Archive for the 'Art and History' Category

THE INK IS DRY ON THE NEW “AN ART LOVER’S GUIDE TO FLORENCE”, by Judith Testa

September 15th, 2012

AHA’s own art historian consultant and guide, Judith Testa, has recently released her latest work, which we are VERY pleased to announce, An Art Lover’s Guide To Florence.

Many AHA alumni, reading this now, have had the pleasure of meeting and learning from this renowned art historian on one of Art History Alive’s trips to Rome. And many more have read her earlier book, Rome is Love Spelled Backward: Enjoying The Art And Architecture In The Eternal City. I consider Judith’s books so valuable that I often gift copies to my AHA guests, pre-travel, tied with a ribbon that holds a bright yellow highlighter. They instantly get the message. Already considered an expert in the fantastic city of Rome, where she lives several months of the year, she has now conquered the art of Florence.

Below is a description of the newly released, An Art Lover’s Guide To Florence, available on Amazon. What I love most about Judith’s scholarship and the handling of her art history is made bold below. Mark Heineke, of the Northern Illinois University Press, describes it perfectly. Further, in October, I will post an article written by Judith in answer to my questions, “How does one tackle a HUGE subject like the art of Florence, and in what way did you begin to gather material?”

If you are planning a trip to Italy that might include Florence or Rome, or you just love to read about these special places and their art, I can’t recommend highly enough Judith Testa’s books. Enjoy!

“No city but Florence contains such an intense concentration of art produced in such a short span of time.The sheer number and proximity of works of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Florence can be so overwhelming that Florentine hospitals treat hundreds of visitors each year for symptoms brought on by trying to see them all, an illness famously identified with the French author Stendhal.

“While most guidebooks offer only brief descriptions of a large number of works, with little discussion of the

Judith Testa With Fortunate AHA Guests, Rome

historical background, Judith Testa gives a fresh perspective on the rich and brilliant art of the Florentine Renaissance in An Art Lover’s Guide to Florence. Concentrating on a number of the greatest works, by such masters as Botticelli and Michelangelo, Testa explains each piece in terms of what it meant to the people who produced it and for whom it was made, deftly treating the complex interplay of politics, sex, and religion that were involved in the creation of those works.

“With Testa as a guide, armchair travelers and tourists alike will delight in the fascinating world of Florentine art and history.”

Mark Heineke, Northern Illinois University Press

 

 

A PERFECT PARISIAN DAY, By Maggie Harris

August 16th, 2012

 

A Perfect Parisian Day, by Maggie Harris, will appear as a five part series.

Maggie Harris is AHA’s research guru, and though much of her work is done staring at a computer screen, gathering information is not enough for AHA. In this series, Maggie puts her feet on the cobblestones and explores a great AHA destination, Paris. Assignment: To make her way to Musee Marmottan Monet, explore the gallery, and find a special place for AHA guests to lunch. To take copious notes to enrich and improve our travel itineraries for AHA guests! Mission accomplished.

 

 

 

 

I feel really blessed and humbled to be able to apply some of the experience from my travel adventures to the mission and vision of Art History Alive!It is a joy to use travel success )and travel disappointments) to help positively inform the AHA experience. So when Art History Alive asked that I take some time out of my work in Paris to scope some finds for them, what was my response? Oh, fine, twist my arm!

Sidewalk Breakfast, Paris

My personal challenge, on this particular day, was to truly explore, to simply take a journey. To have one destination, but to allow

myself to meander my way there and be open to detours along the way. To revisit some favorites and find some new joys as well. To figure it out without my cellphone GPS or scouring the travel books or restaurant reviews in advance. This kind of journey – slower, more aware, unrushed – is just the kind of travel that AHA boasts and often creates the most intense joy and offers the most amazing finds. This was just such a day.

 

It was not just a day in Paris, it was a gloriously gorgeous day, the kind of day that every person who dreams of going to Paris envisions. It was, afterall, April in Paris.

