An Art Journey of Italy

The Circles Travel Program

Florence, Siena, Bologna, Modena, Mantua, Padua and Venice. Featuring the 60th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia.

To view the detailed itinerary click here.

Embark on an exciting and unique trip to Italy with the Museum of New Mexico Foundation. The trip is custom designed to introduce the global contemporary art scene through the lens of the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, and to explore the intimate, historical art sites of Italy, which tell a fascinating narrative of Italy’s great medieval, renaissance and baroque eras. The trip offers direct and daily encounters with the visual culture and with Italy’s people, and provides time for discussion and reflection about artistic expression and its evolution which parallels the changes in human thought, political and economic landscape.

The travel program begins in Florence, one of the most culturally influential pre-modern cities in Europe, and a center for the development of early and high renaissance thought and artistic expression.  A thorough survey of the great architecture, art and sculpture of Florence, including the seminal works of Masaccio, Lippi, Donatello, Raphael, Titian, and Leonardo DaVinci, is a must to understand the artistic, philosophical and entrepreneurial influences that this great city had on the rest of Italy and Europe between 1400 and 1600.  A half-day visit to Siena in the heart of the Tuscan region transports us further back in time to an unspoiled medieval city that is home of incredible Gothic architecture and pioneering work of early renaissance artists such as Duccio.  Travelling north of Firenze in transit to Venice, the party will stop in the beautiful cities of Bologna and Modena and stay in the sophisticated northern city of Verona. From there, the party will make day trips to visit the Castello San Giorgio Ducal Palace in Mantua, home to the Camera Picta project of Mantegna, the 15th century illusionistic master. At the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua is Giotto’s 14th century masterpiece of frescoes, depicting the life and passion of Christ and the life of the Virgin Mary.  These artistic treasures not only embody the intentions and luxury available to the patrons of the day, but also represent the most influential artistic and intellectual programs that influenced the development of Renaissance art and developing humanistic thought.

The final stop in Venice will be a profound historical and international art experience. The highlight of the trip will feature five nights and four full days visiting the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, and the churches, palaces and museums of the floating city of Venice. The visit will bring to life the transcultural narrative of Venice as a site for Eastern and Western aesthetic taste, philosophies, global trade and conversation throughout the centuries. Inaugurated in 1895, the Venice Biennale is the oldest and most significant of international art exhibitions, and over the years has grown in scale and has unified its focus to bring forward global themes of contemporary relevance and to occupy an important place in the contemporary art calendar.

For additional please contact Cara O’Brien, Director of The Circles and The Circles Explorers at 505.216.0848 or cara@museumfoundation.org.