Kharana; the fort of Azraq, originally Roman, rebuilt in the 13th century and used by T.E. Lawrence as his HQ for two months in 1917– 18. Break for lunch at the Azraq Lodge, a former British military field hospital, before continuing to the unesco world heritage site of Qasr Amra, whose unique and exceptionally beautiful wall paintings are currently being restored in a project coordinated by the World Monuments Fund.

architecture with many chambers surviving. First of three nights in Petra.

jordan

Itinerary

Drawing c. 1910 by Frank Brangwyn.

In Roman times part of the wealthy provinces of Syria and Arabia, Jordan is also rich in traces of other civilizations. Jerash is one of the best preserved and most beautiful of Roman cities. Remains of Byzantine churches, with very fine floor mosaics, lie scattered through the Jordanian hills and valleys – themselves the settings of many events recorded in the Old Testament. The varied arts of Islam are seen in the hunting lodges and desert retreats of the sophisticated and pleasureloving Umayyad dynasty of the mid-seventh to mid-eighth centuries. And the castles of the Crusaders and their Arab opponents are among the most impressive examples of mediaeval military architecture anywhere. A constant backdrop to all this are the awesomely beautiful mountains, gorges and deserts of today’s Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Created after the First World War and the downfall of the Ottoman Empire, Jordan’s borders are an almost arbitrary outcome of the Franco-British re-ordering of the Levant. Something of a backwater then, and constantly buffeted since by the disputatiousness of larger neighbours, Jordan has – against all odds – succeeded in steering a precarious course to survival, stability and modest prosperity.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Palestine, 17–25 October 2017 (p.189); Connoisseur’s Rome, 7–12 November 2017 (p.139).

187

Day 8: Mount Nebo, Madaba. Drive up from the Dead Sea, flanked by dramatic mountain scenery. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Oman Peoples, Customs & Landscapes of Arabia oman 5–15 November 2016 (md 935) 11 days/10 nights • £4,740 Lecturer: Professor Dawn Chatty 7–17 January 2017 (md 110) 11 days/10 nights • £4,830 Lecturer: Professor Dawn Chatty Remarkable landscape, hill forts, traditional souqs, archaeological sites. The toehold of Arabia, with a diverse population reflecting its mercantile past. Accompanied by a social anthropologist long involved in the Middle East. All the hotels are comfortable, some are superb, plus a night in a desert camp.

MIDDLE EAST 188

Wilfred Thesiger was motivated to cross the Empty Quarter not only by his desire to gain further recognition as a traveller but by the hope that he would find peace and solitude in the remote desert landscapes. He also yearned to gain the friendship of the Bedu who journeyed with him and whom he encountered during his traverse. The possibility of travelling to little-visited locations, relaxing in inspiring surroundings and developing understanding with new peoples is no less possible in Oman in 2016 than it was in 1946. The country provides a diverse range of extraordinary natural beauty: deserts, mountains, wadis, beaches. Visitors also experience the kindness and friendliness of the Omanis. With relatively low – although gradually increasing – numbers of visitors a year, Oman is still not over-developed, unlike some of its neighbouring Gulf states. Evidence of settlement dates back to the fourth millennium bc with early indications of dependence on trade. First copper and then frankincense (southern Oman is one of the few places in the world where the ‘sacred frankincense’ still grows) played a key role in the country’s history. Desire to control the supply of frankincense led to incorporation in the Achaemenid and Sassanian empires until the Persians were forced out in the seventh century. Omanis readily embraced Islam and submitted to the Umayyad and the Abbasid Caliphate. Trade and naval power continued to expand. Occupied book online at www.martinrandall.com

by the Portuguese from 1507 to 1650, Oman flourished again after their departure with an empire reaching into East Africa, particularly Zanzibar, and the Indian Ocean. Treaties agreed with the British to protect communications with India marked the beginning of a special relationship, which continued beyond the formal termination of the protectorate in 1971. Meanwhile, the division of the Omani empire between the sultan of Zanzibar and the sultan of Muscat in 1856 resulted in economic decline for both and internal conflicts in the latter. Successive sultans failed to tackle the problems and Oman stagnated. The coming to power of Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 1970 heralded a new era. Though its oil revenues are relatively small, they have been used wisely to the benefit of the Omani people, for infrastructure, employment and education. Development has been rapid but controlled, guided by a determination to preserve Omani traditions. Our comprehensive itinerary includes the highlights of this vast country: from the inland forts of Nizwa and Jabrin to the little-visited archaeological sites of Al-Balid and Khor Rori, from the mountain scenery in the Western Hajar to the remoteness of the Wahiba Sands, from the bustling capital Muscat to the contrasting landscapes of the southern region of Dhofar. Other features of this tour are the opportunity to camp overnight in the Wahiba Sands, stay by the Indian Ocean and shop in souqs suffused with the scent of frankincense. Oman is opening up to a privileged few.

Rustaq and Nakhl Forts, the latter perched grandly on the foothills of the Western Hajar Mountains. Overnight Muscat.

Itinerary

Day 8: Sur, Salalah. 4-wheel-drive to Muscat, via the ancient port of Qalhat, to catch an afternoon flight to Salalah, which despite its size is considered Oman’s second city and capital of the Dhofar region. First of three nights in Salalah.

Day 1. Fly at c. 9.05pm (November), or c. 7.30pm (January) from London Heathrow (Oman Air) for the 7-hour overnight flight to Muscat. Day 2: Muscat. Land at c. 8.20am (November), or c. 7.20am (January). Hotel rooms are at your disposal for the morning. Greater Muscat is spread out along the coast with a dramatic mountain backdrop. Visit the privately owned Bait al Zubair Museum housing the family collection of Omani artefacts. First of two nights in Muscat. Day 3: Barka, Nakhl. By 4-wheel-drive to the traditionally furnished 17th-century fortified house Bait Na’aman. Continue onto the impressive

Day 4: Muscat, Jabrin. With seven minarets, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is impressively ornate. Leave Muscat by 4-wheel- drive for Nizwa. The most impressive fort in Oman is at Jabrin; sensitively restored, the plasterwork, wood carvings and painted ceilings are magnificent. First of two nights in Nizwa. Day 5: Nizwa area. Visit to the 17th-century Nizwa Fort, palace, seat of government and prison. Some free time to explore the fascinating souqs and markets. Bahla is home to a range of craft workers, pottery being particularly noteworthy. Bahla Fort, dates from pre-Islamic times (World Heritage Site, interior closed for restoration). The rarely-visited archaeological site of Al Ayn is a collection of Bronze Age beehive tombs sitting atop a rugged ridge with the Jebel Misht as a backdrop. Overnight Nizwa. Day 6: Nizwa, Wahiba. Drive to Ibra, the once opulent market town that stood on the trade route linking the interior to the coast. Arrive at Wahiba Sands, a sea of high rolling dunes. Watch the sunset and camp overnight in the desert. Day 7: Wahiba, Sur. Travel by 4-wheel-drive through the spectacular desert scenery. Until the 20th century Sur was famous throughout Arabia as a major trading port with East Africa. See the charming fishing village of Al Aijah, the shipyards still in operation, and the displays of traditional dhows at Fath al Khair Park. Overnight Sur.

Day 9: Al Balid. Ancient Zafar, flourished in the 11th and 12th centuries and was visited by Marco Polo. The museum exhibits finds from the ruins of Al Balid and other artefacts from the area. The afternoon is free to relax by the Indian Ocean. Overnight Salalah.

Illustration: Muscat, wood engraving from ‘The Graphic’, November 1883.

Palestine Archaeology & architecture of the West Bank oman, palestine

Day 10: Khor Rori. Spend the morning at Mirbat, scene of the well-documented battle in 1972, which saw Pakistani and Omani British soldiers defend the town during the Dhofar Rebellion. The impressive archaeological site at Khor Rori, formerly known as Sumhuraman, preserves the remains of an important frankincense trading port from where, 2000 years ago, this precious commodity commenced its transportation to Damascus and Rome. Overnight Salalah. Day 11. A mid-morning flight to Muscat connects with the early afternoon flight to London, arriving Heathrow c. 6.00pm (both departures).

Practicalities Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £4,740 or £4,050 without flights. Single occupancy: £5,360 or £4,670 without flights. Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £4,830 or £4,230 without flights. Single occupancy: £5,470 or £4,870 without flights. If you are booking the tour ‘without flights’, the internal flight from Muscat to Salalah on day 8 is not included in the price. We can book this on your behalf, quoting the price at the time, or you can choose to book this independently. Included meals: 9 lunches (2 picnics) and 9 dinners with wines. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, issued on arrival if travelling with the group, and included in the tour price. Accommodation. Al Bustan, Muscat (ritzcarlton. com): recently-renovated 5-star hotel within an exclusive resort. Nizwa Golden Hotel, Nizwa (goldentulipnizwa.com): comfortable if slightly drab 4-star hotel with a swimming pool. Desert Nights Camp, Wahiba Sands (desertnightscamp. com): luxury camp; individual tents with private facilities. Hotel Plaza, Sur (omanhotels.com/ surplaza): modern 4-star hotel. Hotel Crowne Plaza, Salalah (crowneplaza.com): 5-star hotel, high standards of comfort and service. How strenuous? A busy, active tour. Participants need stamina and fitness. There are some long journeys by 4x4 vehicles or coach (average distance per day: 102 miles), two internal flights and 4 changes of accommodation. Walking is often on uneven terrain at sites, hill forts and in the desert.

A pioneering tour that includes the major archaeological sites and the most significant historic buildings on the West Bank. Led by Felicity Cobbing, curator of the Palestine Exploration Fund. There are two nights in East Jerusalem. Provides an insight into a territory much in the news but little visited in recent years. Palestine is a land of limestone hills with the humped contours of a children’s picture-book. The surface is generally a grey-green impasto of olives and scrub, sometimes beautified with the striations of ancient terraces, farmed intermittently in clefts and nooks, grazed where vegetation is harsh and coarse. Then there are the hills of the Judaean desert, crinkled, barren rock, khaki with a dusting of white. Straggling along crests and down hillsides, Palestinian towns and villages are given visual unity by white limestone cladding – a requirement introduced during the British mandate and still adhered to. They express individualism, enterprise and struggle. By contrast, the Israeli settlements crowning many a peak are fortress-like highdensity clusters. Recent history and current affairs cannot be ignored in this part of the world but the focus of the tour is archaeology, architecture and more distant history. Scattered across the West Bank are some very remarkable sites and buildings. There are unique remains from the very earliest periods, some fascinating remnants of the Canaanite and Israelite civilisations of the Bronze and Iron Ages, often with biblical associations.

The creations of Herod the Great, among the most impressive structures of the ancient world, feature prominently, and there are significant remains from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Crusader and Ottoman eras. A particular feature are the desert monasteries, often in dramatic and inaccessible locations. Tourism is hardly new to Palestine: pilgrimage tours follow well-worn routes, quickly bouncing back after intermittent periods of strife, but other sorts of specialist tours are relatively rare. There has been investment in hotels and infrastructure in recent years, and the people are very welcoming.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 8.50am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv (Israel) and drive through the Separation Wall to Bethlehem (Palestine). Reach the hotel in time for dinner. Four nights are spent here. Day 2: Herodion, Solomon’s Pools, Mar Saba. Herodion is an extraordinary fortified palace built by King Herod 24–15 bc on an artificial hill. There are extensive remains of defences, cisterns and baths and superb views. It was supplied with water from ‘Solomon’s Pools’, a series of reservoirs 9 km away, visited next. Return to Bethlehem for lunch and drive into the Judaean desert to visit the Orthodox monastery of Mar Saba, perched in a gorge and with a beautiful chapel (limited access for women). Overnight Bethlehem. Day 3: Hebron (Al-Khalil), Judaean Desert. The Herodian phase of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron is one of the most impressive buildings of the ancient world. The interior is Crusader and Mamluk, and is now divided between Muslims and Jews. We visit the Muslim mosque which contains the cenotaphs of the Patriarchs. We also see a 19th-century Russian church here. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

MIDDLE EAST

Group size: between 10 and 18 participants.

17–25 October 2017 (me 606) 9 days • £3,520 Lecturer: Felicity Cobbing

189

Palestine continued

palestine MIDDLE EAST 190

Hebron is volatile and this visit may be cancelled at short notice. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, not significantly changed since ad 339, is one of the greatest of Early Christian buildings; five aisles and monumental Corinthian colonnades. Overnight Bethlehem.

community of Jewish zealots at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and continuing to functioning Christian monasteries in the wadis. According to Muslim tradition, Nabi Musa is the burial place of Moses and has Mamluk, Byzantine and Ottoman parts. Overnight Jericho.

Day 4: Jerusalem. Spend the day in the Old City of Jerusalem (ruled de facto by Israel but claimed by Palestine). This is the most extraordinary city on Earth, a vibrant Middle-Eastern enclave split between rival communities and composed of mediaeval and ancient masonry. Walk along the city’s impressive ramparts, visit the Church of St Anne, the Armenian Cathedral the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Constantinian and Crusader. Overnight Bethlehem.

Day 7: Sebastia, Nablus, Jerusalem. Amid lovely countryside north-west of Nablus, Sebastia (Samaria) is a fascinating archaeological site with extensive remains spreading over a hill, principally Roman and Hellenistic but reaching back much earlier to the time of the Israelite kings, Omri and Ahab. In Nablus, Jacob’s Well is enshrined in a church which was begun by the Crusaders and completed last century. Overnight East Jerusalem.

Day 5: Bethlehem to Jericho. The palm-shaded oasis of Jericho is a place of superlatives, the world’s most low-lying town and arguably its oldest continuously inhabited one. The lowest strata of Tell as-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho, are 10,000 years old and there is a unique tower of c. 7000 bc, as well as impressive Bronze Age remains from the third and second millenniums bc. Hisham’s Palace is a remarkably well-preserved 8th-century Umayyad palace. The Monastery of Temptation is inserted in the high cliff overlooking the site and can now be reached by cable car. First of two nights in Jericho. Day 6: Desert monasteries. The theme of the day is monasticism in the Judaean hills, beginning with the 19th-century Greek Orthodox monastery of St George in Wadi Kelt. A late morning visit to the book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 8: Jerusalem. Haram ash-Sharif, alias the Temple Mount, Herod’s great retaining wall supporting a platform now adorned with some of the earliest and finest Islamic buildings. The Rockefeller Museum, formerly the Palestinian Archaeological Museum, has finds from some of the sites visited on this tour, including Hisham’s Palace, ancient Jericho, Samaria and Jerusalem. Overnight East Jerusalem. Day 9: Jerusalem. Free morning in Jerusalem. After lunch drive to Tel Aviv airport. The flight arrives at London Heathrow c. 8.25pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,520 or £2,940 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,960 or £3,380 without flights.

Included meals: 8 lunches, 7 dinners, with wine. Visas: obtained on arrival. There is no charge for most nationalities. Accommodation. Intercontinental Jacir Palace, Bethlehem (intercontinental.com): 4-star hotel in a flamboyant late 19th-century mansion. Hotel Intercontinental, Jericho (intercontinental. com): 5-star hotel in a high-rise building outside the city centre. American Colony, Jerusalem (americancolony.com): 5-star prestigious hotel in East Jerusalem. How strenuous? This is an active, primarily outdoors tour involving quite a lot of walking, some of it over rough ground and uneven paving. Sure-footedness and being comfortable spending much of the day on one’s feet is essential. Average distance by coach per day: c. 41 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Working in partnership with the Palestine Exploration Fund. By booking on this tour, clients will automatically become PEF members, have access to the extensive PEF library and resources as well as benefit from expert advice on the ancient Levant from members of staff. Illustration: Bethlehem, Church of the Nativity, lithograph 1839 by David Roberts RA.

Israel & Palestine, 28 March–6 April 2017. See page 185.

Ceramics in China Collections, kiln sites & trade routes in China & Taiwan an excellent example of classical garden design. Overnight Shanghai. Day 4: Jingdezhen. Fly (Shenzhen Airlines) to Jingdezhen. In the afternoon visit the studios of working potters Felicity Aylieff and Takeshi Yasuda (by special arrangement). There is time to explore Tao Xi Chuan, a recently restored former ceramic production site. Overnight Jingdezhen.

A celebration of Chinese porcelain, a sweep through China’s material culture and landscapes. Includes the world’s greatest collection of Chinese art, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.

Days 5 & 6: Jingdezhen. Two days are spent in and around Jingdezhen. In these hills around lay the once secret resource of kaolin clay and china stone, which, when processed in the waterpowered mills, formed the potters’ basic material. Traditional manufacture is demonstrated at the Ancient Kiln Complex. The new, impressive China Ceramics Museum excellently displays pottery and porcelain from various periods and kiln sites. Overnight Jingdezhen.

A day’s excursion to Mt. Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) immortalised in Chinese painting and poetry. Three nights in historic Jingdezhen, porcelain capital of the world. Led by cultural historian and ceramics specialist Lars Tharp, author, film-maker and broadcaster.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Day 7: Jingdezhen to Huangshan. In the morning, visit a ceramic research institute (subject to special permission) before driving to Huangshan (c. 2.5 hours) for two nights. Day 8: Huangshan. Conditions permitting, there is a full-day excursion by coach and cable car to the magnificent peaks of Mt. Huangshan (Yellow Mountain). Jutting granite and ancient pines, often shrouded by clouds, have long inspired Chinese art and literature and consequently the world’s imaginings of oriental landscape. (If Mt. Huangshan cannot be visited, there will be alternative visits to traditional villages in the foothills.) Day 9: Huangshan to Hangzhou. Drive through the southern tip of Anhui province, dominated by the spectacular mountain scenery, stopping for lunch in a traditional village in Shexian County (formerly Huizhou). Reach Hangzhou in time for supper. Overnight Hangzhou.

‘The Oriental potter’s wheel and kiln’, engraving for a Chinese window design by W.B. Scott (1811–90).

Itinerary Day 1: London to Shanghai. Fly at c. 2.00pm from London Heathrow to Shanghai (British Airways, c. 11 hours). Day 2: Shanghai. Arrive in Shanghai at c. 8.00am and drive to the hotel to rest and freshen up before lunch. A relatively young city by Chinese standards, Shanghai is now the nation’s largest and most dynamic. There is an afternoon walk along the Bund, the imposing and well preserved riverside stretch of Art Deco and Neoclassical buildings from the period when Shanghai was one of the world’s greatest financial centres. Overnight Shanghai. Day 3: Shanghai. The world-class Shanghai Museum is home to an extensive collection of masterpieces of Chinese arts from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty. The fabulous ceramics galleries offer a superb narrative foundation for the days ahead. There is time for independent exploration of the museum’s superb bronze, painting, jade and furniture collections. The 16thcentury Yu Garden is visited in the afternoon,

Day 10: Hangzhou. The scenic tranquillity of the city’s West Lake has been immortalised by countless poets and painters over the centuries. See the excavated imperial dragon-kiln site of Guan wares, one of China’s most treasured wares. Visit the Grand Canal Museum before crossing over the historic waterway into the neighbouring traditional village area. Day 11: Hangzhou to Taipei. Fly at 9.30am (Air China) from Hangzhou to Taipei. After lunch visit the Confucius Temple, the only such temple in Taiwan with southern Fujian-style ceramic adornments. Overnight Taipei. Day 12: Taipei. Spend a full day at the National Palace Museum for a detailed study of its comprehensive ceramics collection. There is also time for independent exploration of the other, equally impressive, collections in the museum. Overnight Taipei.

ASIA

Chinese porcelain has been called the first globally traded luxury. For centuries its magical whiteness and translucency, its vibrant blues and later its gorgeous colour painting held princes and aesthetes in its spell. It was not until a whole millennium after its emergence in China that the secret of its manufacture was discovered in Europe in the early eighteenth century. In ad 1004 the reigning Song emperor conferred his name upon the porcelain-making city of Chang-Nan, later known as Jingdezhen. It supplied the imperial household in Beijing, transporting its wares along the Yangtze and the Grand Canal, while other river and laborious overland routes were established to fulfil orders from Persia and later from foreign merchants in Java, Macao and Shanghai. To this day Jingdezhen continues as a major centre for ceramic production with a happy co-existence of ancient traditions and modern processes. The journey from Jingdezhen to Hangzhou passes the dramatic Mt. Huangshan and ancient villages nestling in landscapes first revealed to Europeans in depictions on vases and tea services. The Southern Song capital of Hangzhou is the southern terminus of China’s – and one of the world’s – greatest civil engineering achievements, the Grand Canal. Begun in ad 612 it ran northwest to Beijing via Luoyang. Across the straits in Taipei, capital of Taiwan, the fabled imperial treasures are on display at the National Palace Museum. Amassed over centuries by the emperor-collectors of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, it is the world’s finest collection of Chinese art. In 1949, as the war between Nationalist and Communist forces neared its conclusion, Chiang Kai-shek ordered that the collection be shipped to Taiwan to prevent the treasure falling into the hands of the victorious Communists. There it remains, a collection so large that the NPM rotates 3000 of its exhibits every three months. For the devotee of Chinese porcelain this tour provides a unique opportunity to study some of the finest examples in the context of its manufacture, trade, cultural framework and proximate landscapes. For the merely interested, it is likely to bequeath a lifelong capacity to delight in one of the world’s most intensely beautiful artforms.

china

19–31 May 2017 (md 300) 13 days • £5,030 Lecturer: Dr Lars Tharp

Day 13: Taipei to London. Fly at c. 10.45am (Cathay Pacific) from Taipei to London Heathrow via Hong Kong. Arrive at 8.30pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,030 or £4,350 without international flights. Single occupancy: £5,660 or £4,980 without international flights. Included meals: 11 lunches, 7 dinners, with wine. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

191

essential China

Ceramics in China continued

A selection of the most celebrated sights in China ChinA

MONGOLIA

China Shanghai Hangzhou Jingdezhen

Taipei c. 400km

Dr Lars Tharp. Ceramics historian and frequent broadcaster, including 30 years on the BBC Antiques Roadshow and two notable ﬁlms on Chinese ceramics. Also an authority on the life and works of William hogarth; he is hogarth Curator of the foundling museum and fellow of the society of Antiquaries of london. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process. Accommodation. Yangtze Boutique Hotel, Shanghai (theyangtzehotel.com): 4-star, Art Deco hotel ideally situated close to the Shanghai Museum. Manju Hotel, Jingdezhen: 4-star hotel opened in March 2016 in one of the very recently and sensitively restored buildings on a former ceramic production site. Crowne Plaza, Huangshan (crowneplaza.com): a large international 4-star hotel on the outside of the city. Sofitel West Lake Hotel, Hangzhou (sofitel. com): 4-star hotel located on the east side of the West Lake (rooms do not have lake views). Landis Hotel, Taipei (taipei.landishotelsresorts.com): centrally located, 4-star, Art Deco-style hotel.

ASIA

How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard and the tour involves a lot of standing around in museums. There are two long coach journeys during which facilities are limited and may be of poor quality. Average distance by coach per day: 49 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

192 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Beijing, Summer Palace, steel engraving c. 1840.

18–31 October 2016 (md 916) 14 days/ 12 nights • £5,930 Lecturer: Dr Rose Kerr 5–18 September 2017 (me 513) 14 days/ 12 nights • £6,320 Lecturer: Jon Cannon Planned as an introduction to China featuring many of China’s most fascinating places. Several unesco World Heritage Sites are visited. Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai: more time in these three main centres than on most tours as well as a selection of small-town and rural sites including a lesser-visited section of The Great Wall. Special access is a feature including areas closed to the public at the Forbidden City in Beijing and a special viewing platform for the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an. (Subject to confirmation). In 2016, led by Dr Rose Kerr, leading sinologist and expert in Chinese porcelain. In 2017, led by Jon Cannon, expert in Chinese classic architecture and religious buildings worldwide. For the average westerner, learning about China’s past is a progressively more astonishing journey, and a humbling one. Much that we regard as constituting the fundamentals of civilization were prevalent in China two or even three millennia ago: skills artistic and technological, laws and governance humane and commonsensical, mastery of the arts of war and the arts of peace, building and engineering projects of staggering magnitude, and the possibility, for some, of a life devoted to the pursuit of beauty and intellectual refinement. And then there is the fascination of present-day China, likely soon to be the world’s largest economy and destined to have an impact on all of our lives. The most important Chinese capitals have always been in the north. Xi’an is where the imperial story began, and for centuries it was the capital of the great empire in the east, hosting the grandiose designs of the first emperor with his

terracotta warriors and later anchoring one end of the Silk Road. Beijing has been the grandest city on the planet for much of the past 800 years since Khubilai Khan made it the capital of his China-centric empire. When the Mongols were finally expelled by the Chinese Ming dynasty, Beijing soon became the most perfectly planned cosmological capital, one that would serve the Ming and Manchurian Qing dynasties for over 500 years. Hangzhou brings us to the lands of rice and fish, where the climate is gentle and the land generous. The Yangtse Valley breadbasket first supported numerous northern governments and later bestowed its cultural riches and leisure activities throughout the entire empire. Marco Polo was enchanted by the grace and charm of Hangzhou, and in the surrounding hills monks developed some of the finest tea plantations in China. Hangzhou lives on today as a locus of relaxation and culture with profound cultural resonances for the Chinese. Shanghai, by contrast, is a law unto itself: originally a small fishing village, it began its rise with the foreign settlements that followed the first opium war in the mid-nineteenth century. A capitalist machine, it has also been the home of much political radicalism and was where the Chinese Communist Party came into being. These sometime conflicting and irreconcilable roles give Shanghai a vibrancy and timbre like no other Chinese city.

Itinerary Day 1: London to Beijing. Fly at 4.30pm from London Heathrow to Beijing (British Airways, c. 10 hours). Day 2: Beijing. Arrive at Beijing Airport at c. 9.30am and drive to the hotel for lunch. The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) complex, effectively a sacred park set with platforms for Imperial rites, forms both a fitting antidote to jet lag and a memorable introduction to the unique qualities of Chinese sacred sites. First of four nights in Beijing.

Day 4: Greater Beijing. The Ming Tombs in countryside outside the city are the final resting place of 13 of the 16 Ming emperors. The tomb of Emperor Yongle (1402–1424) consists of a 7-km Sacred Way flanked by stone animals and courtiers, a succession of courts with ceremonial gateways and a man-made hill concealing the tomb itself. Lunch by the Summer Palace, a peaceful setting popular with the emperors since the Jin, periodically enlarged and embellished; after its destruction in 1860 Empress Dowager Cixi expended vast sums in constructing her pleasure palace here. Overnight Beijing.

Day 9: Luoyang. Day trip by high-speed train to Luoyang to see the Longmen Caves, an extraordinary collection of statuary carved into the hillside that runs along the western bank of the Yi River. Begun by the Buddhist Northern Wei rulers (ad 386–534) and added to during the later Sui and Tang dynasties. There are over 100,000 statues clustered in 2,000 caves and crevices. Overnight Xi’an. Day 10: Xi’an, Hangzhou. Adjacent to the hotel stands the Great Goose Pagoda, first built in ad 452 for the monk Xuanzang to house the sutra he brought back from his pilgrimage to India. Fly to Hangzhou (Hainan Airlines), capital of the Southern Song Dynasty 1138–1279. First of two nights in Hangzhou. Day 11: Hangzhou. Start the day at the Lingyin Temple, one of China’s largest though now much reduced. Just outside the complex are dozens of Buddhist sculptures carved into the rock face, many dating back to the 10th century. Drive out of the city to Longjing (Dragon Well) Village, source of one of China’s most famous varieties of green

Xi’an

Luoyang

China Shanghai Hangzhou

c. 400km

Day 14: Shanghai to London. Fly at 11.00am from Shanghai to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 4.30pm (c. 12.5 hours).

Practicalities

Price, per person in 2017. Two sharing: £6,320 or £5,700 without international flights. Single occupancy: £7,120 or £6,500 without international flights. Included meals: 10 lunches, 7 dinners with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process.

Day 6: Beijing, Xi’an. The massive National Museum in Tiananmen Square has superb collections of early Chinese artefacts, Zhou bronzes, painting and the whole range of porcelain from Tang (ad 618–907) to Qing (ended 1911). Fly in the afternoon (Air China) to Xi’an. First of four nights in Xi’an.

Accommodation. Waldorf Astoria, Beijing (waldorfastoria.hilton.com): recently-opened, 5-star luxury hotel in the city centre. Westin Hotel, Xi’an (starwoodhotels.com/westin): modern, comfortable, well-run 4-star hotel, in the south of the city. Sofitel West Lake Hotel, Hangzhou (sofitel.com): 4-star hotel, located on the east side of the West Lake (rooms do not have lake views). Yangtze Boutique Hotel, Shanghai (theyangtzehotel.com): 4-star, Art Deco hotel ideally situated close to the Shanghai Museum.

tea. The scenic tranquillity of the West Lake has been immortalised by countless poets and painters over the centuries. Overnight Hangzhou. Day 12: Hangzhou to Shanghai. By train to Shanghai (luggage is sent separately by van). For its density, vibrancy and extent, both horizontal and vertical, Shanghai is the city of cities. Despite frenetic building activity, enclaves of low-rise structures remain in the centre, though there is little here that is more than a hundred years old. Walk along the Bund, Shanghai’s iconic riverside stretch of Art Deco and Neoclassical buildings, symbolic of the city’s burgeoning wealth in the 1920s and 1930s. Day 13: Shanghai. Visit the Shanghai Museum, outstanding for porcelain, jade, furniture and, in particular, Shang and Zhou bronzes. See also the city’s finest traditional Yu Garden.

How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. There are some long coach journeys during which facilities are limited and may be of poor quality. Average distance by coach per day: 48 miles.

ASIA

Day 8: Xi’an. The Shaanxi History Museum explains the history and culture of the province, the heartland of ancient Chinese civilisation. The Beilin Museum displays a collection of stone stelae, engraved with classic texts and masterpieces of calligraphy, and a fine collection of Buddhist statues. The day ends with a walk through the winding streets of the city’s Muslim Quarter. The Great Mosque, one of the largest in China, was originally built in ad 742 although the present fabric dates from the Qing Dynasty. Overnight Xi’an.

Jinshanling Beijing

Price, per person in 2016. Two sharing: £5,930 or £5,220 without international flights. Single occupancy: £6,740 or £6,030 without international flights.

Day 5: Jinshanling, Beijing. Morning excursion to a particularly spectacular (though relatively little visited) stretch of the Great Wall at Jinshanling. Walk along a section where it climbs and plunges over hilly terrain. Return to Beijing in the afternoon for some free time. Overnight Beijing.

Day 7: Xi’an. Full day excursion east and north of the city. The tomb of the first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, is yet to be excavated but his legacy was secured in 1974 when farmers digging a well discovered his terracotta army of infantry, cavalry and civil servants. There may be 20,000 of them, over 1.5 metres tall; only a relatively small part of the site has been uncovered, but it is nevertheless one of the most spectacular archaeological finds of all time. The pottery warriors at the later tomb of the fourth Han emperor, Liu Qi, display striking attention to detail; some eunuch figures have been found here, providing the earliest known evidence of this phenomenon in China. Overnight Xi’an.

MONGOLIA

china

Day 3: Beijing. The Forbidden City is at once enthralling and imposing; past the formidable walls and moat are vast courtyards punctuated with terraced pavilions, palaces and gardens. Marble paving and bridges and finely-carved balustrades mark the imperial way along which lie three ceremonial halls; beyond these are the comparatively closeted living quarters. There is special access (subject to confirmation) to the Shufang Zhai, where banquets and operas were held. Afternoon visits include the 17th-cent. Lama Temple, formerly an imperial residence before its conversion to a Buddhist place of worship, and a Confucian temple founded during the Yuan dynasty. Overnight Beijing.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Illustration, centre left: watercolour from ‘China’ by Mortimer Menpes, publ. 1909.

