The scenery in Tuscany inspired Michelangelo, it has glowed on films such as "The
English Patient" and Bertolucci's "I dance alone".
Travellers from all over the world dream of vacationing in Tuscany... and
once they have experienced it , they return again and again.
You can't miss seeing the magic frescos in the numerous ancient
churches, beautiful renaissance architecture and museums full of
paintings and artifacts. The fourth most visited museum in the world is the Galleria Uffizzi
in Florence, (1.5 million visitors every year), you have to
prepare yourself for one of the most impressive queues in Italy, to be able
to enter. Other museums like the one in Volterra are full of archeological finds and Etruscan and Roman art.
Tuscany gave birth to and attracted many important
artists that flourished there for centuries, for example: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Caravaggio,
Cimabue, Giotto, Lippi, Raphael, Girlandaio, Masaccio, Paolo Uccello, Piero
della Francesca, Vasari.
To enhance our vacation we decided to take a "Landscape Painting Course". Almost
the whole year you can see artistic travellers from
all over the world painting on almost every corner of
every piazza, as well as on the hills in the valleys
and in the middle of the fields. I paint sometimes,
but during the last few years I have had less and less
time. My friend was a complete beginner. We found on
the internet INTERNATIONAL
ART LANDSCAPE PAINTING WORKSHOP
http://www.artw.org
organized and held by artist
Tjasa Demsar. The participants, of different
levels (from beginners to advanced), were a quite exciting
and stimulating international mix. We stayed at San
Donato, a small hamlet clustered around a tiny Romanesque
church. Four kilometres from San Gimignano, in the heart
of the Chianti region, it is well situated in relation
to Florence, Siena, Volterra, Pisa, and Lucca. Accommodation
was provided in the ancient houses in the village center.
Meals were traditional, prepared with locally produced
ingredients, and consumed with the well known Chianti
and Vernaccia wines. The olive oil was produced by the
owner, Mr. Fenzi himself.
We painted every morning and visited towns like Volterra, Siena,
and Florence in the afternoon or went trekking.
Walking in the heart of Tuscany, in the midst of San Gimignano's countryside
is one of the most beautiful things that I have ever done. To be there and paint it was incredible.
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The most beautiful place that we saw while trekking, was Castel
Vecchio, in the middle of the woods, a city abandoned in the 13th century.
It has one tall fortress at the beginning, long main street with the remains
of stone houses, mill stones and trees growing in between. At the
end of town is a beautiful Romanic church, without a roof, some
frescos are still visible.
San Gimignano, 4 km from San Donato, city of towers, stands on a site of a
small Etruscan settlement dating from the Hellanistic period. (third to
second century B. C.) It developed considerably in the Middle Ages, thanks
to the Vis Francigena which runs trough the town, and there was a remarkable
flowering of works of art, adorning churches, palaces and monasteries. Most
impressive is the Collegiata church, from the outside a very simple stone
building, but elegant and harmonic with a beautiful staircase, two
spectactular main doors and two small round windows above. The interior is covered
with frescos from the floor to the ceiling. The right wall is all by Barna di
Siena, painted arround 1380 and the left is by Bartolo di Fredi painted in
1367. There is also the famous sculpture "Madonna Annunciata" 1421 - 1426
in her beautiful red dress by Jacopo della Quercia.
Going back to San Donato each evening we dined in the taverna (located
in the remains of the 11th century tower palace) and saw many slides of
Italian and
world art history.
If you would like the pleasure of walking amongst lush Mediterranean
vegetation along paths which meander trough oak woods, vineyards and age old
olive groves; if you want to discover the secrets of this ancient land,
where Etruscan tombs, Mediveal castles, Romanesque chapels and 16th Century
villas testify to a history and culture far removed in time; if you want all
this, go to a painting vacation in Tuscany. It was an unforgettable vacation
for us, and will remain engraved on your memory forever.
Let the rich atmosphere inspire you, too.
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