Today we met Suzy and Doug for lunch and then toured the Florence Synagogue and Museum with them. World War II and the Holocaust wiped out most of the Jews of Florence, but since then the community has re-established itself.
This morning we had language class, then in the afternoon we attended a fascinating lecture about Italy’s political landscape, followed by a delicious dinner with Cheryl’s sister and brother-in-law.
Sunday morning, we checked out of our hotel in Volterra, and began the journey by bus back to Florence. On the way, we visited the medieval city of Certaldo, enjoyed a wine tasting and tour at Villa Le Corti in Chianti, and paid a visit to the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial.
On the second day of our Road Scholar weekend “field trip” to the beautiful medieval village of Volterra in western Tuscany, our group had a guided tour through the city, followed by a big lunch and some shopping in the afternoon.
Our Road Scholar trip included a weekend “class field trip” to Volterra, an ancient, walled mountaintop town in western Tuscany, south of Pisa. After class today, we traveled by private bus to the town, where we enjoyed an orientation walk through the medieval village and dinner as a group.
After both our classes sang “Happy Birthday” to David, we went out for a celebratory lunch with some of our Road Scholar friends, followed by a wonderful guided tour of the most famous art gallery in Florence, the Uffizi.
After language class and lunch, we joined a group of other students from the school and teacher Silvia B. for a guided walk through Piazzale Michelangelo and the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte.
Rain postponed our Road Scholar “City of Dante” walking tour, so instead our art & history guide Nicoletta toured us around the Palazzo Vecchio. An imposing, fortress-like structure built in the Middle Ages as the town hall of Florence, it was later used in the mid-1500s as a palace by Cosimo I de’ Medici and his family before they moved to the Pitti Palace some decades later.
This week’s Road Scholar theme is The Italian Renaissance. After language class and lunch at a famous market, we met back up with our classmates for a guided tour of the art and history inside the Basilica di Santa Croce, sometimes called the “Pantheon of the Artists” for all the famous painters, sculptors, authors and other luminaries who are buried within its walls.
After a very busy week, we were ready for a quiet day today. We slept late, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (and a few espressi) at home, had lunch and did homework at the casual restaurant in the Bardini Garden, then went grocery shopping and cooked dinner.