What else is included in the price? See page 6. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

193

China’s silk road Cities The northern route through shaanxi, Gansu & Xinjiang ChinA

5–18 April 2017 (md 206) 14 days/ 12 nights • £6,340 Lecturer: Dr Jamie Greenbaum Retraces the ancient trading routes from the Chinese heartland to the vast desert region of Xinjiang province. Three days in the ancient imperial capital Xi’an, once the easternmost departure point for the Silk Road and home to the spectacular terracotta warriors. Wonderfully vivid Buddhist paintings at the Mogao Caves, a unesco World Heritage Site. Led by Dr Jamie Greenbaum, Beijing-based sinologist and author. In the second century bc, imperial envoy Zhang Qian was sent on a mission to the West, beyond the outer limits of ancient China, to obtain some of the legendary Ferghana horses for Han emperor Wudi’s cavalry. On the equine front the mission was a failure, but Zhang Qian returned to Chang’an (today’s Xi’an) with stories of the riches he saw and this soon led to the development of trade between China and the alien world beyond its western frontier. Myriad commodities – as well as religious beliefs and cultural attitudes – traversed the land from China, through Central Asia and Persia to the Mediterranean. The formidable Taklamakan Desert, an arid wasteland of shift ing sand dunes, posed one of the biggest threats to travellers, who skirted its northern and southern edges, finding

respite in the many thriving oasis towns. The instability brought about by the fall of empires and by the establishment of sea routes saw the decline of these trading corridors and the region disappeared into obscurity until the end of the nineteenth century, when tales of lost cities fi lled with treasure drew foreign explorers into an international race of rediscovery. Today, evocative ruins, chaotic markets and Buddhist cave paintings remain to be seen, while the museums are fi lled with the many artefacts and mummified remains unearthed along the route. Despite relentless modernisation cities such as Kashgar retain their ancient charm, while the enormity of these perilous journeys is conveyed by sight of the vast expanses of landscape that make up China’s last great wilderness.

Itinerary Day 1: London to Beijing. Fly at 4.30pm from London Heathrow to Beijing (British Airways, c. 10 hours). Day 2: Beijing. Arrive in Beijing at c. 9.30am and drive to the hotel for lunch. The imposing National Museum in Tianamen Square has superb collections of early Chinese artefacts, Zhou bronzes and the whole range of porcelain from Song to Qing. Overnight Beijing. Day 3: Beijing to Xi’an. Fly at c. 10.30am from Beijing to Xi’an, arriving at 12.30pm. After a late lunch, there is a walk through the winding streets of the city’s Muslim Quarter. The Great Mosque, one of the largest in China, was originally built in

ad 742 although the present fabric dates from the Qing Dynasty. First of two nights in Xi’an. Day 4: Xi’an. The Shaanxi History Museum explains the history and culture of the province, the heartland of ancient Chinese civilisation. There is a special visit to the museum’s collection of Tang-dynasty tomb murals. After lunch, visit the Beilin Museum, which houses a collection of stone stelae, engraved with classic texts and masterpieces of calligraphy, as well as a fine collection of Buddhist statues. Day 5: Xi’an. Full-day excursion east and north of the city. The tomb of the first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, is yet to be excavated but his legacy was secured in 1974 when farmers digging a well discovered his terracotta army of infantry, cavalry and civil servants. There may be 20,000 of them, over 1.5 metres tall; only a relatively small part of the site has been uncovered, but it is nevertheless one of the most spectacular archaeological finds of all time. The pottery warriors at the later tomb of the fourth Han emperor, Liu Qi, display striking attention to detail; some eunuch figures have been found here, providing the earliest known evidence of this phenomenon in China. Day 6: Xi’an to Dunhuang. Fly to Dunhuang at c. 1.30pm, arriving at c. 3.45pm and transfer to the hotel. Dunhuang is a small oasis town with low-rise buildings along wide avenues, flanked to one side by colossal sand dunes. First of two nights in Dunhuang. Day 7: Dunhuang. The Mogao Caves are a highlight of the Silk Road in China and one of the most important sites of early Chinese Buddhist cave paintings. Once a strategic stop-off point for pilgrims travelling to India, it developed in to a major Buddhist centre of art and learning. Despite the controversial carting off of paintings, sculptures and manuscripts by foreign archaeologists in the 19th century, there is still very fine artwork to be seen. The Western Caves, set by an attractive river valley, are fewer in number but also contain exquisite paintings. Day 8: Dunhuang to Turpan. The Dunhuang Museum houses important artefacts unearthed at the Mogao Caves, including rare Tibetan sutras. Travel by train at c. 3.00pm to Turpan (luggage is sent separately), arriving at c. 7.00pm. First of two nights in Turpan.

ASIA

Day 9: Turpan. At Gaochang see the extensive ruins of an ancient walled trading city. On the north-east rim of the Taklamakan Desert in a gorge in the Flaming Mountains, lies the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. The caves once formed part of a Buddhist monastery between 6th and 14th centuries. After lunch drive out to Jiaohe. The most visually rewarding of all the sites around Turpan, this ancient city is located on a high platform above two rivers. Among the ruins, the layout of the city is still clear: the residential district, the palace, the monastery complex. Day 10: Turpan to Kashgar. Transfer to Urumqi (a journey of approx. 3 hours) for a late afternoon flight to Kashgar, arriving at c. 6.15pm. First of three nights in Kashgar.

194

Beijing, ‘Gate of Heaven’, drawing by Boudier after a photograph, publ. 1892. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 11: Kashgar. The former British Consulate was the home for 26 years of the most famous of British

The Arts in China museums & private collections in China & Taiwan ChinA

India’s representatives in Kashgar; Sir George Macartney and his wife hosted some of the most prominent Silk Road travellers, including Sir Aurel Stein and Albert von Le Coq. Nikolai Petrovsky’s former Russian Consulate is nearby. The dilapidated buildings belie their historic significance as erstwhile outposts for two rival powers in the Great Game. After lunch, visit the Id-kah Mosque. This is the largest mosque in Xinjiang and was founded in c. 1738, though the current structure dates back only as far as 1838, and suffered much damage during the Cultural Revolution. Day 12: Kashgar. Goods and livestock have been traded at Kashgar’s Sunday market for more than 2000 years. The scene today is still a riot of colour sounds and smells as animals, carts and vehicles traverse this vast site. Though the old city is gradually being razed by local authorities to make way for modern development, it retains much of its ancient charm. Day 13: Kashgar to Beijing. Fly at 10.15am from Kashgar to Beijing, via Urumqi, arriving at c. 4.30pm. Spend the night in a hotel near Beijing airport. Day 14: Beijing to London. Fly at 11.15am from Beijing to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 3.15pm (c. 11 hours).

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £6,340 or £5,700 without international flights. Single occupancy: £6,990 or £6,350 without international flights. Included meals: 9 lunches, 10 dinners, with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process.

How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. There are some long coach journeys during which facilities are limited and may be of poor quality. Average distance by coach per day: 50 miles Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

18–28 September 2017 Lecturer: Dr Konstanze Knittler Details available in October 2016 Please contact us to register your interest The best surviving examples of all the arts, from bronzes and porcelain to painting in Beijing, Nanjing, Tianjin and Shanghai. Contemporary art also a feature. Includes the world’s greatest collection of Chinese art, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. Led by Dr Konstanze Knittler, art historian and lecturer specialising in 19th- and 20th-century Chinese art and ceramics. Art in China has developed over an immense span of time. From ancient times to the present day the country has created an immeasurable array of artistic expression which is manifested in ritual, pictorial and architectural traditions. A prevailing feature has been the phenomenal mastery of the skills of making art and artefacts. Trade and travel led to exposure to the culture of other regions – Japan, Korea, India, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe – and to the assimilation of designs and motifs that we, from today’s perspective, regard as inherently Chinese. In turn, Chinese forms and materials have had a great impact not only on other areas of the East but also on the art of Europe and the western world. Crucial to the understanding of Chinese art history is that certain categories of art and craft peaked in particular periods and had lesser importance in others. Hence we find (for example) that the production of ritual bronzes culminated in the early dynasties of the Shang and Zhou

periods (c. 1600–256 bc), whereas pictorial art reached a first zenith only during the Tang dynasty (ad 618–907). A vast number of objects were created specifically for use in tombs and consequently were buried for many centuries and only unearthed in recent times. Since the discovery of imperial tombs in the twentieth century, scholarship has been transformed. Laws limit the travel of these ancient artefacts so many key items can only be viewed in China. In contrast with western hierarchies of art, where since the eighteenth century ‘fine art’ has been held in higher esteem, in China the ‘decorative arts’ enjoyed an extraordinarily high status. Excellence in craftsmanship was established early on, and imperial patronage was a major catalyst in the development of ceramics, jades and lacquer objects. This tour has been designed to present and interpret the arts of China through exposure to the finest examples in many of the best collections in China and Taiwan. Aided by the commentary of the accompanying expert, Dr Konstanze Knittler, it cannot fail to inculcate an intense appreciation of one of the world’s great artistic traditions. Some of the artworks are of a type and quality which cannot be seen outside of China. The imperial Chinese holdings are viewed in the major museums in Beijing and in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Here are housed the larger part of the imperial collections following their evacuation during the Civil War. Other cities visited include Tianjin, Nanjing and Shanghai, where an increasing number of private museums contributes greatly to the growing significance of China as a place in which to indulge in aesthetic delight. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

ASIA

Accommodation. Waldorf Astoria, Beijing (waldorfastoria.hilton.com): recently-opened, 5-star luxury hotel in the city centre. Westin Hotel, Xi’an (starwoodhotels.com/westin): modern, comfortable and well-run 4-star hotel, located in the south of the city. Silk Road Hotel, Dunhuang (dunhuangresort.com): large hotel situated close to the Mingsha Sand Dunes, rated locally as 4-star. Huozhou Hotel, Turpan: centrally located hotel rated locally as 4-star. Radisson Blu Hotel, Kashgar (radissonblu. com/en/hotel-kashgar): one of the most recently renovated hotels in the city, rated locally as 5 star.

Chinese painting.

195

sacred China City palaces, mountain temples & desert grottoes ChinA

10–24 October 2016 (md 890) 15 days, 13 nights • £5,610 Lecturer: Jon Cannon A unique itinerary that takes in many of China’s most remarkable religious sites, from ancient temples in Beijing to the sacred mountains of Wutaishan. Visit the Mogao Caves, the most fascinating repository of Buddhist art in China. Several unesco World Heritage Sites including the temple and cemetery of Qufu, birthplace of Confucius, and the Yungang Grottoes in Datong. Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism – the ‘three teachings’, are all represented. Led by Jon Cannon, expert in Chinese classic architecture and religious buildings worldwide. From ancient temples to sacred mountain tops, China’s religious heritage is unique. Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism have all had a significant presence in the country for a millennium and more.

The first three of these – two of which are indigenous to China – comprised the ‘three teachings’ supported by Imperial policy, and historically their influence reached into every aspect of Chinese daily life; the buildings, sculptures and artworks that resulted are astonishing. Indeed, spiritual, artistic and architectural traditions developed by Chinese religious cultures spread throughout east Asia, and in spite of the vicissitudes of recent history remain alive to this day. This tour starts in Beijing, which is still recognisably a sacred city laid out by the emperors on cosmological lines – arguably the most significant example of that phenomenon in the world. Such structures as the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan), the Lama Temple and the Confucius Temple, all cornerstones of Imperial religious life and ritual, form a fitting introduction to the richness and variety of Chinese religion. Highlights include the holy mountain of Wutaishan, where there is a significant Tibetan presence in the heart of traditional China, and a collection of ancient Buddhist temples packed with modern pilgrims. By contrast the exquisite Foguang Temple (ad 857) stands in a beguilingly peaceful rural setting. Here is one

of the oldest wooden structures on the planet, its original sculpture and painted decoration astonishingly intact. At Datong’s Yungang caves and the ancient desert monastery of Dunhuang, by contrast, the cosmopolitan roots of Chinese Buddhism took hold. The spread of this Indian faith across the country in the first centuries of the Common Era transformed China’s religious life and brought to the country its first permanent stone religious building, the pagoda. There are fine examples of what is effectively an elongated and orientalised Buddhist stupa at Xi’an and Yingxian. The architecture of the pagoda, as well as the great painted and sculpted caves and cliffs of early Chinese Buddhist monasteries, are vivid reminders of this era of dramatic cultural change, their artistic styles still visibly infused with ideas from India, Central Asia and even the Classical West, all on the cusp of becoming something new and distinctively Chinese. Chinese religious culture is at once precociously humanist and testimony to a society in which spirituality infused every aspect of daily life. In the course of this remarkable series of sites, we will come face to face with the exceptional achievements that resulted.

Itinerary Day 1: London to Beijing. Fly at c. 4.30pm from London Heathrow to Beijing (British Airways, c. 10 hours). Day 2: Beijing. Arrive at Beijing Airport at c. 9.30am and drive to the hotel for lunch. The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) complex, effectively a sacred park set with platforms for Imperial rites, forms both a fitting antidote to jet lag and a memorable introduction to the unique qualities of Chinese sacred sites. First of two nights in Beijing. Day 3: Beijing. The morning is dedicated to the Forbidden City, at once enthralling and imposing with its formidable walls, moat, vast courtyards and works of art. The delightful Jinshanling hill behind it provides a unique perspective on what is, with its imperial altars, temples and central palace for a divinely mandated emperor, arguably the world’s finest surviving example of a planned ‘sacred city’.

ASIA

Day 4: Beijing to Qufu. The massive National Museum in Tiananmen Square displays extraordinary ritual bronzes of ancient China. In the afternoon, visit Beijing’s most important lamaistic and Confucian places of worship, positioned close together near the edge of the old city. Travel south by high speed train to Qufu in the Shandong province. First of two nights in Qufu. Day 5: Qufu. Spend the day in the town where Confucius was born, a place that combines the atmosphere of a pleasant backwater with the alldominant presence of China’s one truly enormous religious complex: the temple, house and cemetery of the great philosopher and his descendants. The roots of this remarkable series of sites palpably stretch back to late prehistory.

196

Beijing, Confucius Temple, wood engraving from ‘Le Tour du Monde’, 1864. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 6: Taishan, Taiyuan. Leave early to drive to Taishan, the most significant in a network of Taoist sacred mountains, characteristic of this faith of

china

oneness with nature. Climb (by coach and cable car) to the Jade Emperor peak, site of imperial sacrifices for a deeper encounter with Taoism. In the afternoon, fly (Shandong Airlines) north-west to Shanxi province, an area that contains the greatest concentration of historic buildings in China. Overnight Taiyuan. Day 7: Taiyuan, Wutaishan. Drive to the foothills of Wutaishan to visit the eighth-century Foguangsi and Nanchansi Buddhist temples, that may between them be the best-preserved and oldest complex timber structures in the world, all the more memorable for their rural setting and for having much statuary and other features intact. First of two nights in Wutaishan. Day 8: Wutaishan. Conditions permitting, there is a morning excursion to one of China’s most important Buddhist holy mountains, the Wutai (five-terrace) peak, visiting the historic temples at its heart with their strong Tibetan influence and memorable historic fittings and artefacts. (If Wutaishan cannot be accessed, there will be an alternative visit to the remarkable Jin Ci ancestral hall and Taoist shrine complex.) Day 9. Yingxian, Mt Hengshan, Datong. Drive north to Datong, visiting a succession of remarkable sites: the Yingxian pagoda, one of the most artistically impressive examples of this Chinese take on the Buddhist stupa; the picturesque Hanging Temple, clinging vertiginously to its cliffside site. First of two nights in Datong, home to one of China’s greatest displays of monumental Buddhist cliff-sculpture. Day 10: Datong. The Yungang caves were begun in the sixth century by a dynasty with its cultural roots in Buddhist Central Asia. Nearby the Huayan temple is an extraordinary storehouse of Buddhist art, including the spectacular timber sutra library. Day 11: Datong to Xi’an. In the morning, fly (China Southern Airlines) to Xi’an. There visit one of China’s most atmospheric historic mosques, originally built in ad 742 and a memorable example of how oriental culture responded to the challenge of the western monotheisms. The Baxian An is a busy example of a modern urban Taoist temple. Overnight Xi’an.

Day 13: Dunhuang. The Mogao caves at Dunhuang, with their rich sculpture and extraordinary survivals of ancient painting, are one of the world’s most memorable sights, and a testament to the sophisticated and cosmopolitan cultures that thrived along the famed Silk Road. The museum contains important artefacts unearthed at the caves, including rare Tibetan sutras. The Western Caves, set by an attractive river valley, are fewer in number but also contain exquisite paintings.

Day 14: Dunhuang to Beijing. Fly to Beijing (Air China) departing c. 12 noon and arriving mid-afternoon, leaving time for a concluding lecture and dinner before the homeward journey. Overnight Beijing. Day 15. Fly at c. 11.00am from Beijing to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 3.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,610 or £4,930 without international flights. Single occupancy: £6,290 or £5,610 without international flights. Included meals: 10 lunches, 7 dinners, with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process. Accommodation. Waldorf Astoria, Beijing (waldorfastoria.hilton.com): recently-opened, 5-star luxury hotel in the city centre. Shangri-la, Qufu (shangri-la.com/qufu): modern 4-star in the historical centre; large rooms and swimming pool. Kempinski, Taiyuan (kempinski.com): 5-star luxury hotel in the commercial district. Marriott Wutain Mountain, Wutaishan (marriott.com): 5-star, located in the foothills of Wutaishan.

Rooms have mountain views; there is a health club. Yungang Meigao, Datong (yungangmghotel.com): opened in 2011, a 4-star glass tower construction with good-sized rooms, close to the city centre. Westin Hotel, Xi’an (starwoodhotels.com/ westin): modern, stylish and well-run 4-star hotel, located in the south of the city. Silk Road Hotel, Dunhuang (dunhuangresort.com): large hotel, situated close to the Mingsha Sand Dunes, rated locally as 4-star. How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. There are some long coach journeys during which facilities are limited and may be of poor quality. Average distance by coach per day: 48 miles.

ASIA

Day 12: Xi’an to Dunhuang. Adjacent to the hotel stands the Great Goose Pagoda, a living monument to the Indian and Central Asian roots of Chinese Buddhism, a theme which will start to dominate as we move west into the desert setting of Dunhuang. In the early afternoon, fly to Dunhuang (China Eastern Airlines). Dunhuang is a small oasis town with low-rise buildings along wide avenues, flanked to one side by colossal sand dunes. First of two nights in Dunhuang.

Chinese woodblock.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

What else is included in the price? See page 6. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

197

essential india hindu temples, rajput palaces & mughal tombs indiA

27 February–13 March 2017 (md 160) 15 days • £5,780 Lecturer: Dr Giles Tillotson Includes some of India’s most celebrated sites and also lesser-known but quintessential places. Arrangements for special access a feature. Spends more time at the centres visited than most mainstream tours, and free time is allowed for rest or independent exploration. Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the most sacred in India; the Hindu temples of Khajuraho; Rajput and Mughal forts, palaces and funerary monuments. No fewer than seven unesco World Heritage Sites. Led by Dr Giles Tillotson, a leading expert in Mughal and Rajput history and architecture.

The rich and fertile riverine plains of northern India have long formed a corridor allowing migrations and invasions to spread across the Subcontinent. The result is an area of fascinating cultural diversity. Like the Ganges and the Yamuna, the sacred rivers of Hindu lore, this tour runs through the modern state of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. But these geopolitical boundaries do not restrict it thematically. Participants are treated to a comprehensive overview of the history of the Subcontinent, from the emergence of Hinduism and Buddhism to the decline of the Mughal Empire, the last Islamic power before the British Raj of the nineteenth century. Located on the banks of the Ganges, Varanasi is India’s most sacred place and claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Founded by Lord Shiva, the city is mentioned in

scriptures dating from the early Vedic period, in the second millennium bc. It was known as Kashi, the Luminous, during the life of the Buddha who visited on several occasions on his way to Sarnath nearby where he preached his first sermon. Pilgrims still flock here to wash away their sins in the holy Ganges. The modern Varanasi is also a place of learning and culture, with the first Hindu university in India. The Chandelas of Khajuraho and the Bundelas of Orchha are two Rajput clans tracing lineage to the Lunar Dynasty from Varanasi, a commonly used device to claim political authority. The eleventh-century Chandelas built intricately carved temples in Khajuraho, today celebrated (and often misunderstood) for their sensual carvings. They are superb examples of the Nagara or northern style of sacred architecture, with its linear succession of halls leading to the sanctum, topped by a Sikhara, or mountain-peak tower. Later Bundela Rajputs built impressive palaces and temple-like cenotaphs in the lush landscape of northern Madhya Pradesh. Their palaces bring together elements borrowed from both the Rajput and Mughal traditions, while their funerary architecture asserts their dynastic authority. The buildings and arts of the Mughals in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are often regarded as the apex of India’s artistic achievements, a prestige due no doubt in no small part to its best-known representative, the Taj Mahal, a creation which hovers somewhere between architecture, jewellery and myth. White marble is typical of the late period, while earlier buildings are of red sandstone – the deserted capital of Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri, and the Red Forts of Agra and Delhi. Delhi is among a rare elite of the world’s cities which have been capital of several successive regimes. With most new ruling powers establishing their headquarters on a site adjacent to its predecessors, the architectural legacy ranges from a monumental thirteenth-century minaret to the majestic expansiveness of Lutyens’ New Delhi. Empire succeeds empire; eighteen years after the Viceroy took up residence in Government House it was handed over to an independent India.

Itinerary

ASIA

Day 1: London to Delhi. Fly from London Heathrow (British Airways) at c. 11.00am and after a 5½ hour time change reach the hotel in New Delhi at c. 3.00am on Day 2. Those not taking our group flights can check in from 2.00pm on Day 1. Day 2: Delhi. Free morning, lunch in the hotel. The severely beautiful 15th-century tombs of the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties are located in the serene Lodi Gardens, close to the hotel. Humayun’s striking tomb, with its high-arched façades set in a walled garden, is an important example of early Mughal architecture. Overnight Delhi.

198

Delhi, Qutb Minar, wood engraving c. 1880. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 3: Delhi. Visit the imposing Red Fort, founded in 1639 under Shah Jahan. Exquisite pietra dura work remains intact in the throne pavilion. Together with the fort, the Jami Masjid, India’s largest mosque, dominates Old Delhi with its minarets and domes. Rickshaw through the labyrinthine streets near Chandni Chowk. After lunch, visit the Qutb Minar, site of the first Islamic

“The itinerary made the tour. It was so well put together… every day we got up thinking it couldn’t possibly be as good as the day before, and it was. Different and wonderful.”

Day 4: Delhi to Varanasi. Fly from Delhi to Varanasi (Jet Airways) at c. 10.30am. After lunch in the hotel, walk in the old town, visiting hidden shrines and experiencing the busy life along the river. Ends near Dasaswamedha Ghat, named after the ancient ten horse sacrifice which took place here in mythical time. A boat ride along the Ganges ends with the evening river blessing ceremony (Aarti), a ritual going back to the Vedic Age. First of two nights in Varanasi. Day 5: Sarnath, Varanasi. Begin the day with a boat ride at sunrise, followed by breakfast and a morning walk through the alleys of the old city. Buddha preached his first sermon at Sarnath and the site remains an active Buddhist centre. The Dhamek stupa in the Deer Park marks the spot where the Buddha sat to preach. The museum houses the 3rd-century bc lion capital which has become the symbol of modern India since independence. Overnight Varanasi. Day 6: Varanasi to Khajuraho. Fly to Khajuraho (Jet Airways) in the morning. After lunch, visit the Jain temples in the eastern group. The Parasnath Temple is conspicuous for its absence of erotic depictions. First of three nights in Khajuraho. Day 7: Khajuraho. Morning visit of the spectacular western group of temples built during the Chandela Rajput dynasty, famous for the beautifully carved erotic scenes. The 11th-cent. Kandariya Mahadev Temple is one of the finest examples of North Indian temple architecture, richly embellished with sensuous sculptures depicting the god’s heavenly abodes. Nearby, the Jagadambi Temple contains excellent carvings of Vishnu. In the afternoon, visit the eastern and southern groups of temples. Overnight Khajuraho. Day 8: Khajuraho. Free day. Overnight Khajuraho.

Day 10: Orchha. A walk in the old town includes a visit to the high-ceilinged Chaturbhuj Temple; the cross plan represents the four-armed Vishnu. The Lakshmi Temple incorporates fortress elements and its 19th-century frescoes depict scenes of the 1857 Mutiny. Afternoon journey from Jhansi to Gwalior by train. First of two nights in Gwalior. Day 11: Gwalior. Athwart a steep-sided hill, the formidable Gwalior Fort is lavishly embellished with cupolas and blue tiles; inside are superb 9th- and 11th-century temples. The afternoon is at leisure with the option of a visit to a nearby palace. Overnight Gwalior. Day 12: Gwalior, Agra. Drive to Agra and in the afternoon visit the Itimad ud Daula (c. 1628), an exquisite garden tomb and the first Mughal building clad in white marble inlaid with pietra

Practicalities Price – per person. Two sharing: £5,780 or £5,130 without international flights. Single occupancy: £6,690 or £6,040 without international flights. Included meals: 11 lunches, 9 dinners, with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process.

Dr Giles Tillotson. Writer and lecturer on Indian architecture, art and history. His books include Taj Mahal, Jaipur Nama: Tales from the Pink City, and the novel, Return to Bhanupur. He is a Fellow, and the former Director, of the Royal Asiatic Society and was Chair of Art & Archaeology at SOAS. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. dura. A stroll in Mehtab Bagh, a former Mughal garden by the Yamuna river, is rewarded with a view of the Taj Mahal; any anxiety about it failing to live up to it reputation for sublime beauty is misplaced. Overnight Agra. Day 13: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri. Rise early to visit the Taj Mahal in the first light of day. It was commissioned by Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, and completed in 1648. Breakfast at the hotel. The magnificent Red Fort was built by Akbar and is the best preserved of the palaces built during his reign. Drive out to Fatehpur Sikri, a new capital built by Akbar (1570) but abandoned after a mere 15 years. The palace complex consists of a series of courtyards and beautifully wrought red sandstone pavilions. Overnight Agra. Day 14: Sikandra, Delhi. Drive to Delhi via Akbar’s mausoleum at Sikandra, built on his death in 1605. Set in a traditional char-bagh, it has no central dome unlike other Mughal mausolea. Visit New Delhi where Lutyens, Baker and other British architects created a grand city with unique designs. Baker’s Secretariat buildings on the Raisina hill are Classical buildings at first glance but closer attention reveals Mughal motifs. Subject to special permission, it may be possible to visit the manicured gardens and interior of the vast Rashtrapati Bhavan, the former Viceroy’s residence. Overnight Delhi.

Accommodation. Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi (tajhotels.com): modern and comfortable hotel with an attractive garden and swimming pool. The hotel is well-situated in the heart of Lutyens’s Delhi and caters for both the business and leisure traveller. Taj Gateway Ganges Hotel, Varanasi (tajhotels.com): comfortable 4-star hotel outside city centre. Lalit Temple View Hotel, Khajuraho (thelalit.com): modern hotel located within walking distance of the main sites. Hotel Amar Mahal, Orchha (amarmahal.com): the most basic of the hotels on the tour, this 3-star equivalent is conveniently located and adequately equipped. Usha Kiran Palace Hotel, Gwalior (tajhotels. com): former palace converted into a charming hotel. Trident Hotel, Agra (tridenthotels.com): comfortable, well-run, modern 4-star close to the main sites with a spacious garden. The Leela, Gurgaon (theleela.com): 5-star hotel conveniently close to the airport. How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. A rough indication of the minimum level of fitness required is that you ought to be able to walk briskly at about three miles per hour for at least half an hour, and undertake a walk at a more leisurely pace for an hour or two unaided. You may be on your feet for lengthy stretches of time. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. There are three 3-hour long coach journeys where facilities are limited. There are some fairly steep ascents to forts and palaces. Steps to temples and palaces can be steep and slippery. Unruly traffic and the busy streets of Delhi also require vigilance. Average distance by coach per day: 45 miles.

ASIA

Day 9: Khajuraho to Orchha. Drive to Orchha. Located close to the Betwa River on dramatic rocky terrain, its former glory as capital of the Bundela kings is evident in the multi-chambered Jehangir Mahal with lapis lazuli tiles and ornate gateways. The Raj Mahal palace contains some beautiful murals with religious and secular themes. Elegant Royal Chhatris (cenotaphs) line the ghats of the Betwa. Overnight Orchha.

india

city of Delhi, established in 1193 on the grounds of a defeated Rajput fort. The towering minaret and its mosque survive as testament to the might of the invaders. Overnight Delhi.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Kingdoms of the Deccan, 10–23 February 2017 (p.206); Indian Summer, 13–25 March 2017 (p.200).

Day 15: Delhi to London. Fly from Delhi in the morning, arriving London Heathrow at c. 3.15pm. What else is included in the price? See page 6. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

199

indian summer delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, shimla indiA

a deliberate break with the past. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru called it ‘a new city of free India, totally fresh and wholly responsive to the future generations of this great country.’ Led by Le Corbusier, the city design and urban elements were unabashedly modern and western. Still admired and criticized in equal measure by planners, architects and urban historians, it is yet rated as among the best cities in India in which to live.

Itinerary Days 1 & 2: London to Delhi. Fly from London Heathrow (British Airways) at c. 11.00am and after a 5½ hour time change reach the hotel in New Delhi at c. 3.00am on Day 2. Those not taking our group flights can check in from 2.00pm on Day 1. Day 2: Delhi. Nothing is planned before a pre-lunch talk. In the afternoon, visit Old Delhi for a short walk on The Ridge, taking in Flagstaff Tower, a safe haven for the British during the Mutiny of 1857. The Mutiny Memorial commemorating those killed in action is a NeoGothic spire with elements of Indian design. First of three nights in Delhi.

Amritsar, the Golden Temple, watercolour from ‘World Pictures’ by Mortimer Menpes, publ. c. 1910.

13–25 March 2017 (md 171) 13 days • £5,240 Lecturer: Raaja Bhasin A fascinating selection of places which have the common feature of relating to the last years of the Raj. Led by Raaja Bhasin, historian, author, lecturer and Shimla resident. Shimla, the grandest hill station, the buildings a hotch-potch of bastardised European styles. Reached by the famous mountain ‘toy train’. Visits Chandigarh, the modern ideal city built by Le Corbusier.

