AR1020 Materials & Techniques
AH2012 Medieval Art & Architecture
Anna Russakoff & Jonathan Shimony
Cost: €585 (includes round-trip air transportation, on-site transportation, entrance fees, guided visits, professors’ trip costs, and VAT)
Palermo is one of Italy’s most impressive cities. Classes AH2010 Medieval Art and Architecture and AR 1020 Materials & Techniques discover the rich heritage of the city as well as the cloister of Monreale. Sicily was the site of a unique Arabo-Norman Kingdom in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Students discover how the architecture and art, notably mosaics and frescoes, of sacred spaces, functioned as the visual rhetoric of a very special hybrid court culture. The cathedrals of Palermo, Monreale and Cefalu all contain outstanding examples of 12th-century mosaics. Mosaics tend to be flattened and unreflective in photographs, and they are an art form that must be experienced on site. In addition, the structures and their decoration attest to Sicily’s multi-cultural environment in the Middle Ages, showing the influence of Normans, Byzantine Greeks and Arabs (Fatimid Egypt). The famous cloister at Monreale displays the first use of pointed arches in the West.
Last day to register/cancel: January 24
Late cancelation fee: €585
Payment for study trips must be made no later than February 1 for the Spring 2016 semester. Any concerns in this regard should be addressed to the Cultural Program & Student Accounting Services.