ICAN Presents: Tour of Tuscany, August 31 September 11, 2018 Included in the registration: Lodging: 11 nights ((3) Faenza; (2) Florence, and (6) Certaldo Alto). Additional nights lodging must be arranged and paid for on your own. Hotel in Faenza: Hotel Vittoria Corso Garibaldi n. 23 48018 Faenza (RA) Italia Tel. +39 0546 21508 www.hotel-vittoria.com Hotel in Florence Hotel de Lanzi Via delle Oche, 11, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy Tel. +39 055 288043 www.hoteldelanziflorence.com Hotels in Certaldo Alto Hotel Il Castello Via della Rena 6 50052 Certaldo (Firenze), Italy Tel. +39 0571668250 www.albergoilcastello.it or Osteria del Vicario Via Rivellino, 3, 50052 Certaldo FI, Italy Tel. +39 0571 667809 www.osteriadelvicario.com Ground Transportation: Includes bus and train transportation while traveling in Italy during the tour dates, ground transportation while at La Meridiana. Shuttles will pick attendees up from the Bologna airport at 1pm or the Bologna train station at 2pm on August 31 and drop off at the Florence airport or train station on the day of departure, September 11. Meals: 11 breakfast, 6 lunches without wine, 6 dinners (Italian meals with water and wine) are included.
Workshop Facilities for potters: La Meridiana will provide a large, well-organized studio, clay, use of equipment, and tools. All demos at La Meridiana will be hands-on participation with professional potters. Museum entrance tickets: Uffizi Museum (www.uffizi.org) with Vasari Corridor, Academia (www.accademia. org), Bargello Museum (www.bargellomusei.beniculturali.it/musei/1/bargello), Zauli house (www.museozauli.it), Tramonti Foundation, the International Museum of Ceramics (MIC) (www.micfaenza.org) in Faenza, Duomo in Siena, and the Certaldo museums. A professional guide will lead the visits to the Uffizi and the Vasari Corridor, the Bargello, to Zauli house, the MIC, the walking tour in Florence, and the wine tasting and visit of garden with site specific art (www.castellodiama.com/en/arte-contemporanea). Workshops and demos for potters: Two-hour studio visit and majolica demo of Mediterranean decoration patterns with Saura Vignoli (www.ceramichevignoli.com) (for potters and non-potters), hands-on maiolica workshop in Certaldo alto with M. Lazzerini (www.artesiaceramica.it), hands-on workshop of soft raku and terra sigillata at La Meridiana with Italian instructor Rosana Antonelli (http://rosanantonelli.blogspot.it), bone china demo with Pietro Maddalena (www.pietro.net). Tickets to the Argillà Faenza Pottery Festival (www.argilla-italia.it). The pottery festival has established itself as one of the leading festivals of ceramics in Europe, where exhibitor booths presenting ceramic production come from as many as 20 countries worldwide and are placed in the streets and squares of Faenza. Shows, cultural events, and performances are part of the festival. Activities for non-potters during the ceramic workshops: Cooking lesson in Certaldo, bookmaking lesson, round trip shuttle to the quaint town of San Gimignano. Not included in the registration: Airfare: Plan to arrive in Bologna (either at the airport or train station) on Friday, August 31st and depart Tuesday September 11, from the Florence airport or train station. Daily Tour Itinerary Friday, August 31 Arrive in Faenza. Shuttles will pick up participants from either the Bologna airport at 1pm or from the Bologna train station at 2pm and transport to Faenza. Participants that wish arrive a day early can request recommendations for accommodations in Bologna. 6:30 pm: Welcome by ICAN staff and La Meridiana. 7:30 pm: Group dinner at Restaurant il Zingaro (included) After dinner: free time to visit Argillà Italia Festival. Saturday, September 1 Faenza (potters and non-potters) 9:00 12:00 am: Two-hour tour at the MIC with a guide. Participants will have free time to explore the museum and may go back with the same ticket later in the day. 12:30 pm: Lunch at Hotel Vittoria (included, wine excluded) 3:00 pm: Meet for local artist studio tour. Evening: Free time to visit Argillà Italia Festival (There will be evening events during the festival and the potters will display their work until 10:00 pm.)