Lucky me to be in this city and have only one goal in mind – to visit the Musée Marmottan Monet. Somehow, on my visits to Paris, I had not yet managed to explore this gem of a museum. It boasts the largest collection of Monets in the world, as well as numerous works by other artists such as Degas, Sisley, Pisarro, Renoir, and more. I was eager to see some of Monet’s less famous pieces and particularly excited about exploring a part of Paris that I was not very familiar with.

 

A Morning Read, Jardin du Luxembourg

Ready for my day, I left my lovely hotel in the 6th arr. and set off for the metro station. Craving a café crème (just as it sounds, coffee with warm cream), I stopped at a storefront that had a serving window on the sidewalk. The pan au chocolat (chocolate croissants, essentially) was calling my name, so in celebration of being in France – and knowing I would walk it off in no time – I caved (for just 3 Euros! Take that, Starbucks!) I made a spur of the moment decision to detour up the road to the Jardin du Luxembourg so I could sit and enjoy my morning snack. I have noticed that in France one rarely sees people eating “on the run” as one does in the States. People aren’t scarfing sandwiches on the metro or gulping coffee as they juggle a briefcase and hail a cab. Any food experience is to be enjoyed. Savored. So off I went to savor!

Once inside The Luxembourg Gardens, in all its leafy, lovely serenity, I love thinking about how Victor Hugo featured the park so heavily in “Les Miserables”, Hemingway strolling through it, and reading current literature that mentions it. Should I try to grab a green chair around the large fountain area in the bright sunshine, surrounded by tulips and pansies? Should I sit on a bench along one of the shaded paths and watch the joggers and tennis players as they seized the morning in their own way? I opted for my favorite spot of all, right in front of the Medici fountain. It is romantic and mystical to me with great trees filtering lovely green dappled light while their leaves whisper overhead. Today the fountain had actually been drained, but it had no less charm than when it is full of water. I settled into a green lawn chair to enjoy my coffee, croissant, and a little bit of the novel I was reading. Two older Frenchmen played chess to my left. To my right, a quintessential French couple cuddled together on one chair (at 9am!).

After a good 25 minutes of serenity, caffeine, and chocolate, I left the gardens and headed to the metro. I was excited to get to the 16th arr. to explore and witness some great art!

 

 

 

 

FROM ROME: First Things First – Food! by Alysa Weinstein Gravina

July 18th, 2012

As soon as I am settled in my neighborhood, I have to find my stores: my macellaio (butcher) my frutto vendolo (fruit and vegetable stand), my alimentari (deli) and my forno (bakery). It is crucial to have a relationship with each and every one of these places and the people who run them. And believe me, this takes time.

I have Roberto on via Fraccassini who always has the most juicy fruits and green vegetables (some pre-cut and pre-washed), minestrone, beans, chick peas and fava, and, when in season, at least 4 types of cherry tomatoes. Something I forgot, living in the U.S. for so long, is that every food actually has a season and, for that matter, so does wine. Roberto loves America, tattoos, R&B music, and fruit and vegetables, so we have lots to talk about on my daily visits.

The alimentari was not as easy. Across the street from the fruit and vegetable stand is a wonderful family-run business. Aurelia Mocci, the granddame (nonna), runs the show even as her husband, son, and daughter man the deli counter. She takes your money and she rarely smiles. They sell all types of prepared meats, cheeses, olives, artichokes, and other vegetables in oil, as well as bread, milk, and butter. Getting more than a frown from her was the ultimate challenge. It seemed impossible until she met my son Sebastian. Then I was in! Because, as everyone knows, Italians LOVE children.

The macellaio is my favorite place. I have never been a very big meat eater, but at this particular stand in a covered market near my house, I can go crazy. They sell meatballs and meatloaf, stuffed olives, and veal and chicken cutlets that are unbelievably mouth-watering. You can also find almost every cut of every type of meat you’d ever want, and they cut it all while you wait. It goes without saying that everything is as fresh as can be or as aged as required. They are also the sweetest family. There is nothing better than being greeted by Leandro with his booming “Ciao cara,” and knowing that after all these years, I am getting not only the best of his product, but the best of his service.

The bakery, unfortunately, is not in my neighborhood, but I need an excuse to go by the Campo di Fiori (flower fields). Nothing is more fun than making the 30-minute walk from my house to the campo, passing the Pantheon and Piazza Navona along the way, for the most delicious pizza al taglio, which I eat outside the store. Then I buy some fresh bread and a crostata to take home. A perfect day!

