Art History Alive

arthisto August 30th, 2011

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Beautiful Nurnburg, Germany

OCTOBER 1-8, 2012 ~ 8 DAYS ~ GROUP SIZE: 6-8

PRICE: $3,300.00

CASTLES, CATHEDRALS AND A CONCENTRATION CAMP

On this trip, we will stop at various points along the fabled Romantic Road of Germany.  We will begin at the northern end of the road, in the medieval city of Wurzburg, which is situated along the Main River and was once an important stop along the Spice Road.  In fact, the name Wurzburg means “Spice City”, and the influence of this mercantile history upon the region is felt in the quaint marketplaces and cobbled streets. We will visit the Wurzburg Residenz, a large and elaborate Rococo palace that is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its accompanying gardens.  We will enjoy a white wine tasting at the city’s stately wine cellar (northern Bavaria, known as Franconia, boasts some of the world’s best white wines). Still in Wurzburg, we will go to a medieval fortress on a hill that overlooks the city and explore its grounds and the nearby monastery, staying at the beautiful Hotel Maritim on the Main River through rolling vineyard country.

Wuerzburg Residenz

Moving south, we will enjoy some time in Rothenburg, a world-famous medieval fortress town in northern Bavaria, renowned for its city walls (which can be traversed, and from which you can see the rolling hills for miles around), and for its quaint central square, historical artisan shops, and restaurants—this is a great place for picking up Bavarian souvenirs skillfully made from wood and glass.

Later we will visit Nurnberg, seeing the beautiful central square of the city.  We will explore the Toy Museum (Nurnberg is known for its toy manufacturing,  particularly around Christmas time), and visiting the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände (Germans aren’t known for linguistic brevity), a somber, but enlightening World War II museum at the site of the Nazi Party’s rallying grounds.

Fairytale Castle, Neuschwanstein

Moving south from Nurnberg, we will visit Munich—site of the world-famous Hofbrauhaus, and the Marienplatz—home of the dancing glockenspiel.  There will be an optional excursion from Munich to the nearby site of the Dachau concentration camp. While this excursion isn’t for everybody, a trip to the site gives unparalleled insight into the lives and deaths of the millions of prisoners who fell victim to the Nazi mentality, and provides a good way to come to terms with the contrasts between the Germany of then and of now.

Leaving Munich, we will visit Neuschwanstein Castle—the “Cindarella Castle” that has come to be a symbol of Bavaria.  Nestled at the foot of the German Alps, a tour of this massive  and iconic castle lets you learn about “Mad King Ludwig” and soak up some regional history.

Our last stop will be in Garmisch Partenkirchen, a stunning mountain town on the Austrian border, and at the end of the Romantic Road.  GAP, as it’s

Munich, Germany

known by locals, is a high-end ski resort in the winter, and a quaint place for hiking and Bavarian-style outdoor activities in the summer.  The views in GAP alone make it perhaps the most beautiful part of the trip.  The trip will end here, and direct trains to Munich run every hour from the GAP station, making airport access very convenient, or alternative transportation can easily be arranged.

This trip will give you an appreciation of the culture of Germany, and specifically of Bavaria.  We will eat delicious and hearty German cuisine, travel along the high-speed and world-famous autobahns, see the stunning countryside, and learn all about the culture of Germany in the middle ages, during the European Renaissance, and World War II…and, importantly, we will come to love and understand the Germany of today!

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arthisto August 30th, 2011

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Evening in the Roman Forum

ITALY – ROME AND TUSCANY: A Colosseum and a Castle
SEPTEMBER 30 – OCTOBER 8, 2012 ~ 9 DAYS ~ GROUP SIZE: 6 – 8
PRICE PER PERSON: $3,900.00

NOTE: Below is a good example of just what travel is like with ART HISTORY ALIVE. If you find that this post does not pique your interest, then you may not be a good fit for AHA, but if you begin reading and find yourself wanting to read and learn more, it is ten times better when we are there.  Cynthia

Eventually, all roads should lead to the awesome city of Rome at least once in a lifetime. Jim and I have traveled far and wide in this world, but since our discovery of Italy in 1987, we return every chance we get. And in all of that little boot, Rome has the strongest draw for us.  Cumulatively, we have spent over 4 months in that city, and still we keep going back. Of everywhere we have been, Rome holds for us the richest and most stimulating bounty of art, history, architecture (which is an art), and culture, hands down.  And the people . . . . . . . !

