Please contact Laura Gray via the contact form (the bottom of the home page) about any of these trips in which you might be interested, so they can be planned sensibly and you can receive the necessary information as soon as it becomes becomes available. Some may be very popular.
11–17 January: The Stones of Rome
Perhaps no single city in the world can have had as much influence on the history of architecture as Rome. To study its architecture is to open a door on the last two thousand years of European art and culture.
Lecturer: Agnes Crawford
25-28 February: Long weekend in Padova
The main purpose of this short visit to Padua will be to see Giotto’s masterpiece, the Scrovegni Chapel. Normally visitors are restricted to a fifteen-minute glimpse of these magnificent frescoes, and even this must be booked in advance. On former Learn Italy visits two special half-hour private visits have been arranged for the group, and it is hoped that this exceptional booking can be achieved again. The group will stay at a comfortable four-star hotel in the historic centre of Padua, about fifteen minutes walk both to the Scrovegni Chapel and to the Basilica of Sant’Antonio.
Lecturer: Andrea Mattiello
12-18 April: Lotto and Le Marche
We will be based in the charming town of Recanati. A major theme and motive for our expeditions will be paintings by the Venetian artist Lorenzo Lotto (c.1480–c.1557), many of whose major works can be enjoyed in small towns such as Jesi, Cingoli and Monte San Giusto. Lotto’s works show the gorgeous saturated colour of the Venetian style, set in complex and dramatic compositions which are animated by a sensitive and lively sense of human character.
Lecturer : Alexandra Lawrence
October: The Parma Verdi Festival
We await the programme for the 2027 Verdi Festival in order to determine the dates for this trip. Parma is an exquisite city in Emilia Romagna in the heart of the Food Valley. We will enjoy performances in the majestic Teatro Regio di Parma and the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi di Busseto.
15–21 November: Siena and the hill-towns of Southern Tuscany
After the Rise of Painting Siena exhibition in 2025, many requested a return trip to Siena, particularly now that the Lorenzetti frescoes have reopened to the public. Our ninth trip to Siena will include trips to Montalcino and the Romanesque abbey of Sant’Antimo, Pienza, the town built at the behest of Pope Pius II, the monastery of Monte Oliveto and to San Gimignano.