ASIA 200

Both the high noon of the British Empire in India and its closing years were played out in the city of Delhi and in the ‘summer capital’, Simla (now Shimla), dubbed by many the grandest outpost of the Pax Britannica. Tracing the ebb and flow of the Raj in two imperial capitals, this tour covers architecture, events, lifestyles, and landscapes of the Western Himalaya and numerous stories of places and people. Amritsar is part of this story, and Chandigarh provides a glimpse into Indian Utopia after Independence. Built, destroyed and rebuilt a dozen times, Delhi is one of the oldest cities in the world, and also one of the most multilayered. It is home to some fifteen million people and its heterogeneous population has genetic strands that span the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and several other parts of the world. Today, towers of chrome and steel stand side by side with centuries-old monuments built by the Mughal rulers. Between the two, the immense architectural momentum of the Raj culminated in the creation of New Delhi, still the core of this fast-expanding city. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Up in the hills of the Western Himalaya, Simla was the summer capital of British India, the grandest of the British hill stations. For around a century, a fift h of the human race was ruled from its heights for the better part of every year. The architecture is practically a gazetteer of western styles, but often with a twist, a nod to the heritage of the subcontinent. The town created an enigmatic way of life and the steamier side of its social world gave inspiration to Rudyard Kipling, who as a young correspondent spent some summers amidst the cedars. Many decisions that shaped India and the region were made within sight of the snowclad Himalayas. Today it is the capital of the state of Himachal Pradesh and many of the grander buildings, bungalows and streets still evoke the heyday of a past age. West of it lies the fertile ‘Land of Five Rivers’, the Punjab. Here is the sacred city of Amritsar, site of the Golden Temple, the most sacred shrine of the Sikh faith. This was also where the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in 1919, when a crowd of unarmed civilians was fired upon. The event totally altered the face of Indian nationalism. Even Winston Churchill was moved enough to remark, ‘It is an extraordinary event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation’. The border with Pakistan is close to Amritsar, and with belligerence which is almost histrionic, the sundown ceremony of lowering the flags and closing the gates is played out daily. Nearby is the former princely state of Kapurthala where the Francophile ruler, Jagatjit Singh, completed a palace in 1908, loosely modelled on Versailles. He tried to introduce French as his court language. When the Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan in 1947 the state capital Lahore was replaced in the Indian portion by a brand new city, Chandigarh. Its building in the 1950s was

Day 3: Delhi. New Delhi was created 1912–31 by Lutyens, Baker and others as a uniquely grand and spacious city. The Secretariat buildings on Raisina Hill are Classical at first glance, but closer inspection reveals Buddhist and Mughal motifs. Subject to special permission, it may be possible to visit the interior of the vast Rashtrapati Bhavan, the former Viceroy’s residence. The fortress-like garrison church of St Martin, designed by Arthur Shoosmith (1930), has been called one of the great buildings of the 20th century. Overnight Delhi. Day 4: Delhi to Amritsar. The Teen Murthi Bhavan was built in Classical style in the 1930s as Flagstaff House before becoming the home of the first Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Today, it is a museum dedicated to one of the fathers of modern India. Fly from Delhi to Amritsar at c. 12.30pm. First of two nights in Amritsar. Day 5: Amritsar, Wagah. Amritsar was founded by the 4th Sikh guru in 1579 and is home to Sikhism’s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple. The sacred lake surrounding the temple dates from this period but the current form of the temple is 18th century, and the gilt early 19th century. Jallianwala Bagh was the scene of the massacre of demonstrators against British rule in 1919 and now is a moving memorial garden. In the afternoon, drive to Wagah for the theatrical sunset closing ceremony of the border with Pakistan. Overnight Amritsar. Day 6: Kapurthala, Chandigarh. In the morning, drive to Kapurthala, where the local ruler, an ardent francophile, built his palace (1900–1908) loosely modelled on the palace of Versailles and the chateau of Fontainebleau. Now a boys’ school, the interior is lavish, while the gardens are embellished by fountains and statuary in the traditional French style. Continue to Chandigarh to arrive at the hotel in time for dinner. First of two nights in Chandigarh. Day 7: Chandigarh. The joint capital of the states of Haryana and Punjab emerged from the partition of the Punjab in 1947. Conceived by Le Corbusier

Day 8: Chandigarh, Shimla. Transfer to Kalka in the foothills of the Himalayas to board the ‘toy train’ to Shimla. The Kalka–Shimla Railway has been operating daily since 1903 and is a remarkable feat of engineering. After a 5-hour ride through stunning scenery, transfer to the hotel. First of three nights in Shimla. Day 9: Shimla, Mashobra. The former summer capital of British India, Shimla is set in the lush pine and cedar forests of the Himalayan foothills. Its impressive colonial architecture is best admired through walks along the Mall. Viceregal Lodge, the summer residence of the British viceroy is probably Shimla’s best-known building. Built in 1888, the grey sandstone structure retains the British royal coat of arms on its façade. After lunch at Wildflower Hall, visit Bishop Cotton School, Shimla’s oldest educational institution, founded in 1859. Overnight Shimla. Day 10: Shimla. Walk eastward along The Mall towards Christ Church. The Gaiety Theatre was built in 1887 as the original Town Hall. The Gothic building has been the centre of Shimla’s social life for over a century. The tower of Christ Church (1857) dominates Shimla’s skyline from the Ridge, above the town. Time for independent exploration in the afternoon. Overnight Shimla.

Day 11: Kasauli, Chandigarh. Morning drive to Kasauli via Dagshai, scene of the Connaught Rangers’ Mutiny in 1920. The Central Jail (1849) is where the executions took place. The pretty hill station of Kasauli has some interesting 19thcentury buildings such as Christ Church and the Kasauli Club. Afternoon drive to Chandigarh. Overnight Chandigarh. Day 12: Chandigarh to Delhi. In the morning, fly to Delhi. Coronation Park in north Delhi was the location of the 1911 Durbar, at which George V announced the shift of the British capital from Calcutta. Following Independence, it became the resting place of the statues of kings and officials of the British Raj. Overnight Delhi. Day 13: Delhi to London. Morning flight from Delhi, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 3.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,240 or £4,510 without international flights. Single occupancy: £6,030 or £5,300 without international flights. Included meals: 8 lunches (including 1 packed lunch) and 8 dinners with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process. Accommodation. Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi (tajhotels.com): modern, comfortable hotel with attractive garden and swimming pool. Situated in the heart of Lutyens’s Delhi, it caters for both

business and leisure travellers. Ranjit Svaasa, Amritsar (svaasa.com): attractive colonial mansion converted into a characterful 4-star boutique hotel down a narrow alley off the main road. Taj Chandigarh, Chandigarh (tajhotels. com): modern 5-star hotel; elegantly furnished and well-appointed rooms. The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla (oberoihotels.com): 19th-century 5-star heritage hotel converted into a luxury hotel in the 1930s.

indiA

and Maxwell Fry following the principles of the International Modern movement, it is laid out on the grid principle. The Capital Complex is the home of the administrative buildings, the ‘head’ of the city and some of Le Corbusier’s most ambitious planning. Overnight Chandigarh.

How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. A rough indication of the minimum level of fitness required is that you ought to be able to walk briskly at about three miles per hour for at least half an hour, and undertake a walk at a more leisurely pace for an hour or two unaided. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. There are some steep walks. Unruly traffic and the busy streets of larger cities require some vigilance. There is a 5-hour train journey during which facilities are limited and may be of poor quality. Most sites have some shade but the Indian sun is strong, even in the cooler seasons. Average distance by coach per day: 33 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with Bengal by River, 25 March–7 April 2017 (p.204).

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

ASIA 201

Shimla, steel engraving 1845. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

The indian mutiny delhi, meerut, lucknow, Gwalior, Agra indiA

25 October–7 November 2016 (md 926) 14 days • £4,980 Lecturer: Patrick Mercer obe A study of the single most important and controversial set of events in the history of the British in India, a turning point for the Subcontinent and also for Victorian Britain. A tour of intense interest for military, imperial and Indian history. Special arrangements for exclusive access. Led by military historian Patrick Mercer. The First War of Indian Independence or an ill-planned and illegitimate rebellion? The deaththroes of a traditional society slipping beneath the waves of progress or an historic advance

towards the emancipation of peoples oppressed by colonialism? The Indian Mutiny, to use the name given by the British upon its outbreak in 1857, has been subject to many interpretations. This tour aims to present a clear-sighted understanding of the events and their meaning, and a moving study of conflict and reconciliation. In 1857 the Bengal Army, one of the Honourable East India Company’s locally raised armies, turned on its British officers, murdered them and their families or drove them away, and attempted to establish their own authority in Delhi. Newly issued cartridges greased with pig and cow fat, thus alienating both Muslims and Hindus, though rapidly withdrawn, may have precipitated the Mutiny; that it spread so rapidly and enjoyed widespread support reveals deep underlying discontent. Challenged by westernisation, Indian society, rarely at peace

with itself anyway, was becoming disorientated and disenchanted. There followed the most serious challenge to Queen Victoria’s authority of her entire reign. The rebellion sucked in thousands of loyal native troops as well as British regiments – some of them fresh from the Crimea – and plunged the Empire into chaos. The battles were bitter, the destruction enormous and the whole episode complicated by unprecedented inter-tribal and religious violence that looked to the outsider like civil war. The imperial forces displayed extra-ordinary endurance and skill, but there were atrocities on both sides as well as acts of great gallantry. Many of Victoria’s military heroes made their names in the Mutiny as the press reported every move of rebels and loyal troops alike. The horror of Wheeler’s Entrenchment at Cawnpore, the dogged defence of the Residency at Lucknow and the storming of the Kashmiri Gate at Delhi still echo through the years. There are remarkable traces of military engagement surviving in places, and memorials and monuments commemorate the events. Fortuitously, the rebellion spread across some of the most beautiful parts of the country, and the tour provides an excellent overview of Indian landscapes, culture and architecture. We also follow the path of the most glamorous of rebels, the warrior queen Rani Lakshmibai, from her own Kingdom of Jhansi to the remote and spectacular fortress of Gwalior. She caused the entire Central India Field Force to be pitted against her and only with her death was the fire of unrest finally dampened down.

Itinerary Day 1: London to Delhi. Fly from London Heathrow (British Airways) at c. 11.00am, and after a 5½ hour time change, reach the hotel in Delhi at c. 3.00am on Day 2. Those not taking our group flights can check in from 2.00pm on Day 1. Day 2: Old Delhi, the heart of the uprising. Nothing is planned before a pre-lunch talk. In May 1857 rebellious sepoys flocked to Delhi to establish it as the capital of their newly freed nation. The Mutiny Memorial commemorating those killed in action is a neo-Gothic spire with elements of Indian design, built in the local sandstone in 1863. Overnight Old Delhi.

ASIA

Day 3: Old Delhi. By early September the besiegers were strong enough to attack and after a week’s vicious fighting Delhi once more came under British control. Visit the sites of some of the battles, including the much-shelled Kashmiri Gate and the British magazine. Walk the route of General Nicholson’s advance (he died while storming the Lahore Gate). Visit the imposing Red Fort, entering via the Lahore Gate where King Bahadur Shah Zafar reluctantly accommodated the Meerut sepoys. Overnight Old Delhi.

202

Gwalior, the Fort, wood engraving c. 1880. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 4: Meerut, the start of the Mutiny. Inspired by an incident near Calcutta, on Sunday 10th May sepoys in the garrison at Meerut began an open revolt. From here the virus spread. Visit St John’s garrison church and the cemetery with graves of that day’s victims. Lunch at a private home. Overnight Old Delhi.

Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace) and the somewhat incongruous but poignant tomb of Col John Russell, Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Provinces, who died here in 1857. Drive to Delhi. Overnight near the airport. Day 14: Delhi to London. Morning flight from Delhi, arriving at London Heathrow at c. 3.15pm.

“Whetted the appetite for further travel to India.”

Day 6: Kanpur (Cawnpore), betrayal and horror. The garrison commander at Cawnpore, Gen. Wheeler, was besieged by his own native troops in a hastily constructed fort known as Wheeler’s Entrenchment. A visit to this barren, walled area and All Soul’s Memorial Church evokes the dreadful conditions endured by soldiers, civilians, women and children until the rebel leader called a ceasefire. Visit Satichaura Ghat on the Ganges, where Europeans and loyal Indians were permitted to board boats but were promptly fired upon in one of the worst scenes in the Mutiny. Overnight Lucknow. Day 7: Lucknow, where the Mutiny ebbed and flowed. The battered Residency at Lucknow: a monument to the fortunes of war. In July 1857 a tiny garrison of British and Indian troops was besieged here until, in September, Sir Henry Havelock forced his way through and, in turn, was assailed. In November Sir Colin Campbell drove the mutineers aside and evacuated the defenders. In March 1858 he returned and finally recaptured the city. See Havelock’s Memorial and the battlescarred Alambagh Palace, alternately occupied by the rebels and the British. Sikandar Bagh, a pleasure garden of the nawabs, served as a sepoy stronghold. Overnight Lucknow. Day 8: Lucknow. Before leaving Lucknow, there is a special visit to La Martinière Boys’ School, a flamboyant hybrid building of 1796. The principal, masters and boys of the college successfully defended the perimeter of the grounds in 1857. Dilkusha Hunting Lodge still stands nearby despite shelling during the siege. Havelock died here. Board a noon train and travel 5 hours to Jhansi and by coach for 15 miles to Orchha. Spend the first of two nights in Orchha.

Day 10: Jhansi, scene of massacre and duplicity. The debate still rages over whether Rani Lakshmibai, Queen of Jhansi, knew that the tiny European garrison to whom she guaranteed safe passage were going to be attacked. Their murder, however, led the British to send troops to crush her. Walk along the concentric walls of Shankar Fort where the Rani battled hard against her British opponents in March 1858 before avoiding capture on horseback and riding to Gwalior, a route we travel by train. Overnight Gwalior.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £4,980 or £4,270 without international flights. Single occupancy: £5,700 or £4,990 without international flights. Included meals: 11 lunches (including 2 packed lunches) and 8 dinners with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process.

Patrick Mercer OBE. Military historian. He read History at Oxford and then spent 25 years in the army, achieving the rank of colonel, and subsequently worked for BBC Radio 4 as Defence Correspondent and as a journalist. He was MP for Newark from 2001 to 2014 and is the author of two books on the Battle of Inkerman. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Day 11: Gwalior, the Mutiny’s dénouement. Situated on a hill, the formidable fort at Gwalior is lavishly embellished with cupolas and blue tiles; inside are superb 9th- and 11th-cent. temples. Here Rani Lakshmibai held strong with fellow rebel Tatya Tope, until, leading a cavalry patrol, she was surprised at Kotah-ki-Serai in June 1858 (where fortifications are still visible) and killed while the British closed in on the fort from east and west simultaneously. Tatya’s forces disintegrated as the citadel fell – the last battle of the uprising. Overnight Gwalior. Day 12: Agra, a decisive engagement. Drive from Gwalior to Agra, a route marked by the dramatic ravines of the Chambal River. Lunch is at a former royal residence at Dholpur. In August 1857 Col Greathead marched with 3,000 men from Delhi to Agra to recapture the besieged city. The mutineers had been reinforced after Delhi’s fall, but the successful assault prevented the sepoys from linking their forces from central India with those from the rest of Bengal. An evening stroll by the Yamuna river is rewarded by a view of the Taj Mahal. Overnight Agra. Day 13: Agra to Delhi. Rise early to visit the Taj Mahal in the first light of the day. After breakfast, visit the magnificent Fort. Permanent reminders of the events of 1857 scar this formidable defensive structure – a cannon ball mark on the

Accommodation. Oberoi Maidens, Old Delhi (maidenshotel.com): dating to the early 1900s, it retains colonial charm and is ideally located in the heart of the old city with an attractive garden. Vivanta Gomti Nagar, Lucknow (vivantabytaj.com): very comfortable 4-star with spacious public areas, and rooms with all modern amenities; extensive garden. Amar Mahal, Orchha (amarmahal.com): rooms are adequately equipped and have air conditioning; this 4-star is the most basic of the hotels on this tour; located very near the main sites with a garden. Taj Usha Kiran Palace, Gwalior (tajhotels.com): charming 4-star hotel, set in 9 acres of land; formerly a private palace. Rooms combine traditional with modern and are large and light. Trident Hotel, Agra (tridenthotels.com): comfortable, well-run, modern 4-star close to the main sites; spacious garden. The Leela, Gurgaon (theleela.com): ideally located near the international airport, this modern 5-star hotel has comfortable rooms. How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. A rough indication of the minimum level of fitness required is that you ought to be able to walk briskly at about three miles per hour for at least half an hour, and undertake a walk at a more leisurely pace for an hour or two unaided. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. There are some fairly steep ascents to hilltop forts and temples. Unruly traffic and the busy streets of larger cities require some vigilance. There are some long coach journeys during which facilities are limited and may be of poor quality. Most sites have some shade but the Indian sun is strong, even in the cooler seasons. Average distance by coach per day: 43 miles.

ASIA

Day 9: Orchha. Located close to the Betwa River on dramatic rocky terrain, Orchha’s former glory as capital of the Bundela kings is evident in the multi-chambered Jehangir Mahal with lapis lazuli tiles and ornate gateways. The Lakshmi Temple contains 19th-cent. frescoes depicting the defence of Jhansi Fort. Most of the afternoon is free. Overnight Orchha.

india

Day 5: Old and New Delhi. The beautiful garden tomb of Humayun, an important example of Mughal architecture, was where Zafar was eventually captured. The Mutiny eventually led to the birth of the Raj. Its new capital was established in 1911 and designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker, integrating some Mughal, Hindu and Buddhist elements into the monumental classical buildings of the Viceroy’s House and the Secretariats. Fly to Lucknow; first of three nights at Lucknow.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Gastronomic Kerala, 12–22 November 2016 (p.207).

Illustration: Agra, the Taj Mahal, watercolour c. 1910. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

203

Bengal by River Calcutta & a week’s cruise along the Hooghly india

25 March–7 April 2017 (md 195) 14 days • £5,230 Lecturer: Dr Anna-Maria Misra Four days in Calcutta, Bengal’s capital, and a week visiting places along the River Hooghly on an exclusively chartered cruiser. Bengal, an outpost of the Mughal Empire and the first region to come under the control of the East India Company. Islamic architecture in Murshidabad and Gaur, Hindu temples in Baranagar and Kalna, Georgian and Victorian buildings of the Raj. Sailing along the banks of the Hooghly gives a unique insight into unspoilt village life. Led by Dr Anna-Maria Misra, Oxford academic who specialises in the history of India and the British Empire.

Calcutta, after a drawing by Desmond Doig.

When George V announced in 1911 that the capital of British India was to be transferred from Calcutta to Delhi, there was disbelief and horror in Bengal. It seemed to overturn the natural order of things. Founded by Job Charnock in 1690 on the banks of the mighty Hooghly River, Calcutta (now Kolkata) had been the headquarters of British rule in India ever since. Today the city is home to over fifteen million, but the central district remains largely as it was during the Raj. Buildings of all sorts – political, economic, educational, religious, residential – formed the British city. Their styles, Classical and Gothic, are bizarrely familiar, and their size is startling, often exceeding their equivalents in Britain. A walk through the South Park Street Cemetery shows the high price that many Britons paid for coming to Calcutta in search of wealth. ‘Power on silt!’ wrote Kipling of the city. ‘Death in my hands, but Gold!’ West Bengal is the land of lost capitals and fading grandeur. Calcutta was only the latest city

ASIA

whose power was snatched away by changing political events. Hindus, Muslims, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish and French all founded settlements on the dreamy, fertile banks of the Hooghly. For a time Bengal was the richest province in India, not only because everything seemed to grow in its lush soil but from the industry of its people too. Indigo, opium and rice were cash crops, but textiles first attracted European traders in the seventeenth century. Beautiful silk and muslin fabrics were known as ‘woven wind’ because they were so fine. The river was a natural highway. Apart from the Grand Trunk Road of the Mughals, there was no other way to travel. Steeped in history but still very much off the conventional tourist route, this tour adds a new dimension to India for those who already know it, and for those who are yet to encounter it. Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and Christianity are all practised in Bengal and each faith has built buildings to its gods and goddesses. The town of Kalna is named after a manifestation of the dreaded goddess Kali, the destroyer who lives in cremation grounds and wears a necklace of skulls. By contrast the Jain temples in the village of Baranagar are a peaceful anthem in carved brick to non-violence and harmony. Bengal contains the largest imambaras in India, buildings associated with the Shi’a strand of Islam, not quite mausolea, although burials are frequently found in them, more gathering places for the devout. Serampore, the Danish settlement, is known for its eighteenthcentury church. Had the British under Clive not defeated the Nawab Siraj-ud-daula at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the history of India would have been very different. The French, established at Chandernagore and allies of the Nawab, would have seized their opportunity, supported by Francophone rulers elsewhere in India who wanted to counterbalance the pervasive British presence. But it was from their base in Bengal that the British steadily extended their rule through the subcontinent. The cruiser chartered for this tour is fairly new (built in Calcutta in 2013). By the standards of vessels on European rivers it is not luxurious, but it is comfortable, has great charm and the crew are welcoming and efficient. Lounging on the top deck after a fulfilling day of sightseeing with a gin & tonic (of which a quota is included in the price), watching rural life on the banks as dusk falls, comes pretty close to a perfect Indian experience.

Itinerary Days 1 & 2: London to Calcutta (Kolkata), via Dubai. Fly at c. 1.30pm from London Heathrow to Calcutta via Dubai (Emirates) where there is a 2-hour stop. Reach the hotel c. 9.00am (time difference from UK is 5½ hours) on Day 2. Those not taking our group flights can check in from 2.00pm on Day 1. Day 2: Calcutta. The morning is free. In the afternoon visit the South Park Street Cemetery, where tombs of the early British settlers are of a monumental classicism without parallel in Britain. First of four nights in Calcutta.

204 book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 4: Calcutta. This morning’s walk provides a survey of the civic buildings from the late 18th-century. St John’s Church, which dates back to 1784, is loosely modelled on St Martin-in-theFields in London (like hundreds throughout the globe). In the grounds, the mausoleum of Job Charnock, the founder of Calcutta, is the earliest British building in India. Day 5: Calcutta. The Maghen David Synagogue (1884) and the Armenian Church (1707) are reminders of the variety of religions which thrived in Calcutta prior to Independence. The Home of Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet and philosopher who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913, provides an insight into the Bengali Intellectual Renaissance which in turn led to the Independentist movement. In the evening visit Srijit Tagore’s Residence for a private Bharatanatyam performance by world acclaimed dancer, Souraja Tagore. Final night in Calcutta. Day 6: Serampore. Board the RV Rajmahal in Calcutta. Sail to the former Danish colony of Serampore. It came under British rule in 1845. First of seven nights on board the RV Rajmahal. Day 7: Chandernagore, Chinsura, Hooghly. In the morning, sail upstream to the former French colony of Chandernagore, established in 1673. Visit the remaining churches and cemeteries as well as Governor Joseph François Dupleix’s House. Sail to Chinsura to visit the 17th-century Dutch cemetery before continuing by cycle-rickshaw to Hooghly where the 19th-century Shi’a Imambara of Hazi Mohammed Mohasin contains fine marble inlay.

great mosque at Mecca. Visit the Nashipara and Katgola palaces, 18th-century homes of rich Jain merchants in classical Georgian style. Day 11: Baranagar. Sail to the village of Baranagar and walk through fields to visit three miniature carved-brick Jain temples. Sail in the afternoon through a stretch of charming waterway that weaves past banks lush with mango groves and mustard crops. Day 12: Gaur, Farakka. Drive from the ship’s mooring at Jangipur to the quiet city of Gaur, the ancient capital of Bengal. Situated within easy reach of the black basalt Rajmahal hills, Gaur is fi lled with elegant Muslim ruins. The many mosques, palaces and gateways stand as testament to a prosperous past and gifted stonemasons. Day 13: Farakka to Calcutta. Disembark the ship in the morning and transfer to the station to board a train for Calcutta (c. 4 hours). The rest of the day is free. One more night in Calcutta. Day 14: Calcutta to London, via Dubai. Drive to the airport to board a flight departing at c. 9.45am. After a 2-hour stopover in Dubai, the flight arrives in Heathrow at c. 8.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,230 or £4,630 without international flights. Single occupancy: £6,040 or £5,440 without international flights.

Accommodation. Oberoi Grand, Calcutta (oberoihotels.com): long-established luxury hotel conveniently located in the city centre. RV Rajmahal, River Cruiser (assambengalnavigation. com): built in 2013, not luxurious but adequately comfortable boat, with great charm. Changes: circumstances might arise which prevent us operating the tour as advertised. On the river, circumstances such as the ebb and flow of the tide and shift ing silt levels might necessitate omission of one or more ports of call. We would try and devise a satisfactory alternative. How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. A rough indication of the minimum level of fitness required is that you ought to be able to walk briskly at about three miles per hour for at least half an hour, and undertake a walk at a more leisurely pace for an hour or two unaided. You may be on your feet for lengthy stretches of time. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. Sure-footedness is essential to get on and off the ship; the riverbanks may be slippery. Unruly traffic and the busy streets of Calcutta also require vigilance. There are a few fairly steep ascents to hilltop forts and temples. There is a 4-hour train journey where facilities may be limited. Group size: between 10 and 24 participants.

Included meals: 11 lunches (including 1 packed lunch) and 12 dinners with wine.

Combine this tour with: Indian Summer, 13–25 March 2017 (p.200).

Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

ASIA

Day 8: Kalna, Nabadwip, Mayapur. At Kalna, visit the series of fine 18th-century terracotta temples and the unique Shiva temple with concentric rings comprising 108 double-vaulted shrines. Sail to the pilgrimage centre of Nabadwip, where the river ghats are lined with active temples for a leisurely walk in the bazaar. The skyline of Mayapur on the opposite bank is dominated by a vast new temple. Day 9: Matiari, Plassey. Visit the village of Matiari where brass is worked using traditional methods. After sailing further, there is an excursion to the site of the battle of Plassey, where Robert Clive’s 1757 victory over the Nawab of Bengal, Sirajud-Daulah was the prelude to consolidation and extension of the East India Company’s power in Bengal and beyond. Day 10: Murshidabad. The Mughal Khushbagh is a peaceful walled pleasure-garden containing the Tomb of Siraj-ud-Daulah and family. A magnificent example of Greek Revival architecture, the Hazarduari Palace was built by Duncan McLeod in 1837 as a guest house for the Nawab. The museum holds a respectable collection of European paintings, sculpture and arms. The imposing Katra Mosque (1724) is modelled on the

indiA

Day 3: Calcutta. The Anglican cathedral of St Paul, completed in 1847 in Gothic style, has many fine memorials and a window by Burne-Jones, one of his best. Completed in 1921, the Victoria Memorial is the most imposing building in Calcutta. It houses a collection of European paintings and a display on the history of the city. The Indian Museum, built by Granville to house the collection from the Asiatic Society, is India’s most important collection of sculpture.

Calcutta, the port c. 1890, wood engraving from ‘The World, its Cities & Peoples.’ Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

205

kingdoms of the deccan Art & architecture, sixth to eighteenth centuries indiA

set around a garden. The Durbar Hall (public meeting space) with its Belgian crystal chandeliers is an indication of the Nizam’s wealth and taste for things European. The day ends with a special visit to a private collection of Indian paintings and textiles. Overnight Hyderabad. Day 5: Bidar. A 4-hour drive to Bidar, capital of the Bahmani Sultanate from 1425 until its annexation to the kingdom of Bijapur in 1619. Of particular interest are the 16-pillared mosque and the Rangeen Mahal, the Palace of Colours, so called because of the wall tiles and mother-of-pearl inlays. After a visit to the Royal Tombs at Ashtur, continue to Gulbarga. Overnight here.

Hampi, wood engraving c. 1870.

10–23 February 2017 (md 143) 14 days • £5,210 Lecturer: Asoka Pugal

Hampi was capital of the leading Hindu power from the 14th to 16th centuries, a most beautiful and fascinating centre.

The capital was later shifted to Bidar in 1425. Bijapur and Golconda later gained importance following the demise of Bidar. The foundation of every new capital gave impetus to the local building traditions. Unlike in north India where most Islamic centres were built on existing Hindu cities, the Deccan sultanates built their capitals anew and a distinct Islamic architecture developed. A feature of the tour is time spent visiting places where very few tourists venture. This involves some long coach journeys and two overnight stays in fairly simple accommodation, but the reward is the thrill of deserted citadels with their superb palaces and mosques and impressive fortifications.

The Deccan plateau has distinctive, dramatic, rocky landscapes.

Itinerary

Islamic architecture in the four cities of the Bahmani sultanate founded in the 14th and 15th centuries (Gulbarga, Bidar, Bijapur, Golconda). Hindu architecture of the Chalukyas from the 6th to the 12th centuries (Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal). Hyderabad was one of India’s largest princedoms and retains a rich artistic heritage.

ASIA 206

Vijayanagara, the City of Victory, was founded in 1336 and its eponymous empire ruled the Deccan until its defeat by the Islamic forces at the battle of Talikota in 1565. This political entity is often regarded by historians as the last Hindu power of the region. It marks the transition between the early Hindu kingdoms, such as the Chalukyas who ruled from the sixth century to the twelft h, and the Muslim sultanates which succeeded them and continued to rule until Independence in 1947. The Chalukyas’ architectural tradition developed from the early rock-cut caves at Aihole and Badami to the free-standing structural Hindu temples in Pattadakal. This evolution is clearly confined to sacred architecture. By contrast, the Vijayanagara empire, while further developing and standardising the sacred architecture of Hinduism, also developed an imperial idiom, mixing sacred and vernacular elements and gradually integrating Islamic elements borrowed from the emerging sultanates. From the fourteenth century onwards, the Deccan saw a sequence of four Islamic sultanates, each with its own capital. In 1347, Ala-ud-Din Bahman founded his capital in Gulbarga after declaring his independence from the Delhi sultans. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Days 1 & 2: London to Hyderabad. Fly from London Heathrow at c. 2.45pm to Hyderabad. After a 5½ hour time change arrive in Hyderabad at c. 7.15am on Day 2. Those not taking our group flights can check in from 2.00pm on Day 1. Day 2: Hyderabad. The morning is free. In the afternoon walk in Lal Bazaar, the centre of the historical city; see the Char Minar, the monumental gateway to the new 16th-century palace complex. Overnight Hyderabad. Day 3: Golconda. Now within Hyderabad, Golconda was the first Islamic settlement in the area. The citadel of the Qutb Shahis, protected by three concentric walls built 1512–1687, is an excellent example of the Bahmani military architecture. Nearby are grand royal tombs, with bulbous domes and elaborate stucco, and the Badshahi Ashurkhana is a very fine example of the Shia architectural tradition. Lunch today is in the former Nizam’s palace. Overnight Hyderabad. Day 4: Hyderabad. Today’s visits focus on Hyderabad after it was annexed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1687 and subsequently ruled by the Nizam. The Chaumahalla Palace was completed in 1750 and comprises four mansions

Day 6: Gulbarga, Bijapur. The small town of Gulbarga is of major historical importance. The first Bahmani capital in the Deccan, it was founded in 1347 before being abandoned in 1424 in favour of Bidar. The Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque), similar to the Cordoba Mezquita in form and dimensions, is unique in south India as it is fully covered and has no minarets; one theory claims it was built as a palace. A five-hour drive to Bijapur, arriving in time to visit the Gol Gumbaz, a monumental domed tomb, before sunset. Overnight Bijapur. Day 7: Bijapur, Badami. In the morning there is a walk through the old town to see the many historic buildings. The walk continues around the city walls and gates. The Ibrahim Rauza tomb complex consists of two intricately carved twin buildings finished in 1626, the tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II and the mosque. In the afternoon we leave the Islamic region and drive for four hours to the centre of the former Hindu Chalukya kingdom. First of three nights in Badami. Day 8: Aihole, Pattadakal. Numerous Jain and Hindu temples are scattered around the village of Aihole, a clear sign of its religious significance from the 6th to the 12th centuries. The sculptures of the Durga temple are among the finest of the Chalukya period. The World Heritage Site of Pattadakal nearby is celebrated for embodying the last stage of Chalukyan architecture, 8th–9th centuries. This is a unique site where the three distinct styles of Indian religious architecture are found in close proximity. Overnight Badami. Day 9: Badami. The capital of the early Chalukyas from the 6th to the 8th centuries, Badami has superb examples of early sacred architecture, both rock-cut and free-standing. Moreover, the sculptural programme of the cave temples provides a fascinating insight into the Hindu iconographic development of this period. Overnight Badami. Day 10: Badami. Free morning in Badami, now a charming small town beside a lake overlooked by rugged red sandstone cliffs. In the afternoon there is a five-hour drive through remote and rural countryside to Hospet, our base to visit the World Heritage Site of Hampi. First of three nights here. Day 11: Hospet, Hampi. The ruins of the Vijayanagara capital, 1336–1565, lie in a remarkable landscape strewn with granite boulders and spread along the Tunghabhadra river. The extensive site is organised around two main areas, the Sacred Centre with its concentration of temples and shrines, and the Royal Centre. The Sacred Centre is close to the river and includes the Virupaksha Temple in the middle of the village

Gastronomic kerala Traders, spices & churches of the malabar Coast

Day 12: Hampi. Following a visit to the Vitthala temple, today’s visits focus on the Royal Centre and its secular buildings. Most striking is the Lotus Mahal in the Zenana enclosure with its cusped arches and pyramidal towers, a superb example of the syncretic architecture of Vijayanagara. Overnight Hospet. Day 13: Hospet, Belgaum. Depart in the early morning to drive to Belgaum airport for a midday flight to Mumbai (Bombay). The afternoon is free. Overnight Mumbai. Day 14: Mumbai. Drive to the airport to board a flight departing at c. 1.15pm. Arrive at London Heathrow at c. 5.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,210 or £4,490 without international flights. Single occupancy: £5,750 or £5,030 without international flights. Included meals: 12 lunches (including 3 packed lunches) and 12 dinners with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process. Accommodation. Some of the hotels are less than luxurious, but they are adequately clean and comfortable and all the rooms have en suite bathrooms. Taj Krishna, Hyderabad (tajhotels. com): grand, comfortable 5-star hotel, modern if a little dated. Lumbinis Grand Hotel, Gulbarga (lumbinisgrandhotel.com): fairly simple but the best in town; clean and not uncomfortable, rooms are spacious. Madhuvan International, Bijapur: basic but friendly hotel, similar to Gulbarga. Badami Court, Badami (hotelbadamicourt. com): pleasant, with willing service; has a garden with small pool. Heritage Resort, Hampi (heritageresorthampi.com): newest and best in town, 6 km from Vijayanagara World Heritage Site. The Leela, Mumbai (theleela.com): conveniently located, modern 5-star hotel.

