Update: April 2023

Update April 2023

Dear traveller,

What’s new? It’s a question we are often asked, by clients, journalists, tourist boards, fellow tour operators, our own staff. New is exciting, no doubt, and has pushed the boundaries of Martin Randall Travel in thrilling ways over the years. ‘New’ in 2023 also has the benefit (if I can put a positive spin on the last three years) of rounding up some of the many new tours we had planned for 2020 but which were inevitably postponed.

But ‘new’ at MRT is hard to define. Rare is it that a tour will repeat in the same way year after year. Different lecturers bring different opinions, museums expand, restaurants open, and music programmes are never the same. We keep on top of developments wherever we go, and make sure the ‘old’ tours are renewed. After all, the stalwarts in our tour list have provided much enjoyment for 30+ years, with careful review, refinement, and importantly, regular prospecting.

So, while this Update celebrates anniversaries and new itineraries – Sir Christopher Wren, Picasso, Renaissance Rivals, Lusatia, Gastronomic Basque Country – the calendar towards the back lists the full range for 2023 and 2024. All the tours honed, tweaked, brought up to date; ‘new’ in their own way. We are delighted to share these with you.

With best wishes,

Fiona Charrington • Chief Executive March 2023

We have begun to launch our programme for next year – find a regularly updated list at martinrandall.com/2024. If you would like to receive details for a particular tour as soon as they are ready, please call, or send an e-mail to alerts@martinrandall.co.uk.

Martin Randall Travel Ltd

10 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4PH

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355

info@martinrandall.co.uk

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ATOL 3622 | ABTOT 5468 | AITO 5085

Cover: Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo by Hiroshige. Left: Departure for the Island of Cythera (1717), engraving by Nicolas-Henri Tardieu after Jean-Antoine Watteau.

Medieval Champagne

Architecture, sculpture and stained glass

26 September–3 October 2023 (mj 906)

8 days • £3,120

Lecturer: John McNeill

Outstanding Gothic architecture, with some of the finest collections of medieval sculpture and stained glass in France.

Based in Reims and Troyes, two of the three principal centres of medieval Champagne.

The art and architecture of southern Champagne is inextricably entwined with that of Burgundy’s far north: Châtillon-sur-Seine, Pontigny and Auxerre are also examined.

Champagne is better known for its wine than its monumental culture, though along with neighbouring Burgundy it abounds in architecturally distinguished towns. It also played a major role in the development of Gothic architecture and retains more medieval statuary and stained glass than any other region in France.

The old county recognised three principal towns: Reims, Provins and Troyes – all of them sites of major European annual fairs. This lent a cosmopolitanism to medieval Champagne – an openness and suggestibility evident in its material culture. It should equally be celebrated for its earlier monuments.

The greatest of the 11th-century are the abbey of St-Remi at Reims and the hill-top church at Châtillon, while for the 12th century one is spoiled for choice. The 13th century saw Champagne at the cutting edge of Europe: at Reims, the tracery window was invented, while at Troyes the clerestory was perhaps first glazed. The late-13th century marked something of a change of direction – St-Urbain at Troyes is one of the keys to late medieval architecture in Europe.

Champagne suffered grievously during the Hundred Years War and recovery was protracted and uneven. Its great concentration of sculptural and glazing shops only reached a peak in the early 16th century, but there is still much to savour.

Itinerary

Day 1. Eurostar at c. 10.30am, London St Pancras to Paris. Drive to Reims; first of two nights here.

Day 2: Reims. Walk to the cathedral: the greatest and most varied architectural sculpture in France. Afternoon at the abbey of St-Remi, and among the stunning Roman and medieval collections housed in the adjacent monastic precinct.

Day 3: Châlons-en-Champagne, Orbais, Troyes. The museum at Notre-Dame-en-Vaux in Châlons-en-Champagne houses the finest early Gothic cloister sculpture in Europe. Orbais Abbey perfectly illustrates the shift from early to high Gothic architecture. First of five nights in Troyes.

Day 4: Troyes. Troyes Cathedral’s treasury, flamboyant west front and rich stained glass form a splendid ensemble. Visit the church of St-Urbain with razor-sharp tracery, openwork gables and fastidiously coloured glass. View 16th-century sculpture at La Madeleine, and visit the museum of stained glass at the Cité du Vitrail.

Day 5: Villemaur-sur-Vanne, Villeneuvel’Archevêque. See the Renaissance wooden choir screen at Villemaur and the episcopal church at Villeneuve, the town where Louis IX received the crown of thorns. Free afternoon in Troyes.

Day 6: Pontigny, Auxerre. Drive to Pontigny’s Cistercian church, contrasting a light-filled nave with a beautiful early Gothic east end. At Auxerre, visit St-Eusèbe, the Cathedral and the amazingly well-preserved Carolingian crypt at St-Germain.

Day 7: Châtillon-sur-Seine, Tonnerre, Chaource. Châtillon boasts a wonderful early Romanesque church on a hill above the Seine, and a museum built to house the Vix vase. Visit Margaret of Burgundy’s great hospital at Tonnere and the charming late medieval church at Chaource.

Day 8: Provins. In Provins, see the walled upper town and church of St-Quiriace. Eurostar from Paris to London St Pancras, arriving c. 6.30pm.

Reims, Notre Dame, 18th-century copper engraving.

Lusatia: Germany’s Eastern Borderlands

Cities, palaces and gardens along the Oder-Neisse Line

17–23 July 2023 (mj 797)

7 days • £2,460

Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier

A rarely-visited and unspoilt area, yet each day presents something of European importance. Visit gardens laid out by one of Europe’s foremost patrons of landscape gardening, Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau.

Old and important trading cities (Bautzen Görlitz, Zittau) which largely escaped wartime damage and are now well restored.

Historically, the ground covered by this tour was the territory of two margraviates of the Holy Roman Empire, Brandenburg to the north and Lusatia to the south. Lusatia maintained strong links to the Kingdom of Bohemia throughout the Middle Ages and beyond. Continuing ecclesiastical relations with Prague led to the embedding of Roman Catholic institutions in what became Lutheran territories. This is evident in the Baroque abbeys which are dotted around an area otherwise dominated by Gothic churches.