• Why did Michelangelo sign only one piece of art and which one was it?
• Why is the almost 2000 year-old Pantheon in such perfect condition when buildings in the Forum of the same age are rubble?
• Why is St. Peter’s Basilica the most popular church in Rome, and the world, when Rome’s St. John Lateran was the first Christian church to be built?
• Where is the white travertine exterior that once covered the Colosseum walls?
• Where are the gilded bronze tiles that once covered the roof of the Pantheon?
• What did the terms Middle Ages and Dark Ages describe?

On warm evenings we will sit in outside cafés on cobblestone alleys and watch the most interesting people in the world stroll by. We will shop, rest and overall, catch the Spirit of Rome which, you will want to take home with you.

Next it is off to the hills of Tuscany in our spacious, panoramic-windowed van toward the tiny hill town of Proceno, in southern Tuscany. However, on our way, we will drive up a hill to soaring Orvieto for a delicious lunch and the first of many an awe inspiring wander. No one actually knows the age of Orvieto, however we do know that around 750 B.C. the Etruscans thrived here, inheriting it from their Iron and Bronze Age ancestors. How exciting it is to visit a city that has survived for thousands of years, with its bustle interrupted only once, in the 14th century, by the Black Plague.  We will meander at our own pace through Orvieto‘s crown jewel, her Cathedral, with its brightly colored mosaic facade. Built over a mere 300 years, it holds precious art that I love to visit and share.

Forty minutes deeper into beautiful Tuscany and we will arrive at Castello di Proceno. This castle/fortress was built in the 11th century and has been creatively redesigned into several beautiful apartments. This is my favorite landing spot in all of Tuscany.

Once we check in and relax a bit, we will take a walk around town so that you can get your bearings. It isn’t difficult as it is tiny, but the views, in all directions are dreamlike, no, actually they are “calendarlike“. I will introduce you to Pucci and Giovanni, the owners of the castle, Roberto the grocer, where you can buy anything from locally made salami, to bedroom slippers, and Gianfranco, of Trattoria da Gianfranco. The castle will be our home for the next four days as we explore more picturesque hill towns and savor some of the most delicious food and wine you will have ever tasted.

On the list of must sees, in these first four days, are the cathedral of Sovana, that took so long to build that it actually spans two architectural periods. So, as we sit in the back of the church you will see that two of its three aisles are Romanesque and the third is Gothic. Amazing! The hill town hamlet of Pienza that was, luckily for us, caught in a time warp. During the first half of the 1400′s, Pope Pius II, responsible for the revitalization and redesigning of his beloved hometown, was called away to raise troops for a crusade to the Holy Land. He left a Papal Bull, in beautiful Latin, that stated nothing should be touched until his return. Unfortunately, in 1465 he died while away, and Pienza dutifully has left everything just as it was. Because of this, a visit to Pienza gives us a real time snapshot of Tuscan life in the 1400′s. Pienza was miraculously spared during World War II bombing raids, however the machine gun holes in the exterior side wall of the cathedral are a reminder of what happened here when both Germans and Americans took turns occupying Pienza and the surrounding towns. This is a fascinating area with lots to explore, learn and taste. Brunellos come from this region, as does a most delicious soft, not salty, pecorino cheese.

And who can be in this area and not visit the most haunting of all hill towns, Civita di Bagnoregio?

Not me! Civita sits a top a rock spur, built entirely of rock taken from the spur, it appears to be something organic that simply grew out of the mountain. However, because of earthquakes over the centuries much of the spur and city have dropped away, leaving Civita sitting like a diamond nestled in a round solitaire setting. There is one approach to the city, a walking bridge that spans the gorge that encircles Civita.

Often, in the morning, the city is engulfed in clouds or fog and it appears that the bridge leads to no where. Sometimes the fog fills just the gorge with Civita above as if floating in the sky. This is like nothing else you would have seen up to this point, and you will remember it always. Comfortable walking shoes, a camera, and a hefty appetite are a must for Civita da Bagnoregio.

