Our trip was fabulous and I’m very happy to report that the Cena Vinciana was a highlight. The reservations, presentation, organization, guides, setting—all were excellent and the curatorial standards were all very high; they allowed us to listen to an audio guide at no extra charge since our admission price included the Italian guide and I’m afraid our Italian is not so fluent. Thank you so much for arranging such a hard-to-get visit. It was a rare privilege to see such an astonishing work, restored and presented in its native setting.
In Milan we also visited the Ambrosiana and the Brera; the latter was particularly wonderful; I bought the catalogue—in Italian!—to study at home.
The earlier part of our trip was to Rome, where we spent a lot of time in museums and churches; Caravaggio, Bernini, Borromini all ended up as recurring theme artists in Rome. The Galeria Farnese was closed on the day we tried to visit but we were able to visit the Galeria Spada and many other less well-known collections. Siena, a side trip to San Gimignano and a vineyard, Florence and Bologna made up the rest of our trip. One of our group, who went for purposes of study and her doctorate in art history, is still in Rome, (about to return this week) and I have been feeling jealous since I got back to Toronto!
With best regards,
Michael Solomon, USA
