Date: Saturday, March 14 - Sunday, March 22
Texts: Discover 'the glory that was Rome' (warts and all, so to speak!), as well as of Florence, in 'song and stone': in history, poetry, polemic, painting, architecture, and so on—with texts from Livy, Vergil, Ovid, Augustus, Plutarch, Seneca, Juvenal, Pliny, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Benedict, Dante, Battista Guarino, Ghiberti, Savonarola, Luther, and more...
The rhythm of each day:
- Most days begin with seminars immediately after breakfast, on the basis of texts collated for you in a Memoria College reader—texts nowhere else in captivity to be found together!
- After the seminar we head into the city to tour some of the most famous sites and see some of the most important and most beautiful art and architecture of the last three thousand years of Western civilization ...
- Texts and tours are roughly correlated thematically: pagan Rome, early Christian Rome, Renaissance, etc.
- Along with a few planned banquets in some of Rome's hidden gems, most nights are free for exploring Rome's culinary and cultural scene—wandering about Trastevere, lingering on the Ponte Sisto, enjoying gelato and wine...
- There will also be an unprogrammed day at the end for exploring independently or returning to your favorite sites.
Some of the sites:
- Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill, Capitoline Hill & Museum;
- Catacombs; first-millennium, medieval, and Renaissance churches
- The Duomo of Florence
- Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums
- Villa Borghese & the Roman Baroque
- ...and more!
Strictly optional: Use your readings, observations of architecture and artwork, and experiences on the ground to write an essay and earn credit for a Memoria College master's degree.
Costs: As costs in Rome have risen, and as we have added an extra night at the start, the price is slightly higher next year than last, at $2,295.
Included: Lodging, all breakfasts, two festive dinners, transportation in the city, entry to all museums and historic sites, transport to & from Florence, guided tours, seminars, etc.
Participants are responsible for: Airfare, ground transportation from and to the airport, lunches, most dinners.
- Teacher: Jan Bentz
- Teacher: Brian Lapsa