• fresco or mosaics
Since antiquity, Romans have been embellishing their homes and public spaces
with mosaics and frescoes and it
’s not surprising that students of the IDC are eager to learn these art forms. We’ve arranged mosaic and fresco lessons for children and adults alike, and would
be happy to do the same for you.
• etruscan civilization
an in-depth look at Etruscan life and death with visits to Etruscan cemeteries
in the small towns of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, about 30 miles from Rome, and
study of artifacts from Etruscan daily life in museums of these cities.
• mosaics in rome
an enlightening look at the glittering, glimmering decorations that embellish
some of Rome's most beautiful Early Christian and Medieval churches.
Why are so many churches decorated with mosaics? How did this decorative tradition begin? What messges are these mosaics intended to convey?
• henry james in rome
For a devotee to the literature of Henry James, we designed a walk through Rome
with visits to monuments and locales that served as sets for some of the great
scenes in books like Daisy Miller and Portrait of a Lady.
Throughout the walk, we examined passages from James' work in which he makes
observations on Rome and 19C life in the Eterna.
• gods & monsters
Groups of water-lovers have asked us to design this coastal course. The stunning setting of our Sea Course (aka City Course) is the Tyrrhenian
coastline about 60 miles south of Rome.
There, we discuss the voyage of Ulysses as recounted in Homer's epic, The Odyssey.
If you've visited Rome before or you have special interests that go beyond our
current City Courses, then the iDC's
City Scholars can develop a Custom Course just for you. Whether you're interested in a particular theme or a specific time period, we'll
design a course that focuses on your individual interests.
In the past we have designed such Custom Courses as the following:
For some people there is a distinct pleasure in the return: the possibility of
gaining greater intimacy with a place you know. For me there is something else.
I go back not just to see how a place has changed, but also to see how I've
changed.
--Tom Downey, Sleepless in Rangoon