In order to protect peace and order in Upper Lusatia, six cities formed an alliance of mutual protection in 1346, which lasted until 1815 when Lusatia was partitioned and territories were ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia. From 1871 Lusatia became a part of united Germany and was divided between Prussia and Saxony.

Our journey through this fascinating region takes us to the creations of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, a genius for his further development of the English landscaped Park. Pückler (1785–1871) inherited two large estates at Muskau (now a unesco world heritage site) and Branitz. Both rank among the highlights of 19thcentury garden design in continental Europe.

Itinerary

Day 1: Frankfurt an der Oder, Eisenhüttenstadt. Fly (BA) from Heathrow to Berlin Brandenburg

and drive southeast to Frankfurt an der Oder. Largely devastated by allied bombing, amid the post-war architecture stand the impressive gabled town hall and Brick Gothic Marienkirche. Eisenhüttenstadt (formerly Stalinstadt), ‘the first socialist town on German soil’, was established in the 1950s. Overnight in Neuzelle.

Day 2: Neuzelle, Branitz. Neuzelle Abbey is one of the most significant Baroque monuments in northern Germany. The medieval Cistercian Monastery was largely revamped in the 17th and 18th centuries and now forms an amazing architectural ensemble. Schloss Branitz (Cottbus) sits in a very fine park designed by its owner, Prince Pückler-Muskau. Continue to Bad Muskau where two nights are spent.

Day 3: Bad Muskau. Spend the day at the estate of Prince Pückler-Muskau which comprises his first landscaped garden – vast, c. 600 ha – laid out at great expense from 1816. Two thirds of this garden is now in Poland, the river Neisse having been chosen as the border in 1945. Since 1989 both sides have been open to pedestrians.

Day 4: Bautzen, Görlitz. Drive South to Bautzen, a picturesque city in the Spree valley, renowned for its many towers. Once the administrative centre and capital of the Lusatian League. Continue to the other major Lusatian power, Görlitz, where three nights are spent.

Day 5: Görlitz. The German side of Görlitz retains the old city centre which is abundant in Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Across the bridge are the now Polish former eastern suburbs.

Day 6: Zittau, St Marienthal. At the tripoint where Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic meet, Zittau is an interesting example of urban planning with an oval inner city, and city walls which became a Ringstrasse lined with 19thcentury public buildings.

Day 7. Fly from Berlin Brandenburg, arriving at London Heathrow in the afternoon.

Schloss Branitz ©SFPM/Hans Bach.

Renaissance Rivals

Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael: the tumultuous trio

18–24 October 2023 (mj 962)

7 days • £3,740

Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

A fascinating exploration of the three greatest artists of the Italian High Renaissance.

Milan, Florence, Rome, with Italy’s finest art galleries and visits by special arrangement. Led by Dr Michael Douglas-Scott, specialist in 16th-century Italian art.

In the years 1495–1520 the rivalry between these three artists – Leonardo, Michaelangelo and Raphael – provided the impetus for the creation of the great pinnacle of European visual culture, known as the ‘High Renaissance’. Competition was central to the Italian Renaissance. Artists competed with orators and humanists for positions at court. In Milan, Leonardo won the attention of the Duke, Ludovico ‘il Moro’ Sforza, who commissioned him to paint The Last Supper and to make a giant equestrian statue of his father Francesco. The latter was never finished as in 1499 the Sforza regime fell and Leonardo returned to his homeland of Florence.

Here he ran into direct (and acrimonious) competition with the (younger) sculptor Michelangelo. They were both engaged in providing painted battle-scenes for the town hall for the republican regime that had replaced Medici control. From Urbino, Raphael, arrived in town in 1505 just in time to learn from their heroic achievements and failures.

Raphael then took his own renewed style to Rome and, in his turn, entered into competition with the great Michelangelo under the patronage of Pope Julius II. As Raphael painted the Stanza della Segnatura, the Sistine Chapel ceiling was frescoed by Michelangelo. Raphael paid tribute to Michelangelo by including him in the School of Athens but his hero resented the younger rival’s success, claiming that ‘everything he learned he learned from me’.

Itinerary

Day 1. Fly at c. 9.30am from London Heathrow to Milan Malpensa. The scene is set with a visit to the Brera, one of Italy’s finest art galleries. Overnight in Milan.

Day 2: Milan, Florence. Visit the Renaissance church of Sta Maria delle Grazie, home to Leonardo’s Last Supper. The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana has works by Raphael, Bramantino, Luini. Take an afternoon train to Florence, where the next three nights are spent.

Day 3: Florence. The Uffizi holds key works by all three artists, as well as every other major Florentine painter. In the afternoon see Michaelangelo’s Slaves in the Accademia, before focusing on work undertaken for the Medici family in the Cappelle Medicee.

Day 4: Florence. Visit Casa Buonarotti, house of Michelangelo’s family. Continue to the Palazzo Pitti; the Galleria Palatina is outstanding for High Renaissance and Baroque paintings. The Bargello holds Florence’s finest sculpture collection. The vast Franciscan church of Sta Croce is furnished with sculpted tombs, altarpieces and frescoes.

Day 5: Florence, Rome. By train to Rome. The delightful Villa La Farnesina has frescoes by Raphael. Continue to the Chigi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo and the Galleria Borghese. First of two nights in Rome.

Day 6: Rome. Rise early for a private visit to the Vatican to see (in peace) the most precious assemblage of painting in the western world; including Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s frescoes in the adjacent Stanze. An afternoon walk includes Piazza Navona, the Pantheon (for Raphael’s tomb).

Day 7: Rome. The Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican was the outcome of the greatest architects – Bramante, Raphael, Sangallo, Michelangelo –and contains major sculpture. Return to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 6.30pm.

The School of Athens, copper engraving c. 1781, by Giovanni Volpato (1732–1803), after Raphael.

Fiesole to Lucca: Tuscany on Foot

Country walks and Renaissance art

24 September–1 October 2023 (mj 904)

8 days • £3,420

Lecturer: Dr Thomas-Leo True

Six country walks amid the beautiful scenery around Fiesole and Lucca.

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.