It is not important where you have to go for the daily bread but that when you arrive you know who you are dealing with and are sure that you getting what you actually came for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE EURO EXCHANGE RATE IS MOST CERTAINLY IN OUR FAVOR

July 7th, 2012

Piazza del Popolo, Rome

What does Art History Alive have to do with the economic crunch in the E.U.? A couple of things:

1. Because the exchange rate is the lowest it has been since 1997, we have chosen to pass that savings on to our clients—you! We have three AHA trips going to Italy this summer and fall, and the prices for these trips have come down significantly.

2.  The E.U. is teetering, tourism is down, and this reminded me of something. After the events of September 11, 2001, I clearly remember Mayor Giuliani on television asking folks to come to New York, and not to give way to fear by staying away. Well, we listened, and one month after that terrible day, we packed up and headed to NYC for the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, wondering if the streets would be a bit empty. Quite the opposite! It was one of the largest crowds on record. Santa Claus is always the huge climax to the parade, riding the last float, but I had to cover my ears when the float that preceded Santa passed by. On that float were Mayor Giuliani, the Fire Commissioner, the Police Commissioner, some fire fighters and police officers, and the flag that flew at the World Trade Center site. We were so glad that we had gone to NYC and supported the city in that terrible time.

I feel a bit the same about the E.U. right now. AHA has so many friends in Italy and France who are suffering as their financial systems struggle. I think that it is safe to say that the E. U. needs our travel dollars more than anytime since post WWII, another terrible time for Europe.

Lunch, Italy

In hopes of stimulating more of you to travel, I am lowering the prices on the upcoming AHA trips and designing personal itineraries for the friends and clients who cannot go with us, but will go on their own and want it to be the AHA style. We will create for you, a dream trip based on your desires and our experience. Infused in each itinerary is my enthusiasm and passion, which I cannot help.

Below are our AHA trips with reduced prices. Each one has been created with every detail considered, every lunch and dinner, every warm evening and cobblestoned alley. And now, we can use these to help our friends out of a very tough time, and see wondrous things at the same time.

MUSICA IN TUSCANY – CLOSED
A Castle Courtyard Concert, Hill Towns, and Rome
JULY 12 – 18, 2012
Was $3,300. Now $2,900. Savings $400.00

ROME AND TUSCANY
A Colosseum and a Castle
SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 8, 2012
Was $3,900. Now $3,400. Savings $500.00

GERMANY, ALONG THE ROMANTIC ROAD
Cathedrals, Castles, and a Concentration Camp
This itinerary is available for purchase. Call for pricing and your copy for travel at your convenience.

ROMA AMOR: ROME IS LOVE SPELLED BACKWARD
Judith Testa brings her book to life as she shares with us her Rome.
OCTOBER 10 – 17, 2012
Was $4,100. Now $3,600. Savings $500.00

GILLIAN SEELY IS A BIG PART OF THE AHA TEAM

May 17th, 2012

Gillian Seely, marketing

Gillian Seely is AHA’s Marketing and Social Networking Guru. She came to us through our son Noah, with whom she worked in Boston. As two young professionals, they discovered that they had both been raised overseas—Noah in Asia, Gill in Germany—and that they missed the stimulation of the art, history, and differing cultures. Noah told Gillian all about AHA, and the next thing we knew, Gill and I were on the phone, practically finishing each other’s sentences.

Gillian drives traffic to the AHA website through FB, Twitter, and outreach emails to targeted organizations. Making connections nationwide with university alumni groups, non-competing travel sites, Italian cultural organizations, and newspapers, she works hard for AHA. She has been able to exchange the AHA link with some very well placed sites and get our website in front of many, many faces that otherwise might not have found it.

With a BA in English Literature from the University of London, and an MA in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma, Gillian has been in marketing and public relations, an account executive, has been an AP English instructor, an intern for CNN London, and is currently in marketing and communications for Pearson, the world’s leading learning company. Gillian also spent almost two years in the Philippines with the Peace Corps, and if that wasn’t interesting enough, she is fluent in both German and Visayan, a Filipino dialect.