Following our explorations of Tuscany we will say good bye to our castle and new friends, and head for Rome and flights home.

Physical Level: Moderate

Art History Alive will offer seven destinations in 2012! Great places to visit, more interesting things to learn, and very small groups. Over the next few weeks I will post a list of recommended reading and movies, destination specific, that will allow you to front load your travel experience.

You will notice that we have added an itinerary that includes my absolute favorite places in California.  If Europe is not on

your radar screen for this year, consider touring the best that California has to offer.  I am a fifth generation Californian and would love to show you around.  I think that you will agree, this is wonderful line up and I sincerely hope that you will share it with your friends and family.

We are very happy to announce:

• Early booking benefits
• Alumni discounts
• Refundable deposits

The NEW money saving opportunities are on the Specials and Discounts Page. These trips can fill up fast so early booking is important and saves you money.

All trips include: Hotels, all meals and house wines, (well, you don’t have to have wine with breakfast) ground transportation, museum admissions, and travel insurance.

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arthisto August 30th, 2011

Paris in the Morning

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PARIS 201: BEYOND THE EIFFEL TOWER

MAY 30 – JUNE 5, 2012 ~ 7 DAYS ~ GROUP SIZE : 6-8

PRICE PER PERSON: $3,400.00

Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, no doubt about it. My guests and I have been visiting for years, and  it is high time that AHA offered a Paris 201. And so, in the late spring, May 30 – June 5, 2012, we will do just that.  As its title describes, this itinerary will be a more under the surface and a farther afield, visit to Paris. While everyone else is standing in line at the Eiffel Tower or the Musee d’Orsay, we will go off the beaten track to the gems that the Parisians themselves enjoy:

• Porte de Clignancourt, the famous Parisian flea market
• Musee Rodin and gardens
• Musee Cluny and courtyard
• Giverny
• Musee Marmottan
• Musee Edith Piaf
• Cinematheque Francaise

This itinerary is for those who have perhaps enjoyed the great sights of Paris before, or are satisfied to see them from a distance, while experiencing some hidden treasures. On this trip, for example, at the Porte de Clignancourt, in the market’s antiques section, you will feel like a time traveler. I have spent many happy hours just wandering around the narrow winding paths, packed with booths selling things of all description. From Louie XVI furniture to second hand french dish towels, it is all here, and it is huge.  I especially love the antique linens and baby clothes.

As mentioned above, this trip will include museums that don’t make the “must see list” carried by weary first-timers.  These museums have gardens, courtyards, and are quietly enjoyed by Parisians.   For example, Musee Rodin is so beautiful, set in August Rodin’s private home and studio, it houses his most remarkable works, such as “The Kiss”.  In the garden sits “The Thinker”, huge and masterful, along with several other enormous sculptures.

The Musee Cluny displays art and artifacts from the Middle Ages in a very well preserved 15th century abbey, built on top of a Roman Bath. All levels are excavated and quite unbelievable!

Monet's Kitchen Door

We will spend an afternoon at Giverny, Claud Monet’s home and wonderous gardens, and be back in Paris for dinner.

Another treasure trove that is off the track, and thankfully so, is the Musee Marmottan. Located just a metro ride to the outskirts of Paris, housed in a beautiful 19th hunting pavillion, the largest collection in the world of works by Claud Monet, numbers 165.   Some of Monet’s personal collection is in this museum as well, and include his favorite pieces of art by his friends, Pissaro, Renoir, and Sisley.   Some of the most famous Monet’s can only be seen here at the out-of-the-way, Musee Marmottan.

We can visit the Musee Edith Piaf, a small apartment packed with memorabilia, intimate letters, photographs and more, lovingly collected by her fans.

We can wander through La Cinematheque Fancaise.  A museum to the history of the cinema and the evolution of film, with an amazing display of movie memorabilia dating back to the birth of cinema.

Having said all that, for me, a first day in Paris will always include an off loading of travel woes, “eau du fuselage”, and a settling down, in the beautiful, majestic and peaceful Notre Dame.  But from there, let’s dig deeper into Paris!

I will provide a suggested reading and viewing list for all travelers that sign up for Paris 201: Beyond the Eiffel Tower.  In this way, you will be knowledgeable and well prepared for your visit.

