Photography - Italy, Tuscany

Short course

In (Italy)

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Short course

  • Duration

    1 Day

The Photography students will work throughout their stay with a professional photographer and their work will lead to an exhibition by the end of the course. Visits to Florence, Pisa, Lucca and the four coastal towns can all be incorporated.

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Course programme

Photography: Italy - Tuscany

Overview

Courses can be run as a combined Course using some or all of Drama, Art or Photography subjects.

The Versilian Riviera is located in Northern Tuscany between the Lake of Massaciuccoli and the Cinquale River. This region consists of four major coastal resorts - Viarregio, Lido di Camaiore, Marina de Pietrasanta and Forte dei Marmi. It is in one of these towns that you will be based, in a 3* hotel on a half board basis with close proximity to the beach, shops and local attractions. The coastline is backed by the scenic Apuan Alps and affords stunning views from the towns and the beaches alike.

All students will travel to Florence and Lucca for the excursion on Monday. The art students will travel to Florence for the day on Tuesday as well to look at specific art related sites and galleries.

What´s Included:

  • Full meet and greet service at Pisa (or other) Airport on arrival and departure.
  • Luxury Coach transfer to Hotel in Tuscany coastal resort (from Pisa 45 minutes transfer time).
  • 6 nights half-board accommodation at 3* Hotel in Tuscany.
  • Course Leader in attendance.
  • Course Tutors for Drama / Art / Photography.
  • Fully structured workshop courses in Drama / Art / Photography.
  • One full day excursion with coach - Florence (for Art Students).
  • One full day excursion with coach - Florence + Lucca (all).
  • Luxury Coach transfer from Hotel to Pisa or other arrival airport for return flights.
  • Course Certificates.
  • 1:10 free place ratio for your staff.
  • Promotional materials and assistance for Presentation Evening for parents and students in school.

Sample - Itinerary:

Sunday
Am - Breakfast followed by Introductory workshop
Pm - Workshop 1 Dinner then Karaoke evening.

Monday
Full day excursion to Florence + Lucca for all students.

Tuesday
Am - Breakfast Workshop 2 (or Florence for Art Students)
Pm - Workshop 3 Theatre Games evening.

Wednesday
Am - Workshop 4
Pm - Beach afternoon.

Thursday
Am - Breakfast followed by Final rehearsals
Pm - Technical/Dress rehearsals Performance & Exhibitions, then Dinner and Disco evening.

Friday
Am - Travel Day - Italy to Home.

Viareggio This renowned bathing resort is known as the 'Pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea' and stretches on a wide territory embracing two pine forests and the beautiful Massaciuccoli Lake. Among its most important events is the Carnival (Feb/Mar), the Viareggio Literary Prize (July/Aug) and the Puccini Opera festival (July/Aug) held in Torre del Lago, where Giacomo Puccini lived and composed most of his works.

Camaiore Historic town with important monuments including the collegiate church of Maria Assunta (13th century) with the 14th century bell tower and the 7th century Benedictine Abbey. The Lido di Camaiore is situated along the seaside with parks and gardens and the characteristic terraced promenade.
Marina Di Pietrasantta Historic town with notable monuments mainly contained in the magnificent Piazza del Duomo and also an important centre for the artistic sculpting of marble. The seafront resort has elegant villas, hotels and sporting facilities set amid the greenery. Nearby, in the village of Valdicastello it is possible to visit the native home of the poet Carducci.

Forte Dei Marmi For many years a seaside resort appreciated by artists, writers and prominent people from the financial and industrial world. It is well know for the superb shopping in the designer boutiques and lovely walks along the promenade.

Florence A city with a population of around half a million people spreads on the banks of the Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas. Travelling time by coach from our resort centres is approximately 80 minutes. Florence has retained an extraordinary wealth of art treasures, a glorious witness to its centuries of civilisation. Cimabue and Giotto, forefathers of Italian painting lived here; Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renovators of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, innovators of the Renaissance; Ghiberti and the Della Robbia; Filippo Lippi and Fra Angelico; Boticelli and Paolo Uccello and universal men like Leonardo and Michelangelo. Their work - as well as that of many other generations of artists up to the present time - are collected in the many museums of the city : the Uffizi, the most select picture gallery in the world; the Galleria Palatina, with its 'golden age' paintings: the Bargello, with its Renaissance sculptures: the Academy, the Medici Chapel and the Buonarroti House, with Michaelangelo's sculptures; the Bardi, Horne, Stibbert, Romano Museums, the Modern Art Gallery, the Museum of the Duomo, the Silver Museum and the Pietre Dure Museum. This is not just a city of galleries though and time is allowed on the itinerary to explore the streets and take in the stunning views, architecture and history.