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, there is an extraordinary number of villas and gardens. This tour includes some of the best, linking them by geographical proximity and for the purposes of aesthetic and architectural comparison. There is something about discovering them 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 carefully-positioned Renaissance and Baroque sculpture.

Beyond the gardens, the Tuscan climate lends itself to producing well-structured red wines as well as excellent olive oil. The combination of care for provenance of ingredient and excellent cooking means that 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. Morning flight from London Heathrow to Pisa (BA). Visit Villa La Pietra, built in the 15th century by Francesco Sassetti. Drive to Fiesole; first of three nights here.

Day 2: Fiesole, San Domenico. Visit Fiesole’s cathedral. After a steep climb, an easy walk to Monte Ceceri (c. 3 km, 1½ hrs). 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. Walk to Settignano through olive groves and woodland (c. 5.5 km, 2 hrs). Villa Gamberaia is one of the most perfect examples of garden art. Lunch at Pian de’ Giullari. Overlooking Florence, San Miniato al Monte is a splendid Romanesque basilica.

Day 4: Fiesole, Pistoia, Lucca. Visit Villa Medici, built in the 15th century, where Cecil Pinsent designed a series of green ‘rooms’ on a steep slope. Pistoia is home to important sculpture in the church of Sant’Andrea and the cathedral. First of four nights in Lucca.

Day 5: Lucca, Matraia, Villa Oliva Buonvisi. See the Romanesque cathedral of San Martino then drive to Matraia for a walk through olive groves (2.5 km, 30 mins), lunch and an olive-oil tasting. Walk on paths and lanes beside some of Lucca’s finest summer retreats then descend to Marlia (c. 3 km, 1 hour). Visit the 15th-century Villa Oliva.

Day 6: Compitese villages, Pietrasanta. Pietrasanta is famous for its skilled marble workers; visit a workshop. Walk through the villages of Sant’Andrea di Compito and San Giusto di Compito (c. 3.5 km, 1½ hrs).

Day 7: Camigliano, Villa Torrigiani. Drive to Camigliano and walk on grassy paths to Sant’Andrea in Caprile (7 km, 2½ hrs). Lunch before visiting Villa Torrigiani and its garden. Return to Lucca for a wine tasting and dinner.

Day 8. Return to Heathrow arriving at c. midday.

Tuscan landscape, etching c. 1920.

Italian Design

Modernism in Turin and Milan

23–29 October 2023 (mj 983)

7 days • £3,320

Lecturer: Dr Philippa Joseph

The history and development of Italy’s design industry from Art Nouveau to the present day. Iconic 20th-century buildings and important private collections, several accessible only by arrangement.

Based in two beautiful historic cities which were central to the development of modern design.

In the 1950s and 60s, Italian design epitomised head-turning, sophisticated chic the world over. However, its origins can be traced back to the turn of the 20th century and earlier, when Art Nouveau began sweeping through Europe’s most fashionable cities. Turin, the first capital of the fledgling Italian state following unification, was at the vanguard of the flamboyant new style.

Futurism followed from 1909, with its emphasis on energy and speed. Turin, the heart of Italy’s burgeoning automobile industry, was at the forefront of this dynamic new movement. Italy was soon in the thrall of International Modernism in architecture, and developed its own version, Rationalism, exemplified in 1936 by Giuseppe Terragni’s Casa del Fascio in Como.

The country’s postwar reconstruction was encapsulated by architect Ernesto Rogers and in the decades that followed, Italy produced innumerable beautiful and innovative buildings, cars, furniture and industrial designs, including the Vespa scooter, the Fiat 500, and Olivetti’s Lettera 22 portable typewriter. Olivetti combined design excellence with corporate beneficence, and its headquarters at Ivrea had bright, modern factories surrounded by open green space.

Milan and its environs are still home to many important furniture firms, and since the 1930s has held the famous international design fair, the Triennale di Milano. It is now also home to the recently opened Museo del Design Italiano.

Itinerary

Day 1: Turin. c. 7.30am flight (BA) from London Gatwick to Turin. Visit the test track on the roof of Lingotto, the former Fiat factory, an homage to Futurism (1926). Continue to the excellent Museo dell’Automobile. First of three nights in Turin.

Day 2: Turin. Visit the Expo 61 trade fair pavilions by Pier Luigi Nervi, and the Palavela by Franco Levi and Annibale and Giorgio Rigotti. Visit one of the best surviving Stile Liberty houses, Villa Scott, and the striking Teatro Regio interior designed by Carlo Mollino (1905–73).

Day 3: Ivrea, Turin. Olivetti was Italy’s most important postwar company, its offices and factories now a UNESCO site. In Turin, an optional visit to the Mole Antonelliana, former synagogue and Europe’s first skyscraper, now home to the National Museum of Cinema.

Day 4: Milan. Visit Grattacielo Pirelli, an iconic skyscraper (1960), designed by Gio Ponti, Alberto Rosselli and Pier Luigi Nervi. Palazzo dell’Arte houses the Museo del Design Italiano. Visit the Fondazione Franco Albini, dedicated to the creator (with Franca Helg) of many classic furniture designs. First of three nights in Milan.

Day 5: Binasco, Rho. In Binasco, view the MUMAC Coffee Museum’s collection of espresso machines, and memorable Pop Art furniture at Kartell. In Rho, Museo Storico Alfa Romeo holds some of the marque’s most important cars.

Day 6: Brianza, Como. In the area of Brianza there are scores of important furniture companies including Cassina and Bonacina. Terragni’s Casa del Fascio in Como of 1932–6 is probably the most famous Rationalist building in Italy.

Day 7: Milan. The Museo del Novecento houses important 20th-century art, including works by Metaphysical and Futurist artists. Villa Necchi Campiglio is a Modernist/Art Deco house designed by Piero Portaluppi. Fly from Milan to Heathrow, arriving at c. 8.00pm.

Turin, interior roof of the Lingotto (former Fiat factory) ©Alexander Schimmeck.

Gastronomic Basque Country

Food, art and architecture

4–11 September 2023 (mj 849)

8 days • £4,310

Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen

Long, lazy lunches including two in restaurants with three Michelin stars.

Excellent wines of La Rioja-Alavesa.