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arthisto August 26th, 2011

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Judith Testa At Her Best

October 10 – 17, 2012 ~ 8 Days ~ Group Size: 6 – 8

Price: $4,100.00

We are so very fortunate to have Judith Testa, in person, bringing her book to life in her beloved Rome.  I will be among the lucky travelers that will make up this group, as we gather around this fun and funny font of knowledge, and become friends.

Following post by Judith Testa:

There’s a saying, “Roma, non basta una vita,” which means “Rome, a lifetime is not enough.” But even if you don’t have a lifetime to devote to exploring the Eternal City, you can see and experience an amazing amount in a well-organized week, and that’s what Art History Alive promises you.
We’ll take in the astounding sweep of Rome’s art and history, from the emperor Augustus in the first century BC to his 20th-century wannabe, Mussolini. But don’t worry– we won’t rush you around the city all day, every day, merely glancing at monuments before hurrying on to yet another site. Instead, by carefully choosing sites near to one another, we can visit some of Rome’s best-known treasures as well as a couple of its lesser-known gems, and still have time for delicious meals and some hours on your own.
On the day of your arrival, you’ll no doubt want some fresh air and something wonderful to look at, so we’ll ascend the Gianicolo–Rome’s Janiculum Hill– to admire the Acqua Paola, a gorgeous Baroque fountain that overlooks a fabulous panorama of the city.
On subsequent days, we’ll visit the Ara Pacis, the altar dedicated to peace by Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, and then walk around a corner to view a piazza designed for Mussolini. We’ll visit the Pantheon, one of the greatest buildings in the world, once a temple to all the Roman gods and now a church, and just a few streets way, the Baroque church of Sant’ Ignazio, with ceiling paintings that will truly blow you away.

Prosciutto and Melon - A delicious work of art

We’ll also go inside the Colosseum, the huge arena where gladiators and wild animals once fought for the entertainment of the Roman populace. And rather than tramping through the Roman Forum, the seat of the ancient Roman government, we’ll view it from the summit of the Capitoline Hill– the latter re-designed by Michelangelo, and a superb example of High Renaissance city planning.
A visit to the small but interestingly decorated catacombs of St. Priscilla, a site few tourists succeed in finding, will acquaint you with the world of early Christianity as seen through a subterranean “city of the dead.” Medieval Rome will be right on our doorstep, in the form of the church of S. Maria in Trastevere, according to some, the earliest Christian site in Rome, and housing marvelous mosaics and other works of art from various periods.
No visit to Rome would be complete without seeing St. Peter’s, the epitome of High Renaissance grandeur and Baroque splendor. A visit to the Vatican Museums will end in the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings provide one of the most unforgettable experiences in a city full of peak experiences.

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arthisto August 15th, 2011

Perfect Proceno Taken From the Castle Tower

Hello Everyone and a special hello to the Art History Alive fans that are educators, administrators and summer vacationers.  This post is all about YOU!  First, let me say THANK YOU  for all that you do, everyday, after school and weekends too.  I have watched my sister work very hard for thirty years.

AHA has quite a few followers that can only vacation in the summer, and they remind me of that fact rather often, as typically I do not plan trips for that time of year.  The trouble is I really don’t care for Europe in the summer for obvious reasons.  So, my attitude, when asked when I will plan a trip for summertime, has always been sort of yeah . . .  but no.

Then, this morning I had a brainstorm, just after receiving my invitation to the annual summer music festival at our castle in southern Tuscany, Castello di Proceno.  The music festival has always sounded wonderful to me, but being that it was in the summer . . . . . see where I am going with this???

But, I have changed my mind, because I can.  So, this is it.  Castle in Tuscany, in July, with a two day concert series performed in the courtyard of the 11th century castle, dressed to the nines, we will nibble on Tuscan treats, sip champagne, and gorgeous local  wines.  Guests come from all over the area to enjoy the beautiful music in this setting, and we will have our rooms in the same!  Anticipating that some of you will not have been to Italy before, and would want to see more than this “ultimate cultural immersion” music festival will provide, I will add to the mix, a few Tuscan hill towns and a day or two in Rome before flying home.

Rome!

