florence in depth

OVERVIEW

In Florence from the thirteenth century, the combination of trade and commerce, political power, and a classical heritage resulted in a ‘rebirth’ (or Renaissance) of innovative art and culture. Subsequent historians and critics recognised this critical moment and argued for its fundamental importance to Western art, so that great Tuscan names are iconic, from Giotto to Donatello, Brunelleschi, Leonardo and Michelangelo.

Recently, the role of women artists, such as Artemisia Gentileschi and Giovanna Garzoni, in this Tuscan boom has also been acknowledged, along with the more modest folk whose lives have left ample traces in the archives for scholars to uncover. Indeed, the archives of Florence are so extensive that we can reconstruct daily life in entire neighbourhoods, allowing us almost unparalleled access to the contexts in which the great artists and architects of the Italian Renaissance lived and worked.

This new 13-day tour led by Renaissance historian Dr Nick Eckstein offers an in-depth history that goes behind Florence’s masterpieces and the complex meanings that lend them their beauty. Background lectures, guided site visits and time for independent sightseeing are complemented by excursions to San Gimignano and Pienza, as well as an exploration of Florence’s ‘rebirth’ in the nineteenth century as a modern cultural destination.