Visit to Istria, Friuli & Venice

Visit to Istria, Friuli & Venice

Sunday 20 September 2015

Following our successful visits led by Nirvana Romell to Croatia (2009), Sweden (2011) and South Africa (2013), we are planning a week’s tour with Nirvana in late September 2015 to Istria (Croatia) and Friuli (North East Italy) finishing on Dorsoduro in Venice. We will fly direct from Manchester to Pula and return direct from Venice.

 Nirvana regularly lectures in History of Art for Manchester Art Gallery, Museums of Liverpool (The Walker) and NADFAS.

The history of both Istria and Friuli is so rich and intricate that it is no wonder that these two provinces command a special status within their own “mother countries”.

For millennia, the peoples from all corners of Europe lived, traded and fought in that area. The original peoples of the Bronze-age Castellieri culture were conquered, with great difficulties, by the Romans in the 2nd ct. BC. The narrow passage between the Alps and the Adriatic has been a coveted trade route ever since. In Istria, all the layers of its incredible cultural and natural history are still visible – all the way from the dinosaur footprints, amazing karst geology and castellieri (hilltop fortifications) to Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Habsburg monuments. The highlights are the great Roman amphitheatre in Pula (a Roman city built on 7 hills!) and the Byzantine Episcopal complex of the Euphrasian basilica in Poreč, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, Istria inevitably charms with the small, off-the-beaten-track natural and cultural wonders, many of which will be incorporated in this journey.

Like Istria, Friuli also showcases the cultural and historical mix – Roman, Byzantine and Venetian juxtaposed with the spirit of the Habsburg “Mitteleuropa”. The patriarchy of Aquileia played a decisive role in the spread of Christianity into central Europe and our journey will explore three seats of power:

• Aquileia, a UNESCO world heritage site with Roman archaeology and magnificent early Christian basilica
• Cividale del Friuli, another UNESCO world heritage site and first capital of the Lombard Kingdom in 6th ct.
• Udine, the unofficial capital of the Friuli region, renowned for “the most beautiful Venetian piazza on the terra firma”, architecture by Palladio and frescoes by Tiepolo.

Our journey finishes in Venice, with a chance for some more off-the-beaten-track sightseeing and an optional extension (the Venice Biennale will still be on show).

Further Details:

Cost per person: £1490.00

Booking has now closed for this event.

For further information please contact Friends of the Whitworth by

email: [email protected] or by post:

Friends of the Whitworth

Whitworth Art Gallery

University of Manchester

Oxford Rd

Manchester

M15 6ER