The Florence Seminar

The First Renaissance:
The Incarnational Vision of Dante, Giotto & Saint Francis

September 14 -21, 2008

In the late summer of 2008, a small group of inquirers will gather in Florence, Italy, to explore what has been called “the first Renaissance,” a remarkable moment in the cultural history of the West. Together we will investigate the ways in which three great late-medieval figures—Dante Alighieri, Giotto, and Saint Francis of Assisi—renewed the culture of Europe and left a legacy that continues to nourish and inspire.

And we will ask how their vision of art and faith can speak to the work of cultural transformation today.

Our focus will be on the way these three great souls re-imagined the relationship between divine grace and ordinary human experience. What was so revolutionary about the way Saint Francis of Assisi approached nature and society? How did Saint Francis inspire Giotto to change the language of western art? How did Dante’s Divine Comedy fuse a medieval worldview with the emerging individualism of the approaching Renaissance?

We will undertake this journey in the city that gave birth to Renaissance Christian Humanism, an incarnational vision grounded in a profound dialogue between art and faith.

Faculty and Program

Our week in Florence will involve a variety of activities, from lectures and visits to the great churches and museums, to a field trip to Assisi, to exquisite meals at restaurants in Florence and the surrounding area.

Robert Royal is president of the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington, DC. His books include: 1492 and All That: Political Manipulations of History; Dante Alighieri: Divine Comedy, Divine Spirituality; and The God That Did Not Fail: How Religion Built and Sustains the West. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Catholic University of America. Royal has received fellowships to study in Italy from the Renaissance Society of America and the Fulbright Program.

Monsignor Timothy Verdon is a priest in residence at the Duomo in Florence and a renowned expert on Renaissance art. A Yale-trained art historian, he is the author of several books, including Mary in Western Art; Michelangelo the Theologian; and Art, Faith, History: A Guide to Christian Florence.

Gregory Wolfe is writer in residence at Seattle Pacific University and the founder and editor of Image, one of America’s leading literary quarterlies. He also directs the Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing at SPU and recently served as a judge for the National Book Awards. His essays, reviews, and articles have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies.

Accommodations

Our home during the week will be Villa Agape, the former estate of the Duchess D’Aosta, now a place of hospitality run by the nuns known as Suore Stabilite nella Carita.

Set on a hillside just south of the Arno, Villa Agape is surrounded by beautiful ornamental gardens, statuary, and an olive grove.

Just down the road, Galileo lived under house arrest. A ten-minute walk brings you to the church of San Miniato al Monte, where Benedictine monks continue their fifteen-hundred-year history of work and prayer.

At Villa Agape we will take our meals together in the formal dining room, meet in the library, and relax on the spacious, open-air terrazzo.

The rooms are simple but clean and bright. Each has a private bathroom and shower.

And views that are unforgettable.

Registration

Registration for the Florence seminar, excluding airfare, includes seven nights accommodation at Villa Agape, all breakfasts and dinners, and transportation and entrance fees to all sites. Fees are $3,800 per person for a shared room or $4,000 for a single.

Deadline: June 1, or until the available space is filled. Registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis. A receipt will be mailed to confirm your registration, followed by an informational packet.

Payment: A $500, non-refundable deposit must accompany your registration in order to reserve your space. $1,500 is due by June 1 and the balance by July 15 (nonpayment will forfeit your space). Please make checks payable to Image, or phone us to pay by credit card.

Refunds: Between June 1 and July 15, a 50% refund will be paid upon cancellation. No refunds are available after July 15.

Transportation: We will provide transportation into Florence for group excursions throughout the week.

Waiting List: If the seminar is full, we will contact you and place you on a waiting list. We will let you know as soon as space opens up.

For more information or to request a brochure, please email image@imagejournal.org or call 206.281.2988. Download a brochure here.