This is just an FYI so that you can start planning.  Around September 1, 2011, I will post the entire line up of trips for 2012.  This is just one of the six or seven that we, at AHA, have been working on very hard.  The details of this trip will be posted then; dates, duration and price.  I can tell you now that the group size will be a maximum of 6.  I want to keep this pretty private.  Proceno is tiny,  in a time warp and I don’t want to infringe on that, so we will keep our foot print very small.  In fact, the precious time warp is why I chose this little hamlet in the first place.  Can you imagine the acoustics in this stone hill town?

And then we will go to ROME!

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arthisto June 27th, 2011

Maggie Harris

Maggie Harris comes to AHA to head up research and development of a most important department; hotels and restaurants.  As I have pointed out  most recently in the post: “What is Cultural Immersion and How Do You Get It?“,  Hotels and restaurants are an integral part of our immersion process.  We are extremely particular, not simply that they are nice, but that they are characteristic of the place we are visiting, and Maggie gets it.

Years ago, when I started this business, research and development was maps spread out on a big table, some falling off to the floor, my favorite travel books with stickies everywhere, sharpees in different colors for different cities, and copious notes.  In those days, the web was less than useful.  The sorts of immersion spots I was searching for were years away from any web presence.  Fast forward.

Upon Maggie’s return from a recent trip to Paris, she emailed me a tip on a restaurant that AHA might want to use in the future.  Her email was so descriptive, insightful, and detailed, I felt I’d been right there, sitting across the table from her.  However, it wasn’t just what she said that caught my interest, it was that she was speaking my language.  The aspects that she swooned over were exactly the aspects I look for in and AHA restaurant.   From the food and “cultural” ambiance, to the welcoming staff and the location, she’d noted that all parts added up to, YES, and she wanted to share the information with me.  Little did Maggie or I imagine at the time, that that email was a sort of application and interview rolled into one.

A few emails later, realizing that I could trust Maggie’s judgment, I offered her this position, and she loved it.  With the AHA criteria understood, Maggie will scope hotels and restaurants in AHA destinations, online as well as through personal recommendations, compiling a list of places that I can try out while traveling.  This is a very, very important job, and Maggie will be GREAT at it.

• Maggie holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Bethel University, and has worked or studied in Nicaragua, China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. She loves to travel and has visited more than 20 countries. Maggie and her husband Nick are the proud parents of two children: Kate (7) and Liam (5).
• Maggie is a leadership instructor at the University of Minnesota.
• Maggie Harris is the President and Co-founder of Ever After Gowns, a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization that donates prom gowns and accessories to high school students in need. She leads an incredible team of women who devote themselves to cultivating strong community partnerships that help build self-esteem and confidence in young women.

Now Maggie, armed with your virtual sharpees and sticky notes, welcome to the happy crew of Art History Alive!

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arthisto May 19th, 2011

The term “cultural immersion” is an important one, but like so many great “tags” they become overused sound bites and loose their strength. Nonetheless, it is what Art History Alive achieves trip after trip, and why prospective clients ask me my definition. We can achieve a sense of immersion into a place in several key ways.

1. Slow Pace
2. Historic Accommodations
3. Sites in, Under, and Above
4. Off the Beaten Track
5. Family-Run Restaurants
6. Meeting and Greeting Interesting Locals

Slow Pace. Similar to the slow food movement, in order to savor a place we hold back on pace.  AHA meanders, and soaks in a culture.

Accommodations. The place that you sleep on an AHA tour will be small, located in the historic center of where ever we are, and often run by a family that we now call friends. These are the people that each of you will get to know, and they will go above and beyond to make you feel at home in the city or area that they are immensely proud of. Whether we are in Tuscany, Florence, Rome, Paris, or California, our friends welcome us back with the warmest reunions. Needless to say, locating and building these trusted friendships has been a 15 year labor of love that you, our clients, will enjoy.

Pucci and Giovanni, owners Castello di Proceno

In, Under, and Above a Place. For example: AHA will wander you into tiny colorful towns, under a city through tunnels, whose construction dates back before Christ, and above the Pacific Ocean perched on a high cliff. We will take you down into a valley only to look up at an enormous and majestic rushing waterfall.