Gillian is a HUGE part of our virtual team. She loves what AHA is all about and works very diligently to see that it is successful.  Thanks Gillian, for all your hard work and for being part of the team!

 

 

 


TRAVEL EXPANDS YOUR FRAME OF REFERENCE, FOREVER

April 23rd, 2012

Lake Como

Travel expands our frame of reference for the rest of our lives. We call on our frame of reference daily, without even realizing it, and the wider it is the more valuable an asset to understanding. Of course, travel is typically seen as a vacation, but it can be so much more, especially with Art History Alive.

Often wonderful and unexpected things happen while we are abroad that enlighten us. However, sometimes the impact of your adventure, the expansion of our mind, isn’t noticed until we return home.

Here are three examples that, in my opinion, illustrate the many ways in which travel expands us:

1. Our frame of reference and worldview

Remember the wave of anti-French sentiment that swept through America in 2003? Americans stopped frequenting French restaurants, stopped purchasing French products of any kind, and French Fries became Freedom Fries. It was all about the French not supporting the effort in Iraq. I was frustrated, too, but I remembered September 11, 2002, the first anniversary of that horrid day. I was in Paris, and something happened that changed my frame of reference forever toward France and the French. To read the story, click here.

Anyone who has visited Beijing has walked in and around Tiananmen Square. When we watched CNN and saw that young Chinese student defying the Chinese military tank in the square, it was powerful, but even more so for those of us who have stood in that place.

This past October, when video of the flood in Vernazza, Italy (a part of Cinque Terre) was released, it was very real to those of us who have walked those pretty streets.

2. Our rapidly evolving world market place

I need a special stainless steel hinge. I need it because the salt from the Monterey Bay, across the street from our home, eats any and all other materials. My handyman goes online and finds the hinge I need in “zinc coated” brass and wonders if it will work for me. I, in turn, go online looking for information on zinc-coated hinges. Up pops a comment from a fisherman off the coast of China. He tells me that he installed a zinc-coated hinge on his long-tail fishing boat and that it did not hold up to marine conditions. Before I thanked him for his input, I sat and stared at my computer screen for a few seconds. Wow, off the coast of China! I’ve been there. I knew where he was. The world is getting really, really small, and I want to be part of it.

3. Replacing ignorance and anxiety with understanding

On one of my trips, I realized before departure that I was facing a challenge. Signed up was a couple. The wife was so excited to be going to Italy for the

Exchanging Ideas, Rome

first and perhaps only time, but her husband seemed bored and uninterested and wondered why folks went on and on about the food in Italy when you could get good spaghetti down the street and around the corner. I sensed some fear, that was thinly veiled. The challenge: to win him over. The winner, Italy. He probably still complains about the expense of everything, but his ignorance and anxiety about this foreign place and culture dissolved when he saw, with his own eyes, that Italians were just as regular as he was, and, that there is spaghetti, and then there is spaghetti. Funny, the stereotypes we have in our heads. I think his came from Lady and the Tramp.

When we travel, all things make more sense. It is human nature to fear the unknown, so go get to know it. Grab your passport and suitcase and get up close and personal with our world. My favorite guest is an intellectually curious and enthusiastic traveler who wants to expand his/her frame of reference, forever. If that describes you, let’s go!

Go ahead and click over to our Home Page to see where we are going in 2012. Join us!

 

LIVING IN ROME, by Alysa Weinstein Gravina, AHA Correspondent

April 12th, 2012

Piazza del Popolo, Rome

They say all roads lead to Rome. In my case it is absolutely true.

No matter where I traveled or what caught my fascination, I always ended up back in Rome. The city does that to you, like it or not.

There are 10 ancient roads that go in every direction in and out of Rome. One of the most historically important roads is Via Flaminia, constructed around 220 BC. Technically, you could drive north about 5 hours, from the Piazza del Popolo, along the Via Flaminia, all the way to Rimini, arriving on the Adriatic coast of Italy, and the hometown of Federico Fellini. This is the street where I live. In 5 minutes, I can be at the Porta del Popolo standing in the piazza with thousands of other people marveling at the magic of the Egyptian Obelisk, or the beauty of the twin churches, Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto.