Architecture by Gehry, Calatrava, Moneo, and varied landscapes of coast, plain and mountain.

Straddling the Pyrenees, the Basque Country has wonderful and varied scenery, a magnificent range of art and architecture and a culinary tradition which ranks with the best in the world. It is a land of abundance, though there is one striking exception: tourists are in short supply.

The landscape reaches from the Atlantic coast, with natural harbours and fishing communities from which the wealth of the region has derived since ancient times, to the hills and mountains majestically clothed with broadleaf forests. Both the highlands and the fertile rolling lowlands provide the raw ingredients which supplement the seafood and inspire gastronomic greatness.

The best of Basque cooking mixes a strong sense of tradition with startling innovation. From all-male dining clubs, where friends cook for each other, to indoor markets spilling over with smoked idiazabal cheeses and fresh fish, from rustic cider clubs to chic new bars vying for the ‘tapas of the year’ prize, Basques remain obsessed with the quality and provenance of their food.

From Bilbao we drive out to the Rioja-Alavesa, northern rim of the most prestigious winemaking area in Spain, before continuing onwards to San Sebastián, arguably the most gastronomic city in the world.

In between restaurants, wineries and specialist food shops, we linger in medieval villages, Gothic churches and Baroque interiors. Here we find fine contemporary architecture, while nestling in the upland valleys we explore a doughty vernacular of remarkable distinctiveness and beauty.

Itinerary

Day 1: Bilbao. Morning flights (Vueling), London Gatwick to Bilbao. First of three nights here.

Day 2: Bilbao. A morning walk in the medieval quarter before lunch at the riverside Art Deco market. The afternoon is spent studying Gehry’s titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum.

Day 3: Laguardia, Marqués de Riscal. Laguardia is the most picturesque of Riojan villages. See the ramparts and 14th-century portal of Santa María de los Reyes. Tasting at Bodega El Fabulista, where wine is produced by treading the grapes. The bodegas of Marqués de Riscal are among the most venerable in the region. The visit includes a tasting in the cellars of their Gehry-designed hotel, followed by lunch.

Day 4: Bilbao, San Sebastián. Visit Bilbao’s Fine Arts Museum before driving to the outskirts of San Sebastián for lunch at one of the most famous restaurants in Spain, Arzak. Despite its three Michelin stars and status as one of the world’s best restaurants, it remains firmly a family business. First of four nights in San Sebastián.

Day 5: Getaria. The traditional fishing village of Getaria is perched on a rocky promontory in the Bay of Biscay. Here we taste the local specialities of txakoli wine and anchovies. Lunch is at Michelin-starred Elkano, where the local catch is grilled to perfection over a wood fire.

Day 6: San Sebastián. Gastronomic capital of Spain. Behind the ancient fisherman’s quarter is a compact old town with an arcaded central square and traffic-free streets. Lunch in a private dining club, a rare privilege. Some free time.

Day 7: San Sebastián, Lasarte-Oria. Visit the Chillida Leku sculpture museum in San Sebastián. Lunch at Martín Berasategui’s three Michelin-star restaurant in Lasarte-Oria.

Day 8. Afternoon flight, Bilbao to London Gatwick, arriving at c. 2.45pm.

Bilbao, the Church and bridge of San Antonio, wood engraving c. 1880.

Celebrating Picasso

Special exhibitions in Málaga, Madrid, Barcelona and Paris

21–29 November 2023 (mj 125)

9 days • £3,830

Lecturer: Gijs van Hensbergen

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death with a series of events.

Special exhibitions in Málaga, Madrid, Barcelona and Paris, with two nights in each city.

First-class, high-speed rail travel between cities, from Málaga back to London.

Picasso was unique, complex, contrary – a fireball of inspiration that transformed everything he touched. No artist dominated the 20th century quite like him. Fifty years after his death we can reflect on his contribution to painting, sculpture, print-making, pottery, theatre design, poetry, photography and the status of the artist as media superstar and political provocateur.

Spanish to the core, for more than 70 of his 92 years Picasso lived in France, where he produced more than 35,000 original works of art. Within his home country during the Franco regime many dismissed Picasso’s work as ‘the manic doodles of the artist from Málaga’ and reviled his outpourings as Communist bunk. Such works as were in Spain were secreted during the regime in clandestine private collections. All that has long changed. Barcelona honoured him in the 1960s with the opening of its Picasso museum. In late 2003, his home town of Málaga opened its own Picasso museum.

From the Málaga of Picasso’s childhood we move north by rail, via Madrid and Barcelona, to Paris, and take in a host of special exhibitions to mark the historic milestone. En route we visit sources of inspiration for the man who claimed the greatest artist was the greatest kleptomaniac. Even in his 80s, brooding over homeland Spain, he would refashion scraps of paper, make lightning notations and surrealist doodles while twisting wire bottle tops into pocket sculptures as he rethought the boundaries of the world of art.

Itinerary

Day 1: Málaga. Fly at c. 10.30am from London Heathrow to Málaga (British Airways). An afternoon walk includes the house where Picasso was born. First of two nights in Málaga.

Day 2: Málaga. The Carmen Thyssen museum has a fine collection of old masters and 19th-century Spanish painting. The afternoon is spent in the Picasso Museum, where over 200 works span his entire career. Exhibition: The Echoes of Picasso.

Day 3: Málaga to Madrid. Travel by high-speed AVE train to Madrid (c. 3 hours). Lunch is served on board. In the afternoon visit the Prado Museum. First of two nights in Madrid.

Day 4: Madrid. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Exhibition: Picasso, the Sacred and the Profane. Lunch nearby at one of Picasso’s haunts. Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is home to Picasso’s Guernica. Exhibition: Picasso 1906: The Turning Point.

Day 5: Madrid to Barcelona. High-speed AVE train from Madrid to Barcelona (c. 3 hours) with lunch on board. Visit the National Museum of Catalan Art. First of two nights in Barcelona.

Day 6: Barcelona. Walk in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, inspiration of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, and Els Quatre Gats, the bar where Picasso held his first one-man show. The afternoon is devoted to the Picasso Museum: Exhibition: Miró–Picasso.

