Shakespeare Mystery in Venice: A Gateway to Renaissance

Led by Peter Dawkins and Julia Cleave

Enter into the beauty, secrets and art of Shakespeare and the Renaissance

Please come and join us for a special week in Venice. Led by Peter Dawkins and Julia Cleave, this will be a cultural and educational journey into the beauty, wisdom, symbolism, artistry, mystery and secret history of Shakespeare and the Renaissance artists and their connection with Venice.

Throughout the Renaissance the city of Venice acted as a major gateway for trade, culture and intelligence, as well as being an early example of a democratic republic. It performed and still performs an important inspirational, geomantic and ‘gatekeeper’ role, whilst Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, provides a key to this and other mysteries. The Shakespeare authorship question and the role of the Bacon brothers, Anthony and Francis, together with their intelligence network and the Rosicrucian fraternity, play important parts in all this.

All in all, Venice, Shakespeare and the European Renaissance hold knowledge and artistic beauty that can help us understand, promote and enhance the world renaissance of today.

During our week in Venice we will be staying at the Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli in the central but quiet Sestiere Dorsoduro district of Venice. The Centre lies between the famous Gallerie dell’Accademia and the Zattere quayside on the Giudecca Canal, and only a short walk away from the Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square) via a bridge over the Grand Canal.

Besides talks by Peter and Julia, we will enjoy:

• A visit to the Punta della Dogana and much-loved Santa Maria della Salute, a remarkable domed rotunda basilica containing masterpieces by Titian, Giovanni Bellini, Luca Giordano, Palma Il Giovane and Tintoretto that guards the entrance to the Grand Canal and inspired painters like Canaletto, J. M. W. Turner, John Singer Sargent and Francesco Guardi;
• A river taxi cruise along the picturesque palazzo-lined Grand Canal, followed by a walk through the city’s chakra system from the Ghetto to St Mark’s Square;
• A special guided tour of the Gallerie dell’Accademia, which contains masterpieces of Venetian painters such as Giorgione, Carpaccio, Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Canaletto;
• A special evening guided tour of St Mark’s Basilica with its wonderful Italo-Byzantine architecture, mosaics and sculpture, and famous Pala d’Oro (‘Golden Cloth’) altarpiece;
• A special guided tour of the Doge’s Palace, an architectural Venetian-Gothic masterpiece filled with great works of art and where, in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Antonio was saved from Shylock’s knife by Portia’s counsel.
• An optional guided tour of the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca' d'Oro ('House of Gold'), famous for its paintings, tapestries, sculptures and ceramics that represent Venetian culture throughout the centuries, such as masterpieces by Mantegna, Carpaccio, Lombardo, Sansovino, Riccio, Bonaccolsi, Tiziano, Bordon and Guardi.

Peter’s expertise lies in his knowledge of the mythology, symbolism, wisdom and secret history underlying the Shakespeare works, the Shakespeare authorship, the Baconian and Rosicrucian fraternities, the mystery tradition, sacred architecture and the geomantic role of places such as Venice on the world stage.

Julia’s expertise lies in her knowledge of the mythology, symbolism and wisdom underlying Renaissance art and paintings, and the association of some of the Venetian artists’ works of art to the Shakespeare poems Venus & Adonis and Lucrece which form the gateway to the Shakespeare works, Shakespeare authorship and Shakespeare wisdom.

Venue:

Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli,
Zattere Dorsoduro, 909/A, 30123 Venezia VE, Italy. Phone: +39 041 522 4077 http://www.donorione-venezia.it/home-en

Event Fee (£ Sterling)

£1565 sharing (double room)
£1655 single room

Event fee includes seven nights bed and breakfast, seven 3-course dinners (lunches or evening meals), private meeting room, entrance fees + guided tours of St Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace and Gallerie dell’Accademia, river taxi cruise along Grand Canal, leadership, teaching, organisational costs and administration.

It does not include travel costs such as to, from and within Venice, personal insurance or any other costs not shown as included in the event fee.

Further Information & Booking

Email: sarah@fbrt.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)1295-678-623

Booking is made by completing a booking form (which will be sent to you on request) and returning it with the required deposit or full fee.

The deposit will be non-refundable.

The full fee will be payable by 14 February 2018. Payment details are on the booking form.