12–22 November 2016 (md 944) 11 days • £4,860 Lecturer: Dr Elizabeth Collingham This tour surveys the history and distinctive culture of the region through its cuisine: Jewish, Muslim, Christian. Three nights in Fort Cochin, the spice trade centre of the Arabian Sea. From tea and spice plantations to lush backwaters, a leisurely paced tour amid varied scenery. Three cooking demonstrations followed by lunch and two privately hosted lunches. Eco-friendly hotels set in natural surroundings. Kerala has supplied the world with spices since antiquity. Roman ships sailed to the Malabar Coast laden with sacks of gold to trade for their favourite spice, black pepper. Modern Kerala is still a major producer of black pepper and this tour follows in the footsteps of Chinese, Persian, Jewish, Arab and European merchants who have been coming here ever since in search of spices. The warm but cloudy climate of the Western Ghats provides the perfect conditions for cultivating pepper vines that wither in strong sunlight. On the distinctively-shaped knolls, pepper plants straggle among the fronds of cardamom trees while large tracts of the hills are covered by neat rows of bright green tea bushes. When the Portuguese discovered the sea route to India in the fifteenth century they stumbled into the most intense commercial zone in the world. Kerala’s spice markets attracted merchants trading African slaves, gold and ivory, precious stones, dyes and rugs from the Persian Gulf, Chinese silks and porcelain, nutmeg and cloves from the Indonesian archipelago. The Portuguese quickly established a trading base at Fort Cochin

and within thirty years of their arrival on the scene dominated Indian Ocean trade until they were superseded by the Dutch in the seventeenth century; their churches are a testimony to their determination to demonstrate their religious hegemony as well as their military might. The Paradesi synagogue in the Jewish quarter is almost the last trace of Kerala’s Jewish community (most of Cochin Jews have now emigrated to Israel). However, the community have left behind a cookery tradition influenced by the Middle Eastern and Spanish origins of the Indian Jews. Kerala’s Syrian Christian community is also thought to have been founded as long ago as the first century ad. St Thomas the Apostle is said to have made a number of converts to Christianity while on a proselytising mission to South India. This Nesrani community is famous for its appam, soft rice breads, fluff y in the centre and crispy on the edge, perfect for dipping in the stews which characterise their cuisine. A fragrant biryani is the best-known contribution of the Arab spice traders to the Keralan culinary repertoire. The Portuguese introduced creamy custards and pastries as well as an array of foods which they had only just discovered themselves in the Americas: the chilli pepper eventually came to dominate Indian cookery, ousting black pepper from its position as the hottest spice. The Portuguese also introduced cassava (tapioca), now widely eaten in Kerala. Tea cultivation was introduced to India by the British and one of the Raj’s most enduring legacies was to persuade Indians to drink tea after a concerted campaign in the late nineteenth century. The hallmark of Keralan, and Indian, cuisine is that it has absorbed influences from each wave of visitors, from early Christians and medieval Muslim Sultans to the English bureaucrats of the Raj. Food, then, is one of the best vehicles to explore India’s colourful history and Kerala’s cuisine is no exception. Cooking demonstrations and privately hosted lunches allow participants

ASIA

How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. A rough indication of the minimum level of fitness required is that you ought to be able to walk briskly at about three miles per hour for at least half an hour, and undertake a walk at a more leisurely pace for an hour or two unaided. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. Unruly traffic and the busy streets of larger cities require some vigilance. There are fairly steep ascents to hilltop forts and temples and long coach journeys during which facilities are limited and may be of poor quality. Most sites have some shade but the Indian sun is strong, even in the cooler seasons. Average distance by coach per day: 56 miles.

indiA

and Hemakuta Hill with its numerous shrines and commanding views of the area. Overnight Hospet.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with: Essential India, 27 February–13 March 2017 (p.198).

207

Watercolour from ‘India’ by Mortimer Menpes, publ. 1905. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Gastronomic kerala continued

indiA

essential south india 2017: dates to be confirmed Details available in late 2016 Please contact us to register your interest

lunch is sadhya, the Keralan banquet consisting of a variety of vegetarian dishes and traditionally served on a banana leaf. Return to the hotel by boat. Overnight Kumarakom. Day 10: Kumarakom. In Kottayam, the 450year old Cheria Palli – ‘Small’ St Mary’s Church – displays unusual symbols on its façade. The original murals inside were painted using natural pigments. Nearby, the Valia Palli – ‘Big’ St Mary’s Church – houses 2 Nestorian crosses, one of which may be the oldest Christian artefact in India. The hosted lunch highlights the distinctive culture of the region and is followed by a walk around the farm. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure. Overnight Kumarakom. Kottayam, wood engraving c. 1880.

to revel in Kerala’s rich and delicious culinary history, while gentle walks in tea and spice plantations provide some insight in the production of these once luxurious goods.

Itinerary Days 1 & 2: London to Cochin (Kochi), via Dubai. Fly at c. 2.15pm from London Heathrow to Cochin via Dubai (Emirates) where there is a 2-hour stop. Reach the hotel c. 11.30am (time difference from UK is 5½ hours) on Day 2. Those not taking our group flights can check in from 2.00pm on Day 1. Day 2: Cochin. The morning is free. Later in the afternoon, visit the Mattancherry Palace. First built by the Portuguese in 1557, it was rebuilt by the Dutch in 1663. The murals in the king’s bedroom which depict mythical scenes from the Raas Leela and the Ramayana are a masterpiece of Keralan paintings. Dinner in the hotel restaurant explores the rich culinary heritage of this trading centre. Overnight Cochin.

ASIA 208

Day 3: Cochin. A morning walk around Fort Cochin includes the Chinese fishing nets, which have been in use since the 14th century and St Francis Church (c. 1510), one of the earliest Catholic churches in India and the temporary resting place of Vasco da Gama. A cooking demonstration focusing on the Mopilah (Muslim) culinary tradition of northern Kerala precedes a private lunch. Muslim traders may have settled on the Malabar Coast as early as in the 7th century and have since developed a cuisine with distinctive flavours. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight Cochin. Day 4: Fort Cochin. Jewish merchants and Christian settlers arrived in Kerala with St Thomas the Apostle in ad 52. The Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568 by European Jews, is tucked away in the heart of the Jewish Quarter. Its airy interior is enhanced by hand painted Chinese floor tiles book online at www.martinrandall.com

and European glass chandeliers. A cooking demonstration is followed by a Christian lunch in a private home. Opened in 2009, the Folklore Museum houses a private collection of Keralan artefacts and is the venue for a Kathakali dance performance. Overnight Cochin. Day 5: Cochin, Munnar. Drive through the coconut palms and spice plantations of the lowand midlands to Munnar, the centre of Kerala’s tea industry. Located at an altitude of 1,600 metres, this hill station was discovered by Scottish planters in the 19th century and was once the British Summer capital of south India. Tea tasting session in the afternoon. First of two nights in Munnar. Day 6: Munnar. Drive around the rolling hills to one of the 30 tea estates in the area. After a walk around the plantation witnessing pickers at work, visit the processing factory. The Tamil lunch in the estate’s bungalow reflects the tea workers’ origin from the neighbouring state. Overnight Munnar. Day 7: Munnar to Thekkady. Leaving the tea growing region of the high altitudes, drive through thick forests of teak and rosewood to reach Thekkady. Afternoon walk around a spice plantation to explore the growing process and the complex network of correlations between species. In the evening, dinner focuses on locally farmed produce. Overnight Thekkady. Day 8: Thekkady to Kumarakom. Drive to a planter’s home for a privately hosted Britishinfluenced lunch. Afternoon drive to the backwaters, a network of lakes, lagoons and canals with its unique ecosystem. First of three nights in Kumarakom. Day 9: Kumarakom. Morning walk around Alappuzha (Allepey), the first planned city in Kerala, dating from 1776. The dilapidated mansions of the Gujarati spice merchants are easily recognisable with their intricately carved wooden gates. After the final cooking demonstration,

Day 11: Cochin to London, via Dubai. Drive to Cochin International Airport to board a flight departing at c. 9.45am. After a 2-hour stopover in Dubai, arrive at Heathrow c. 6.00pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £4,860 or £4,250 without international flights. Single occupancy: £5,730 or £5,120 without international flights. Included meals: 9 lunches, 7 dinners, with wine. Visas: required for most foreign nationals, and not included in the tour price. We will advise on the process. Accommodation. Brunton Boatyard Hotel, Cochin (cghearth.com): sea-front property located within the heritage area of Fort Cochin. Windermere Estate, Munnar (windermeremunnar.com): family-run; offers stunning views of the surrounding plantations. Spice Village Hotel, Kumily (cghearth.com): eco-friendly hotel set in the lush landscape of the Western Ghats. Hotel Coconut Lagoon, Kumarakom (cghearth.com): comfortable bungalows in natural lake-side settings. How strenuous? A good level of fitness is essential. Unless you enjoy entirely unimpaired mobility, cope with everyday walking and stair-climbing without difficulty and are reliably sure-footed, this tour is not for you. A rough indication of the minimum level of fitness required is that you ought to be able to walk briskly at about three miles per hour for at least half an hour, and undertake a walk at a more leisurely pace for an hour or two unaided. You may be on your feet for lengthy stretches of time. Uneven ground and irregular paving are standard. Surefootedness is essential for boarding and disembarking the boats; jetties may be slippery. Walks in the tea and spice plantations are over uneven ground and there are some uphill climbs. There are two coach journeys of 4 hours or more where facilities may be limited. Average distance by coach per day: 35 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Art in japan Art, craft, architecture & design

12–24 May 2017 (md 292) 14 days • £6,160 Lecturer: Professor Timon Screech 13–26 October 2017 (me 610) 14 days • £6,270 Lecturer: Dr Monika Hinkel

Itinerary This itinerary applies to 2017 only (our 2016 departure is currently fully booked). Day 1: London to Tokyo. Fly at c. 1.00pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Tokyo (time in the air c. 11½ hours). Those not taking our flights can check in from 2.00pm today.

Day 2: Tokyo. Arrive at Tokyo Narita Airport at c. 9.30am and drive to the hotel. Rooms will be ready before lunch. There is an afternoon walk in the dynamic and design-conscious Tokyo Midtown. First of four nights in Tokyo.

jAPAn

30 October–12 November 2016 (md 928) This tour is currently full

Day 3: Tokyo. The morning is dedicated to the Tokyo National Museum, which occupies several buildings in Ueno Park and houses some of the

Many of the finest collections of Japanese art, in museums and in situ in temples and shrines. World Heritage sites at Nikko, Kyoto, Nara and Horyu-ji, and the art island of Naoshima. Outstanding museum buildings by Tadao Ando, I.M. Pei and other leading architects. Also other aspects of Japanese culture, past and present, including gastronomy and gardens. In May 2017, led by Timon Screech, Professor of History of Art at SOAS, London University. In October 2017, led by Monika Hinkel, lecturer and curator in the field of Japanese art.

ASIA

Japan has one of the richest and most continuously active art traditions in Asia, perhaps anywhere. Some of the earliest known ceramics have been found here, as is the world’s oldest standing wooden building. But Japanese contemporary art also ranks with the best in the world and is eagerly imitated and avidly collected. Between those chronological poles is a wealth of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines from all periods, and some impressive military architecture. National, regional and private collections are to be found in great profusion throughout the country; Japan has a long and impressive lineage of art-historical scholarship and connoisseurship. To this in recent times have been added a network of conservation and restoration labs and the latest technology for archaeological investigation. In short, despite the large number of wars and natural disasters that have periodically overwhelmed the country, Japanese arts are to be enjoyed in extraordinary abundance. The great majority of important pieces remain in the country. Throughout history, Japan has tended to make a less emphatic division between art and craft than is the case in Western countries. Of equal rank alongside the ‘fine arts’ of painting and sculpture there are outstanding examples of ceramic, textile and metalwork, as well as uniquely beautiful gardens and a special aesthetic of food and eating. This tour exposes participants to Japan across the ages, sampling excellent works from many periods, genres and styles. As a deeply hierarchical society until modern times, there is ‘high’ art and ‘low’ art, from royal and shogunal works to that of the urban populace (the fabled ‘art of the floating world’). Modern Tokyo is part of the experience as well as the ancient capital of Kyoto, as are the yet more ancient city of Nara and the celebrated art colony of Naoshima in the Inland Sea. World Heritage sites figure on the tour, but we also visit less well-known sites such as ceramic studios and mausolea.

209

Japanese woodblock. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Art in japan continued

jAPAn

sculpture, sumptuous textiles and much else. The Sanjusangen-do is an unusually long hall containing 1001 subtly differentiated 12th/13thcentury gilded statues of Kannon, divinity of Mercy, cumulatively a potent visual effect. The home of potter Kawai Kanjiro (d. 1966), a key figure in the folk art revival of the 1930s, is an intimate space furnished with his work and an intact ‘climbing’ kiln. Day 8: Kyoto environs. A morning excursion to the Miho Museum, designed by I.M Pei and harmoniously integrated into a forested nature reserve. The approach on foot via a tunnel and bridge leads to a glass structure on the crest of a hill and a sequence of luminous interiors incorporating traditional Japanese motifs. Collections include Greco-Roman and Islamic antiquities and important Japanese artworks. After a leisurely lunch in these gorgeous surroundings, return to Kyoto where the rest of the day is free.

Mount Fuji, wood engraving from ‘Le Tour du Monde’, 1866.

finest Japanese art in the world. The main gallery (Honkan) traces the development from prehistoric, sculptural earthenware to exquisite paintings and decorative objects of courtly patronage. In the afternoon visit the Edo-period Korakuen Garden, one of the oldest and best preserved in the city. Day 4: Nikko. Full-day excursion to Nikko, an historically important Shinto and Buddhist pilgrimage site in a national park with breathtaking mountain vistas. The 17th-cent. Tosho-gu Shrine complex was established here by the powerful Tokugawa Shoguns (the first shogun of the Edo period, Tokugawa Ieyasu, is enshrined here); set amid towering Japanese cedars and pines, the architecturally extravagant buildings are decorated with elaborate wood-carvings and beautiful paintwork. Day 5: Tokyo. Nezu Kaichiro’s extraordinary and diverse collection of Japanese and other Asian arts is perfectly presented in the eponymous museum, a purpose-built space with a delightful

garden. Highlights include world-renowned Chinese bronzes and exquisite utensils related to the tea aesthetic. There is free time for lunch in the sophisticated Omotesando area before an afternoon at leisure. Day 6: Tokyo to Kyoto. By high-speed train to Kyoto (luggage by road). Kyoto is considered the centre of Japanese culture and today’s city and the surrounding hills are dense with examples of art and architecture of the highest importance. At the foot of the forested Higashiyama mountains the zen temple complex Nanzen-ji is distinguished by its massive gate (Sanmon) and the quarters of the abbacy (Hojo) which contain very fine 17th-cent. painted screens (fusuma) by Kano Tan’yu. The Kodai-ji Temple is richly decorated with early 17th-century maki-e, gold and silver set in lacquer. First of five nights in Kyoto. Day 7: Kyoto. Kyoto’s National Museum opened its Heisei Chishinkan wing in 2014, an impressive construction displaying ceramics, painting,

The heart of japan Art & crafts, history, religion & traditions ASIA

17–30 October 2016 (md 912) This tour is currently full Please contact us for full details or visit www.martinrandall.com Modern architecture in Tokyo and the contrasting traditional buildings in Shirakawa and Takayama. Stunning Buddhist temples, Imperial villas and gardens in Kyoto, and the legendary, ancient shrine at Izumo. Traditional arts and crafts in Kanazawa. An exploration of the Japanese character – in history and today.

210

Mid-19th-century engraving. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Led by Phillida Purvis, a former diplomat in Japan and founder of the NGO Links Japan and Christopher Purvis, formerly Chairman of the Japan Society.

Day 9: Nara and its environs. A full-day excursion to Nara, first capital of Japan (ad 710–794). Modelled on the Tang capital of Chang’an (Xi’an) in China, Nara was the birthplace of major cultural and religious development. Here Buddhism firmly established itself and prolific production of splendid temples and devotional art ensued, much of which is in situ. Here are some of the oldest wooden structures in the world. The temple of Todai-ji contains an arresting monumental bronze Buddha; the dry-lacquer and bronze statues of the Hokke-do and Kofuku Temple are sublime in their detail. Nearby Horyu-ji is Japan’s earliest Buddhist temple, founded ad 607. Day 10: Kyoto. The large walled temple compound of Daitoku-ji, established in the 14th century, is an important foundation of Japanese Zen. Its many sub-temples contain dry landscape gardens; one of the finest (and smallest) is in the Daisen-in, a Chinese ink-painting rendered in stone. The Raku Museum holds exhibitions of its eponymous ware, most often in the form of understated tea bowls. Nijo Castle, shogunal residence, has a lavish interior containing brilliantly painted fusuma (screens) by the Kano school. Day 11: Kyoto to Naoshima. Travel by coach from Kyoto to Uno and from there take the ferry across to Naoshima Island, located in the Inland Sea. Together with the islands of Teshima and Inujima, Naoshima forms part of the ‘Benesse Art Site’. A number of striking galleries by architect Tadao Ando and outdoor installations dot the landscape. First of two nights in Naoshima. Day 12: Naoshima. Visit the Art House Project, a collection of traditional buildings in the old fishing village of Honmura that have been restored and transformed by artists to house creative contemporary installations. After lunch visit the Benesse House Museum, a vast structure of concrete, glass and natural light. In addition to works by contemporary Japanese artists, the collection includes works by Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Bruce Nauman. Day 13: Naoshima, Osaka. Start the day at the Chichu Art Museum, which houses several Monet paintings as well as sculptures by Walter de Maria in underground spaces lit only by natural light. The eponymous Lee Ufan Museum houses

japanese Gardens Tokyo, kyoto, hikone, nara & kanazawa

Sea of Japan

A study of the evolution of Japanese gardens through the centuries at the time of striking autumn colours. From Kyoto’s wealth of exquisite temple gardens to Tokyo’s hill-and-pond gardens with time in each city to explore other aspects of Japanese culture.

Nikko

Japan Naoshima

jAPAn, mYAnmAr

November 2017 Details available in October 2016 Lecturer: Yoko Kawaguchi Please contact us to register your interest

Tokyo

Kyoto Osaka, Nara c. 200km

works by this Korean-born artist and is the latest addition to the collection of Benesse museums. Ferry to Uno and transfer to Okayama for the train to Osaka. Overnight Osaka. Day 14: Osaka to London. Fly at c. 11.45am from Osaka Kansai Airport to London, via Helsinki, arriving at Heathrow at c. 6.30pm (Finnair & British Airways, time in the air c. 13 hours).

Practicalities Price per person in May 2017. Two sharing: £6,160 or £5,360 without flights. Single occupancy: £7,150 or £6,350 without flights. Price per person in October 2017. Two sharing: £6,270 or £5,500 without flights. Single occupancy: £7,260 or £6,490 without flights. Included meals: 9 lunches, 6 dinners, with wine. Accommodation. Royal Park Shiodome, Tokyo (rph-the.co.jp/shiodome): 4-star hotel in the redeveloped district of Shiodome with wellappointed but small rooms. Westin Miyako, Kyoto (miyakohotels.ne.jp): 5-star hotel located in the temple district of the eastern hills with an excellent garden. Benesse House Hotel, Naoshima (benesse-artsite.jp): comfortable, modern hotel designed by Tadao Ando (subject to confirmation). Osaka Miyako Marriott, Osaka (marriot.com): smart hotel opened in 2014 in one of the tallest buildings in Japan with spectacular city views. These hotels apply only to our 2017 departure.

Led by Yoko Kawaguchi, cultural historian and author of Japanese Zen Gardens and Authentic Japanese Gardens. Japanese gardens possess an aura of timelessness, against which background the cycle of the seasons unfolds its pageantry. Throughout the 1,600-year-old Japanese tradition of creating gardens, the chief consideration has consistently been the depiction of a landscape. This approach to design was firmly established with the earliest gardens built in Japan during the fift h and sixth centuries under the expertise of architects and artisans from Korea and China, who introduced their scholarly taste for the elegant pond garden. From the continent, a variety of sacred landscapes deriving from Buddhist as well as Chinese religious cosmographies entered Japanese culture; Mt. Sumeru, the centre of the universe according to Buddhist legend, has frequently been represented through the centuries, as have been the Taoist Islands of the Blessed Immortals. Above all, the Japanese took the Chinese tradition of landscape gardens and transformed it into an expression of their love for their own native natural landscapes. Verdant mountains sloping down to the sea; waterfalls and streamlets; rugged shores and shingle beaches; an ever-varying coastline of inlets, coves and jutting promontories – these have always provided a beloved subject matter. Trees and shrubs are carefully selected and arranged to create a seasonal palette, while ponds symbolise the sea, and the rocky outcrops set in

Japanese Garden, by Mortimer Menpes, publ. 1901

them reflect the self-image of the Japanese as an island people. The idea of landscape links together the two major types of Japanese gardens: the pond garden, on the one hand, and the rock garden on the other, a style that emerged during the fifteenth century, in which serene and contemplative spaces are enhanced by the symbolic representation of water through the use of gravel. In the latter half of the following century, the great tea master Sen-no-Rikyu sought to reproduce the ambience of forest glades for his tea rooms. Lack of space has never been considered as an inhibiting factor, and through the judicious choice and symbolic placing of stones and plants, beautiful panoramic vistas have been created in the tiniest of gardens. This tour presents a variety of superb gardens from all periods of Japanese history, from the aristocratic ‘paradise’-style temple gardens and the enigmatic Zen Buddhist rock gardens of Kyoto, to the borrowed castle scenery at Hikone and the tea gardens of Kanazawa, to the amalgamation of all these various styles in the imposing gardens of the samurai elite in Tokyo. It offers an insight into the symbolism incorporated into the various styles and the opportunity to appreciate the relationship of gardens to the Japanese way of life.

ASIA

Fine examples of ‘borrowed scenery’ at Nara, with its Buddhist temples and deer park, and Hikone Castle on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa.

mYAnmAr

myanmar

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

November 2017 Details available in September 2016. Please contact us to register your interest.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Illustration: Burmese temple, drawing from ‘World Pictures’ by Mortimer Menpes, publ. c. 1900.

211 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

samarkand & silk road Cities with khiva, Bukhara, Tashkent & shakhrisabz uzBekisTAn Samarkand, wood engraving from ‘Russian Pictures’, 1889.

18–28 April 2017 (md 230) 11 days/10 nights • £3,390 Lecturer: Professor James Allan 9–19 May 2017 (md 277) 11 days/10 nights • £3,390 Lecturer: Dr Peter Webb 12–22 September 2017 (me 522) 11 days/10 nights • £3,390 Lecturer: Professor Charles Melville

ASIA

The best of Uzbekistan, and some of the most glorious sights in the Islamic world. Each departure is led by an expert in Central Asian archaeology and history. See magnificent mosques and madrassas, acres of wonderful wall tiles, intact streetscape, memorable landscapes. Remote, diﬃcult to access, remarkably unspoilt.

212

Oxiana, Tartary, Turkestan, Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand: names to produce a frisson. They evoke alluring images of shimmering turquoise domes and exquisite glazed wall tiles, of lost libraries and renowned scholars, of the delicious decadence of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, of gardens, poetry and wine, of the fabulous riches of the Silk Road between China and Christendom. Less agreeable images are also induced: of Ghengis Khan and Timur (Tamerlane), book online at www.martinrandall.com

the most far-reaching conquerors in history; of the tyranny and cruelty of the khans, perpetuating the last redoubts of mediaeval misrule; of the Great Game, the 19th-century Cold War between Britain and Russia; of terrain as hostile as the tribesmen and petty tyrants who inhabited its desert and mountain fastnesses; and of a post-Soviet penumbra of Stans of suspect politics and allegiances. The four cities of the subtitle lie now in Uzbekistan, independent since 1991 but an entity which has its origins in late 19th-century Russian imperialism, which agglomerated a number of independent khanates, and whose borders were settled in the 1920s. It lies at the very centre of Central Asia. One of only two double land-locked nations in the world, it has a capital which is a thousand miles north of the Indian Ocean (Afghanistan and Pakistan intervene), 1,400 miles east of the Black Sea and 400 miles from Xinjiang, China’s largely Islamic western province. This is as the crow flies; extremes of topography and climate – as well as banditry – slowed or terminated the progress of many travellers. A slave-trading oasis khanate, Khiva was, and remains, the smallest of the three cities. It is perhaps the most intact and homogenous urban ensemble in the Islamic world, with biscuitcoloured brick and blue and turquoise maiolica. In Bukhara, gorgeously adorned architecture spanning a thousand years still rises above a streetscape of indeterminate age. Samarkand has the largest and most resplendently caparisoned

historic buildings of all. There are also visits to Shakhrisabz, which has breathtaking remains of Timur’s palace, and to Tashkent, the spacious modern capital with good museums and galleries. Space is not at a premium in this part of the world. Broad tree-lined boulevards encircle the historic town centres and no expanding girdle of high-rise apartments disfigures the approach. Modernity has made relatively unobtrusive inroads: in one of the few nations on earth that has escaped the countryside scourge of ferroconcrete and breeze block, the whitewashed villages and farmsteads with their awnings of vines would hold few surprises for Tolstoy. Nearly all the women are to some extent in traditional dress, brightly coloured ankle-length dresses, and so are some of the older men. In the wake of economic liberalisation since independence, streets and courtyards are draped with the dazzling hues of carpets and textiles; the glories of the Silk Road in its heyday are not hard to imagine.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 9.35pm (Uzbekistan Airways) from London Heathrow for the seven-hour flight to Tashkent (currently the only direct flight). Days 2 & 3: Tashkent. Touch-down c. 8.25am. Hotel rooms in the centre of Tashkent are at your disposal for the morning. The History Museum of the People of Uzbekistan is within walking distance if you want to venture out before

Day 4: Khiva. No modern intrusions spoil the timeless fabric within a rectangle of crenellated and turreted ramparts. Most of the buildings are 19th-century, but such was Khiva’s isolation and conservatism that to the inexpert eye they could date to any time from the 16th century. The Friday Mosque, a forest of carved wooden columns some dating to the 10th century, the Tash Hauli Palace, whose harem quarters constitute the loveliest secular spaces in Central Asia, and the Paklavan Mahmoud Mausoleum where tiled interiors reach a peak of opulence.

K A Z A K H S TA N

Uzbekistan

K Y R G Y Z S TA N

Khiva

Tashkent

Bukhara

T U R K M E N I S TA N

Samarkand Shahrisabz

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,390 or £2,850 without all flights. Single occupancy: £3,570 or £3,030 without all flights. Internal flight: please contact the office if you wish us to arrange the internal flight for you (this is not included in our ‘without flights’ price). Included meals: 10 lunches, 9 dinners, with wine.

Day 8: Shakhrisabz. A 4-hour drive across a fertile plain where wheat and cotton flourish. Shakhrisabz was transformed by Timur (1336– 1405) whose home town it was. An astounding survival is the most imposing palace portal in the history of architecture, an arch 22 metres wide with a wondrous range of tiled decoration. Further Timurid remnants include a mosque complex with three turquoise domes. Cross a mountain range (broadleaf woods, fissured granite, pasturage) and

Visas: Most foreign nationals require a tourist visa. This is not included in the price of the tour because you have to obtain it yourself. We will advise on the procedure but you will need to submit your passport to the Consular section of the Uzbekistan Embassy in London prior to departure. Processing times vary but UK residents should expect to be without their passport for up to 10 days. Citizens of Australia and New Zealand have their visa issued at Tashkent airport. Further instructions will be issued upon booking. Other nationalities should check their entry requirements with the relevant authorities.

drop down to the plain of the Zarifsan river, and to Samarkand. First of three nights in Samarkand. Day 9: Samarkand. The Registan, ‘the noblest public square in the world’ (Lord Curzon, 1889), bounded on three sides by magnificent madrassas of the 15th and 17th centuries. The Museum of History, Culture and Art has collections from pre-Islamic, as well as Islamic periods. Other places seen are the Gur Emir Mausoleum, burial place of Tamerlane, the adjacent Ak Serai Mausoleum and the Shah-i-Zinda, an ensemble of mausolea gorgeously apparelled in many types of glazed tiles. Day 10: Samarkand. Commissioned by Timur, the Bibi Khanum Mosque is an exercise in gigantism and impresses despite partial destruction and over-zealous restoration. The adjacent Bazaar is a traditional produce market. Optional visits to the Afrasiab History Museum, which documents pre-Islamic Samarkand, and to the remains of the extraordinary observatory built by Ulug Bek in the 15th century. Some free time. Day 11: Tashkent. Drive to Tashkent. The flight arrives at Heathrow at c. 8.00pm.

Accommodation. Hotels on this tour can be subject to change. We always use the best available: Ramada Tashkent (ramadatashkent.com): centrally located, smart, modern 5-star hotel. Madrassa Mukhammad Hotel, Khiva: converted madrassa, impressively restored, each room a former student’s cell opening onto the courtyard. Omar Khayam Hotel, Bukhara: modern 4-star hotel in the centre of the old city, adequately comfortable and excellently located or Hotel Asia, Bukhara: built in 2006 and also located in the old part of the city. Malika Prime, Samarkand: a comfortable 4-star hotel well located or Hotel Malika Diyora, Samarkand: a modern hotel close to Registan Square, with an outdoor pool.

ASIA

Day 7: Bukhara. The perfectly preserved 10thcentury Samani Mausoleum and the remains of the 12th-century Namaz Goh Mosque display fine terracotta decoration. The Emir’s summer palace, 1911, is a riotous mix of Russian and traditional Bukharan decoration with rose garden, aviary and swimming pool. Free afternoon with the option to visit Chor Bakr, a memorial complex built over the burial place of Abu-Bakr a descendant of the prophet Mohammed.