Street Carnival

Below is an extract from the website giving details about the world famous street carnival held in the town each year in February/March:

"Brief History of the Carnival ........... The idea of organising a parade of floats to celebrate Carnival outdoors, all together along the streets, developed from some youths of the well-to-do society in February 1873 in the Café del Casino. Later this original event, which took place on the Sunday and Shrove Tuesday of February 1873, ripened in the Carnival of Viareggio, as it is known today; one of the most beautiful and magnificent spectacular events of the world. The processions were introduced towards the end of the century and were immediately warmly welcomed by the people. The triumphal floats, which were actually real monuments built in wood, scagliola and jute, were modelled by sculptor and put together by the same carpenters and blacksmiths who worked in the shipyards of the town and built ships able to successfully withstand the insidious waters and unpredictable winds of the oceans. From then on, these floats, which are built very much the same way, have sailed among throngs of astonished and amused people.

The First World War almost destroyed the tradition of the Carnival in Viareggio like the belle époque itself. The Carnival, however, flourished again with more splendour and grandiosity in 1921, when the masked floats paraded along the two splendid avenues, which run parallel along the beach. The avenues along the seashore, known as the mall, which gathered nationally and internationally famous people in the summer, became from then on - also thanks to the beautiful setting of the Apuan Alps in the background - the natural, stunning and incomparably beautiful stage where the Carnival floats have paraded year after year with renewed liveliness and mirth.

1921 was also the year in which the first official song -"La Coppa di Champagne" (The Champaign glass) - was inaugurated. Today this is still is the hymn of the Carnival. For the first time even the masks danced to the music and the band sat on a cart called "Tonin di Burio" that represented a wedding being celebrated in the barnyard of a country house. Two years later "Pierrot", the most nostalgic and romantic of all carnival masks, was the first figure to move its head and eyes. Thanks to the initiative of some manufacturers, papier-mâché was introduced in 1925. This material, which was immediately used for the floats, enabled to create huge yet extremely light constructions, which hovered on the floats challenging the law of gravity. This innovation helped to transform the Carnival of Viareggio into a legend. Because of their creative abilities, manufacturers were soon named the papier-mâché wizards by both the national and international press.

In 1930, the painter Uberto Bonetti who illustrated the Carnival on the official programs, created Burlamacco - now a famous mask - that is portrayed on the 1931 program together with Ondina, standing against the piers. Today Burlamacco is displayed among the Italian masks at the Museo del Folklore e della Tradizione (Museum of Folklore and Popular Traditions) in Rome and is exhibited at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris. After the Second World War, the Carnival of Viareggio recovered its full splendour in 1946. From this date onwards, King Carnival has sat on his throne undisturbed, unharmed by the terrible fire that destroyed the hangars where the floats were built in June 1960.
From the very outset (1954), the national broadcasting company first, and Eurovision (1958) later, have celebrated the Popularity of this event showing Viareggio and its Carnival throughout the world. Every year a long list of famous guests - from politicians, artists and athletes - come to Viareggio to admire their own papier-mâché reproduction. Every year thousands of visitors contribute to the success of this famous event by participating to the editions of the Carnival. In 1998 the Carnival of Viareggio has celebrated its 125` anniversary with over a month of day- and night-time celebrations. Strong with its continuous and growing success, the Carnival is now concentrating all its efforts towards the year 2000 edition, which will owe its spectacularity to the floats, parades, local celebrations, masked balls and other events, including also the world youth football tournament, "Coppa Carnevale", which celebrated its 50` edition in 1998. The new Carnival Town will also be inaugurated in year 2000. This area, designed to become a very popular attraction, will be equipped with hangars, an arena for shows, a multimedia museum, a papier-mâché making school and offer a great variety of cultural and leisure initiatives. Every year Viareggio plays host to thousands of visitors. Why wait? Join in too.

Viareggio may only be a small town situated in Tuscany, near Pisa and Florence, but Viareggio is well-known the world over as a famous seaside resort.

Near Viareggio is Torre del Lago Puccini, where Giacomo Puccini lived and wrote his famous "Operas", Tosca, Bohème, Butterfly, Turandot. You can visit in Torre del Lago Puccini the family house of the great composer and the museum about him. Viareggio is famous in the world for the construction of boats and yachts, too. But much more, this nice town is famous for its wonderful Carnival."

Photography - Italy, Tuscany

Price on request