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VISIT THE SITES where your favorite authors lived and wrote. |
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Travel By-The-Book : Senior Women's Travel : Favorite Cities : Theatre Tours |
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PROUST IN VENICE.... May 30th - June 3rd, 2010 To truly understand Proust’s fascination with Venice, you have to go
there. Brigid Brine, our superb guide for Proust in Venice, has taught
Proust at the Mercantile Library in New York City for years. Her
insight and interpretation of the text of A la Recherche du Temps
Perdu is brilliant. As a passionate art historian, she is able to
give us a detailed analyses of many of the artists that Proust refers
to throughout his novel.
A comment from one of her Proust students says it all “Brigid is a gifted teacher whose enthusiasm is contagious. She has made all of us fervid Proust fans enriching our lives forever.” VENICE ITINERARY:Day 1… Have a quick lunch, very good pizza slices close to our hotel. The typical sandwich in Venice is a world apart from what you are used to. However, you must be a mayonnaise fan. Or, sample a great panini. 1pm. Meet in lobby of our hotel, Hotel Ala,a boutique hotel with the best breakfast buffet in Venice. just a few minutes from St. Marks… Orientation lecture by Brigid.: Proust’s longing to visit Venice is one of the underlying threads that runs through the novel. Brigid poses the question of dream plus reality as Proust sees it. Next, we will take the short walk to glorious St. Marks Square and the Basilica of St. Marks. We will study the mosaics, the history of the Statues of Acre and the statues in the square.
There’s no better introduction to Venice than a boat ride down the Grand Canal. As we sip a glass of prosecco, we glide by the magnificent palazzi that so dazzled Proust. Gregory Dowling, a good friend and professor of American Literature at Foscari University in Venice, will regale us with tales of the many famous palazzi. Finally, after dinner we return to San Marks to look at the columns and statues at night. Please bring a small flashlight from home. Day 2… We start our day with a lecture on Proust’s Medievalism and examine Ruskin’s influence on Proust… Ruskin was passionate about Venice and he loved Gothic architecture and deplored the Renaissance. We will have a private guided tour of the Doges Palace which Ruskin described as “THE WORK OF ART IN VENICE’ Following this tour, lunch on the waterfront terrace of Pensione Calcina ,weather permitting. Ruskin stayed at this small pensione. Afternoon… We focus on Proust wanderings…Gregory Dowling will lead us on a walk that evokes Proust’s meander through small calles and over bridges, it’s a walk that Proust might have taken.
Finally, we visit the atelier of Venice’s best bookbinder, Palo D’Olbi. We will be privileged to view many of his extrardinary leather volumes. Of special interest are the books he has executed with other craftsmen, including Murano glass artists. Day 3… Proust’s novel is rich with references to artists. This is our ART DAY with Brigid’s in depth look at two of Proust’s favorite artists. Early morning at the Accademia for Brigid’s study of Carpaccio.
Then on to the magnificent Frari to some of the best Titians and
Bellini’s. Brigid will take anyone interested in seeing more Carpaccio paintings at the Scuolo di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni. Or you may want to visit San Sebastiano Church on your own. The Church boasts magnificent paintings by just one artist, Veronese. Day 4… Mariano Fortuny holds a special niche in Proust’s writings and Venice, where Fortuny lived for years , is an ideal spot to search for the Fortuny connection.
The Palazzo Fortuny, the Gothic palazzo where Fortuny established a studio to paint, design fabrics, costumes and theatre sets is now only open for special exhibitions. There is a Fortuny factory on the island of Giudecca that sells authentic Fortuny fabric. It is not open to the public but it may be possible to visit the showroom to buy small gifts. We will investigate. The lamps and chandeliers that Fortuny designed are still made and available in Venice. In 1909, Fortuny registered a pleated silk fabric made with a machine he had invented. He launched the Delphos gown, a garment inspired by ancient Greek sculpture, a thin column of pleats. These were the dresses that Proust describes so vividly and that he lavished on Albertine. Fortuny was inspired by Wagnerian mythology, Titian and Georgione, as was Proust. Fortuny designed the sets for Tristan and Isolde, the Wagner opera composed in Venice. We take a private tour of the legendary Fenice Opera House where Wagner’s operas are frequently performed. We end our Proust tour in a dramatic, fun way. A drink on the terrace of the Europa & Regina Hotel (Proust stayed here) . As we share Proust’s dilema of to stay or leave Venice, a gondola pulls up and we are serenaded with…O Sol O Mio. Day 5…Like Proust, we leave Venice reluctantly for home. Itinerary subject to minor revisions.
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