Genoa & Turin Palaces & Galleries Tour

‘Secret cities’ would have been an absurd subtitle for two such major places, but did suggest itself because of the rarity with which Britons find themselves in Genoa and Turin. But every art lover should go. The prevailing images are perhaps still predominantly commercial and industrial, but not only do both have highly attractive centres but both are distinguished by the large number of magnificent palaces and picture collections.

Genoa lays claim to the largest historic centre of any European city. It was one of the leading maritime republics of medieval Italy (it remains the largest port in the Mediterranean), and enjoyed a golden age during the 17th century. In the 1990s civic improvements and building restorations were undertaken to prepare the city for celebrations connected with the quincentenary of Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas, and the cultural momentum has continued.

In the earlier 17th century Genoa was artistically the equal of almost anywhere in Italy except for Rome and Naples. More than any other Italian school of painting, the Genoese was indebted to the Flemish school: Rubens made a prolonged visit in 1605 and Anthony Van Dyck was based here from 1621 to 1627. Many of his paintings remain here.

Turin was developed on a grand scale in the 17th and 18th centuries as the capital of Savoy, an independent state which became a kingdom from 1720. The region of Piedmont formed the majority of the kingdom’s mainland territory (which included Sardinia), and in the 19th century Piedmont became administratively and industrially the most advanced state in Italy – and the springboard for the risorgimento. Turin was the first capital of the newly united and independent Italy, 1861–65.

Turin’s centre is laid out on a regular plan with broad avenues and piazze of remarkable architectural homogeneity. Guarino Guarini (1624–83) and Filippo Juvarra (1678–1736), among the best architects of their time, both worked here for much of their lives.

Inclusions

Travel by private coach; hotel accommodation; breakfasts; 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and the tour manager.

Expert Speakers

Dr Luca Leoncini
Art historian specialising in 15th-century Italian painting. His first degree and PhD were from Rome University followed by research at the Warburg Institute in London. He has published articles on the classical tradition in Italian art of the 15th century and contributed to the Macmillan Dictionary of Art. He has also written on Mantegna and Renaissance drawings.

Tour by Martin Randall Travel.