Sunday, September 2 Day Trip to Ravenna (potters and non-potters) 6:00 am: Early breakfast at hotel (included) 7:52am: Train departs for Ravenna, arrives 8:25am (travel time: 33 minutes) 9:30am: Pick up the prepaid City Passes at the Basilica of S. Apollinare nuovo. City Pass for Ravenna includes: Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, Battistero Neoniano, Battistero degli Ariani, Basilica di Sant Apollinare Nuovo, Cappella Arcivescovile o di Sant Andrea, and Basilica di San Vitale. Monuments are open from 9:00 am 4:30pm. Lunch on your own (not included) 5:09 pm: Train for Faenza departs, arrives 5:34pm (travel time: 25 minutes) Monday, September 3 Transfer to Florence (potters and non-potters) 7:30 am: Breakfast at hotel (included) 8:30 am: Check out of hotel and walk to bus station as a group 9:00 am: Stop at Bottega Vignoli studios for short demo. Pottery available for purchase. Shipping may be arranged through Bottega Vignoli. 10:30 am: Depart Bottega Vignoli for Florence (stop half way for a break) 12:00 pm: Arrive in Florence, check into Hotel de Lanzi 12:30 pm: Lunch (included) and orientation for Florence 5:00 pm: Walking tour of Florence with Luca Leoni. Tuesday, September 4 Florence and museums (potters and non-potters) 9:00 am: Uffizi Museum and exclusive Vasari Corridor guided tour with Freya Middleton 12:30 pm: Lunch on your own (not included) OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: 4:30 pm: Academia tickets to see Michelangelo s David. (Participation must be reserved prior to tour departure) 8:00 pm: Dinner (included) Wednesday, September 5 Florence, Bargello, and transfer to Certaldo alto 9:00 am: Check out of hotel. Leave luggage for La Meridiana to pick up. 9:30 am: Meet guide at hotel. Bargello museum tour with Freya Middleton. 12:30 pm: Lunch on your own (not included) 2:30 pm: Leave for Certaldo alto by bus. 4:30 pm: Check into hotel 7:00 pm: Introduction to Boccaccio, the illustrious citizen of Certaldo. 8:00 pm: Welcome dinner (included) at Castello. Thursday, September 6 Potters will be divided into groups to attend a hands-on majolica painting workshop of 3 hours each. Pieces will be fired by Monday, to be ready to take home. Group times: first group 9:00 am 12:00 pm; second group 1:00 4:00 pm; third group 4:30 7:30 pm 9:30 11:30 am: Groups 2 and 3 will visit the Certaldo museums in the morning (Museo Boccaccio, museum
of Sacred Art, the Nail museum, and Palazzo Pretorio) 12:00 pm: Lunch on your own (not included) 4:00 6:00 pm: Group 1 will visit the Certaldo museums in the afternoon. 8:00 pm: Dinner at Messer Boccaccio (included) 9:00 am 12:30 pm: Bookmaking workshop with Francesca Maddalena. Make your own notebook, with Florentine paper. 12:00 pm: Lunch on your own (not included) 12:30 6:00 pm: Free time 4:00 6:00 pm: Visit of Certaldo museums (Museum Boccaccio, museum of Sacred Art, the Nail museum, Palazzo Pretorio) 8:00 pm: Dinner at Messer Boccaccio (included) Friday, September 7 9:00 pm: Shuttle to La Meridiana 9:30 am 12:30 pm: Hands on workshop: Soft Raku with instructors Rosana Antonelli and Pietro Maddalena. Shaping forms using slab techniques and plaster molds. These pieces will be used for testing of various terra sigillata coatings to be soft raku fired. 2:00 3:00 pm: Technical notes about terra sigillata 3:00 5:30 pm: Burnishing, drying, then application of terra sigillata. All pieces must be finished by 5:30 pm. Load kiln to be bisque fired early the next morning. 6:00 pm Shuttle back to Certaldo alto. Evening: free time and dinner on your own (not included) 10:30 2 pm: Cooking lesson and lunch with Giuseppina in Certaldo alto 2:00 pm: Free time Saturday, September 8 9:00 am: Shuttle to La Meridiana 9:30 12:30 am: Surface transfer workshop with Holly Goring 2:00 9:30 pm: Depart for Siena, meet up with non-potters for guided tour of Duomo, with Luca Leoni, then free time. Dinner on your own in Siena 9:30 pm: Return to Certaldo by train. 10:00 am: Depart for Siena by train. Free morning to explore. 3:00 pm: Meet potters for guided tour of Duomo with Luca Leoni, then free time. Dinner on your own in Siena
Return to Certaldo by train. Sunday, September 9 9:00 am: Shuttle to La Meridiana 9:30 12:30 Soft Raku firing 2:30 5:00 pm: Bone china workshop with Pietro Maddalena 5:00 pm: Depart for Certaldo alto with a stop at potter Terry Davies studio. 6:00 pm: Return to Certaldo alto Dinner on your own Free day to relax or explore the surroundings OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: 10:00 am 3:00 pm: Shuttle to San Gimignano available. (Participation must be reserved prior to tour departure) Dinner on your own Monday, September 10 Impruneta and Chianti (potters and non-potters) 9:00 pm 12.30 pm: Transfer to Impruneta to visit Mario Mariani a traditional terra-cotta artist in Impruneta and Fornace Masini; travel on to Greve, the historical center of the Chianti Classico region. 12.30 pm: Lunch on your own in Greve 2:00 pm: Continue panoramic drive to visit Castello di Ama for a wine tasting and visit of garden with site specific art. 5:00 pm: Return to Certaldo alto 7:30 pm: Dinner (included) and Reception: A musical event to be held at Castello, with invitation to local potters to join attendees Tuesday, September 11 Departure: Shuttles from Certaldo alto to Florence airport at 4:30 am and 7:30 am; to Florence train station at 10:00 am Additional Travel Information Packing: Required: Please bring only one medium to large suitcase and one smaller suitcase/backpack due to limited luggage space when traveling by train and bus. Note: You will need to be able to travel via train and bus and carry your own luggage from transportation drop off points to hotels. Walking: IMPORTANT This trip will include a significant amount of walking, and is not recommended for those who have difficulty walking for long distances or at a swift pace. Including stairs and steep inclines. Recommend packing comfortable walking shoes. Additional accommodations required prior to or following the tour must be arranged and paid for on your own. All tour inquiries should be directed to the ICAN manager, Holly Goring at hgoring@ceramics.org or 614-895-4213. Please do not make direct inquiries regarding the tour or accommodations to the hotels or La Meridiana. Itinerary subject to change.