We Will Go Off The Beaten Track. In Italy, everyone goes to the beautiful Chianti region for wine tasting. We, on the other hand, have sought out tucked away wineries as to avoid the slick marketing of the “Italian Wine Country”. Instead, AHA enjoys visiting a large typical wine estate overlooking, for example, Orvieto. We taste the wines with complimentary foods under a frescoed ceiling. At other times we might visit a village wine co-op. Here everyone in the village pools their small private vineyard grape crop to make a wine that they divide up and will drink every day for the next year. The same is true in California. We will go wine tasting in the lesser known wine producing areas of Paso Robles, on the Central Coast, and Murphy’s in the foothills of the mighty Sierra Mountains.

Restaurant Choices Are Key. In Italy we will eat in family owned trattorie. This is the restaurant where wonderful smells waft as you walk in the door. They’re where Mama and Grandma are in the kitchen, Papa is at the fireplace roaster, Grandpa makes the coffee and sits at the cash register, and the kids are busing tables and taking orders. This is where they approach your table not with a menu, but instead with a list of what was cooked today, always fresh and only seasonal. They will take great pride in their homemade pastas, which will melt in you mouth, and their house wines which were probably made at the co-op mentioned above. This is too fun!

Roberto, Latte de Luna, Pienza

In California, Paris, and NYC we will take you to places that we know and trust – eateries that reflect the personality of the place we are visiting. From Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch steak house in Carmel, CA, to the best french fries in the world at L’Entrecote in Paris, where we enjoy our meals is an important piece to the immersion process.

You, Our Clients, Will Have The Opportunity To Meet and Greet Our Wonderful Friends. This is something NO other tour group large or small can boast.  As I have mentioned above, through the years of returning to these places, we have met and had the pleasure of getting to know, grocers in small towns, tiny hotel owners, restaurant owners, and vintners, all of whom are genuinely happy to see us again. We really enjoy our reunions and introducing our guests to them. This is so key in getting beyond the ordinary in a country. Now you are not simply an observer in a culture, but you are interacting with it. A huge difference and uniquely Art History Alive.

I am sure you will agree that when you add these experiences together, you will feel that you have been immersed in a wonderful culture. We do.

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arthisto April 21st, 2011

Elsie Floriani

Hello Everyone,

More great news for Art History Alive!  Please let me introduce to you, Elsie Floriani, Editor,  Impassioned Italian & Worker of Syntactical Wonders.

Elsie’s generous spirit and passion for correct spelling and grammar brought her to a very needy AHA.  I am a student of art history trying to write, and while Elsie enjoyed what I wrote, she put on her editors cape and swooped in to offer her services.  We are so honored and leaped at the opportunity to garner her word-wizardry.

Amazingly, our Elsie Floriani is the Founder, CEO, and Executive Editor of 18 Media, Inc., publishers of Gentry Magazine, Gentry Design, Gentry Wealth, and Gentry Health, now celebrating 19 years of successful publishing  in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is responsible for the editorial product, quality control, and community relations.  The magazine in general, and Elsie in particular, have received many awards and accolades along the way.

She has published a book, My Life As An Accordion, a collection of essays on life and living, and her second book, My Life in Leopard Print, made its debut earlier this year.

After 40+ years balancing her career, community involvement and leadership, Elsie says, “My life has been reduced to a series of Gs—Gentry, grandchildren, gardening, and golf.” “And,” she adds, “I am grateful and giddy with glee.”

We at AHA are giddy too, to have Elsie as a part of our team, and another G has been thusly added to her series: Generosity.  Thank you, Elsie, and welcome to AHA.

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arthisto April 13th, 2011

Fast Friends in Rome

Hi Everyone,
I would like you to meet my friend and Roman soul mate, Judith Testa. Judith is an author, a PhD in Art History, a columnist for Fra Noi (the Italian American newspaper of Chicago), a retired professor, and an awesome traveler. After reading her book, Rome is Love Spelled Backward, I did something that I never do. I sat right down and wrote a letter to the author. I expressed how illuminating the book had been for me and compared her book with my beloved copy of A Traveller In Rome, by H.V. Morton. I told her that within the first few pages I had realized that, for me, this book needed to be read with a highlighter in hand, and that now, many of its pages sported bright yellow markings, margin notes, and folded corners. I never expected to hear back, but hoped my letter would get through to her.
I did hear back, had one of those wonderful serendipitous connections, and made plans to meet in Boston soon. Judith would be flying in from her home in Illinois to visit friends in Boston, and I would travel north from our home in Connecticut. That meeting was, for me, magical and inspirational. We talked of Rome and loves there, we talked of art, on and off the beaten track, and the mystery of how we both could be so strongly drawn to this city. I said that it is like being caught in an undertow with the current always heading to Rome. We talked of not fighting what Judith described as “feeling a strange energy surge through her, a passion for the place that has never faded”.  I got dreamy as she described her trips to Rome, where she spends eight weeks every year.
Even though Judith and I have never again met on these shores, we hug each other warmly when we meet on the streets of Rome. For several years

