Sun 13 – Sat 19 October 2024
(7 days and 6 nights)
DESCRIPTION: This intensive educational program has been designed to give a small group (max 12) of architectural enthusiasts, alumni and aficionados, the ultimate full-immersion learning experience in and amongst the treasures of Rome. Organized in chronological order and comprised mostly of on-site visits, the program will help the traveller to understand the evolution of the world’s most resilient city. Along the way, between ancient crypts and hilltop villas, we will discuss the connections and contrasts in the way diverse peoples have lived in diverse ways. Participants may be surprised to learn how little has changed (and how much is constantly changing!)
STUDY LEADER: American architect Tom Rankin
(MArch, Harvard; BA, Princeton, Fulbright) has lived in Rome, practicing architecture and teaching, since 1991. His work focuses on the historic and emerging city and landscape as a solution to challenges of sustainable design.
COST: $3,500 per person single occupancy, including instruction, lodging, 4 lunches and 3 dinners, entrance fees, activities, ground transport for excursions, airport transfers, and course materials (including Prof. Rankin’s book Rome Works). Price double occupancy: $3,000/person; price without lodging: $2,000/person.
Itinerary
- Day 1 Arrival, transfer from airport to hotel. First meeting in hotel lobby or courtyard and late afternoon walk and reception at the Borromini Center followed by group dinner in a historic setting.
- Day 2 Augustus (and Agrippa) Our first full-day will take us to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill where we will visit the house of Augustus and an active archaeological dig. Then after a light lunch we proceed to the Colosseum. You are free for dinner tonight.
- Day 3 Hadrian (and Trajan), We begin the day at the Pantheon and Trajan’s Markets, then hop on a chartered bus to go to Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli,. After a group lunch we return to Rome by way of aqueducts, and Hadrian’s tomb. You are free for dinner tonight.
- Day 4 Peruzzi (and Raphael) Together to visit Peruzzi’s Villa Farnesina and then cross the river to Via Giulia and the Farnese Palace. In the afternoon we will arrange a guided tour to the Vatican. Lunch and dinner are both provided today.
- Day 5 Borromini (and Bernini) Today we head to the Quirinale Hill to look at works by the two greatest Baroque architects. Santa Maria della Vittoria, San Carlo, Palazzo Barberini and, after lunch, the Galleria Borghese. You are free for dinner tonight.
- Day 6 Libera, Fuksas and Hadid. In the morning we visit Testaccio and see Adalberto Libera’s famous Post Office (and stop at the nearby market). We then move on for a quick look at the Fascist-era EUR. In the late afternoon we visit the MAXXI museum and and Renzo Piano’s Auditorium and enjoy a festive farewell dinner in a modern setting.
- Day 7 Breakfast discussion and transfers to Rome’s airport for those departing.
AT A GLANCE
- Small groups of no more than twelve allow hands-on engagement with sites
- Stay in comfortable, centrally located lodging
- Visit Rome’s monuments in a relaxed seminar style setting (as students, not tourists)
- Discuss your findings and observations over healthy food in typical local venues
- Gain special access to working archaeological sites and meet with top experts in Roman archaeology
- Take a one-day excursion to the hill town of Tivoli
- Relax with just enough down time in late afternoons and evenings
- Enjoy privileged access to underground sites, workshops and panoramic vantage points.
- Celebrate the course’s completion with a special farewell meal.