Day 7: Barcelona to Paris. Travel by high-speed TGV train, through the Pyrenees and French countryside, arriving late-afternoon in Paris (c. 6 hours 45 minutes). First of two nights in Paris.

Day 8: Paris. The Picasso Museum possesses one of the greatest collections of the artist’s work. We also visit one of the special Picasso exhibitions taking place in Paris (exhibition to be confirmed).

Day 9: Paris. The Pompidou Centre hosts a special exhibition of drawings and prints by Picasso. Afternoon Eurostar to London St Pancras.

Málaga, Picasso Museum ©Picasso Museo Málaga.

Sir Christopher Wren

The tercentenary of England’s most famous architect

26–30 September 2023 (mj 910)

5 days • £2,310

Speaker: Simon Bradley

A celebration of one of the world’s greatest architects to mark the tercentenary of his death. Includes most of his surviving works, with several special arrangements.

Cambridge, Oxford, City of London, Chelsea, Greenwich, Hampton Court.

All four nights in a central London hotel.

Sir Christopher Wren, a name known to practically everyone, is one of the few English creatives known to non-specialists. He died 300 years ago, aged 90, having served six monarchs as Surveyor General with overall control of many of the finest buildings in England erected in the decades around 1700.

Yet his progress towards mastery was fascinatingly tentative. He didn’t design a building until he was over 30, he received no formal training and saw only a narrow range of buildings in mainland Europe. And debate still rages about the input of his assistants, among whom were such greats as Robert Hooke, Nicholas Hawksmoor and John Vanbrugh.

But against his achievements, these are minor cavils. He was the designer and executant architect of St Paul’s Cathedral, one of the outstanding buildings of the Early Modern age; designed or supervised the rebuilding of 55 parish churches in London; had a significant impact on the fabric of both Oxford and Cambridge; and created icons of England such as Chelsea Royal Hospital, the extension to Hampton Court Palace and the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich.

In addition, he was rated by some as the most brilliant member of the Royal Society, and appointed Professor of Astronomy at both Oxford and Gresham College, London. Much of Wren’s activity as an architect can be understood in the light of his life as a scientist.

Itinerary

Day 1: Cambridge. Choose to leave from the hotel in St James’s or meet the group at Stratford Station, north-east London. Then by coach to Cambridge. See Wren’s first building, Pembroke College Chapel (1663), and a range in Emmanuel College. Trinity College Library is one of the finest things in this beautiful city. Drive back to Stratford, Jubilee Line, St James’s and dinner.

Day 2: City of London. Wren’s level of involvement in the 52 parish churches rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666 varied; a selection of the 24 survivals provides a variety of ingenuity and beauty. St Paul’s Cathedral was the outcome of nearly 50 years of thought and effort, its achievement the more remarkable because of the scepticism and hostility Wren faced throughout.

Day 3: Oxford. By coach to Oxford. The Sheldonian Theatre was the most challenging of Wren’s early projects, and still fulfils its original function for university ceremonies. See also his completion of Tom Tower at Christ Church which completed the gateway begun under Cardinal Wolsey – an early case of the Gothic Revival.

Day 4: Chelsea, Hampton Court. The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, built to house retired and disabled soldiers, is the major embodiment of the typically English reticent style of two shades of red brick and painted woodwork. The Tudor palace at Hampton Court was transformed by Wren for William III, Mary II and Queen Anne.

Day 5: Greenwich. By river bus to Greenwich. ‘The most stately procession of buildings we possess’, ‘the finest piece of monumental classical architecture in England’ – such are the standard encomia about Wren’s creation, the Royal Hospital for Seamen, which served as both almshouse and expression of national pride. He also designed the nearby Royal Observatory. Lunch, then by river again to Westminster, finishing at the hotel by 4.00pm.

London, St Paul’s Cathedral, early-18th-century copper engraving.

Photo ©Ben Ealovega.

Calendar 2023

The vast majority of our programme for the rest of 2023 is now available to book, including Christmas and new year (see page 24) – visit martinrandall.com for full details. Should you find that the tour you are looking for is not yet on-sale, please contact us to register your interest. Our full anticipated programme for 2024 can be found on pages 25–28.

April 2023

3–11 The Ring in Berlin (mj 662)

Barry Millington

10–21 Art in Japan (mj 674) Dr Monika Hinkel

11–16 Palladian Villas (mj 677)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

12–19 Romans & Carolingians (mj 678)

Dr Hugh Doherty

17–22 Pompeii & Herculaneum (mj 683)

Dr Mark Grahame

18–27 Anjou & the West (mj 682) John McNeill

19–27 The Cathedrals of England (mj 684)

Jon Cannon

19–28 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity (mj 686)

Carolyn Perry

20–24 Ravenna & Urbino (mj 687)

Dr Luca Leoncini

20–25 Opera in Vienna (mj 696) Dr John Allison

20–26 Southern Tuscany (mj 690)

Dr Fabizio Nevola

21–23 Linos Piano Trio at The Castle Taunton (mj 689)

21– 2 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (mj 688)

Dr Peter Webb

24– 3 The Venetian Land Empire (mj 691)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

24– 6 Civilisations of Sicily (mj 692)

Dr Philippa Joseph

May 2023

8–10 The Elias String Quartet at The Swan, Lavenham (mj 706) Richard Wigmore

8–13 Tuscan Gardens (mj 708)

Dr Katie Campbell

8–14 Walking Hadrian’s Wall (mj 705)

Dr Matthew Symonds

8–15 The Duchy of Milan (mj 716)

Dr Luca Leoncini

8–20 Traditions of Japan (mj 717)

Professor Timon Screech

8–21 The Western Balkans (mj 714)

Professor Cathie Carmichael

10–18 Aragón: Hidden Spain (mj 715)

Dr Zahira Bomford

12–19 Courts of Northern Italy (mj 723)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

12–19 Art in Scotland (mj 719) Christopher Baker

12–20 Great Irish Houses (mj 724)

Anthony Lambert

13–22 Cities of Catalonia (mj 718)

Gijs van Hensbergen

13–22 Classical Greece (mj 712)

Professor Antony Spawforth

15 Choral Day: Byrd in the City (lj 722)

15–21 Prague Spring (mj 720) Dr Michael Downes

18–28 Moldavia & Transylvania (mj 727)