 

 

If I go in the other direction, in 10 minutes I will arrive at Ponte Milvio. This bridge, which was built in 206 BC, is pedestrian, and after an Italian film,

Lovers Locks, Rome

entitled “I Want You” (from 10 years ago), the lampposts are decorated with padlocks that young couples have left in honor of their love. But the tradition of “love” stretches much further back. It is said that Emperor Nero used to frequent the bridge with his lovers for certain debaucheries.

 

Being among these monuments and surrounded by a history that shapes us all, is an everyday occurrence for me, but now, being able to write about it, is giving me a chance to appreciate this gift, beyond just living it.

 

 

 

 

MEET ALYSA WEINSTEIN GRAVINA – AHA’s Correspondent in Rome

April 2nd, 2012

Family Life in Rome

How does a young woman from Connecticut, fall in love with a Roman in Guatemala, and three sons later, lives large in the Eternal City? Below is Alysa’s story, and now we can look forward to her posts, from Rome, about life in Rome, on the AHA blog. Welcome to the AHA Team, Alysa, we are so happy to have you!

My name is Alysa Weinstein, and for the last seven years, I have been living in Rome. I was born in NYC and grew up in the Fairfield county suburbs. I was a lucky little girl! I have three younger brothers and nothing could have prepared me better for raising three little boys of my own.

After playing soccer and dancing and singing my way through Greenwich Country Day School and Greenwich High School, I went off to The University of Wisconsin – Madison, where I did not make the soccer team, gave up my dreams of musical theater, and fell madly in love with Art History and, in particular, Italian art.

After my freshman year, my cousin and I backpacked from Milan to Naples. The adventures are blog-worthy! Two years later, I came back to Rome for my junior summer where I studied the language in the morning and in the afternoon I studied the people, the food, cinema, sights, and everything dolce vita. I caught “the Eternal City” bug.

After graduating from University, I was introduced to an Italian art dealer with a gallery in NYC and also one in Rome. She hired me on the spot, and while my professional relationship with Carla lasted five years and I worked only and always at the NYC gallery, she is still today a very, very important point of reference in Rome and in my life.

Cut to 2002. On a whim, my brother Justin and I planned a 10-day excursion, vacation, detoxification to Guatemala and Honduras. As we flew away from NYC, the last thing on my mind was finding true love, let alone meeting an Italian. But destiny has a strange way of working . . . and on my first night, I met my husband Carmine, and it was love at first sight. (When he walked into the bar, I was 100% sure.)

So after six months of long-distance phone calls and Alitalia overnight flights, he moved to NYC. One year later, I sold my interior design company and we moved to Rome where we celebrated our wedding with 200 of our favorite people (major blog entry). And three little boys later, I am pretty sure that my love affair with Italy is still going strong, even if the daily life is always more challenging. But if it weren’t, there would be no blog!

SOMETHING NEW: CLASSICAL MUSIC PERFORMANCES FOR AHA TRAVELERS

February 22nd, 2012

Gregorian Chants at Abbey Sant'Antimo, Tuscany

“. . . a true knowledge of the object of our affections gives greater love of it; if our knowledge is slight our love will be little or nothing . . .” Leonardo DaVinci

The object of my affection is Italy, and for twenty years I have been building a true knowledge of it. This knowledge, and subsequent love, is what I will share with you on an AHA trip, it is as simple as that.

For sometime, AHA has been trying to include more music in its travel, and now we will. We are so pleased to announce that beginning in the 2012 travel season, your chosen  itinerary will  include an optional classical music performance! With music being a huge component of any culture, what a perfect fit for AHA guests that are seeking cultural immersion. Your itinerary might include a night at the Opera in Florence, a chamber music recital in a baroque church in Paris, or Gregorian Chants in an ancient Abbey in Tuscany.  Europe is rich with the arts, and we will select something wonderful for every one of our upcoming European trips.

