The emphasis of the trip is on photography, yet this is much more than a photographic tour. The trip’s leisurely pace will provide ample opportunity to wander through medieval hill towns, feast on the famous regional foods and wines, and stay in small, family-owned hotels in the countryside and in the heart of Florence.
(PRWEB) October 24, 2005 -- Tuscany has perhaps produced more accomplishments in art and science than any other place in history. It is the birthplace of the Etruscan civilization, the Italian language, and the age that shaped modern history, the Renaissance.
Imagine a small region that could claim Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, and Botticelli as its native sons! The first part of the trip centers on Florence, the capital of Tuscany, the city where the Renaissance began. It is a living museum of art and culture. Exploring and photographing its streets, plazas, and visit great works of art and architecture in the company of excellent guides.
A short drive outside Florence transports into the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Heading south of Siena, the first destination being the hill-top town of Pienza. Spend two full days exploring the pastoral scenes and walled villages surrounding this town, an area known for its stunning landscape beauty and picturesque medieval hill towns. The next destination is the heart of Chianti, among the best-preserved landscapes in Italy, some virtually unchanged since artists depicted them five hundred years ago. The region has large areas of woodlands, interspersed with vineyards and dotted with medieval towns high on hills and ridges. The quality of light here has inspired generations of artists. The journey will explore this glorious land in depth. Everywhere there is something of compelling beauty, curiosity, and interest — brilliant architecture, classic Tuscan landscapes, the daily life of the people themselves, providing continuity between past and present.
There is also a tremendous extension to Venice. Venice, this legendary city of art, capital of the Veneto, encompasses about 180 square miles, of which 100 is water. The city is built around an archipelago of more than a hundred small islands, separated by a dense network of 177 canals, and joined by 400 small bridges. The city rests on countless millions of larch poles driven into the sediment of the lagoon, and is protected from the Adriatic Sea by long strands of sand bars.
It is an exotic blend of Gothic, Byzantine and Renaissance styles, seen today as it did in the 15th and 16th centuries. Everywhere there is water, shaping and reflecting the life of the city, its compelling beauty, curiosity, and interest. Cathedrals, gondolas, and the daily life provide continuity between past and present. Dark passageways end in sunlit squares, neighbors gather at medieval well heads, gondolas moor under tiny stone bridges, elderly women haul baskets of vegetables to their balconies, cats dart in and out of streets marked with ancient signs and stone relief. It’s a photographer’s paradise and there is time for in-depth exploring of the city with cameras.
Visiting the tiny island of Burano, scarcely more than a half mile wide; one of the most colorful and photogenic places anywhere. There is time to wander and photograph the brightly painted houses of blue, red, green, and yellow, lining the narrow canals crossed by stone and wooden bridges. Contact 607-756-8676 or visit phototc.com
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