Dr Shona Kallestrup

18–29 Leipzig Mahler Festival (mj 729)

Dr Paul Max Edlin

19–25 Dresden Music Festival (mj 726)

Dr Jarl Kremeier

19–30 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (mj 725)

Dr Peter Webb

21–25 Castles of Wales (mj 730) Dr Marc Morris

22–26 Great Private Houses in Norfolk (mj 735)

Dr Andrew Moore

23– 1 The Medieval Pyrenees (mj 737)

Dr Richard Plant

30– 3 Berlin: New Architecture (mj 748)

Tom Abbott

June 2023

3–10 Medieval Burgundy (mj 754) John McNeill

7–14 Gastronomy & the Golden Age (mj 755)

Gijs van Hensbergen

8–11 Glyndebourne & Garsington (mj 760)

Dr John Allison

9–12 Versailles: Seat of the Sun King (mj 762)

Professor Antony Spawforth

12–18 Art in Tyrol, South & North (mj 763)

Dr Ulrike Ziegler

12–18 Gastronomic Fruili-Venezia Giulia (mj 764) Marc Millon

12–19 Footpaths of Umbria (mj 766)

Dr Thomas-Leo True

14–23 Great French Gardens (mj 765)

Steven Desmond

15–23 Great Houses of the North (mj 768)

Dr Steven Parissien

16 London Squares Walk (lj 773)

Martin Randall

16–23 Medieval Alsace (mj 769) Dr Richard Plant

17–25 Gardens in the Highlands (mj 770)

Colin Crosbie

19–23 Medieval Middle England (mj 772)

John McNeill

19–25 Walking in Southern Bohemia (mj 771)

Martina Hinks-Edwards

22–28 Walking the Rhine Valley (mj 774)

Richard Wigmore

23–27 West Cork Chamber Music Festival (mj 777) Leo Samama

23–30 MUSIC ALONG THE RHINE (mj 776)

27– 1 Lincolnshire Churches (mj 785)

John McNeill

29– 3 Copenhagen Modern (mj 780)

Professor Harry Charrington

July 2023

1– 5 CELEBRATING WILLIAM BYRD (mj 787)

3– 7 West Country Churches (mj 790)

John McNeill

5– 9 Flemish Painting (mj 791)

Dr Sophie Oosterwijk

6 Wren 300 (lj 789) Martin Randall

6–11 Savonlinna Opera (mj 792) Simon Rees

11–16 Hindsgavl: Chamber Music in Denmark (mj 793) Dr Michael Downes

12–19 Cave Art of France (mj 795) Dr Paul Bahn

17–23 Lusatia: Germany’s Eastern Borderlands (mj 797) Dr Jarl Kremeier

19 The London Backstreet Walk (lj 801)

Sophie Campbell

19–23 Opera in Munich (mj 800) Patrick Bade

27– 3 The Hanseatic League (mj 820)

Andreas Puth

28 London Gardens Walk (lj 810)

Louisa Allen

August 2023

2– 6 Verona Opera (mj 818) Dr R.T. Cobianchi

7–16 Medieval Saxony (mj 838) Dr Ulrike Ziegler

11–14 Drottningholm & Confidencen (mj 825) Dr David Vickers

14–20 Rossini & Puccini (mj 827)

Rupert Christiansen

15–20 King Ludwig II (mj 828) Tom Abbott

20–25 The Lucerne Festival (mj 832)

Dr Michael Downes

25–31 The Schubertiade (mj 835)

Richard Wigmore

27– 4 Mitteldeutschland (mj 840)

Dr Jarl Kremeier

31 London Neighbourhoods (lj 841)

Martin Randall

September 2023

1–12 Samarkand & Silk Road Cities (mj 842)

Dr Peter Webb

2– 9 The Heart of Italy (mj 848)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

2–13 Walking to Santiago (mj 852)

Dr Rose Walker

3– 8 Isambard Kingdom Brunel (mj 846)

Anthony Lambert

4– 8 The Age of Bede (mj 860) Imogen Corrigan

4–10 THE BACH JOURNEY (mj 850)

4–11 Gastronomic Basque Country (mj 849)

Gijs van Hensbergen

6–11 Dutch Modern (mj 853)

Professor Harry Charrington

7–11 Ravenna & Urbino (mj 858)

Dr Luca Leoncini

8–15 Courts of Northern Italy (mj 859)

Professor Fabrizio Nevola

9–13 Chateaux of the Loire (mj 855)

Dr Sarah Pearson

9–18 Classical Greece (mj 856)

Dr Dan Jolowicz

11–18 Walking in Slovenia (mj 861)

Professor Cathie Carmichael

26–30 Sir Christopher Wren (mj 910)

Simon Bradley

26–30 Arts & Crafts in the Cotswolds (mj 865)

Janet Sinclair

26– 3 Medieval Champagne (mj 906)

John McNeill

27– 5 The Cathedrals of England (mj 907)

Jon Cannon

27– 5 Two Spains: The Spanish Civil War & its aftermath (mj 908) Giles Tremlett

30– 4 Siena & San Gimignano (mj 920)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

London Organs Day

October 2023

2– 7 Gardens & Villas of Campagna Romana (mj 923) Amanda Patton

4–10 Art in the Netherlands (mj 922)

Desmond Shawe-Taylor

5–13 Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden (mj 925)

Dr Jarl Kremeier

9–15 Malta: prehistoric to present (mj 930)

Juliet Rix

12–16 Ravenna & Urbino (mj 940)

Dr Luca Leoncini

14–20 Gastronomic Piedmont (mj 943)

Cynthia Chapman

11–23

Civilisations of Sicily (mj 862)

Christopher Newall

16–26 Georgia Uncovered (mj 875) Ian Colvin

18–24 Walking a Royal River (mj 879)

Sophie Campbell

20–27 English Georgian Towns (mj 895)

Andrew Foyle

20–29 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity (mj 898)

Carolyn Perry

22– 3 Frank Lloyd Wright (mj 900) Tom Abbott

24– 1 Fiesole to Lucca: Tuscany on Foot (mj 904)

