IS 120T Italian Tales of Courtship, Beauty, and Power
The number and variety of towns, cities, villages and castles stunned travelers to Italy in the early Middle Ages. This phenomenon became even more distinctive with the passing of time. During the Renaissance, the Italian city-states were compressed into wider, regional domains which were ruled by either a local family or a foreign state, and, much to Machiavelli’s regret, republicanism gave way to what we now know as the court civilization. Though the seats of intrinsically tyrannical powers, Italian courts and their patrons were successful in allying themselves with the most powerful of them all: the power of culture and art. In return, they were transformed into ideal, timeless places whose death was meant to be regretted. Even today, Italy retains her fairy-land beauty, and her monuments (public or private, urban, suburban or rural) still possess their unique power of inspiration notwithstanding the touristic commercialization.
The course examines a number of authors and artists who took part in the shaping of both the communal and court values that formed Italy’s manifold cultural identities. Additionally, the course includes fairy-tales from the Italian folkloric tradition, where princes and princesses provide yet another perspective of Italy’s many "kingdoms". The travel itinerary will include visits to Ravenna, Arezzo and Florence, Urbino, Padua, Vicenza and Mantua.