TA J I K I S TA N

c. 200 km

Day 5: Khiva to Bukhara. The 280-mile journey starts and finishes in an unspoilt landscape of green fields, plentiful trees and adobe farmsteads, while the central section is undulating desert, specked with tufty shrubs that are briefly green in the spring. There are periodic sightings of the meandering Oxus, the mighty river crossed by Alexander the Great in 329 bc. Reach Bukhara in time for a walk before dinner. First of three nights in Bukhara. Day 6: Bukhara. Genghis Khan ensured in 1220 that with notable exceptions (including the Kalon Minaret, at 48 metres then the tallest in the world) little of Bukhara’s first golden age remains, but of the second, the 15th and 16th centuries, there survives much magnificent architecture, lavishly embellished. Today’s walks take in the vast Kalon Mosque (finished 1514) with a capacity of 10,000, several grand madrassas, the formidable citadel of the Khans and the Zindan, their infamous prison. Take tea in the shade of mulberry trees around a 15th-century pool.

Illustration, below centre: tomb of Timur, engraving c. 1880.

uzbekistan

lunch. Afternoon drive around the city centre, a modern city with wide avenues, spacious parks, glistening new government buildings. Among the places seen during the two days are the Hazret Imam complex, a group of mosques and madrassas (seminaries) from the 16th to the 20th centuries; the Timur Museum and park, a homage to the newly elevated national hero with 13th to 16th-century artefacts and models of some of the buildings seen on the tour; the Fine Arts Museum with collections from pre-Islamic sculpture to 20th-century painting; free time for the Museum of Applied Arts or the Chorsu Bazaar. Fly on Day 3 to Urgench and drive the 30 miles to Khiva. First of two nights in Khiva.

How strenuous? This is a long and demanding tour which begins with an overnight flight. You will be on your feet a lot, walking and standing around. The tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stair climbing. There are very long coach journeys on three of the days but seven days with minimal driving. The average distance by coach per day is 78 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

213 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Guatemala, Honduras, Belize Lands of the Maya belize, guatemala, honduras

survives. See colonial architecture of great charm and impressive Baroque churches, some of which still remain in picturesque ruin, with intruiguing Maya influences. Day 3: Guatemala City, Copán (Honduras). Drive to Guatemala City to visit the Archaeological Museum, a major collection of Maya art and artefacts. Continue to Copán (c. 5 hours) in Honduras for the first of two nights. Day 4: Copán. Despite its location, Copán was the most important Maya city that communicated closely with Tikal in Guatemala and Palenque in Mexico and was famous for its trade of Jade. Highlights include the impressive Hieroglyphic Stairway dating to 763 ad. Day 5: Las Sepulturas, Quirigua, Mariscos. In the morning, a visit to the small site of Las Sepulturas whose residential buildings provide an insight into domestic Maya life. Cross the border back into Guatemala and the site of Quirigua, with magnificent stelae covered in remarkably well preserved glyphs and portraits. Continue to Mariscos on the shores of Lake Izabal for one night.

4–17 December 2016 (md 960) 14 days • £4,830 Lecturer: Professor Norman Hammond Magnificent Maya cities including Tikal, Copán and Lamanai with time also for the little visited. Spectacular scenery: jungle, lakeside, volcanic. Led by a leading authority on Maya civilization, Professor Norman Hammond.

THE AMERICAS 214

Ever since explorers revealed the existence of their jungle-clad ruins in the 1840s, the ‘lost’ civilization of the Maya has been a cause of astonishment and speculation. For while Europe was struggling through the ‘Dark Ages’, Maya peoples were enjoying the apogée of their civilization in seemingly the most unlikely of places – the rainforests of Central America. With organisational skills that can only be the product of a highly sophisticated society, the Maya created magnificent cities replete with elegant palaces, mighty temples and broad plazas studded with carved stelae and altars. They were great mathematicians and astronomers who conceived one of the most complex and accurate calendars the world has known. They also devised an elaborate and beautiful system of hieroglyphic writing, the only fully-developed written language in the pre-Columbian Americas. Maya art was complex and loaded with arcane symbolism, yet to our sensibilities it appears remarkably naturalistic and accessible. All this was achieved by a people still technically in the Stone Age and who, despite many colourful theories to the contrary, developed in complete isolation from the civilizations of the ‘Old World’, of Europe and Asia. Until some forty years ago a powerful mystique had grown up about the Maya. They were thought to have been a peaceable society of independent cities governed by priest-kings who devoted their days to astronomy and divination on behalf of book online at www.martinrandall.com

their people. Today, however, this image has been dramatically changed by the continuing discoveries of archaeologists and by one of the great investigative triumphs of the century, the decipherment of Maya writing. Visitors to the great Maya cities can learn of their changing fortunes over almost a thousand years in extraordinary detail. We now know the history of the royal families and can also understand the essentials of Maya religious beliefs and how Maya rulers saw themselves, like Egyptian pharaohs, as god-kings on earth whose elaborate rituals of blood-letting and sacrifice sustained the Maya world. In the tenth century ad the heartland of Maya civilization in the tropical forests collapsed. Construction in the great cities ceased, temples and palaces were invaded by the jungle. It now seems that environmental disaster – land clearance under population pressure exacerbated by severe droughts – was a major factor. But this was not quite the end, as new cities emerged in the north of the Yucatán peninsula, which continued in much reduced form until extirpation by Conquistadores and missionaries in the sixteenth century. Today there are some six million speakers of Maya languages, the largest group of native Americans north of Panama. They reveal a distinctive living culture, an intriguing mixture of both ancient beliefs and practices adopted since the Spanish conquest.

Itinerary Day 1: Guatemala City, Antigua Guatemala. Fly at c. 11.45am from London Heathrow to Guatemala City, via Houston (United Airlines) arriving at c. 4.45pm local time. Drive to the splendid, colonial capital of Guatemala. First of two nights in Antigua. Day 2: Antigua Guatemala. Though shattered by earthquakes in 1773, much of Antigua’s old fabric

Day 6: Rio Dulce, Dolores, Petén. Morning boat trip down the picturesque Rio Dulce gorge including the Castillo San Felipe, built in 1690 by the French for the Spanish to defend themselves against British pirates. Also a chance to see birds and other wildlife. Drive north to the region of Petén via Dolores, whose small archaeological museum contains an impressive collection of ceramics. First of two nights in Petén. Day 7: Tikal. Tikal was a thriving metropolis of maybe 100,000 at its height. Its massive pyramidtemples still pierce the forest canopy making it architecturally the grandest of all Maya cities. One of the great powers of the Maya world, its changing fortunes over almost a thousand years can be followed in the hieroglyphs. Progressive clearance and excavation have revealed an intricate pattern of urban planning. Day 8: Yaxhá. In the Petén jungle of the Guatemalan lowlands the huge city of Yaxhá is surrounded by lakes and teeming with wildlife. Its forty stelae and nine pyramids date from the Preclassic and Classic era. Cross the border into Belize to the hotel near San Ignacio for the first of three nights. Day 9: Xunantunich, Cahal Pech. The Classic site of Xunantunich was an important ceremonial centre with around 25 buildings. El Castillo, standing at 36 metres high was decorated with an intricate frieze depicting jaguars and abstract patterns, now representated by a replica. The small site of Cahal Pech would have been home to around 10,000 people in around 600 ad. Day 10: Caracol. A bumpy ride by minivan into the jungle (c. 2 hours 30 mins) leads to the secluded site of Caracol, believed to be bigger than Tikal in its entirety. Some splendid buildings have been excavated, including the Ca’ana or ‘Sky Palace’, the tallest structure in Belize at 43 metres. Day 11: Belize City, Altun Ha, Burrell Boom. Drive in the morning to the National Museum in Belize City, formerly the city’s prison. Collections include Maya jade and other pieces as well as

Lands of the Maya Maya civilization ancient & modern in Mexico & Guatemala

Day 12: Lamanai. A boat ride on the glorious New River leads to the city of Lamanai and is a further opportunity to spot birds and possibly crocodiles. Highlights include the 4-metre-high masks of the Mask Temple, jaguar faces on the Jaguar Temple and a stunning view of the jungle and lagoon from the summit of the High Temple. Day 13. Drive to Belize City for the flight departing at c. 1.45pm, via Houston, travelling overnight. Day 14. Arrive London Heathrow at c. 9.45am.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £4,830 or £4,160 without flights. Single occupancy: £5,520 or £4,850 without flights. Included meals: 11 dinners with wine and 10 lunches (including 2 picnics). Accommodation. Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua Guatemala (casasantodomingo. com.gt): beautiful 5-star hotel in a former Dominican monastery. Hotel Marina, Copán (hotelmarinacopan.com): comfortable and attractive 4-star hotel near the ruins. G Boutique Hotel, Mariscos (gguatemala.com): new hotel on the shores of Lake Izabal with spacious rooms. Hotel Villa Maya (villasdeguatemala.com): 4-star lake-side hotel surrounded by jungle. Ka’ana Resort, San Ignacio (kaanabelize.com): 4-star boutique hotel with comfortable rooms and an excellent restaurant. Black Orchid Resort, Burrell Boom (blackorchidresort.com): 3-star, family-run hotel on the banks of the Belize River.

30 January–15 February 2017 (md 127) 17 days • £5,730 Lecturer: Professor Norman Hammond Magnificent Maya cities including Chichén Itzá, Palenque and Tikal, with time also for the little visited. An insight into modern Maya life: customs, religion and colourful handicrafts. Splendid colonial architecture. Spectacular scenery: jungle, lakeside, coastal and volcanic. Led by a leading authority on Maya civilization, Professor Norman Hammond. Ever since explorers revealed the existence of their jungle-clad ruins in the 1840s, the ‘lost’ civilization of the Maya has been a cause of astonishment and speculation. For while Europe was struggling through the ‘Dark Ages’, Maya peoples were enjoying the apogée of their civilization in seemingly the most unlikely of places – the rainforests of Central America. With organisational skills that can only be the product of a highly sophisticated society, the Maya created magnificent cities replete with elegant palaces, mighty temples and broad plazas studded with carved stelae and altars. They were great mathematicians and astronomers who conceived one of the most complex and accurate calendars the world has known. They also devised an elaborate and beautiful system of hieroglyphic writing, the only fully-developed written language in the pre-Columbian Americas. Maya art was complex and loaded with arcane symbolism, yet to our sensibilities it appears remarkably naturalistic and accessible. All this was achieved by a people still technically in the Stone Age and who, despite

many colourful theories to the contrary, developed in complete isolation from the civilizations of the ‘Old World’, of Europe and Asia. Until some forty years ago a powerful mystique had grown up about the Maya. They were thought to have been a peaceable society of independent cities governed by priest-kings who devoted their days to astronomy and divination on behalf of their people. Today, however, this image has been dramatically changed by the continuing discoveries of archaeologists and by one of the great investigative triumphs of the century, the decipherment of Maya writing. Visitors to the great Maya cities can learn of their changing fortunes over almost a thousand years in extraordinary detail. We now know the history of the royal families and can also understand the essentials of Maya religious beliefs and how Maya rulers saw themselves, like Egyptian pharaohs, as god-kings on earth whose elaborate rituals of blood-letting and sacrifice sustained the Maya world. In the tenth century ad the heartland of Maya civilization in the tropical forests collapsed. Construction in the great cities ceased, temples and palaces were invaded by the jungle. It now seems that environmental disaster – land clearance under population pressure exacerbated by severe droughts – was a major factor. But this was not quite the end, as new cities emerged in other areas, such as Uxmal and Chichén Itzá in the north of the Yucatán peninsula, which continued in much reduced form until extirpation by Conquistadores and missionaries in the sixteenth century. Today there are some six million speakers of Maya languages, the largest group of native Americans north of Panama. They reveal a distinctive living culture, an intriguing mixture of both ancient beliefs and practices adopted since the Spanish conquest.

THE AMERICAS

How strenuous? Though the itinerary has been planned to be less strenuous than most tours to the region, it must be stressed that the tour is nevertheless quite taxing, with some long drives, some early starts and frequent changes of hotel. Many of the archaeological sites are vast and on rough ground. The tour should not be undertaken by anyone who has the slightest problem with everyday walking and stairclimbing, or who is not sure-footed. Average distance by coach per day: 78 miles. Group size: between 14 and 22 participants. Illustration: examples of glyphs from a Mayan temple, engraving c. 1840.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

GuateMaLa, MexiCo

colonial artefacts. In the afternoon continue to Altun Ha, a small Classic Maya centre. Flint tools and ceremonial objects have been found in its tombs, together with numerous jades, the largest of which - the Sun God head, weighing almost 4 kg and dating to about 600 ad - is the largest-known Maya jade. First of two nights in the village of Burrell Boom, 30 km north-west of the City.

215

Mexican puebla, watercolour by Mortimer Menpes publ. 1903. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Lands of the Maya continued

guatemala, mexico

Palenque, engraving c. 1850.

Professor Norman Hammond. Leading expert on Maya civilization. Senior Fellow at Cambridge and Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Boston University. Books include Ancient Maya Civilization, Nohmul: a Prehistoric Maya Community in Belize and Cuello: an early Maya community in Belize. He is Archaeology Correspondent for The Times. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Itinerary Day 1: Cancún. Fly at c. 10.45am from London Gatwick direct to Cancún with British Airways, arriving in time for a light dinner. Those not taking our flights can check in from 4.00pm today. Overnight Cancún. Day 2: Ek’ Balam, Chichén Itzá. The little-visited site of Ek’ Balam is known for its defensive walls and well-preserved stucco sculpture. Situated in the Northern Lowlands, Chichén Itzá was the New Rome of the Maya world, where Maya culture was reborn in a different guise that was to last until the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th cent. Prominent among the constructions here is El Castillo pyramid, simple in appearance but functioning as a complex Maya calendar. See also the great ball court, El Caracól observatory and the sacred well. First of two nights in Mérida. Day 3: Mérida. Morning walk through the colonial centre including the cathedral and main square. The 19th cent. Palacio del Gobierno houses impressive murals by local artist Fernando Castro Pacheco depicting the violent struggle of the Maya against the Spanish. The new Museum of the Maya World contains c. 500 artefacts including sculpture, jewellery and ceramics. Free afternoon.

THE AMERICAS 216

Day 4: Uxmal, Campeche. Uxmal arose towards the end of lowland Maya civilization but was abandoned around ad 900. Here are to be found some of the most beautiful of Maya buildings, distinguished by their long and low proportions and characterised by elaborate stone mosaics on the façades. Continue to Kabah, with its eccentric Palace of the Masks. The night is spent in the charming colonial city of Campeche, with historic defences. Day 5: Edzná, Palenque. Little visited Edzná has the longest building in the Maya world and an impressive five-story pyramid. Drive south to Palenque (c. 8 hours including stops) for the first of three nights. Day 6: Palenque. Enjoying a magnificent location in the jungle of the foothills of Chiapas, Palenque rose to a dominant position through war and marriage alliances in the Late Classic period, ad 600 to 800. The sculpture found here is particularly outstanding. The largest structure, the Temple of the Inscriptions, housed the spectacular tomb of the great ruler Pacal. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 7: Bonampak. The small site of Bonampak has remarkably well-preserved murals with graphic scenes of royal rituals, a savage battle and sacrifice of the captives. Day 8. Most of the day is occupied with driving from Mexico into Guatemala (c. 7 hours), the destination being the small town of Flores on the shores of Lake Petén Itzá. Stop here for refreshments before continuing to the hotel. Day 9: Yaxhá. In the Petén jungle of the Guatemalan lowlands the huge city of Yaxhá is surrounded by lakes and teeming with wildlife. Its forty stelae and nine pyramids date from the Preclassic and Classic era. Day 10: Tikal. Even bigger than Yaxhá, Tikal was a thriving metropolis of maybe 100,000 at its height. Its massive pyramid-temples still pierce the forest canopy making it architecturally the grandest of all Maya cities. One of the great powers of the Maya world, its changing fortunes over almost a thousand years can be followed in the hieroglyphs. Progressive clearance and excavation have revealed an intricate pattern of urban planning. Day 11: Guatemala City, Panajachel. Early morning flight to Guatemala City to visit the Archaeological Museum, a major collection of Maya art and artefacts. From here drive west to Panajachel, splendidly situated on the shores of Lake Atitlán. First of three nights in Panajachel. Day 12: Santiago de Atitlán. Early morning boat trip across this spectacular lake (which is surrounded by volcanoes) to the traditional Maya town of Santiago de Atitlán. Here the curious wooden effigy of Maximón is still worshipped and can be visited in his ‘house’. Day 13: Chichicastenango. Optional morning excursion to Chichicastenango, with its centuriesold, colourful market. The wide range of wares reflect the local traditions of weaving and woodcarving. An interesting mix of Maya and Catholic worship takes place in the church of Santo Tomás. Day 14: Iximché, Antigua Guatemala. Iximché is an excellent example of a Late Postclassic site, established c. 1470 with three plazas, temples, palaces and ball courts, and with defences which were stormed by the Spanish under Pedro de Alvarado in 1524. Continue to Antigua, the splendid, colonial capital of Guatemala for the first of two nights.

Day 15: Antigua Guatemala. Though shattered by earthquakes in 1773, much of Antigua’s old fabric survives. See colonial architecture of great charm and impressive Baroque churches, some of which still remain in picturesque ruin. Day 16: Antigua Guatemala. Drive to Guatemala City for an early afternoon flight to Miami. Change planes here for an overnight flight to London. Day 17: arrive at London Heathrow at c. 10.30am. Please note: this tour departs from London Gatwick and returns to London Heathrow.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,730 or £5,210 without flights on days 1 and 16. Single occupancy: £6,300 or £5,780 without flights on days 1 and 16. Included meals: 14 dinners with wine and 10 lunches (including 1 picnic). Accommodation. JW Marriott, Cancún (marriott.co.uk/cancun): modern, comfortable, resort hotel. Hotel Gran Real Yucatán, Mérida (granrealyucatan.com): modern hotel in a converted 19th cent. house, centrally located. Hotel Plaza Campeche, Campeche (hotelplazacampeche.com): functional and comfortable hotel in a colonial building. Hotel Villa Mercedes, Palenque (hotelesvillamercedes. com): well-maintained hotel near the site. Hotel Villa Maya, Flores (villasdeguatemala.com): low rise bungalows next to a lake and surrounded by jungle. Hotel Atitlán, Panajachel (hotelatitlan. com): located on the shores of the lake with beautiful gardens and views. Hotel Casa Santo Domingo Antigua (casasantodomingo.com.gt): beautifully restored, colonial hotel. All hotels are locally rated as 4 or 5 star. How strenuous? Though the itinerary has been planned to be less strenuous than most tours to the region, it must be stressed that the tour is nevertheless quite taxing, with some long drives, some early starts and frequent changes of hotel. Many of the archaeological sites are vast, located in humid jungle and on rough ground. The tour should not be undertaken by anyone who has the slightest problem with everyday walking and stair-climbing, or who is not sure-footed. Average distance by coach per day: 89 miles. Group size: between 14 and 22 participants.

Aztecs to Zapotecs Pre-Hispanic civilizations of central Mexico Mexican pottery, wood engraving from ‘The Magazine of Art’, 1889.

mexico

4–17 November 2017 (me 675) 13 days • £5,970 Lecturer: Professor Norman Hammond A fascinating survey of the myriad ancient civilisations that populated central Mexico before the arrival of Hernán Cortés. Based in vibrant Mexico City plus the charming colonial cities of Puebla and Oaxaca. The lecturer is leading archaeologist Professor Norman Hammond.

Although Central Mexico is amazingly varied in its peoples, there is a common cultural bedrock that survives the Conquistadors: the Huastec on the Gulf Coast are visibly close to the Mixtec of Oaxaca and the Tlaxcalans who allied themselves with Cortés to defeat the empire of Moctezuma II.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly from London Heathrow to Mexico City at c. 1.00pm (British Airways). Arrive in the early evening and transfer to the hotel in Polanco district. Those not taking our flights can check in from 3.00pm today. Day 2: Mexico City. After a morning lecture, drive to the centre of the city where the magnificent colonial cathedral stands proud over the vast square of the Zócalo, close to the excavated pyramids of the Templo Mayor, centre of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán. Its fascinating museum contains finds from the site such as the Tlaltecuhtli (Earth God) monolith. The Palacio Nacional on the Zócalo houses vibrant murals by Diego Rivera depicting the history of Mexico. Day 3: Mexico City. The National Museum of Anthropology contains some of the finest pre-Columbian artefacts in the world including the famed Aztec calendar stone and Coatlicue statue, as well as important finds from the Maya Area, Oaxaca, and Gulf Coast. Continue in the afternoon to the three-tiered circular structure at Cuicuilco whose people may have fled to Teotihuacan when nearby Xitle volcano erupted. Day 4: Teotihuacán. Excursion to the country’s largest pre-Hispanic site, dominated by the huge Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon and the Ciudadela complex with its Feathered Serpent Pyramid. Other highlights include well-preserved murals and sculptures of jaguars wearing feathered-headdresses in palace courtyards. Day 5: Mexico City. The pyramid of Tenayuca in the north of the city is adorned with rattlesnake sculptures, and is the earliest example of the

Aztec-style double pyramid. Nearby Santa Cecilia Atitlán is a heavily restored but perfect example of a temple dedicated to the sun and the rain. It was thought that both were be constructed by the Chichimecs before the invasion of the Aztecs, who used copied their architectural style. Free afternoon to explore the craft market, National Museum of History in Chapultepec Castle, or one of the contemporary art museums in Chapultepec park. Day 6: Tula, Tepozotlán. Drive north of the city to the Toltec site of Tula, where giant warrior figures stand atop the main pyramid, overlooking the ‘Burnt Palace’ and the ball-courts. Continue to Tepozotlán, where the Museum of the Viceroyalty of New Spain depicts the spiritual conquest of Mexico. Housed in a Jesuit monastery, the church has a fine Churrigueresque façade and a sparkling baroque interior. Day 7: Cacaxtla, Cholula, Puebla. The site of Cacaxtla was inhabited by the Olmeca-Xicalanca people, c. 650–900 ad. The colourful murals they left behind, including a striking battle scene, are remarkably well preserved and display clear Maya influence. The pyramid at Cholula has the greatest volume of any in the New World. Now largely covered by vegetation, its early phases are visited by tunnels. Continue to the lovely colonial city of Puebla for the first of two nights. Day 8: Xalapa. The spectacular Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa specialises in the findings from pre-Hispanic sites on the Gulf of Mexico, modern day Veracruz, especially the Olmecs, Totonacs and Huastecs. Day 9: Puebla, Oaxaca. Morning walk around Puebla, including the cathedral, consecrated in 1649 and funded by Spaniard Don José de Palafox from Zaragoza. The Casa de la Cultura is a delightful tiled building housing a library of c. 41,000 books that Palafox donated to the city. The Museo Amparo has a fine collection of preHispanic art. Drive to Oaxaca (c. 4.5 hours) for the first of three nights. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

THE AMERICAS

Central Mexico is one of the most naturally and culturally varied parts of the New World: broad upland basins lie between rugged cordilleras, with vegetation ranging from subtropical forest to semi-desert, and on the descent to the Pacific and Gulf Coasts, tropical rainforest. Early Mexican cultures began with hunters and gatherers, then the development of farming villages based on maize, beans and root crops led to the emergence of the Olmec, with their stunning sculptures including colossal heads depicting deceased rulers. All are represented in the stunning National Museum of Anthropology, together with the Maya and Zapotec civilisations and their modern descendants. Related groups in the Basin of Mexico left monuments such as the Cuicuilco pyramid, now buried under volcanic lava, and were superseded by the metropolis of Teotihuacan, dominated by the Sun and Moon Pyramids and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, a grid-planned city whose population may have reached 100,000 in the early centuries ad. Cholula was a powerful contemporary, still largely buried beneath the colonial city, while at the same time, across the mountains in Oaxaca, the great Zapotec hilltop centre of Monte Alban rose above a long-inhabited valley. Its people had diplomatic and trade relations with both Teotihuacan and eastward, where the Classic Maya shared the same cultural foundations. Maya contacts with the highlands are seen in the colourful murals of Cacaxtla and in imported ceramics, while striking parallels between Chichén Itzá and distant Tula, north of the Valley of Mexico suggest possible migrations or invasion. Certainly the Aztecs were planning a move into Maya territory from their capital at Tenochtitlan, parts of which are emerging below modern Mexico City. They had conquered large parts of the Central Mexican highlands and coastlines over little more than a century, extracting tribute from as far as the borders of Guatemala in jade, chocolate, jaguar pelts and quetzal feathers. Massive sculptures like the Sun Stone, found in the eighteenth century, have been joined by the remains of the Great Temple and other buildings as testimony of Aztec creativity. What Hernán Cortés and his band of Spanish adventurers conquered was a civilisation on the brink of yet further expansion: they absorbed Mexican ideas and images as well as blending with the native people in the emergence of mestizaje, the unique historic-period culture in which Old and New worlds melded. The Catholic faith had resonances in indigenous religions, and its saints often took on aspects of pre-Hispanic deities.

217

aztecs to zapotecs continued

MexiCo Mexico City, wood engraving from ‘The Illustrated London News’, January 1863.

Day 10: Monte Alban, Zaachila, Cuilapam. The vast ceremonial centre of Monte Alban was inhabited by the Zapotecs c. 500 bc–950 ad. See here the famous early Los Danzantes carvings of sacrificial victims and the ‘observatory’ adorned with carvings commemorating Zapotec conquests. Climb down into the Mixtec tombs at Zaachila, with decorated carved walls. The Dominicans built their Convento de Santiago at Cuilapan on a former Mixtec site and remained there to evangelise the indigenous people.

THE AMERICAS

Day 11. Mitla, Oaxaca. The temples of the Mixtec site at Mitla are decorated with intricate, geometric bas-reliefs. Afternoon visits in Oaxaca include the Museo de las Culturas, which houses the Mixtec treasures from Tomb 7 at Monte Alban in a former Dominican convent. The adjacent church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is a masterpiece of Mexican Baroque. Day 12. Oaxaca. Free morning to enjoy Oaxaca’s picturesque and colourful streets, excellent craft shopping, baroque churches or Rufino Tamayo’s collection of pre-Hispanic artefacts. Fly at c. 4.00pm to Mexico City (Aeromexico), connecting to a 9.00pm flight to London (British Airways). Day 13. Arrive at London Heathrow at c. 1.00pm.

218

Illustration, centre: the Goddess of Death, engraving c. 1880 after a drawing by Malteste. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Practicalities Price, per person, two sharing: £5,970 or £5,160 without international flights. Single occupancy: £6,880 or £6,070 without international flights. Included meals: 7 dinners with wine (1 is light) and 7 lunches. Accommodation. Las Alcobas, Mexico City (lasalcobas.com): 5-star boutique hotel in the upscale Polanco district. Hotel Quinta Real, Puebla (quintareal.com/puebla): 5-star hotel in a former 16th-century convent. Hotel Quinta Real, Oaxaca (quintareal.com/oaxaca): also a 5-star hotel in a former 16th-century convent. How strenuous? A fairly taxing tour with some long drives and early starts. Many of the archaeological sites are vast, on rough ground and have steps or hills to negotiate. The tour should not be undertaken by anyone who has the slightest problem with everyday walking and stair-climbing, or who is not sure-footed. Average distance by coach per day: 73 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Peru: the Andean Heartland Pre-Columbian to present day peru

10–26 September 2017 (me 524) 17 days • £6,670 Lecturer: Dr David Beresford-Jones A thorough exploration of pre-Columbian civilisations in Peru: Moche, Chimú, Inca. The lecturer, Dr David Beresford-Jones, is a fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge. Stay on site at Machu Picchu and visit without the crowds. Sites almost devoid of tourists around Trujillo are also included. See spectacular Andean scenery, and sample world famous cuisine.

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 8.45am from London Heathrow to Lima, via Amsterdam (KLM, c. 15 hours total), arriving in time for a light dinner at the hotel. Those not flying with the group from London today can check in to the hotel from 2.00pm. First of two nights in Lima. Day 2: Lima. After an introductory lecture in the hotel, visit the Larco Herrera Museum with its famous collection of Moche and other pre-Inca ceramics. Continue in the afternoon to the heart of Colonial Lima (once the ‘City of the Kings’) to see the cathedral and the San Francisco Monastery with its Mudéjar church and important Spanish and Colonial art. Day 3: Lima, Trujillo. Morning visit to the Huaca Pucllana, a vast adobe administrative and ceremonial centre of the Lima culture which flourished here at around 400 ad. Continue to the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History with its collections of artefacts from Chavín, Nasca, Moche and Chimú cultures. In the afternoon fly north to Trujillo (LAN Airlines). First of three nights in Trujillo. Day 4: Trujillo. Drive north to El Brujo, a ceremonial centre of the Moche culture (1–700 ad) and the mausoleum of the Lady of Cao, an Illustrations. Above: Lake Titicaca, lithograph 1854. Below: steel engraving 1874, from a set of ethnographic studies of Peru.

important priestess of that period. Her tomb is surrounded by painted relief murals, while her mummy still records the vestiges of the tattoos on her hands and legs. Return to Trujillo, a handsome colonial city with a colourful main square. Visit the Casa Urquiaga, a colonial mansion in which the ‘Liberator’ Simón Bolívar stayed after proclaiming Peru’s independence in 1824. Day 5: Trujillo. The Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol the core of the ancient capital of the Moche empire. The former is adorned with superb polychrome reliefs indicative of its importance as a ritual and sacrificial centre. After lunch by the Pacific visit Chan Chan, the world’s largest adobe city and citadel of the Kingdom of Chimor for 500 years before its was destroyed by the Incas in 1470 ad. Its rich marine iconography reflects the importance of the sea to this civilisation. Day 6: the Sacred Valley. Fly to Cuzco, via Lima and on to the Sacred Valley. Here, en route to the Amazon, the Urubamba (or Vilcanota) river twists through stunning mountain scenery and terraced farmland cultivated by the Incas. Urubamba sits at 2,870m above sea level and so the afternoon is free to rest and adjust to the altitude. First of three nights in Urubamba. Day 7: Chinchero, Maras, Moray. At Chinchero a 17th-cent. church was built on top of an Inca temple. In the afternoon drive to the impressive Maras salt mines, exploited since before Inca times, and on to the marvellous concentric circular agricultural terraces of Moray. Day 8: Pisac, Ollantaytambo. Visit the terraces and buildings of an Inca royal estate at Pisac. Lunch is at an hacienda of one of the valley’s oldest families, with its interesting private collection of art and antiques. Drive to the Inca citadel of Ollantaytambo, one of the last lines of resistance to the Spanish conquest, and site of elaborate water gardens amidst extraordinary cyclopean Inca stonework. Day 9: Machu Picchu. Take the morning train to Machu Picchu, a scenic journey down the valley enjoyed through panoramic windows. Have lunch and settle in to the hotel before entering the site as the crowds disperse and the light fades. Forgotten during the Spanish conquest, the temples and Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

THE AMERICAS

Of all the world’s vanished civilisations, few evoke as much mystique as the Incas of Peru. Stumbled upon and shattered by a handful of Spanish adventurers in 1538, the Inca Empire was the last great pristine civilisation on earth – a current aside from the mainstream of human history. Tawantinsuyu (the ‘Four Realms Together’), as the Incas called their empire, had been conquered with neither pen nor sword. In many senses ‘Neolithic’, it was administered through the khipu, a recordkeeping system of intricate knotted cords, born of the marvellous textile traditions intrinsic to Andean civilisation. And yet its dominion was vast, stretching over a distance greater than from London to Moscow, along the spines of the world’s highest cordilleras outside the Himalayas and home to scores of different ethnic groups. This tour seeks to understand and re-imagine the Inca Empire on a journey through its Andean heartland of Cuzco, following the sacred Vilcanota river. We take in classic Inca sites where their cyclopean stonework melds into the grandeurs of the Andean landscape to attain a Zen-like architectural aesthetic. The culmination is the most spectacular site of all, Machu Picchu, perched on the very fringes of Amazonia. Yet the Incas were but the final flourish of an Andean cultural trajectory with roots many millennia deeper, a roll-call of cultures perhaps more magnificent still. So our exploration begins by the Pacific, from the excellent public and private museum collections in Lima to the vestiges of Moche and Chimor on Peru’s northern coast. And we end at Lake Titicaca, high on the vast Altiplano tablelands, and whence the Incas themselves claimed their mythical origins. En route we have ample chance to indulge in Peru’s extraordinary cuisine, acclaimed by chefs such as Ferran Adrià as ‘key to the future of gastronomy’. As with the ancient Andean civilisations, that cuisine is founded upon native food crops originating in one of humanity’s precious few ancient hearths of agriculture. It is set amid the world’s richest and densest concentration of ecotones, from desert coast to eternal snows to tropical rainforest, and adjoining one of its richest marine resources. Indeed, it is this that connotes the real importance of the Andes to our wider human story.