Dr Thomas-Leo True

25–30 Pompeii & Herculaneum (mj 903)

Dr Nigel Spivey

25– 5 Essential Andalucía (mj 905)

Dr Philippa Joseph

16–22 In Search of Alexander (mj 934)

Professor Antony Spawforth

16–23 Footpaths of Umbria (mj 946)

Dr Thomas-Leo True

16–25 Castile & León (mj 935)

Gijs van Hensbergen

16–28 Civilisations of Sicily (mj 932)

John McNeill

17–22 Palladian Villas (mj 955) Dr Sarah Pearson

18–24 Renaissance Rivals (mj 961)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

20–22 THE THOMAS TALLIS TRAIL (mj 975)

21–27 The Ligurian Coast (mj 978)

Dr Luca Leoncini

21–29 Essential Jordan (mj 980) Felicity Cobbing

21–31 Oman, Landscapes & Peoples (mj 981)

Dr Peter Webb

22–28 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur (mj 928)

Mary Lynn Riley

23–29 Malta: prehistoric to present (mj 982)

Juliet Rix

23–29 Italian Design (mj 983) Dr Philippa Joseph

24–28 Opera North

30– 4 Wexford Opera Festival (mj 995)

Dr John Allison

31– 5 Palermo Revealed (mj 996)

Dr Luca Leoncini

Hamburg: Opera & ‘Elphi’

November 2023

2– 5 Les Années Folles (mj 100) Patrick Bade

3– 5 The Consone Quartet at The Castle Taunton Dr Katie Campbell

7–11 Venetian Palaces (mj 105)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

9–20 Japanese Gardens (mj 108)

Yoko Kawaguchi

13–19 Art History of Venice (mj 110)

Dr Susan Steer

13–20 Gastronomic Sicily (mj 111) Marc Millon

15–19 Art in Madrid (mj 112) Dr Xavier Bray

20–26 The Art of Florence (mj 120)

Dr Flavio Boggi

20–27 The Printing Revolution (mj 116)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

& Stephen Parkin

21–29 Celebrating Picasso (mj 125)

Gijs van Hensbergen

30–13 Essential South India (mj 132)

Asoka Pugal

Music in Paris

London Advent Choral Day

Christmas & New Year

December 2023

Available to book now. Please contact us for full details or visit martinrandall.com

20–27 Florence at Christmas (mj 141)

Dr Michael Douglas-Scott

20–27 Turin at Christmas (mj 145)

Dr Luca Leoncini

21–27 Prague at Christmas (mj 150)

Martina Hinks Edwards

21–28 Verona at Christmas (mj 142)

Dr Susan Steer

21–28 Munich at Christmas (mj 154)

Tom Abbott

21–27 Paris at Christmas (mj 148)

Patrick Bade

28– 3 Music in Berlin at New Year (mj 155)

Tom Abbott

Illustration: Munich, Frauenkirche, watercolour by E. Harrison Compton, publ. 1912. Page 21: Ionic column, engraving 1851 by Henry Winkles. Page 26: aquatint and engraving from ‘A Picturesque Tour Through Holland’, Brabant and France, 1789

Calendar 2024

Please contact us to register your interest in any of our tours and events in 2024. Those listed here with a code in brackets are available to book. Visit martinrandall.com/2024 for a regularly updated list.

January 2024

25– 4 Oman, Landscapes & Peoples (mk 165)

Dr Peter Webb

Mozart in Salzburg

Valletta Baroque Festival

String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam

February 2024

25– 8 Vietnam: History, People, Food (mk 181)

Dr Dana Healy

27– 4 Essential Rome

27– 7 Israel & Palestine Matthew J. Adams

Music, Opera, or Ballet in Paris

Opera in Nice & Monte Carlo

Hamburg: Opera & ‘Elphi’

Connoisseur’s Rome

Opera North

UK History Symposium

March 2024

4– 9 Gardens of Madeira

8–10 Welsh National Opera (mk 192)

Simon Rees

9–22 Cambodia by River (mk 194)

Freddie Matthews

14–18 Ravenna & Urbino

19–27 Normans in the South (mk 204)

John McNeill

25– 3 Minoan Crete

Music in Berlin

Caspar David Friedrich 250

Art in the Age of Angst

The Story of Venice

Venetian Palaces

The Art of Florence

Ancient Rome

Granada & Córdoba

New Orleans to Nachitoches

April 2024

2–14 Civilisations of Sicily Dr Philippa Joseph

4–13 Extremadura Chris Moss

8–19 Art in Japan

9–14 Palladian Villas

15–20 Pompeii & Herculaneum Mark Grahame

17–26 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity

Carolyn Perry

18–24 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes

19–21 William Howard & the Carducci Quartet at The Castle Taunton

22–28 Malta: prehistoric to present (mk 252)

