What types of assignments will we be doing?

 A variety of media and techniques will be demonstrated and discussed and can include drawing, photography, watercolor, collage and bookarts.  Assignments will be designed and coordinated with site locations and the works of selected artists who lived in or traveled to Italy and whose own practice was influenced by their experiences.  In many instances, you will be asked to use demonstrated techniques on location to record your impressions and express your ideas.  For example, an assignment might ask you to work in watercolor in the Boboli Gardens (in the method of John Singer Sargent as seen in the image above) or to sketch ancient ruins in the style of Piranesi. You will develop a working knowledge of these processes through hands on experience, small group discussion and large format critiques.

Map of Santo Spirito and L’Ospitale delle Rifiorenze Youth Hostel

The Carmine complex in which the Ospitale is situated is between Piazza Santo Spirito and Borgo San Frediano.  The hostel is at the center of a historical and popular neighborhood, ten minutes on foot from the Ponte Vecchio and the train station.

The Santo Spirito neighborhood of Oltrarno is the area on the other side of the Arno river. It features a lively mix of high art and culture (there are several important Renaissance sites) and streetscapes, including markets, cafes and restaurants, piazzas where people meet and live together, artisan workshops, and the flow of contemporary Florentine life. It is very much a place for the traveler looking to scratch a little more beneath the surface of the city.

Where will we be staying?

The best experiences for travelers occur when they can embed themselves in the heart of a community, not in an isolated “tourist bubble.” Learning the name of the baker at the local pasticceria, finding your favorite spot for a capucchino and greeting the barista on a daily basis,  and seeing familiar faces on the street as you become a temporary neighbor are all priceless experiences and enhance your appreciation for the place you will be calling “home.”

In that spirit, this seminar will be prmarily based in the city of Florence and we are in current conversations with the staff at the Ospitale delle Rifiorenze, a youth hostel located in the Santa Spirito neighborhood.  Because the trip is occuring at peak travel season, it is our goal to find the best value accommodations in order to maximize our opportunities to plan more activities.

The Ospitale delle Rifiorenze is the site of a former Carmelite convent built in the 13th century.  A fire destroyed most of the original building in the late 18th century. In 2000, the year of then Pope John Paul’s jubilee, the building was restored and became the nexus of a new type of tourism.  From April through November, the Ospitale provides accommodations for groups and individudal travelers to Florence.  Through the cold winter months,  the proceeds raised through tourism are used to house the homeless.

Participants in this seminar can rest assured that their “tourist dollars” are being directed toward a valuable social service and, in at least one small way, they are leaving their host city  a better place for the less fortunate who call Florence their home.

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Who are the Directors?

Curt Labitzke, Associate Professor in the Studio Art Division of the School of Art, is a seasoned traveler in Italy.  He has directed three quarter-long School of Art programs in Rome and has traveled extensively through Italy with these groups.  As an artist and as an instructor, he has worked with a wide variety of media as well as a diverse student population, from those just beginning to develop their skills as artists to advanced graduate students.  Curt’s work is highly influenced by his travels throughout Italy and is characterized by large scale figures whose relationships evoke both the magnitude of the mythological as well as the  nuances of personal intimacy.

Cynthia Caci, who co-directed a 2007 Exploration Seminar in Sicily and Tunisia, has a graduate degree in Art History with a focus in the art of the early Italian Renaissance.  She brings not only language proficiency in conversational Italian but also teaching experience that will provide an historical context to the seminar in Tuscany. Her entire career at the Univeristy of Washington has been involved in undergraduate education and in helping students align their personal, educational and professional goals with opportunities at the UW and beyond. Cynthia is currently the Assistant Director of Academic Services in the Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media.

Why Florence?

Florence (Firenze):

• is a compact, metropolitan city of 500,000 people
• is the birthplace of the Renaissance
• is one of the most walkable cities in Italy (most important sites are within 1/2-hour walking distance of the Duomo)
• draws visitors from all over the world
• has a history rich with intrigue, adventure, and centuries of incredible patronage of the arts (can we say “Medici”?)
• has an equally rich “present,” — with cafes, clubs, shops and cinemas
•  is centrally located for day trips to other Tuscan hill towns and city centers
• is home to Michelangelo’s David, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Leonardo’s Adoration of the Magi as well as works by Caravaggio, Giotto, Rembrandt and Raphael
• has a cuisine characterized by simple preparations of abundant produce, mellow cheeses, grilled meats and a fascination for beans

Welcome!

This blog is for anyone interested in learning more about the University of Washington’s Exploration Seminar to Tuscany in Summer 2008.  Updates will be posted as they occur — itinerary details, proposed assignments and learning objectives, information sessions, and more!

Feel free to post a comment or pose a question.