219

Peru: the andean Heartland continued

Peru Trujillo, copper engraving c. 1770.

buildings of Machu Picchu are consequently uniquely well-preserved, which, together with its setting high above the river amidst spectacular mountain landscapes, makes the site the most extraordinary archaeological site in South America. Overnight Machu Picchu. Day 10: Machu Picchu, Cuzco. Free morning to return to Machu Picchu, perhaps at first light, before catching an afternoon train to Cuzco (c. 4 hours). First of three nights in Cuzco.

THE AMERICAS 220

Day 11: Cuzco. The Korikancha, the most sacred precinct and centre of the Inca Empire today beneath the Dominican Monastery, still preserves the finest examples of mortar-less Inca stonework with its trapezoidal doors and windows. The Inca Museum contains some 10,000 artefacts while Cuzco Cathedral has wonderful ‘Cusqueña School’ paintings of the Colonial Period. Visit the massive Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman with its monumental walls built using stones up to 400 tons in weight and the Inca ceremonial site of Qenko. Day 12: Cuzco. The day is free for independent exploration. Suggestions include the preColumbian art museum, or an optional walk through the city with the lecturer to view the many vestiges of its Inca palaces, fine Colonial churches and bustling markets. Day 13: Cuzco, Puno. Take the train from Cuzco to Puno (c. 10 hours) through spectacular Andean landscapes. Carriages are comfortable and lunch and afternoon tea are served on board. First of two nights in Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca (altitude: 3,830m above sea level). book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 14: Lake Titicaca. The 88,000 acres of reeds growing along the lake’s margins have been used by the Uros people for centuries to build floating islands on which they make their homes, originally to escape conquest from more powerful forces. Visit these as well as the island of Taquile, whose inhabitants still wear colourful traditional costume. Day 15: Silustani, Lima. The spectacular chullpas, towering stone mausoleums in their beautiful location on the shores of Lake Umayo at Silustani were likely built by the Colla people, contemporaries and erstwhile opponents of the Inca. Fly in the early afternoon from Juliaca to Lima for the final night of the tour. Day 16: Lima. The day is free, with the option to visit the Amano Museum’s collection of preColumbian textiles. Fly at c. 8.15pm from Lima to London Heathrow, via Amsterdam. Day 17. Return to London Heathrow at c. 5.15pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £6,670 or £6,050 without flights on days 1 and 16. Single occupancy: £7,570 or £6,950 without without flights on days 1 and 16. Supplement for deluxe mountain-view room at Machu Picchu: £170 (double) or £145 (single). Included meals: 12 dinners, 9 lunches, with wine. Accommodation. Casa Andina Private Collection (casa-andina.com): comfortable 4-star hotel in the Miraflores district. Hotel Libertador Trujillo (libertador.com.pe): 4-star colonial-style hotel in the main square. Hotel

Dr David Beresford-Jones. Fellow of the Mcdonald institute for archaeological research, Cambridge university. His research interests include the ancient south coast of Peru, the origins of agriculture, Pre-Colombian textiles and the synthesis of archaeology and historical linguistics, particularly in the andes. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies. Tambo del Inka, Urubamba (starwoodhotels. com): 5-star hotel with an excellent restaurant. Sanctuary Lodge, Machu Picchu (belmond.com): 4-star, the only hotel at the entrance to the site. JW Marriott, Cusco (marriott.com): 5-star hotel in a converted convent, located a few minutes walk from the main square. Hotel Libertador, Puno (libertador.com.pe): 5-star hotel with superb views of Lake Titicaca. How strenuous? This is a long tour involving a substantial amount of walking on the rough ground of archaeological sites, uphill and down. A good level of fitness is essential. Much of the tour is spent at high altitude (max. 3,830m above sea level) which can exacerbate fatigue. Additional insurance is required and anyone with heart or respiratory problems should seek advice from their doctor. Average distance by coach per day: 30 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

east Coast Galleries From Boston to Washington dC

Every major art gallery from New England to Washington DC, providing an astonishingly rich artistic experience. The whole range of western art is covered, with Impressionism and Post-Impressionism particularly well represented. Includes the Barnes Foundation in its new home in central Philadelphia and the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven. Centrally located hotels in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Led by Mary Lynn Riley, a specialist in 19thand 20th-century art who previously worked at the Smithsonian. Any art lover who has not seen the great galleries of the USA is in for a big surprise. Not only are there so many art museums with so many masterpieces, splendidly displayed in buildings which are often great works of architecture, but usually they are also vital, welcoming institutions where the delight of the visitor is the main priority. This tour includes every major art gallery from New England down to Washington DC. Many of the very good smaller ones are also featured. The whole range of mainstream western art is represented, from antiquity to the present day. If there is a particular emphasis, it is on the Impressionists and the Post-Impressionists. In addition, there is a continual current of American art and frequent doses of modern and contemporary production. However full and comprehensive the tour may be in terms of works of art, we have not omitted the opportunity to see something of America beyond the museum doors. There will be some general sightseeing, sometimes with a local expert, and free time for independent exploration. Most of the hotels we have selected are within walking distance of the main museums and historic centres.

Art Museums which include the long-established Fogg Museum, outstanding particularly for early Italian paintings and Impressionists, and the Busch-Reisinger Museum of German and Nordic painting. Back in Boston, visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Collection, a sumptuous Renaissancestyle mansion crammed with magnificent works of art and furnishings. Overnight Boston. Day 4: North Adams, Williamstown. Drive through very attractive New England countryside to the Berkshires in the west of Massachusetts. Housed on a vast 19th-century factory campus in North Adams, MASS MoCA is the largest centre for contemporary art in the USA. Williamstown is a small university town with the Sterling and Francine Clark Institute, a wonderfully rich and varied collection outstanding for Post-Impressionist paintings, beautifully displayed in a mansion and a brand new building designed by Tadao Ando, opened in 2014. Overnight Williamstown. Day 5: Hartford, New Haven. En route to New York visit the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, America’s oldest public art museum, founded in 1842. In New Haven, the Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art, the largest and most comprehensive display of British art outside the United Kingdom. Continue to New York city arriving early evening. First of four nights here. Day 6: New York. Visit the Guggenheim Collection in the famous spiral building (Frank Lloyd Wright) with primarily modern

paintings. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) houses some of the greatest paintings of the 20th century in its beautifully enlarged Manhattan home. Overnight New York.

usa

10–23 May 2017 (md 288) 13 nights • £6,570 Lecturer: Mary Lynn Riley

Day 7: New York. Walk through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum, undoubtedly the number one art museum in America, embracing the whole gamut of artistic production from around the world. Magnificent benefactions and inspired curatorship have provided many great works of art and a superb standard of display, particularly the galleries devoted to the Impressionists, Tiepolo, and to English Decorative Arts. See also the Frick Collection, the salubrious Fift h Avenue mansion with a small but brilliant collection of great paintings. Overnight New York. Day 8: New York. A morning architectural walk with a local lecturer looking at the Art Deco monuments of midtown Manhattan. In the afternoon drive to The Cloisters set in a delightfully tranquil part of north Manhattan overlooking the Hudson river. A branch of the Met, devoted to art of the Middle Ages and incorporating arcades from five cloisters and other salvaged architecture, it is a marvellous home for sculpture, metalwork, tapestries, stained glass, manuscripts and panel paintings. Overnight New York. Day 9: Philadelphia. Drive to Philadelphia. As historically the nation’s most important art school, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has accumulated the finest collection of American

Itinerary

THE AMERICAS

Day 1. Fly at c. 11.20am from London Heathrow to Boston (direct, British Airways), arriving at c. 1.45pm (time in the air: c. 7 hours). Visit Trinity Church, opposite the hotel. First of three nights in Boston. Day 2: Boston. Founded in 1630, Boston is an historic city with a long-standing reputation for culture and learning. Now a centre of the high-tech revolution, sleek glass towers co-habit with districts of narrow cobbled streets and brick houses and an important set of monuments from the colonial and revolutionary era. The Museum of Fine Arts has a fabulous collection, particular strengths being the Barbizon School, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. An afternoon walking tour of historic Boston. Overnight Boston. Day 3: Cambridge, Boston. Separated from Boston by the Charles River, Cambridge is the home of Harvard University. Visit the University

221

New York, watercolour by Donald Maxwell, publ. 1928. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

east Coast Galleries continued

usa

art. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the third largest museum in the country, has a wide ranging collection, including a 12th-century cloister, a Robert Adam interior from Berkeley Square and excellent Impressionists. First of two nights in Philadelphia. Day 10: Philadelphia. The Barnes Foundation, one of the world’s largest private collections of Impressionists and Post-Impressionists housed in a new, state of the art gallery in the heart of Philadelphia’s arts district. Some free time in the city: explore the Independence National Historical Park or visit the Rodin Museum which has the largest collection of his sculpture outside Paris. Overnight Philadelphia. Day 11: Baltimore, Washington. Continue south to the seaport of Baltimore. The Walters Art Gallery is an extraordinary and eclectic collection ranging from ancient Egypt to Art Nouveau, with a Raphael, mediaeval stained glass and historic jewellery among the outstanding items. The Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland’s largest art museum, houses the Cone Collection, a group of 500 works by Matisse, and an impressive sculpture garden. Drive on to Washington for the first of two nights. Day 12: Washington. A capital conceived and built on a truly grand scale. At its heart lies the Mall, a two-mile-long park with many monuments and museums. Foremost among them is the National Gallery of Art, with a major collection representing the whole spectrum of western

THE AMERICAS 222

Washington, DC, US Capitol, wood engraving c. 1880. book online at www.martinrandall.com

painting; the East Wing (architect: I.M. Pei) contains modern works. Other visits include the Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art, and the Freer Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution, with a fine Asian collection and Whistler’s Peacock Room (currently undergoing restoration, due to reopen in 2017). Overnight Washington. Day 13: Washington. A free day for independent visits. Suggestions include the White House, the US Capitol or another of Washington’s many museums: the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (art from southeast Asia) or the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (20th-century painting and sculpture), all branches of the Smithsonian Institution. Drive to Washington Dulles Airport for the flight to London departing at c. 10.30pm. Day 14. Arrive Heathrow at c. 11.00am.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £6,570 or £5,880 without flights. Single occupancy: £7,530 or £6,840 without flights. Included meals: 8 dinners with wine. Visa: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa.

Additional arrangements. We can request flight upgrades, extra nights in the hotel and delay your return flight. Please let us know if you would like us to make these additional arrangements and we will obtain a quote. There is an amendment fee for making these changes. Music: there may be performances in New York. Details will be available nearer the time. Accommodation. Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston (fairmont.com/copley-plaza-boston/): elegant hotel near Boston Common. The Orchards, Williamstown (orchardshotel.com): small hotel with a courtyard garden, a retreat from the city scene. The Lucerne, New York (thelucernehotel. com): smart boutique hotel close to Central Park. Sheraton Society Hill, Philadelphia (sheratonphiladelphiasocietyhill.com): functional but comfortable hotel near the Independence National Historical Park. Sofitel Lafayette Square, Washington (sofitel.com): modern hotel, well located for the major monuments. How strenuous? You should be prepared to walk. Within Washington and New York we reach some of the museums on foot, journeys of up to twenty minutes or more, though taxis can be used. Within the museums, there will be a lot of walking and standing around. Average distance by coach per day: 49 miles. Group size: between 12 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with New Orleans to Natchitoches, 25 April–6 May 2017 (p.230).

New England Modern Building new worlds, 1750–2015

The making of modern America set against the colour of the New England Fall. Pioneering architecture from the early settlers to the present day with a focus on the extraordinary achievements of the mid-20th century. Among the architects: H.H. Richardson, Walter Gropius, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, Philip Johnson, Louis Kahn, Josep Lluís Sert, Le Corbusier, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano. See some of the country’s greatest art collections and public buildings, private houses and neighbourhoods, with a number of visits by special arrangement. We stay in Boston, Stockbridge and New Haven, and travel through landscapes varying from the Atlantic coast and Long Island Sound to the great river valleys and the rolling Berkshire Hills. Led by Professor Harry Charrington, an expert on Modernism and Head of Architecture at the University of Westminster.

Day 3: Manchester, Exeter (NH). In the leafy suburbs of Manchester the Zimmermans commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build their Usonian home (1950). See also the Currier Museum of Art, a small but good collection including some American Modern. On the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy is Louis Kahn’s monumental library (1971). The detailing is superb inside and out. Overnight Boston. Day 4: Cambridge (MA). Cross the Charles River to the MIT campus, a powerhouse of science and research, at its heart the sinuous brick form of Aalto’s Baker House dormitory (1947). A walk through Harvard includes Le Corbusier’s Carpenter Center (1963) and the University Art Museums, extensively re-worked by Piano and re-opening in late 2014. Private visit to Josep Lluís Sert’s home (1958); perfectly proportioned, arranged around three courtyards. Overnight Boston. Day 5: Boston, Stockbridge (MA). Spend the morning at Boston’s Fine Arts Museum, a collection of staggering wealth, with its new extension by Foster. An increasingly beautiful drive west into the Berkshires leads to Stockbridge, a small town of verandah-clad villas with our historic hotel at the centre. First of two nights in Stockbridge.

Day 6: the Berkshires (MA). The Hancock Shaker Village provides exquisite examples of Shaker architecture and design. In the woods outside Lenox, a private visit to the former home and studio of abstract artists George Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen. The house is pure modernism and the art the couple amassed superb. Overnight Stockbridge. Day 7: Litchfield, New Haven (CT). Drive south stopping in the classic New England town of Litchfield. The afternoon walk in New Haven begins at Kahn’s Center for British Art (1977), the white oak and concrete an apposite backdrop to the magnificent collection. Cross the Yale campus to see Michael Hopkins’ Kroon Hall (2009) and the luminous Beinecke Rare Book Library by SOM (1963). First of two nights in New Haven. Day 8: New Canaan (CT). The day is spent in the woodland town of New Canaan where some of the great US architects, ‘the Harvard Five’, experimented in the mid-20th century. Private tour of Philip Johnson’s pristene Glass House (1949) as well as his painting and sculpture galleries. Among the other visits, the home of Eliot Noyes (1954; subject to confirmation) and Landis Gores’ pool pavilion (1960). Overnight New Haven. Day 9: New Haven. The final morning is dedicated to the Yale University Art Gallery (1953), one of the best in the US, the art enhanced by Kahn’s use of concrete. Afternoon drive to New York’s JFK Airport for the flight departing 7.30pm. Day 10. Arrive London Heathrow at 7.30am. A number of these buildings are not usually open to the public and it is possible we will not be able to include everything listed.

Boston, Trinity Church, wood engraving c. 1880 from ‘United States Pictures’.

THE AMERICAS

New England has seen the making of Modern America not once, twice but three times. Firstly, there were the early pioneers and their chaste farmsteads, churches and small towns. Then in post-revolutionary times came the confident urbanity of the new Republic, and contrastingly, the rural asceticism of the Transcendentalists and other idealists. Finally, before, during and after World War II, a new wave of ambition established the expression of mid-twentieth-century America. What unifies all three is an overriding architectural restraint and a setting within the extraordinary light and colour of the New England landscape. The earliest buildings possess a spare timber elegance that reaches down through the Shaker villages to Walter Gropius’s invention of a local Bauhaus. This austere simplicity is matched by the refined brickwork of Federal Boston and the arcadia of American academia, and the sophisticated use of concrete as a ‘cast stone’. Threaded through New England’s river valleys, hills and along its coast are some of the finest twentieth-century private houses by architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Josep Lluís Sert, Philip Johnson and the Harvard Five. Their seclusion is balanced by some of America’s most beautiful neighbourhoods and greatest public buildings and art collections in Boston, Harvard and Yale – as well as the delightful Frelinghuysen studio in the russet hills of Lenox.

Day 2: Concord, Lincoln, Boston (MA). Drive to Walden Pond, heart of the Transcendentalist movement, where Henry Thoreau lived in a cabin on the water’s edge in simple seclusion. Nearby, the pretty town of Concord saw the start of the American War of Independence. Visit the museum, with Thoreau memorabilia. Walter Gropius built his family home (1938) in a meadow outside Lincoln; modest, light, with the original furniture and artwork. Overnight Boston.

usa

13–22 October 2016 (md 901) 9 nights • £4,610 Lecturer: Professor Harry Charrington This tour is currently full

Itinerary Day 1: London to Boston (MA). Fly at c.11.15am from London Heathrow to Boston (British Airways) (time in the air: c. 6¾ hours). Drive to the hotel. The first visits are to two of America’s defining public buildings: H.H. Richardson’s Trinity Church (1877) and McKim Mead & White’s Boston Public Library (1895). First of four nights in Boston.

223 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

New England Modern continued

Frank Lloyd Wright & the Chicago School

usa

16–27 September 2017 (me 540) 11 nights • £5,480 Lecturer: Tom Abbott Includes Fallingwater, Jacobs, Robie and Taliesin houses, Johnson Wax Building and numerous other works by Frank Lloyd Wright – many of them visited by special arrangement. Four nights in Chicago, with visits to the masterworks of the Chicago School and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House.

Practicalities

Magnificent art collections: Chicago Institute of Art, Carnegie Collection in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee Art Museum.

Price, per person. Two sharing: £4,610 or £4,000 without flights. Single occupancy: £5,270 or £4,660 without flights.

Led by architectural historian Tom Abbott.

Included meals: 1 lunch and 6 dinners with wine. Visas: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa. Accommodation. Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston (fairmont.com): elegant, opulent, opposite Trinity Church. The Red Lion Inn, Stockbridge (redlioninn.com): charming, historic hotel. The Study at Yale, New Haven (studyatyale.com): modern and minimalist bedrooms, excellent location. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking and standing around and getting on and off coaches. With transatlantic flights and three hotels, the tour is tiring. Average distance by coach per day: 68 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

THE AMERICAS 224

3–14 June 2017 (md 322) 11 nights • £5,480 Lecturer: Tom Abbott

“The lecturer was extremely knowledgeable and the tour manager outstanding in her dayto-day organisation, and both were great company. Hotels and meals were excellent.”

What else is included in the price? See page 6. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Drive through the countryside of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1869–1959), his own greatest admirer, said he had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. Frustratingly, visiting his work makes this seem fair: in an extraordinarily long career Wright created a modern organic architecture infused with the artistic freedom and reverence for nature of his nineteenth-century American inheritance. Wright embraced the Arts and Crafts, Japanese art and architecture, as well as the material advances of steel and concrete cantilevers to ‘break the box’. Interiors merge inside and out, with their fluid plans reverently anchored by their great hearths. Exteriors stress continuity with nature, and brilliantly amplify their location; be it the Wisconsin hills of Taliesin, or the Pennsylvanian gorge of Fallingwater. That Chicago was the centre of Wright’s sphere is no coincidence. Carl Sandburg’s ‘City of Big Shoulders’ is still the continent’s most enjoyably assertive and distinctly ‘American’ city. Following the fire of 1871, it reinvented itself as the first modern metropolis, with the ‘Chicago School’ developing the technical means for, and artistic expression of, a new kind of city, and of course, the skyscraper. Little wonder that it became so natural a home to the New Bauhaus and Mies van der Rohe, through whose elegantly sparse work Chicago’s influence extends to this day. As well as building, Chicago’s citizens collected; and the Chicago Art Institute quickly established itself as one of the great galleries of America; a status shared by the Carnegie collection in Pittsburgh where the tour begins. Beautifully sited on the confluence of two rivers, Pittsburgh epitomises American selfbelief and its capacity for self-regeneration, and is unrecognisable from its former ‘rust-belt’ image. Santiago Calatrava’s Milwaukee art museum, spreading out over Lake Michigan, bears equal testament to that city’s revival. In contrast to these urban scenes, the tour meanders through the gently prosperous midwestern countryside of three states, staying in the leafy university town of Madison sited on the isthmus between two lakes, and finishing at Mies’s sublime Farnsworth House on the Fox river.

Itinerary Day 1: Pittsburgh. Fly at c. 9.45am (British Airways) from London Heathrow, via New York J.F.K., to Pittsburgh, arriving c. 5.00pm (total flying time c. 8½ hours). Set between the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, Pittsburgh is modern, dynamic, sleek, the smoke and steel of the past having been replaced by glass and aluminium. Carnegie, Frick and Mellon, great patrons of the arts, all made their money here before moving to the East Coast. First of three nights in Pittsburgh. Day 2: Fallingwater, Kentuck Knob. Drive out to Fallingwater, quintessential Frank Lloyd Wright (1936). In a spectacular setting amongst the woodland of Bear Run nature reserve, the house seems to grow from, and float above, the water and rocks. You will see not only the waterfall but experience it from inside the house; ‘the most sublime integration of man and nature’ (New York Times). Kentuck Knob (Wright 1953), a hexagonal building with panoramic views of the Pennsylvanian countryside, now owned by Lord Palumbo. Overnight Pittsburgh. Day 3: Pittsburgh. Begin with a walk around Pittsburgh passing H.H. Richardson’s Allegheny Courthouse, the Mellon bank building and Philip Johnson’s PPG Place. The Carnegie Museum of Art has an extensive and varied collection including the Heinz Architectural department, European and contemporary art. End with a cable car ride up the Duquesne Incline. Overnight Pittsburgh. Day 4: Pittsburgh to Madison. Morning flight to Chicago and from there continue by coach to Madison. Stop en route in Rockford to visit the Laurent House, commissioned in 1951 by Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent and their home until 2012. First of two nights in Madison. Day 5: Spring Green, Madison. Set in the beautiful Wisconsin countryside just outside Spring Green lies Wright’s former home and studio, Taliesin. Here he established the Taliesin Foundation to train architects; Hillside School (1932) exemplifies Wright’s break away from the ‘Victorian box’. The Romeo and Juliet Windmill and several homes and farms designed for members of Wright’s family are also seen from the exterior. In the suburbs visit the recently restored Jacobs House (1936), the purest and most famous example of Wright’s Usonian concept. Overnight Madison. Day 6: Madison, Milwaukee. Walk to the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, a monumental civic building set on the shores of Lake Monona (based on Wright’s 1938 design, it was completed in 1997). Visit the Unitarian Meeting House (1946), distinguished by its soaring copper roof and glass-prowed sanctuary. Drive to the excellent Milwaukee Art Museum to see the Prairie School Archives, with free time for the collection of European and 20thcent. American art. End the day with a visit to one of Wright’s American System-Built homes (1916). Overnight Milwaukee. Day 7: Wind Point, Racine, Chicago. At Wind Point visit Wingspread: the expansive low-lying building designed for the head of the Johnson Wax Corporation. Continue south to Racine on the shores of Lake Michigan and the Johnson

usa

Fallingwater, photograph courtesy of Western Pensylvania Conservancy.

Wax Building built in 1936 with its half acre Great Workroom, unique mushroom columns and innovative use of glass. Drive further south still to Chicago; our hotel is in Burnham & Root’s restored Reliance Building, the first ‘skyscraper’ built in the 1890s. First of four nights in Chicago.

Day 9: Chicago. Drive to the South Side to the Mies van der Rohe-designed Illinois Institute of Technology (1940–56), with additions by Rem Koolhaas. Continue to the Robie House (FLW 1910); epitome of the Prairie Style. The afternoon is free; we suggest an architectural cruise along the Chicago River, or a walk along the Magnificent Mile. Overnight Chicago. Day 10: Oak Park. In Oak Park visit Wright’s Chicago home and studio (1889) for 20 years and the birthplace of the Prairie School of architecture: ‘I loved the prairie by instinct as a great simplicity… I had an idea that the horizontal planes in buildings, those planes parallel to earth,

Day 11: Chicago, Plano. Drive at midday into the Illinois countryside to Plano. Here, built beside the Fox River, is one of Mies van der Rohe’s most significant works, the Farnsworth House (1951). Drive to Chicago O’Hare airport, arriving by 5.30pm (in time for the direct flight to London, departing c. 8.30pm). Day 12. Arrive at London Heathrow at c. 10.15am. A number of these buildings are not usually open to the public and it is possible we will not be able to include everything listed.

Tom Abbott. specialist in architectural history from the Baroque to the 20th century with a particular interest in German and american modern. studied art History in the usa and Paris and has a wide knowledge of the performing arts. since 1987 he has lived in Berlin. See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,480 or £4,830 without flights on days 1 and 11. Single occupancy: £6,240 or £5,590 without flights on days 1 and 11. Included meals: 1 café lunch and 7 dinners with wine. Visas: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa. Accommodation. The Renaissance Pittsburgh (renaissancepittsburghpa.com): centrally located, comfortable, spacious rooms and good amenities. Madison Edgewater Hotel (theedgewater. com): on the shores of Lake Mendota with fine views from rooms and public areas. The Pfister, Milwaukee (thepfisterhotel.com): historic hotel with grand public areas. The Burnham, Chicago (burnhamhotel.com): boutique hotel in the landmark Reliance Building; good location in ‘The Loop’ within walking distance of the Chicago Institute of Art.

THE AMERICAS

Day 8: Chicago. The morning walk looks at the outstanding monuments of ‘The Loop’ to which Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Louis Sullivan and Frank Gehry have all contributed. Afternoon at the Chicago Art Institute, extended by Renzo Piano; the architectural courtyard contains several interesting pieces of sculpture and art glass from former Wright and Sullivan buildings. See also a reconstruction of Sullivan’s stock exchange trading room. Free time to enjoy one of the world’s great art galleries. Overnight Chicago.

identify themselves with the ground, make the building belong to the ground’. The surrounding residential streets are home to a number of Wright designs. (Unity Temple is closed for restoration until the end of 2017.) Overnight Chicago.

How strenuous? Quite tiring with a lot of walking and standing around, and a fair amount of coach travel. Average distance by coach per day: 50 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

225

Galleries of the American Midwest From Chicago to Detroit usa

a complete modernist house. Architecture by Eero Saarinen, interior design by Alexander Girard and landscape design by Dan Kiley all remain remarkably intact. Continue to Cincinnati to the Contemporary Arts Center, a stunning new build by Zaha Hadid which opened in 2016. Our hotel is next door. Overnight Cincinnati. Day 7: Cincinnati, Columbus OH, Cleveland OH. Founded in 1881, the Cincinnati Art Museum is long-established with a wide-ranging collection. Impressionists feature strongly and there are notable fauvist and cubist works, as well as an entire wing devoted to local artists and decorative arts. En route to Cleveland (240 miles), stop at the Columbus Museum of Art, which has a fine collection of modern European and American painting, including early cubist works by Picasso and Juan Gris. First of two nights in Cleveland.

14–26 June 2017 (md 343) 12 nights • £5,730 Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen A journey to some of the greatest art galleries in the US, through Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan. Begin in Chicago with the world-renowned Art Institute and end in Detroit, a city undergoing huge regeneration. In between see the outstanding collections at St Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Oberlin, Toledo. Impressionism and Post-Impressionism are very well represented, along with American art, Old Masters and modern and contemporary sculpture. The architecture of Finnish émigré Eliel Saarinen, and his son Eero, is a subtheme throughout, culminating in the incredible campus at Cranbrook. Led by art historian, Gijs van Hensbergen, an expert on American collections and collectors.

Itinerary THE AMERICAS 226

Day 1. Fly at c. 11.15am from London Heathrow to Chicago (direct, British Airways), arriving at c. 1.45pm (time in the air: c. 7 hours 30 minutes). Drive to the hotel in ‘The Loop’, a short walk from the Art Institute. Time to settle in before dinner. First of two nights in Chicago. Day 2: Chicago IL. The day is largely dedicated to the Art Institute, one of the world’s greatest galleries, and within the US matched only by the Met. The superb and encyclopedic collection is best known for its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, as well as a wonderful display of American paintings. Renzo Piano’s Modern Wing houses the Institute’s remarkable collection of 20th and 21st century art. Guided tours of selected galleries are interspersed with independent time. The adjacent Millennium Park has noteworthy installations by Anish Kapoor and Jaume Plensa. book online at www.martinrandall.com

Day 3: Chicago, St Louis MO. An architectural walk through ‘The Loop’ to see skyscrapers and monuments of the Chicago School as well as some of the public art more recently installed. Return to the Art Institute for a further tour or some independent time. Continue to the airport for the late-afternoon flight to St Louis. First of two nights in St Louis. Day 4: St Louis. Walk through the Citygarden (works by Fernand Léger, Richard Serra, Aristide Maillol) to the landmark Gateway Arch. Designed by Finnish-American architect, Eero Saarinen, and inaugurated in 1965, it soars over the Mississippi and the city. The Pulitzer Arts Foundation is in a sleek Tadao Ando building and is renowned for its high calibre exhibitions. There are just three permanent works, two of which were commissioned specifically for this space: Serra’s Joe and Ellsworth Kelly’s Blue Black. Continue to the St Louis Art Museum, built in the heart of Forest Park for the 1904 World’s Fair. The collection is wonderfully rich and varied with modern European art at its core. It is also home to the world’s largest collection of Max Beckmann paintings. Overnight St Louis. Day 5: Indianapolis IN. Morning drive to Indianapolis (255 miles). The Museum of Art is one of the oldest collections in the US and is in a beautiful setting on a leafy campus north of the city. We explore the highlights: Gaugin and the Pont-Aven school, Japanese Edo period paintings and contemporary art including an installation by James Turrell. Free time to see the gardens and sculpture park. Overnight Indianapolis. Day 6: Columbus IN, Cincinnati OH. Drive to Columbus for a private visit of the Miller House. Commissioned in 1953 by industrialist, philanthropist and architectural patron, J Irwin Miller, this is a perfect example of

Illustration above: Georges Seurat, ‘A Sunday on La Grande Jatte’, 1884. Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial collection. The Art Institute of Chicago.

Day 8: Cleveland. On the shores of Lake Erie, Cleveland’s manufacturing centre is being revitalized in the 21st century. The city’s art museum is testament to this with a programme of massive expansion, including a magnificent light-filled atrium by Rafael Viñoly. There are many treasures here, particularly in Europe and American painting from the 19th and 20th centuries, and in the world-class holding of Asian art. The mediaeval and renaissance galleries in the original museum building are beautifully displayed. Free time here or to walk to the Museum of Contemporary Art, a reflective, geometric form in the heart of the university circle. Overnight Cleveland. Day 9: Oberlin, Toledo OH, Detroit MI. A short drive out of Cleveland to the Allen Memorial Art Museum, one of the finest university collections in the US, housed on the edge of the charming Oberlin college campus. This small but eclectic collection contains important holdings of 16th- and 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings. Continue to Toledo. The city’s glass manufacturing heritage is reflected in the elegant, Japanese-designed Glass Pavilion, home to a superb collection of over 5000 works of art in glass. The main museum includes European painting from the Renaissance to Impressionism, with notable works by Rubens, Rembrandt, David and El Greco. There is a strong American Art and Modern collection and a fascinating display of Japanese Netsuke. Continue to Detroit. First of three nights here. Day 10: Detroit. A morning walk looking at the Art Deco monuments of downtown. Continue to the Detroit Art Institute, one of the finest collections in the US. Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry fresco and a expansive collection of American art are among the highlights here but there are many gems: a Van Gogh selfportrait, Bruegel’s The Wedding Dance and a fine collection of German Expressionist works. Overnight Detroit. Day 11: Cranbrook. The day is dedicated to the enchanting campus of Cranbrook, one of the leading graduate art schools in the US. Here Eliel Saarinen taught and his son Eero studied. Visits include Saarinen’s Art Deco house, the Art Museum, and special access to works from some of the 20th century’s leading artists and designers, all of whom had connections to Cranbrook. End

Day 12: Detroit. Visit the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, Henry Ford’s factory and the birthplace of the Model T. Drive to the airport for the flight to Chicago departing at c. 3.15pm, connect to the overnight flight to London departing c. 6.00pm. Day 13. Arrive Heathrow at c. 7.45am.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,730 or £4,960 without flights on days 1 and 12. Single occupancy: £6,510 or £5,740 without flights on days 1 and 12. Included meals: 1 packed lunch and 7 dinners with wine. Visas: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa. Illustration: Chicago, the Auditorium Building, engraving from ‘United States Pictures’, 1891.