Juliet Rix

23– 1 Cornish Houses & Gardens (mk 250

Anthony Lambert

24– 2 The Cathedrals of England Jon Cannon

Normandy Gardens of the Riviera

Gastronomic Provence

Tom Abbott’s Berlin Tom Abbott

Romans & Carolingians

The Ring in Leipzig, or Dresden

Genoa & Turin

Friuli Venezia-Giulia

Gastronomic Lombardy

The Venetian Hills

The Heart of Italy

Lucca

Essential Jordan

Morocco: Cities & Empires

Western Andalucía

Samarkand & Silk Road Cities

May 2024

8–15 Gastronomic Veneto

10–17 Madrid & Toledo Gijs van Hensbergen

10–17 Art in Scotland

12–17 A Festival of Impressionism

13–19 Gastronomic Catalonia

Gijs van Hensbergen

13–25 Traditions of Japan

13–26 The Western Balkans

Professor Cathie Carmichael

15–19 Stockholm Modern

Professor Harry Charrington

19–26 The Medieval Heart of Portugal

20–26 Great Swedish Houses

24– 5 The Road to Santiago

28– 4 Great Houses of the South West

31– 7 Krakow & Silesia Dr Agata Gomółka

SALZBURG STRING QUARTET FESTIVAL

June 2024

3–10 Footpaths of Umbria

3–11 Cyprus: stepping stone of history

8–15 Medieval Burgundy

24–28 Medieval West Midlands

24–30 Art & Music in Vienna

24– 2 Gardens in the Highlands Colin Crosbie

27– 5 Finland: Aalto & Others

Professor Harry Charrington

Flemish Painting

Versailles: Seat of the Sun King

Bauhaus

Leipzig Bach Festival

West Cork Chamber Music Festival

Gastronomic Le Marche

Riga Opera Festival

Gastronomy on the Emerald Coast

Glyndebourne & Garsington

The Ring at Longborough

Houses of the South Downs

Art in the North East

At home at Weston Park

Tudor England

July 2024

1– 5 The Welsh Marches

Habsburg Austria

Smetana 200

Opera & Ballet in Copenhagen

Art in Paris

The Dresden Music Festival

Classical Greece

Iceland’s Story

Great Irish Houses

Courts of Northern Italy

Tuscan Gardens

Gardens of the Bay of Naples

Van Gogh’s Journey

Bergen Music Festival

Classical Turkey

Arts & Crafts in the Lake District

New English Gardens & RHS Chelsea

Great Gardens of the South

Literary England

Samarkand & Silk Road Cities

1– 6 Walking to Derbyshire Houses

Anthony Lambert

8–14 Western Ireland Archaeology

28– 4 MOZART ALONG THE DANUBE

Walking the Danube

Danish Art & Design

Hindsgavl: Chamber Music in Denmark

Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania

Opera in Munich & Bregenz

Bayreuth Barockfest

Bayreuth Festspiele

King Ludwig II Tom Abbott

Savonlinna Opera

French Gothic

The Beaune Music Festival

Verona Opera

Lofoten Chamber Music Festival

Buxton Opera Festival

Yorkshire Houses

Palladianism in Southern England

Shakespeare & his World

Orkney: 5,000 years of culture

August 2024

1– 8 The Hanseatic League Andreas Puth

The Schubertiade

Summer Music in Austria

Great Houses of the Czech Lands

Moving on: Architecture & Memory

Tom Abbott

Verona Opera

Drottningholm & Confidencen

The Victorian Achievement

Early Railways: the North

Country Houses in the Scottish Borders

Royal Residences

Maritime England

Opera in Santa Fe

September 2024

3– 9 Cave Art in Spain Dr Paul Bahn

6–14 Sacred Armenia Ian Colvin

9–15 The Etruscans Dr Nigel Spivey

9–16 Franconia

11–20 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity

Carolyn Perry

13–23 West Coast Architecture (mk 420)

Professor Neil Jackson

15–22 Dark Age Brilliance

15–25 Georgia Uncovered Ian Colvin

19–25 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes

23–2 Pompeii & Herculaneum Dr Nigel Spivey

23– 3 Essential Andalucía

25– 3 The Cathedrals of England Jon Cannon

30– 7 Footpaths of Umbria

Connoisseur’s Prague

The Sibelius Festival

Champagne: vines, cellars, cuvées

Neanderthals in France

Beethoven in Bonn

Classical Greece

Civilisations of Sicily

Historic Musical Instruments

Gastronomic Emilia Romagna

Sardinia

Courts of Northern Italy

Piero della Francesca

Great Palaces of Italy

Antwerp & Oostende

Gardens of the Dutch Wave

The Douro

Gastronomic Basque Country

THE DIVINE OFFICE: CHORAL MUSIC IN OXFORD

England’s Georgian Towns

In Churchill’s Footsteps

Houses of Middle England

Gastronomic South West England

Walking a Royal River

Samarkand & Silk Road Cities

October 2024

4–12 Basilicata & Calabria

7–13 Malta: prehistoric to present (mk 485)

Juliet Rix

8–13 Palladian Villas

10–18 Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden

Dr Jarl Kremeier

12–20 Le Corbusier

14–26 Civilisations of Sicily

18–24 Roman & Medieval Provence

Dr Alexandra Gajewski

Bulgaria

Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur

Wexford Festival Opera

Courts Centres of the Po

Italian Design

Parma & Bologna

Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese

Ravenna & Urbino

Walking in Southern Tuscany

Caravaggio

Connoisseur’s Pompeii

Gastronomic Puglia

OPERA IN SOUTHERN SICILY

Essential Jordan

Palestine, Past & Present

Two Spains: The Spanish Civil War & its Aftermath

Castile & Leon

Ancient & Islamic Tunisia

Eastern Turkey

Istanbul Revealed

Liverpool Rising

November 2024

7–18 Japanese Gardens

8–19 The Making of Argentina Chris Moss

16–29 Essential India Giles Tillotson

Janáček Festival Brno

Art in Paris

Athens Arising

Venice Revisited

Venetian Palaces

Florentine Palaces

Walking in Sicily

Palermo Revealed

Art in Madrid

Art in Texas

December 2024

We usually offer around seven tours over Christmas and New Year. Please contact us to register your interest – call us, or send an e-mail to alerts@martinrandall.co.uk

Online talks

Modern China: history, economics and society since 1949

Five talks by Professor Kerry Brown

Tuesdays, 7 March–4 April • subscribe for £65

The Age of Power: Science and globalisation in the 18th century

Five talks by Patricia Fara

Thursdays, 23 March–20 April • subscribe for £65

Railway Romance: literature and culture of a British love affair

Five talks by Andrew Martin

Tuesdays, 11 April–9 May • subscribe for £65

Ivory, Apes & Peacocks: luxury, trade and exchange in the ancient world

Six talks by Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Mondays and Wednesdays, 24 April–10 May subscribe for £75

Iconic Italian Design: five perfect partnerships

Five talks by Dr Philippa Joseph

Thursdays, 1–29 June • subscribe for £65

Recordings are available for subscribers to view for up to eight weeks after the end of a series.

Still available to watch:

The Rise and Fall of the Italian Renaissance with Dr Michael Douglas-Scott (£75; available until 25 April) • Handel in London with Richard Wigmore (£55; available until 11 May)

To find out more and subscribe, please visit: martinrandall.com/online-talks

Martin Randall Travel Ltd

10 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4PH

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355

info@martinrandall.co.uk

From North America: Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll-free)

usa@martinrandall.com

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www.martinrandall.com