We are launching this new aspect of AHA travel with Musica in Tuscany, July 2012. This itinerary includes a one day music festival, four days in Tuscany and two days in Rome. While in Tuscany, we will stay at Castello di Proceno, host to the annual Convivio in Musica. As Italian music enthusiasts gather in the stone courtyard of Castello di Proceno, we, who are actually staying at the castle, will join the group for a performance of favorite opera arias, followed by a delicious buffet, complete with cold bubbling Prosecco.

Join our Musica in Tuscany group, get to know a bit of beautiful Tuscany, and top it off by spending two wonderful days in amazing Rome.

 

Part 2: ROMA – A Lifetime Is Not Enough

January 31st, 2012

 

 

Dinner For AHA, Rome

 

AHA and I will be in Rome three times in 2012. Links to the trip descriptions are below this post. Enjoy Part 2 of ROMA.

I came to Italy for the art, history, ancient architecture, scenic beauty, food, wine, hill towns, landscapes, and, loving it all, I return for Rome.

Why does one place reach out and hug you, and others simply don’t?  No one really knows, but really, who cares? It just happens. When it does, however, it is very personal and very intimate. For some, it’s a sandy- beached island, a mountain perch, an almost silent lake, the sidewalks of Paris, Vienna, or strolling the Giant Sequoias. But when it happens, you know it.

After about 48 hours in Rome, I felt a sense of sinking into it, a yearning to get lost in it. Not in the great sites necessarily. Suddenly the Colosseum and the Forum jumped into the back seat. I wanted to be on a back street in a nondescript neighborhood. I didn’t want to stand out; in fact, quite the opposite. I wanted to blend in, fit, and melt into Rome.

Frances Mayes feels about Tuscany as I do about Rome.  She describes it this way:  “The place took hold of me and shaped me in its image.”  Exactly.

“I wanted an aperture,” she writes elsewhere, “an opportunity to merge with something limitless. Something that takes you out of yourself also restores

Dinner With Our Roman Friends

you to yourself with a greater freedom.” And finally, “I wanted an aperture, an opportunity to merge with something limitless.”

This last quote touches on what many travelers who fall in love with a place often recount: “I felt like I was home.” I love the way Rome swoops me out of myself, fills me to the brim, and returns a wiser, more humbled me. And often, when wandering its tangled web of streets, I feel very small as the enormity of all that Rome has been, is, and will be, surrounds me. How could I not want a repeat of that thrill ride?

Through the ages, Rome has gathered many, many lovers, of which I am but one. When I arrive, we have such a joyous reunion. Rome is all decked out and gives me her full attention. Below are some thoughts by a few of her other lovers:

Living History In Rome

Barbara Gruzzuti Harrison (1934-2002) – “I am happy here; when I or others have bruised my life, I close my eyes against the hurt and think of Rome: as possibility and hope. . . The world is lovable when the world is Rome. . . For the rest of my life I will love Rome and think better of my life having known Rome.”

Johann Goethe (1749-1832) – In Rome you learn to. . . . “See with an eye that can feel, feel with a hand that can see.”

Henry James (1843-1916) – At nineteen years old, “I went reeling and moaning thro’ the streets, in a fever of enjoyment.”  Fifty years later – “No one who has ever loved Rome, as Rome could be loved in youth, wants to stop loving her.”

H. V. Morton (1892-1979) – “I looked down with gratitude upon the city where I had learnt many things; but one does not say goodbye to Rome.”

Judith Testa – (During my first visit) . . .”A strange energy surged through me, a passion for the place which has never faded but only increased with each subsequent visit.  Whenever I return to Rome, I experience that same anticipation, energy, and excitement.”

Jim Quist – “I love Rome simply because it’s Italian.”

AHA and I will be in Rome three times in 2012. Funny, even after twenty years, just writing those words, “I will be in Rome”, puts a smile on my face and pulls at my heart.  I would love to share it with you.

Musica in Tuscany: July 12 – 18, 2012, includes two days in Rome.

Rome and Tuscany: September 30 – October 8, 2012, includes four full days in Rome.

Roma Amor: Rome Is Love Spelled Backward: October 10 – 17, 2012, is a full week in Rome guided by Judith Testa, PhD, author of the book by the same name, and myself. A daring duo of like-minded pilgrims are we.

 

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