Accommodation. The Burnham, Chicago (burnhamhotel.com): boutique hotel in the landmark Reliance Building; good location in ‘The Loop’ within walking distance of the Chicago Institute of Art. The Ritz-Carlton, St Louis (ritzcarlton.com/St_Louis): elegant 5-star in classical style with three restaurants, a martini bar, cigar club, and gym. All rooms have a balcony. Le Meridien, Indianapolis (lemeridienindianapolis. com): boutique hotel in the heart of downtown that has undergone complete renovation. 21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati (21cmuseumhotels. com/cincinnati): next door to the Contemporary Arts Center designed by Zaha Hadid; facilities include a restaurant and a rooftop bar with views of downtown. Renaissance Cleveland Hotel (marriott.co.uk): dating to 1918 with grand public areas; comfortable rooms. Westin Book Cadillac, Detroit (bookcadillacwestin.com): Landmark hotel built in 1924 in downtown; three restaurants, bar and indoor pool. How strenuous? This is a long tour with frequent hotel changes, a lot of coach travel and standing around in museums. Fitness and stamina are essential. Average distance by coach per day: 89 miles. Group size: between 12 and 22 participants.

usa

with a private tour of the Smith House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Usonian style for two teachers in Detroit. Overnight Detroit.

See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

“Gijs was excellent – informative and expert. Encyclopedic in his command of detail but knowing how to restrict it to manageable proportions. Also a good host.”

What else is included in the price? See page 6.

THE AMERICAS 227 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

art in texas outstanding collections in city & desert usa Houston, from ‘Esquire’ magazine, mid-20th-century.

8–19 November 2017 (me 677) 11 nights • £5,510 Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen World class collections of art and sculpture, public and private, housed in exceptional buildings. Big names include the Kimbell in Fort Worth, Menil in Houston, Blanton in Austin, McNay in San Antonio, Fine Arts in Dallas and Houston, and Donald Judd’s Chinati Foundation.

THE AMERICAS 228

The range is considerable from Renaissance to contemporary, European and American, with emphasis on the modern. The variety continues in city and landscape: big brother Houston, leafy and lush; to tiny Marfa, way out west in the desert; alongside the Rio Grande to prettified San Antonio; to end in Dallas, the home of hospitality and a terrific arts scene. Led by art historian, Gijs van Hensbergen, an expert on American collections and collectors. The cultural resonance of ‘Texas’ may not be overwhelming, yet the oil and livestock barons of this southern state were philanthropists to rival any on the eastern or western seaboards. The result: art collections of staggering richness in buildings developed by the leading architects of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Among the highlights are some of the very personal collections these patrons of the book online at www.martinrandall.com

arts acquired. The Meadows Museum in Dallas, for example, the gift of oilman Algur Meadows, houses the finest display of Spanish art outside the Prado. While John and Dominique de Menil’s dazzling Menil Collection in Houston – built up with money from the Schlumberger oil-drilling fortune – contains over 15,000 works by the greatest names of twentieth-century European and American art. Painter and heiress Marion Koogler McNay, too, used an oil fortune to establish The McNay – the first modern art museum in the Lone Star State – in her colonial revival mansion in San Antonio. But private wealth in Texas has always been matched by public investment and the entire history of art is abundantly represented in the major city galleries. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, one of the largest in the US, has an extraordinary 62,000 works spanning six thousand years, while the Dallas Museum of Art is as renowned for its Impressionists and Post Impressionists as Austin’s The Blanton is for its Renaissance masterpieces. The searing Texan landscape, with its expanses of sand and scrub and distant sierras, is a work of art in its own right, and a visit to Marfa provides the moment where art, architecture and nature meet. The Chinati Foundation was established by minimalist sculptor Donald Judd to display large installations of his own work and other leading contemporary sculptors and, in its wake, this tiny desert town has become one of the liveliest contemporary art scenes in the US.

As rich as the art is the architecture. The Dallas Arts District includes buildings by four Pritzker Prize winners (Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, I.M. Pei and Renzo Piano); while in Houston, admirers of Mies van der Rohe can view one of his very rare museum buildings at the Fine Arts Museum, followed by Piano’s simple and striking cypress-clad Menil. However, it is without doubt Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth that shows off these big hitters at their memorable best.

Itinerary Day 1: London to Houston. Fly at c. 9.45am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Houston, arriving c. 2.30pm local time (flying time c. 10 hours 45 minutes). Drive to the hotel in Houston’s ‘Museum District’ with time to settle in before dinner. First of three nights in Houston. Day 2: Houston. The morning is spent in the Museum of Fine Arts, an outstanding collection built up over the last century. Highlights include the Impressionists and American art of the 19th and 20th centuries, but there is much variety from the Renaissance to contemporary works by minimalist Dan Flavin. It is architecturally varied too with extensions by Mies van der Rohe and Rafael Moneo. Bayou Bend houses a good collection of American decorative and fine art, with beautiful gardens around. Overnight Houston.

the Golden Age. Continue to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport for the overnight flight to London, departing c. 4.45pm. Day 12. The flight arrives London Heathrow at c. 7.30am.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,510 or £4,910 without flights on days 1 and 11. Single occupancy: £6,270 or £5,670 without flights on days 1 and 11.

Day 4: Houston to Marfa. Fly to Midland, in westernmost Texas (United Airlines), and drive south across the Chihuahuan Desert (c. 190 miles) through a landscape of scrub and shrub, fringed by distant sierras. Marfa is little more than a handful of dusty intersections and yet is laden with western charm. Thanks to Donald Judd, it also has a thriving contemporary arts scene and a sophistication out of all proportion to its size. First of two nights in Marfa. Day 5: Marfa, the Chinati Foundation. In the morning, visit Judd’s home and library (by arrangement). Judd’s decision to convert 340 acres of former US military land into an art installation stemmed from a need to escape the East Coast and a desire to display large-scale installations in a setting which linked art with landscape. Works by Judd, John Chamberlain and Dan Flavin have been joined over the years by Carl Andre, Ingólfur Arnarson, Roni Horn, Ilya Kabakov, Richard Long, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Most of the day is spent here with some free time to visit Marfa’s excellent bookstore and main street. Overnight Marfa. Day 6: drive to San Antonio. Drive through deepest desert and countryside to bordertown Del Rio and then to San Antonio (journey time: c. ten hours with several refreshment breaks, including the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center in Langtry). Arrive San Antonio c. 6.00pm. First of two nights in San Antonio.

usa

Day 3: Houston. The Menil is one of the world’s greatest private collections of modern art. Across the road is another Piano museum dedicated to Cy Twombly’s abstract works. Also visited are the Rothko Chapel, built as a sanctuary for fourteen of the artist’s canvases, and Richmond Hall, a grocery store converted into a Dan Flavin light installation. Some free time to return to the Fine Arts Museum or walk in the neighbouring Rice University campus. Overnight Houston.

Included meals: 2 lunches and 7 dinners with wine (plus meals on flights). Visas: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa. Engraving 1891 after Frederick Remington (1861–1909).

‘Cultural District’. The Kimbell Art Museum is a magnificent collection, particularly the European paintings with Titian and Tiepolo to Matisse and Mondrian. Kahn’s building is sublime: a series of barrel vaults providing lighting and acoustic perfection for the masterworks. Across the road is The Modern (designed by Tadao Ando), another collection of 20th-century greats: Pollock, Hockney, Picasso, Bacon and a room of Sean Scully canvasses. See also the Amon Carter Museum of American art including works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, the two greatest artists of the American west. Overnight Dallas. Day 11: Dallas. Leave the hotel late morning for the Meadows Museum, a world-renowned collection of Spanish art, particularly strong on

Accommodation. Hotel Zaza, Houston (hotelzaza.com/#houston): contemporary hotel next door to the Fine Arts Museum. Hotel El Paisano, Marfa (hotelpaisano.com): built in 1930 in colonial style and the focal point of town. Omni Mansión del Rio, San Antonio (omnihotels.com): an attractive hotel in colonial style, well located on the River Walk. The Rosewood Crescent, Dallas (rosewoodhotels. com): comfortable hotel in Uptown Dallas. How strenuous? This is a long tour with a lot of travelling and a significant time difference to contend with. There is a fair amount of walking and standing around in museums. Fitness and stamina are essential. Average distance by coach per day: 62 miles. Music: there may be an opportunity to attend an opera, concert or play in Dallas. Programmes will be sent nearer the time. Group size: between 12 and 22 participants.

Day 7: San Antonio. The McNay was the first modern art museum in Texas and alongside the excellent 19th- and 20th-century works is a substantial sculpture collection in the landscaped park and a new wing for temporary exhibitions. The San Antonio Museum of Art has excellent American and Latin American collections. Free time to visit The Alamo, of Davy Crockett fame. Overnight San Antonio.

Day 9: Dallas. Begin with Philip Johnson’s Thanksgiving Chapel and JFK Memorial before continuing to the Arts District. The Dallas Museum of Art is one of the finest in the US. Next door is the Nasher Sculpture Center, a superb collection including works by Calder, Chillida, Serra and Hepworth. Some free time – the Asian Art Museum is a possibility. Overnight Dallas. Day 10: Fort Worth, Dallas. The day is spent in Fort Worth and its astonishingly rich

THE AMERICAS

Day 8: Austin, Dallas. Drive north via Austin, a major university city and the state capital. Visit the Blanton Museum of Art, with fine collections of Renaissance as well as 20th-century American art. Brief stop at the Harry Ransom Center, an incredible resource of rare books and manuscripts. Continue to Dallas (c. 195 miles), arriving early evening. First of three nights in Dallas.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Audrey Jones Beck Building, exterior. Photo: ©Robb Williamson, courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

229

new orleans to natchitoches History & architecture, food & jazz usa

25 April–6 May 2017 (md 250) 11 nights • £4,910 Lecturer: Professor Louis Nelson A journey through Louisiana and its extraordinary history, architecture, food and music. Four nights in New Orleans before venturing to Baton Rouge, Lafayette and north to sweet, historic Natchitoches on the Cane River. Colonial architecture of the French and Spanish, Art Deco and the 20th Century are all represented, and, of course, a variety of plantation houses including Houmas House, our exuberant base for the final two nights. Jazz is an ever-present backdrop, and our tour coincides with Jazz Fest. Details of programmes will be sent in due course. Led by Louis Nelson, Professor of Architectural History at the University of Virginia and an expert on the early American South.

Dominated by New Orleans and the Mississippi River, an exploration of Louisiana reveals a rich, diverse history and culture. Named by French settlers after King Louis XIV, the state has been home to Native Americans, Spanish, Germans and Africans, each bringing their own cuisine, traditions and music to the region. Some groups, such as the French-Canadian Cajuns, remained distinct and preserved their ways and language, while others melded into a unique Louisiana culture. New Orleans captures the energy of this vibrant mix in the jazz that is heard from every street, day and night, but especially during the festivities of Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. Houses are painted in various hues and flamboyant graves in the city’s cemeteries celebrate colourful lives. Even the devastation of Hurricane Katrina inspired a creative response to re-building, and a new City Park fi lled with art and sculpture is a vibrant memorial to survival. The city owed its riches to the trade that flowed down the Mississippi and through the port

of New Orleans. The slaves who worked the cotton fields in the north and the sugar plantations in the south were traded in New Orleans, the largest slave market in North America. Here, wealthy sugar barons built lavish town houses from where to conduct business and to entertain, while their estates along the river grew from modest plantation houses to vast mansions, a sharp contrast to the slave huts scattered far from sight. In Natchitoches, the first French settlement in the state, the Creole Metoyer family rose from slavery to become the wealthiest plantation owners in the area. The cotton plantation houses of the Cane River remain almost intact in this northern rural region. A former slave, Clementine Hunter, captured her life on Melrose Plantation in a series of paintings which are still on the site. Surrounded by pecan orchards and with a river running beside its historic main street, Natchitoches retains a slow-paced way of life, captured in the play Steel Magnolias. The unconventional politics of 1930s Louisiana is epitomised in the career of Governor Huey P.

THE AMERICAS 230

Houmas House, Louisiana, photograph 1938, US Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington-DC. book online at www.martinrandall.com

usa

Long, whose grandiose constructions in Baton Rouge reflect the future he imagined for Louisiana and himself, before being shot in the marble corridors of his Art Deco State Capitol. Our tour coincides with the renowned Jazz Fest in New Orleans and there should be an opportunity to attend a concert. We will send details when the programme is announced.

Itinerary Day 1: London to New Orleans. Fly at c. 10.15am (British Airways) from London Heathrow, via Dallas-Fort Worth, to New Orleans, arriving c. 6.45pm (total flying time c. 12 hours). Transfer to the hotel in the French Quarter. First of four nights in New Orleans. Day 2: New Orleans. A day on foot in the colourful French Quarter, with its ornate cast-iron balconies, lush courtyards and garden squares. Visit the Historic New Orleans Collection which gives an overview of the city. The 18th-cent. Spanish buildings surrounding Jackson Square include St Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in the US, and the Cabildo, now the state museum. Overnight New Orleans. Day 3: New Orleans. Wide, tree-lined avenues form the gracious Garden District, where mansions remain home to the rich and famous. Gothic novelist, Anne Rice, lived in a Greek Revival home and was inspired by the neighbourhood’s Lafayette Cemetery. Return to the French Quarter for tours of Hermann-Grima House, with original outbuildings and slave quarters and the 1860s Gallier House Museum. Overnight New Orleans. Day 4: New Orleans. Botanical Gardens thrive in an area destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the Sculpture Park displays works by Renoir, Magritte, Hepworth and Moore. The extensive collection of works in the New Orleans Museum of Art focuses on American and French artists, including Degas. Free time in the afternoon. Overnight New Orleans.

Day 6: Lafayette, Nottoway. A morning boat trip (private charter) through bayous overhung with Spanish moss and home to birds and swamp life from alligators to catfish. Lunch at Nottoway Plantation, one of the largest houses in the South, designed by Louisiana architect Henry Howard. Overnight in Baton Rouge. Day 7: Natchitoches. Drive north to Oakland Plantation with original outbuildings, including the general store and post office, doctor’s house and slave quarters. Continue along the Cane River to picturesque Natchitoches where we stay in a selection of historic guesthouses. Reconvene for dinner altogether. First of two nights in Natchitoches.

Day 8: Natchitoches. The American Cemetery contains the graves of the first French settlers and the Creole family that became one of the most influential in the city. Visits to some of the historic houses (by special arrangement) and the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Free time in the afternoon. Overnight Natchitoches. Day 9. Vermilionville, Houmas House. Visit Creole Melrose Plantation, home to the artist Clementine Hunter, to see her murals in-situ. Vermilionville, in an idyllic setting beside the Bayou Vermilion, recreates life in the area from 1765 to 1890 through original and reconstructed buildings. Continue to Houmas House, one of many impressive plantations lining the Mississippi River. Built in Greek-Revival style, Houmas evokes the lavish lifestyle of a sugar baron. We stay in the individual cottages on site and have a tour of the house before dinner. First of two nights at Houmas House. Day 10: River Road Plantations. A working sugar cane plantation, Evergreen’s thirty-seven outbuildings spread across the estate make it one of the most intact plantation complexes along the Mississippi. The Creole Laura Plantation reveals a fascinating family history of a business run by four generations of women. Overnight Houmas House. Day 11: Houmas House. Leisurely morning before transferring to New Orleans Airport. Fly at c. 2.15pm to Dallas-Fort Worth to connect with the overnight flight to London departing c. 4.45pm. Day 12. Arrive London Heathrow c. 7.30am (total flying time, c. 10 hours 15 minutes).

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £4,910 or £4,230 without all flights. Single occupancy: £5,640 or £4,960 without all flights. Included meals: 2 lunches, 6 dinners, with wine. Visas: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa. Accommodation. The Monteleone, New Orleans (hotelmonteleone.com): family-owned French Quarter institution known for excellent service. Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center (hilton. com): a chain hotel in a grand, historic building, with rooftop pool. Historic B&Bs, Natchitoches: we are divided between three or four houses in the centre; all have comfortable ensuite rooms with lots of character. Houmas House, Darrow (houmashouse.com): luxurious cottages, furnished with antiques set in the beautiful gardens of a plantation house. Excellent dining room. How strenuous? This tour would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Coaches can rarely park near the houses and the plantation houses visited do not have lifts (nor do all the hotels). Average distance by coach per day: c. 70 miles.

THE AMERICAS

Day 5: Baton Rouge. An early plantation home (dating from 1791) the construction of Magnolia Mound shows French and West Indian influences. In downtown Baton Rouge, the Art Deco State Capitol rises to 450 feet and the 27th-floor Observation deck affords views across the city. In contrast, the Old State Capitol is an extravagant, castellated Gothic structure with a stained-glass dome. First of two nights in Baton Rouge.

New Orleans, the levy, wood engraving c. 1890.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants. Combine this tour with East Coast Galleries, 10–23 May 2017 (p.221).

What else is included in the price? See page 6. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

231

Cliff Dwellings & Canyons Archaeology & anthropology in the American Southwest usa

tour visits the remains of humble settlements, it also sees large, apartment-like towns and ceremonial centres. We also experience the vital, hybrid culture produced by later immigrants – the Navajo and Apache tribes who arrived in the sixteenth century, the Mexican descendants of Spanish conquistadors who came in the seventeenth century, and the cattlemen, sheep herders and miners from the United States who took control of the region in the mid-nineteenth century.

Itinerary Day 1. Salt Lake City. Fly at c. 12.00 noon (British Airways) from London Heathrow via Dallas Fort Worth to Salt Lake City, arriving c. 8.45pm (total flying time c. 12 hours 45 minutes). The capital of the thriving state of Utah spreads out below the mountains of the Wasatch Front. Overnight Salt Lake City. Day 2. Salt Lake City, Moab. In the morning visit the state-of-the-art Natural History Museum of Utah for an introduction to the geology, archaeology and living cultures of the Colorado Plateau. An afternoon drive to Moab, and the Red Cliffs Lodge, set near the Colorado River amid sandstone cliffs. First of two nights in Moab. Day 3. Moab. Dead Horse Point State Park stands 2,000 feet above a gooseneck in the Colorado River and demonstrates the power of water, ice and wind to transform the landscape. At Canyonlands National Park, plants, animals and humans adapted to the colourful arches, mesas and pinnacles eroded from the sandstone over millions of years. Overnight Moab. Arizona, giant cactus, wood engraving c. 1890.

7–18 October 2017 (me 602) 11 nights • £5,170 Lecturer: Jerry Spangler Track a civilization spanning hundreds of miles and over a thousand years in the Four Corners where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet.

THE AMERICAS

A vast and incredible landscape: gaping canyons, immense cliffs, buttes and mesas formed by ice, water and wind over millions of years. Among the visits are Monument Valley and the spectacular lookouts at Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point. Further highlights include Mesa Verde with its incredible cliff dwellings, the great ceremonial site of Chaco Canyon, and a day on the San Juan River to see petroglyphs only accessible by boat. Led by Jerry Spangler, author, archaeologist and leading expert in the American West on the preservation of archaeological sites.

232

Cliff Dwellings and Canyons introduces the dramatic and colourful landscapes of the US Southwest and the prehistoric cultures who dwelt in this challenging environment. Much of book online at www.martinrandall.com

the tour is spent on the Colorado Plateau, where deep beds of sedimentary rock have been exposed and shaped by erosion. Here are the rivers and canyons, the mesas and buttes, where Native Americans and Western settlers adapted to often marginal environments. During its earlier geological history the Plateau was a relatively shallow sea where deposits eventually formed variegated layers of limestone, sandstone, siltstone and shale. When the region was subsequently uplifted these layers remained relatively intact. At the same time the Colorado River and its tributaries cut deeply into the horizontal sediments creating deep canyons and the characteristic terraced landforms. Humans occupied the Plateau as early as 14,000 years ago. Large mammals such as mastodons (before they became extinct) and horses were hunted with sophisticated technology; thereafter small bands adapted to the increasingly arid environment by gathering and hunting a wide variety of plants and animals. About 2,000 years ago the emergence of the ancestral cultures of the present Puebloan peoples is marked by the adoption of agriculture and pottery manufacture. The archaeological culture of the Plateau is known as the Ancestral Puebloans; their dwellings and religious structures can be seen in cliff-side shelters and on the surface. While the

Day 4. Crow Canyon, Durango. Morning drive via the site of one of the largest assemblages of petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument. Crowded figures depict humans, animals and abstract symbols. Continue to Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, unique for research, education and preservation of the history of the Ancestral Puebloans. First of three nights in Durango. Day 5. Mesa Verde, Durango. Spend the day in Mesa Verde National Park. Occupied for more than 700 years from c. 600 ad, this is the largest archaeological preserve in the United States. The surface of the elevated plateau and the deep valleys cut into it hold thousands of sites. Visit remains of surface structures as well as the incredible cliff dwellings. Overnight Durango. Day 6. Chaco, Aztec, Durango. Visit two of the most important ceremonial sites of the Southwest. Chaco Canyon is interpreted as the focus of religious celebrations involving much of the Colorado Plateau. Visit ‘Great Houses’ which were occupied only intermittently, and semisubterranean Great Kivas where sacred societies invoked the spirits of nature. One of the largest ‘Chaco outliers’, Aztec preserves the remains of a large residential community and a reconstructed Great Kiva. Overnight Durango. In the event of inclement weather, an alternative visit to Chaco Canyon will be arranged. Day 7. Canyon de Chelly, Bluff. Drive to the historic Teec Nos Pos Trading Post where Navajos

Day 8. San Juan River. An all-day boat trip (private charter) through meandering canyons cut into colourful sandstone layers allows an appreciation of geology, archaeology and wildlife inaccessible by road. See the Butler Wash Panel with one of the most extensive sets of prehistoric petroglyphs. Overnight Bluff. Day 9. Monument Valley. Spend the day in Monument Valley, the vividly coloured mesas and buttes which have inspired and defined the American Western. Guides from the Navajo Nation conduct us through its Tribal Park. Overnight Monument Valley.

Scottsdale (arizonabiltmore.com): comfortable hotel complex set in extensive grounds with numerous swimming pools. How strenuous? This tour has five hotel changes and a significant time difference to contend with. There is a lot of driving to access sites and a lot of walking, often over rough ground. Fitness and stamina are essential. At some sites it is helpful to be able to go up and down a ladder to make the most of the visit. Average distance by coach per day: 123 miles. Group size: between 12 and 22 participants. What else is included in the price? See page 6.

Jerry Spangler. archaeologist, author and leading expert in the american West on the preservation of archaeological sites. He is the executive director of the Colorado Plateau archaeological alliance and is a frequent lecturer on archaeological preservation issues. He has published widely on prehistoric peoples of utah, Colorado, and arizona.

usa

buy supplies and sell their crafts. Continue to Canyon de Chelly National Monument. High cliffs frame narrow valleys in which live Navajo families. In the valley see ancient cliff dwellings and simple present day farmsteads. First of two nights in Bluff.

See pages 8–14 for all lecturers’ biographies.

Day 10. Flagstaff, Scottsdale. A dramatic drive across the Colorado Plateau through Apache country to the lowlands of southern Arizona. On the way visit the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, a town on the southern flanks of the extinct volcanoes that constitute the San Francisco Peaks. Continue south to Scottsdale for a night in the historic Arizona Biltmore, inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. Overnight Scottsdale. Day 11. Scottsdale, Phoenix. The morning is free to enjoy the hotel’s extensive facilities. In the afternoon, visit Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home, a blurring of building and desert landscape. Continue to Phoenix Sky Harbor airport for the direct flight to London, departing c. 8.00pm. Day 12. The flight arrives London Heathrow at c. 12.45pm.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,170 or £4,390 without all flights. Single occupancy: £5,740 or £4,960 without all flights. Included meals: 5 lunches (including 4 boxed lunches) and 8 dinners with wine (plus meals on flights).

Accommodation. The Grand America, Salt Lake City (grandamerica.com): large, comfortable hotel with opulent public areas. Red Cliﬀs Lodge, Moab (redcliffslodge.com): an informal hotel set on the banks of the Colorado river. Strater Hotel, Durango (strater.com): in the centre of the town, reminiscent of a 19th-century Southwest American hotel and saloon. Desert Rose Inn, Bluﬀ (desertroseinn.com): rustic but comfortable hotel at one end of the small town of Bluff. Goulding’s Lodge, Monument Valley (gouldings. com): on the site of the original 1920s trading post set up by Harry Goulding. It is now spread over several newer buildings with bedrooms overlooking the valley. No alcohol is served in Monument Valley. The Arizona Biltmore,

THE AMERICAS

Visas: British citizens can enter the USA without a visa by applying for a visa waiver online. We will advise on this. If you have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria since March 2011 you are not eligible for the waiver and will need to apply for a visa.

Utah, the Narrows (similar to the landscapes seen on this tour), engraving c. 1880 from ‘American Pictures’. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

233

the Melbourne ring ‘one of the best rings anywhere in a long time’ austraLia The ‘Rainbow Bridge’ in ‘Das Rheingold’, from Opera Australia’s Ring Cycle in 2013, ©Jeff Busby.

20–29 November 2016 (md 949) 10 days • £5,350 – flights not included (including tickets to 4 performances) Lecturer: Barry Millington ‘The verdict was pretty much unanimous: this was one of the best Rings anywhere in a long time.’ Classical Voice America.

AUSTRALIA

The Melbourne Ring returns with conductor Pietari Inkinen and an outstanding cast including Greer Grimsley as Wotan, Lise Lindstrom as Brünnhilde, Bradley Daley as Siegmund and Stefan Vinke as Siegfried. Top category (‘Premium Reserve’) seats to all four performances with special arrangements including an exclusive backstage tour, the opportunity to attend a dress rehearsal and a talk with members of Opera Australia’s creative team and a cast member. Talks on the operas by Barry Millington, editor of The Wagner Journal and chief music critic for London’s Evening Standard. Also includes walks and visits with local guides in and around Melbourne.

234

Full-scale productions of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle in the southern hemisphere are few and far between, but Opera Australia rose to the challenge magnificently with its staging for the bicentenary of the composer’s birth in 2013. book online at www.martinrandall.com

There is now another opportunity to see Neil Armfield’s much-discussed production, back by popular demand and fielding an equally strong cast. Engaging with the environmentalist aspects of the drama, Armfield at the same time presents a wonderfully entertaining stage spectacle, full of theatrical magic, arresting images and resonant symbolism. The Rainbow Bridge in Das Rheingold, for example, is represented by a bevy of colourful Tiller Girls moving gracefully in unison, while the flow of the Rhine is conjured up by the sinuous movements of an army of Victorian extras in modern bathing suits. The production was also praised for capturing the pathos of the cycle’s later stages. The Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen, who previously produced an ‘electrifying’ orchestral sound, according to reviews, returns to the podium. To maximise this Ring experience, we have reserved ‘premium’ seats in the stalls. Our group will be able to attend a dress rehearsal and talks given by the artistic team and members of the cast – and we have arranged a backstage tour. Wagner expert, Barry Millington, is with the tour throughout and gives a series of lectures on the operas. With the performances arranged over eight days, there is plenty of time to see Melbourne. Refined and grand, the city enjoys a rich cultural life with excellent art galleries and museums and some of the best preserved Victorian architecture in the world.

Itinerary The included visits may change once we have the exact timings of the special arrangements from Opera Australia. Day 1: Joining the tour. A transfer from Melbourne airport to the hotel is included. Gather in the hotel at 5.00pm to meet the lecturer and fellow participants before dinner. Day 2. Morning lecture on the music followed by a walk in the city centre. The discovery of goldfields near Melbourne in the 1850s led to a building boom and many fine Victorian buildings remain. Walk through a sequence of arcades to the State Library and Old Melbourne Gaol. Also see the Cathedral of St Paul, a masterpiece of Gothic Revival begun by William Butterfield in 1880. Some free time followed by dinner. 7.00pm opera at the Arts Centre Melbourne: Das Rheingold, Pietari Inkinen (conductor), Greer Grimsley (Wotan), Michael Honeyman (Donner), James Egglestone (Froh), Christopher Lincoln Bogg (Loge), Jacqueline Dark (Fricka), Hyeseoung Kwon (Freia), Liane Keegan (Erda), Lorina Gore (Woglinde), Jane Ede (Wellgunde), Dominica Matthews (Flosshilde), Warwick Fyfe (Alberich), Graeme Macfarlane (Mime), Daniel Sumegi (Fasolt), Jud Arthur (Fafner). Day 3. Morning lecture followed by a backstage tour of the Arts Centre. In the afternoon, drive to Como House, a fine example of colonial

austraLia

Melbourne, with beautiful gardens. Continue to St Kilda, with its beaches, cafés and historic houses. Day 4. Morning lecture. Walk to Federation Square and visit the National Gallery of Victoria’s Australian art collection, the most comprehensive in the world. Much of the afternoon is free. We recommend the NGV’s international collection and the Botanic Gardens. 5.00pm at the Arts Centre: Die Walküre, Pietari Inkinen (conductor), Greer Grimsley (Wotan), Jacqueline Dark (Fricka), Bradley Daley (Siegmund), Amber Wagner (Sieglinde), Jud Arthur (Hunding), Lise Lindstrom (Brünnhilde), Anna-Louise Cole (Gerhilde), Olivia Cranwell (Ortlinde), Sian Pendry (Waltraute), Dominica Matthews (Schwertleite), Hyeseoung Kwon (Helmwige), Amanda Atlas (Siegrune), Nicole Youl (Grimgerde), Roxane Hislop (Rossweisse). Day 5. Much of the day is spent in the vineyardrich Yarra Valley. Discover the winemaking heritage of the region and visit the Domaine Chandon (subject to confirmation). Continue to the Museum of Modern Art at Heide in the former residence of John and Sunday Reed, whose patronage was central to the development of Australian modernism. Day 6. Morning lecture. The day is free until the afternoon opera. Suggestions include the Immigration Museum in the Old Customs House. 5.00pm at the Arts Centre: Siegfried, Pietari Inkinen (conductor), Stefan Vinke (Siegfried), Lise Lindstrom (Brünnhilde), Liane Keegan (Erda), Graeme Macfarlane (Mime), Greer Grimsley (the Wanderer), Warwick Fyfe (Alberich), Jud Arthur (Fafner), Julie Lea Goodwin (Woodbird). Day 7. A guided walk in the centre includes the Old Treasury, Parliament House and Fitzroy Gardens. The afternoon is free. Dinner is included in one of Melbourne’s many fine restaurants. Day 8. The day is free. We recommend further exploration of the city including a walk in Carlton Gardens, home to the Melbourne Museum and the Royal Exhibition Building. A further option is a sunset tour to Phillip Island to see hundreds of penguins carry out their ritual emergence from the sea to their nests on the beach.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £5,350. Single occupancy: £6,170. Flights are not included. Included meals: 1 lunch and 6 dinners with wine. Music: top category tickets for all 4 performances are included costing c. £1,075. Visas: required for most foreign nationals. We will advise on the procedure. Accommodation. Hotel Langham (langhamhotels.com/en/the-langham/ melbourne/): 5-star hotel on the Yarra River, 5 minutes on foot from the Arts Centre. How strenuous? Stamina is required for the long performances – and to cope with jet lag if flying from the UK. There is unavoidably a lot of walking in the city centre. Fitness is essential. Group size: between 8 and 23 participants.