AHA Guests With Judith in the Forum, Rome

now, almost annually, we connect. And with Judith and her wealth of knowledge as she shares “her” Rome with my husband Jim and myself, it’s as if we are on an AHA trip with my very fortunate guests.  Our friendship and admiration for each other has grown over the years, and now she and I can work together to make Art History Alive even better.
Many of you have read and enjoyed Judith’s book, as I strongly recommend it to anyone taking an AHA trip to Rome.  Front loading, or being prepared for a trip to a city like Rome is, in my opinion, essential. Rome is Love Spelled Backward is the perfect preparation, and it is the ONLY book I carry with me as I walk around Rome, whether I am with guests or on my own. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Whether you have been to Rome, are planning a trip , or are just plain interested, it is enlightening.

Rome Is Love Spelled Backward: Enjoying Art and Architecture in the Eternal City Anyone interested in the classic arts will learn something from Testa’s text, whether it’s the reason the Pantheon was built, the source of the Christian and Jewish catacombs, or the roles that Caravaggio and Bernini played in creating a baroque Rome. With fifty photos, narrative text and no information on shops, restaurants, or hotels, it’s a guidebook for sophisticated travelers who already know where to stay, but want more than a sentence on what they’re seeing. Everything is presented in welcome detail with background information for a fuller understanding of the sites that surround a visitor to the Eternal City. amazon.com

Judith Testa, as an art history consultant extraordinaire,  is a part of the Art History Alive team and we are so very glad to have her.  Watch for my next post, which will be Judith’s thoughts on Art History Alive, written for Chicago’s Italo-American Newspaper and Blog, Fra Noi (Between Us).

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arthisto March 4th, 2011

My fav in Paris

Hello From Art History Alive:

Who has had it with this winter?  I have spent time on both coasts this winter and it seemed that no matter where I was, it was wet and/or foggy, freezing and/or snowing.  Enough, enough.  I am going to take a break June 2-8, 2011 and fly away to Paris.  Even if the weather is not nice, I will be surrounded by paintings, sculpture, and delicious hot cassolet with crunchy breads.  And those Bordeaux region wines, yum.  The photo to the left is of my “first night in Paris place”, simple and staggeringly delicious.  Some of you have been there with me, some, more than once, the rest of you need to make the trip.

I admit this trip is a bit on the selfish side.  I want to re-visit some out of the way places that I have enjoyed in the past. For example, the enormous flea market of Clignancourt, The Musee Marmottan, The Rodin Museum and the small, rather obscure, Musee Edith Piaf.
I am only going to take a very few on this trip, I want it to be easy and fun.  If you would like to go to Paris, you might want to join me for Paris 201: Beyond The Eiffel Tower.  This link will take you to a more detailed description of this itinerary.

The places that we will visit are where the Parisians spend their weekends, far away from the bustling tourist crowds.  To mention just one, Musee Marmottan became the home of the world’s largest collection of original Monet’s, when in 1966, Claude’s son Michel, donated his entire private collection, some 165 original paintings.  Did you know that?  And, wonderful for us, the musee is outside of the historic center of Paris, in a quiet neighborhood.  Can’t wait to “just be” in the airspace of these masterpieces.

I hope that you will forward this on to anyone, friends or family, that you think might like this cultural immersion into Paris.  To sign up for Paris 201, just go to the application page at the top of this post, or send me an email.  Also, happily, many of you are planning trips with AHA in 2012, both to Italy and Paris.  If you are reading this thinking that 2012 is the year for you, drop me a note so that I plan forward accordingly.

Happy Travels

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