Illustration above, of penguins: engraving c. 1850.

AUSTRALIA

Day 9. Morning lecture followed by an excursion to Rippon Lea, a historic house which well exemplifies the estates built by wealthy merchants in the wake of the gold rush. Some free time before the afternoon performance. 4.00pm at the Arts Centre: Götterdämmerung, Stefan Vinke (Siegfried), Luke Gabbedy (Gunther), Warwick Fyfe (Alberich), Daniel Sumegi (Hagen), Lise Lindstrom (Brünnhilde), Taryn Fiebig (Gutrune), Sian Pendry (Waltraute), Lorina Gore (Woglinde), Jane Ede (Wellgunde), Dominica Matthews (Flosshilde), Tania Ferris (First Norn), Jacqueline Dark (Second Norn), Anna-Louise Cole (Third Norn). Day 10. Check out by midday. Transfers from the hotel to Melbourne airport are included.

This brochure was produced in house. Much of the text was written originally by Martin Randall. Lecturers also contributed. Numerous members of our staff were involved in editing and prooﬁng, as was Julia MacRae. It was designed by Jo Murray. It was sent to print on 6th June 2016.

Melbourne, Collins Street, watercolour by Percy F.S. Spence, publ. 1910. Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

235

Booking details Making a booking 1. Booking option

2. Definite booking

3. Our confirmation

We recommend that you contact us first to make a booking option which we will hold for seven days. To confirm it please send the booking form and deposit within this period – the deposit is 10% of your total booking price (including the single supplement, if applicable to your booking).

Fill in the booking form and send it to us with the deposit. It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage, and that you sign the booking form. Full payment is required if you are booking within ten weeks of departure.

Upon receipt of the booking form and deposit we will send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is non-returnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions. Further details about the tour may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards.

If you cancel. If you have to cancel your participation on a tour, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before the tour the deposit only is forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost of the tour will be due:

Organiser’s Licence number 3622. When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. Most of our flights and flight-inclusive holidays on our website and in our brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. In order to be protected under the ATOL scheme you need to be in the UK when you make your booking and/or one of the flights you take must originate or terminate in the UK with the group.

Alternatively, you can make a definite booking straight away at www.martinrandall.com

Booking Conditions Please read these You need to sign your assent to these booking conditions on the booking form.

Our promises to you We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity. We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, often going beyond the minimum obligations. We aim to provide full and accurate information about our holidays. If there are changes, we will tell you promptly. If something does go wrong, we will try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services.

What we ask of you That you read the information we send to you.

Specific terms Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. We reserve the right to refuse to accept a booking without necessarily giving a reason. You need to have a level of fitness which would not spoil other participants’ enjoyment of the holiday by slowing them down – see ‘Fitness’ on page 15. To this end we ask you to take the tests described. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have met these fitness requirements. If during the tour it transpires you are not able to cope adequately, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits, or be invited to leave the tour altogether. This would be at your own expense.

booking details 236

Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance. Cover for medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and cancellation charges must be included. Insurance can be obtained from most insurance companies, banks, travel agencies and (in the UK) many retail outlets including Post Offices. Experience tells us that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not reliable in the event of a claim. Passports and visas. British citizens must have valid passports for all tours outside the United Kingdom. For most countries the passport needs to be valid for six months beyond the date of the tour. If visas are required we will advise UK citizens about obtaining them. Nationals of other countries should ascertain whether visas are required in their case, and obtain them if they are. book online at www.martinrandall.com

between 56 and 29 days: between 28 and 15 days: between 14 days and 3 days: within 48 hours:

40% 60% 80% 100%

If you cancel your booking in a shared room or cabin but your companion chooses to continue to participate on the tour, the companion will be liable to pay the stipulated ‘Single occupancy’ price. We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation. If we cancel the tour. We might decide to cancel a tour if at any time up to eight weeks before there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable. We would refund everything you had paid to us. We may also cancel a tour if hostilities, civil unrest, natural disaster or other circumstances amounting to force majeure affect the region to which the tour was due to go. Safety and security. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to places visited on a tour, we would cancel the tour or adjust the itinerary to avoid the risky area. In the event of cancellation before the tour commenced we would give you a full refund. We would also treat sympathetically a wish to withdraw from a tour to a troubled region even if the FCO does not advise against travel there. Seatbelts. Our tours and festivals subscribe to the health and safety legislation of the destination. In some parts of the world the law concerning seatbelts differs to the UK. The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of a tour, except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates. If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating a tour exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the tour we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not acceptable we would give a full refund. Financial protection. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel

We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTA The Travel Association. We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where we aren’t able do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims maybe re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme. English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

BOOKING FORM TOUR NAME(S)

DATES

NAME(S) – as you would like it/them to appear on documents issued to other tour participants.

TOUR CODE(S)

ROOM TYPE ☐

Single occupancy room(s)

☐

Double room (two sharing)

Participant 2

☐

Twin room (two sharing)

CONTACT DETAILS – for all correspondence

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

Participant 1

Address

Postcode/Zip

Telephone (work) E-mail ☐

Please tick if you are happy to receive your tour and booking documents by e-mail only, where possible.

☐

Please tick if you do NOT want to receive regular updates by e-mail on our other tours, music festivals and London Days.

☐

Please tick if you do NOT want to receive any more of our brochures.

What prompted your booking? For example, an advertisement in ‘The Garden’ or another publication, a marketing email from us, browsing on our website, or receiving our brochure.

FELLOW TRAVELLER – if applicable If you have made a booking for someone who does not share your address, please give their details here. We will then send them copies of all tour documents. We will NOT send them a copy of the invoice or anything else relating to financial matters.

Name Address

Telephone

☐

No travel – making your own arrangements for travel to and from the destination.

FURTHER INFORMATION or special requests. Please mention dietary requirements, even if you have told us before.

Telephone (home)

E-mail

Group travel between London and the destination (air or rail), if applicable to this tour.

Country

Mobile

Postcode/Zip

☐

Country

BOOKING FORM PASSPORT DETAILS. Essential for airlines and in case of emergency on tour (not applicable for tours in the UK if you are a UK resident). Title

Surname

Forenames

Nationality

Place of birth

1. 2. Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Passport number

Place of issue

Date of issue (dd/mm/yy)

Date of expiry (dd/mm/yy)

1. 2.

NEXT OF KIN or contact in case of emergency.

Participant 1:

Participant 2 (if next of kin is different):

Name

Telephone

Relationship

MEMBERSHIPS – only needed for certain UK tours. Please give membership numbers and expiry dates. English Heritage:

National Trust (England, Scotland or affiliate):

PAYMENT & AGREEMENT Please tick payment amount: ☐ EITHER Deposit(s) amounting to 10% of your total booking cost. ☐ OR Full Payment. This is required if you are booking within 10 weeks of departure.

TOTAL: £ Please tick payment method: ☐ CHEQUE. I enclose a cheque payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd – please write the tour code on the back (e.g. me 123). ☐ DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD. I authorise Martin Randall Travel to contact me by telephone to take payment from my Visa credit/Visa debit/Mastercard/AMEX.

Bookings paid for by credit card will have 2% added to cover processing charges. This brings us into line with standard travel industry practice. It does not apply to other forms of payment.

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

☐ BANK TRANSFER. Please give your surname and tour code (e.g. me 123) as a reference and ask your bank to allow for all charges.

Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd Bank address: Handelsbanken, 2 Chiswick High Road, London W4 1TH

For transfers from UK (Sterling) bank accounts: Account number 8663 3438 Sort code 40-51-62

For transfers from non-UK bank accounts: IBAN: GB98 HAND 4051 6286 6334 38 Swift/BIC code: HAND GB22

I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions on behalf of all listed on this form.

Signature Date

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia

Canada Tel (647) 382 1644 Fax (416) 925 2670 canada@martinrandall.ca

Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au

USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll-free, and connects to the London office)

5085

Tours by date oCtobeR 2016 1– 7

Gastronomic Piedmont (md 885) Marc Millon .................................................109

2– 8

Art in the Netherlands (md 884) Dr Guus Sluiter ...........................................149

2– 9

Courts of Northern Italy (md 881) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott ..........................122

3– 9

World Heritage Malta (md 883) Juliet Rix .......................................................147

3–16 The Western Balkans (md 880) David Gowan cmg........................................56 7– 9

MUSIC WEEKEND: The Heath Quartet (md 889) Speaker: Misha Donat ..................................40

9–16 Dark Age Brilliance (md 893) John McNeill ................................................124 10–24 Sacred China (md 890) Jon Cannon ..................................................196 11–16 Palladian Villas (md 896) Dr Sarah Pearson ........................................117 12–16 Siena & San Gimignano (md 900) Dr Antonia Whitley ....................................131 13–22 New England Modern (md 901) Professor Harry Charrington .....................223 17–29 Sicily (md 914) Professor Roger Wilson ...............................144 17–30 The Heart of Japan (md 912) Phillida Purvis mbe & Christopher Purvis cbe...............................210 18–31 Essential China (md 916) Dr Rose Kerr ................................................192 19–23 Art in Madrid (md 917) Gail Turner ..................................................170 19–24 Verdi in Parma & Busseto (md 919) Dr John Allison & Dr R. T. Cobianchi .....123 21–27 Roman & Mediaeval Provence (md 920) Dr Alexandra Gajewski ................................83 24–30 Pompeii & Herculaneum (md 923) Henry Hurst .................................................141 24–31 Gastronomic Sicily (md 924) Marc Millon .................................................146 24–31 Bilbao to Bayonne (md 922) Gijs van Hensbergen ...................................165 25–31 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur (md 925) Lydia Bauman ...............................................86 25– 7 The Indian Mutiny (md 926) Patrick Mercer obe .....................................202 30–12 Art in Japan (md 928) Dr Monika Hinkel .......................................209 31– 5 Walking in Madeira (md 929) Dr Gerald Luckhurst ...................................153

noVeMbeR 2016 Connoisseur’s Rome (md 931) Dr Kevin Childs ...........................................139

1– 7

Essential Rome (md 932) Dr Thomas-Leo True ..................................140

2– 9

Florence & Venice (md 933) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott ..........................129

7–14 Gastronomic Valencia (md 940) Gijs van Hensbergen ...................................173

28– 2 Mozart in Salzburg (md 105) Richard Wigmore ..........................................48

7–19 Sicily (md 939) Christopher Newall .....................................144

30–15 Lands of the Maya (md 127) Professor Norman Hammond ....................215

12–22 Gastronomic Kerala (md 944) Dr Elizabeth Collingham ............................207

FebRUaRY 2017

14–20 Art History of Venice (md 945) Dr Susan Steer .............................................118 18–20 MUSIC WEEKEND: The Schubert Ensemble (md 948) .............40 20–29 The Melbourne Ring (md 949) Barry Millington .........................................234 22–26 Venetian Palaces (md 950) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott ..........................120

deCeMbeR 2016 3

An Afternoon of Music & Lectures ..........39

4–17 Guatemala, Honduras, Belize (md 960) Professor Norman Hammond ....................214 20–27 Munich at Christmas (md 986) Tom Abbott ..................................................100 20–27 Umbrian Christmas (md 981) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott. .........................137 21–27 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur at Christmas (md 979) Monica Bohm-Duchen .................................86 21–27 Naples at Christmas (md 980) Dr Luca Leoncini.........................................141 21–28 Vienna at Christmas (md 987) Dr Jarl Kremeier ............................................49 21–28 Venice at Christmas (md 982) Dr Susan Steer .............................................118 29– 4 Music in Berlin at New Year (md 988) Tom Abbott ....................................................93

JanUaRY 2017 7–17 Oman (md 110) Professor Dawn Chatty ...............................188

3– 4

The Architecture of Bath Dr Geoffrey Tyack .........................................37

4– 6

SYMPOSIUM: Empire & After (md 930) ............................37

13–15 MUSIC WEEKEND: The Wihan Quartet & Friends (md 111) Speaker: Richard Wigmore ...........................40

5–15 Oman (md 935) Professor Dawn Chatty ...............................188

17–24 Valletta Baroque Festival (md 120) Juliet Rix .......................................................148

10–23 Kingdoms of the Deccan (md 143) Asoka Pugal .................................................206 15–18 Puccini in Cardiff (md 148) Simon Rees .....................................................43 16–27 Persia (md 196) Dr Charles Melville ....................................183 17–19 SYMPOSIUM: Art History Weekend ..................................41 17–23 Piero della Francesca (md 150) Dr Antonia Whitley ....................................136 23–27 Opera in Berlin (md 155) Dr John Allison & Tom Abbott ....................94 25– 1 Bartoli, Kožená, Netrebko, Villazón (md 156) Patrick Bade..................................72 27–13 Essential India (md 160) Dr Giles Tillotson ........................................198 28– 5 Connoisseur’s Rome (md 159) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott ..........................139 28– 6 Essential Rome (md 158) Dr Thomas-Leo True ..................................140

MaRCH 2017 3– 5

MUSIC WEEKEND: London Bridge Trio & Friends (md 161) Speaker: Richard Wigmore ...........................40

3–10 Gastronomic Andalucía (md 162) Gijs van Hensbergen ...................................178 6–12 Florence (md 164) Dr Antonia Whitley ....................................128 6–13 Granada & Córdoba (md 170) Dr Philippa Joseph ......................................175 13–18 A FESTIVAL OF MUSIC IN FLORENCE ..........................................133 13–25 Indian Summer (md 171) Raaja Bhasin ...............................................200 15–21 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur (md 199) Mary Lynn Riley ............................................86 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

toURs bY date

1– 6

Rome, Forum, marble relief of the Ambarvalia Sacrifice, watercolour by Alberto Pisa, publ. 1905.

239

tours by date continued MaY 2017 1– 7

Southern Tuscany (md 262) Dr Fabrizio Nevola......................................134

2– 7

Palaces of Piedmont (md 268) Dr Luca Leoncini.........................................108

2– 8

Gardens of the Veneto (md 269) Amanda Patton ...........................................114

2–11 Anjou & the West (md 263) John McNeill ..................................................78 5–12 St Petersburg (md 270) Dr Alexey Makhrov .....................................158 6–11 Lisbon Neighbourhoods (md 290) Dr Gerald Luckhurst ...................................156 6–15 Classical Greece (md 275) Professor Antony Spawforth .......................106 8–14 Walking Hadrian’s Wall (md 265) Graeme Stobbs ...............................................31 8–21 The Western Balkans (md 266) David Gowan cmg ........................................56 9–19 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (md 277) Dr Peter Webb .............................................212 10–23 East Coast Galleries (md 288) Mary Lynn Riley ..........................................221 12–19 The Douro (md 308) Adam Hopkins .............................................155 12–19 Gastronomic Valencia (md 307) Gijs van Hensbergen ...................................173 William Cecil Lord Burghley, engraving 1832 by H.T. Ryall (1811–1867).

16–21 Opera in Vienna (md 174) Barry Millington ...........................................51

13–27 Persia (md 210) Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones .................183

19–26 Florence & Venice (md 166) Dr Kevin Childs ...........................................129

14–17 MUSIC WEEKEND: The Vienna Piano Trio (md 223) Speaker: Richard Wigmore .........................40

20– 1 Sicily (md 183) Dr Philippa Joseph .....................................144 21–25 Venetian Palaces (md 185) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott ..........................120 21–29 Normans in the South (md 198) John McNeill ................................................143 22–25 Van Gogh’s Journey (md 186) Dr Frances Fowle .........................................150 23–30 Barcelona 1900 (md 190) Gijs van Hensbergen ...................................169 25– 7 Bengal by River (md 195) Dr Anna-Maria Misra ................................204 27– 1 Goya (md 219) Dr Xavier Bray ............................................172 28– 2 Ballet in Paris & London (md 194) Luke Jennings .................................................71 28– 6 Israel & Palestine (md 197) Dr Garth Gilmour .......................................185 31–10 The Ring in Berlin (md 200) Dr John Allison & Dr Jarl Kremeier ............91

toURs bY date 240

aPRil 2017 3– 8

Pompeii & Herculaneum (md 203) Dr Mark Grahame ......................................141

4– 9

Palladian Villas (md 204) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott ..........................117

5–18 China’s Silk Road Cities (md 206) Dr Jamie Greenbaum ..................................194 12–18 The Ring in Berlin (md 220) Barry Millington & Dr Jarl Kremeier..........91 book online at www.martinrandall.com

17–22 Villas & Gardens of Campagna Romana (md 240) Amanda Patton ..........................138 17–29 Sicily (md 225) Christopher Newall .....................................144 18–26 Extremadura (md 231) Adam Hopkins .............................................174 18–28 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (md 230) Professor James Allan..................................212 19–27 The Cathedrals of England (md 244) Jon Cannon ....................................................17 20–26 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes (md 232) Steven Desmond .........................110 20–29 Provence & Languedoc (md 245) Dr Alexandra Gajewski ................................81

12–24 Art in Japan (md 292) Professor Timon Screech ............................209 14–20 The Heart of Spain (md 306) Dr Nicola Jennings ......................................171 14–21 Courts of Northern Italy (md 295) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott ..........................122 15–22 Footpaths of Umbria (md 267) Dr Antonia Whitley ....................................137 16–20 Art in Madrid (md 309) Dr Zahira Véliz Bomford ............................170 16–21 At home at Weston Park (md 311) Anthony Lambert ..........................................23 17–23 Walking to Cornish Houses (md 303) Dr Paul Atterbury .........................................25 17–24 Gastronomic Veneto (md 298) Marc Millon & Dr R. T. Cobianchi ...........116 19–31 Ceramics in China (md 300) Dr Lars Tharp ..............................................191 20–25 A FESTIVAL OF MUSIC IN TOLEDO...............................................171 20–27 Franconia (md 334) Dr Jarl Kremeier ..........................................104

21–30 Spring in Crete (md 235) Dr Alan Peatfield.........................................105

31– 4 Opera in Berlin (md 315) Dr Michael Downes & Tom Abbott .............94

22–28 Gastronomic Emilia-Romagna (md 248) Marc Millon & Dr R. T. Cobianchi ...........125

The Bergen Festival ...................................151

23–29 Gardens of the Riviera (md 205) Caroline Holmes ............................................85 25– 6 New Orleans to Natchitoches (md 250) Professor Louis Nelson ................................230 26–30 Ravenna & Urbino (md 255) Dr Luca Leoncini.........................................127 26– 5 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity (md 226) Carolyn Perry ...............................45

The Prague Spring Festival ........................59

JUne 2017 3–10 Mediaeval Burgundy (md 326) John McNeill ..................................................76 3–14 Frank Lloyd Wright (md 322) Tom Abbott ..................................................224 4– 7

Rijksmuseum & Mauritshuis (md 332) Dr Sophie Oosterwijk..................................151

6–15 The Pyrenees (md 325) Dr Richard Plant .........................................164 6–17 Walking to Santiago (md 328) Dr Alexandra Gajewski ..............................161

9–16 Kraków & Silesia (md 338) Sebastian Wormell.......................................152 10–12 Strauss in Cardiff (md 337) Simon Rees......................................................44 10–16 Monasteries of Moldavia (md 324) Alan Ogden...................................................157 11–18 Early Railways: The North (md 329) Dr Paul Atterbury..........................................29 14–17 Versailles: Seat of the Sun King (md 327) Em. Professor Antony Spawforth..................70 14–26 Galleries of the American Midwest (md 343) Gijs van Hensbergen...................226 16–19 Strauss in Leipzig (md 335) Barry Millington............................................97 18–24 THE MIRACLE OF SALZBURG..............48 19–25 Connoisseur’s Vienna (md 352) Dr Jarl Kremeier.............................................52

Danish Castles & Gardens..........................64

Savonlinna Opera.........................................66

Beaune Music Festival.................................77

Baden Baden Festival...................................94

Verona Opera..............................................117

Walking the Menuhin Festival.................179

4– 8 Country Houses of Kent (me 534) Anthony Lambert...........................................22 4– 9 Oxford & Oxfordshire (me 515) Dr Cathy Oakes..............................................34 4– 9 Czech Modernism (me 514) Professor Harry Charrington........................59

AUGUST 2017

4–10 Walking a Royal River (me 521) Dr Paul Atterbury..........................................32

7–16 Great Houses of the North (md 450) Gail Bent.........................................................21

11–19 Great Houses of the Czech lands (md 455) Dr Jarl Kremeier.............................................60 14–17 Constable & Gainsborough (md 478) Hugh Belsey mbe............................................33 14–18 Frederick the Great (md 470) Professor Tim Blanning..................................96

22–30 Sacred Armenia (md 370) Ian Colvin.......................................................46

4–10 THE JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH JOURNEY.........................................99

4–10 Gastronomic Catalonia (md 536) Gijs van Hensbergen....................................167 5–16 Walking to Santiago (me 517) Dr Alexandra Gajewski...............................161 5–18 Essential China (me 513) Jon Cannon...................................................192 6–10 Flemish Painting (me 516) Dr Betsy Wieseman........................................53 6–11 Tudor England (me 518) Professor Maurice Howard............................20

24–27 The Age of Bede (md 373) Imogen Corrigan............................................18

7–18 Persia (me 528) Professor James Allan...................................183

25–29 Connoisseur’s London (md 375)................36

26–30 Mediaeval Kent (md 333) John McNeill...................................................16

10–16 Connoisseur’s Prague (me 537) Michael Ivory..................................................58

26– 2 French Gothic (md 330) Dr Matthew Woodworth...............................67

10–17 Courts of Northern Italy (me 519) Professor Fabrizio Nevola............................122

26– 2 Brittany (md 369) Caroline Holmes.............................................74

10–26 Peru: the Andean Heartland (me 524) Dr David Beresford-Jones............................219

28– 7 Great French Gardens (md 379) Steven Desmond.............................................68

11–18 Walking in the Cotswolds (me 527) Dr Steven Blake..............................................27

29– 6 Cave Art of France (md 331) Dr Paul Bahn..................................................84

15–20 King Ludwig II (md 480) Tom Abbott...................................................103

11–18 The Heart of Italy (me 531) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott...........................135

29– 7 Finland: Aalto & Others (md 378) Professor Harry Charrington........................66

16–20 Munich’s Masterpieces (md 482) Patrick Bade.................................................102

30– 3 At home at Belvoir Castle (md 380) Anthony Lambert...........................................24

20–27 THE DANUBE MUSIC FESTIVAL..........50

12–22 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (me 522) Professor Charles Melville............................212

The Schubertiade..........................................50

27– 4 Mitteldeutschland (md 505) Dr Jarl Kremeier.............................................98

Opera in Copenhagen.................................63

The Schubertiade..........................................50

Handel in Halle.............................................94

Grafenegg & Linz Festival...........................50

Opera in Oslo..............................................151

The Sibelius Festival.....................................66

Organs of Bach’s Time.................................99

Verona Opera..............................................117

The Lucerne Festival..................................179

JULY 2017 1–10 Georgia Uncovered (md 383) Ian Colvin.......................................................88 3– 8 Walking to Derbyshire Houses (md 384) Dr Paul Atterbury..........................................26 4–10 Charlemagne to Charles V (md 385) Dr Jeffrey Miller..............................................54 6–11 At home at Ardgowan (md 387) Caroline Knight..............................................42 6–13 THE RHÔNE MUSIC FESTIVAL............82

SEPTEMBER 2017 1– 4 Poets & The Somme (me 538) Andrew Spooner.............................................73 1– 8 St Petersburg (me 511) Dr Alexey Makhrov......................................158 1–13 The Road to Santiago (me 512) John McNeill.................................................160

6–14 Danish Art & Design (md 386) Shona Kallestrup............................................62

18–25 Vikings & Bog Bodies (md 400) Dr David Griffiths..........................................63 21–25 Opera in Munich (md 424) Professor Jan Smaczny & Tom Abbott.......101 21– 3 Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania (md 435) Dr Jeremy Howard.........................................64 31– 5 Yorkshire Churches & Cathedrals (md 440) Dr Jana Gajdosova........................19

The Ryedale Festival.....................................29

Illustration: Ionic capital, wood engraving c. 1890.

Combining tours Suggestions for tours to combine are found at the end of many of the tour descriptions in this brochure. Please contact us for advice on travel and accommodation between tours, or for further recommended combinations.

14–25 Persia (me 545) Professor Dominic Brookshaw....................183 16–19 The Age of Bede (me 526) Imogen Corrigan............................................18 16–25 Classical Greece (me 535) Dr Andrew Farrington.................................106 16–27 Frank Lloyd Wright (me 540) Tom Abbott...................................................224 17–24 Early Railways: The North (me 542) Anthony Lambert...........................................29 18–24 Imperial Istanbul (me 529) Jane Taylor....................................................180 18–28 The Arts in China Dr Konstanze Knittler..................................195 18–30 Sicily (me 530) Dr Luca Leoncini..........................................144 20–26 Walking to Cornish Houses (me 533) Dr Paul Atterbury..........................................25 21–24 In Churchill’s Footsteps (me 552) Terry Charman...............................................35 21–27 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes (me 550) Steven Desmond..........................110 21–29 Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden (me 551) Dr Jarl Kremeier.............................................90 22–27 Wine, Walks & Art in Alsace (me 525) Marc Millon....................................................80 24– 1 Dark Age Brilliance (me 570) Dr Ffiona Gilmore Eaves.............................124 Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Tours by date

10–14 Literature & Walking in the Lake District (md 395) Christopher Newall.......................28

13–17 The Battle of Waterloo (me 523) Major Gordon Corrigan mbe........................55

241

Tours by date continued OCTOBER 2017 2– 8 World Heritage Malta (me 592) Juliet Rix........................................................147 2–15 The Western Balkans (me 591) David Gowan cmg.........................................56 3– 8 Palladian Villas (me 599) Dr Sarah Pearson.........................................117

NOVEMBER 2017

9–16 Walking in Southern Tuscany (me 601) Dr Antonia Whitley.....................................132 11–15 Ravenna & Urbino (me 597) Dr Luca Leoncini..........................................127

27– 6 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity (me 579) Carolyn Perry.................................45 29– 6 Walking in the footsteps of Leonardo & Michelangelo (me 585) Dr Antonia Whitley.....................................130

Haydn in Eisenstadt.....................................50

The Hanseatic League..................................94

Rhine Masterpieces......................................99

Gastronomic Lombardy............................111

28– 5 Essential Jordan (me 666) Sue Rollin & Jane Streetly............................186

9–14 Friuli-Venezia Giulia (me 598) Dr Kevin Childs............................................112

27– 4 Essential Puglia (me 581) Dr Richard Plant..........................................142

23– 2 Essential Andalucía (me 616) Dr Philippa Joseph.......................................177

3–11 Aragón: Hidden Spain (me 595) Adam Hopkins..............................................166

7–18 Cliff Dwellings & Canyons (me 602) Jerry Spangler...............................................232

27– 1 Art in Madrid (me 580) Gail Turner...................................................170

22–29 Courts of Northern Italy (me 635) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott...........................122

3–10 Mediaeval Alsace (me 594) Dr Alexandra Gajewski.................................79

5– 9 The Venetian Hills (me 596) Dr Kevin Childs............................................111

25–30 Pompeii & Herculaneum (me 571) Dr Nigel Spivey.............................................141

21–27 Gastronomic Piedmont (me 634) Marc Millon..................................................109

11–17 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur (me 600) Monica Bohm-Duchen..................................86 13–22 Castile & León (me 617) Gijs van Hensbergen....................................163 13–26 Art in Japan (me 610) Dr Monika Hinkel........................................209 14–22 Le Corbusier (me 614) Dr Richard Plant............................................75 15–21 Art in the Netherlands (me 615) Dr Guus Sluiter............................................149 16–28 Sicily (me 618) John McNeill.................................................144 17–25 Palestine (me 606) Felicity Cobbing............................................189 18–26 The Cathedrals of England (me 604) Jon Cannon.....................................................17

Roman Spain...............................................174

4–17 Aztecs to Zapotecs (me 675) Professor Norman Hammond.....................217 5–10 VIVALDI IN VENICE..............................115 7–12 Connoisseur’s Rome (me 679) Dr Kevin Childs............................................139 8–19 Art in Texas (me 677) Gijs van Hensbergen....................................228 13–19 Art History of Venice (me 695) Dr Susan Steer..............................................118 13–19 The Printing Revolution (me 696) Stephen Parkin & Dr Michael Douglas-Scott...........................121 24– 6 The Arabian Gulf (me 717) Dr Karen Exell..............................................181 28– 2 Venetian Palaces (me 720) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott...........................120

Japanese Gardens........................................211

Myanmar......................................................211

DECEMBER 2017 We will run six or seven tours over Christmas and New Year. Setails will be available for them in April–May 2017. Please contact us to register your interest. Left: Nanjing, Porcelain Tower, engraving c. 1860. Right: Cambridge, King’s College, lithograph 1814.

London Days Details for all of the London Days listed below are found on pages 38–39. More dates are released on an ongoing basis, throughout the year. If you would like to receive fortnightly e-mail updates on the latest range of London Days, e-mail: info@martinrandall.co.uk.

London Gardens Walk (lc 812) Amanda Patton

SEPTEMBER 2016

Seven Churches & a Synagogue (ld 911) Professor Gavin Stamp

London’s Underground Railway (ld 918) Andrew Martin

The London Backstreet Walk (ld 921) Giles Waterfield

London’s Underground Railway (ld 862) Andrew Martin

JULY 2016

The Tudors (ld 859) Dr Neil Younger

The London Backstreet Walk (lc 755) Professor Gavin Stamp

John Nash (ld 865) Dr Geoffrey Tyack

The Genius of Titian (ld 934) Sheila Hale

The South Bank Walk (lc 756) Sophie Campbell

The London Squares Walk (ld 867) Martin Randall

Great Railway Termini (ld 942) Dr Steven Brindle

20 Hawksmoor (lc 770) Andrew Martin

Tours by date 242

AUGUST 2016

OCTOBER 2016

DECEMBER 2016

The Ever-Changing City Skyline (ld 891) Professor Peter Wynne Rees cbe

Ancient Greece (ld 961) Professor Antony Spawforth

Great Railway Termini (ld 897) Professor Gavin Stamp

The Genius of Titian (ld 964) Sheila Hale

The Italian Renaissance (ld 965) Dr Antonia Whitley

Shakespeare’s London (lc 794) Dr Charles Nicholl

The South Bank Walk (ld 789) Dr Jeffrey Miller

10 Hawksmoor (lc 894) Andrew Martin

Sculpture in London (lc 809) David Mitchinson

The London Backstreet Walk (ld 895) Barnaby Rogerson

Byzantine Glories (lc 811) Dr Heike Zech

The South Bank Walk (lc 902) Sophie Campbell

book online at www.martinrandall.com

NOVEMBER 2016

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au

Canada Tel (647) 382 1644 Fax (416) 925 2670 canada@martinrandall.ca USA Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll-free, and connects to the London ofďŹ ce)

5085

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

5085

2017

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF United Kingdom

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L A RT • A R C H I T E C T U R E • G A S T R ONO M Y • A R C H A E OLO G Y • H I S TOR Y • M U S I C

2017

& October– December 2016