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The Art of Naples - Old masters, majestic architecture & aristocratic splendour
7
days
from
£3,490
Book today with a deposit from
£524
6th - 12th September 2027
Tour highlights
- Naples as royal capital: art made for Spanish viceroys, Bourbon kings and rich religious orders.
- Caravaggio’s Seven Acts of Mercy, still in the chapel for which it was commissioned.
- A day at the Bourbon palace and gardens of Caserta, with lunch in a private palace.
- Art historian Dr Michael Douglas-Scott, Courtauld-trained specialist in Italian art, leads the tour.
From the hilltop monastery of S. Martino the whole of Naples lies below: the tight grid of the old city, the domes of its churches, the waterfront and, across the bay, Vesuvius. Royal capital of the largest of the Italian kingdoms, Naples drew painters, sculptors and architects to work for its kings, viceroys, nobles and religious houses. Its museums and churches hold some of the finest art in Italy.
Much of that art remains where it was first seen. Caravaggio’s Seven Acts of Mercy still hangs in the chapel for which it was commissioned. The Veiled Christ lies at the centre of the Cappella Sansevero, a family chapel of multi-coloured marbles and virtuoso sculpture. A few streets away, the austere Gothic church of S.ta Chiara opens onto a cloister encrusted with Rococo tiles. On the hill above, the church of S. Martino is decorated with extraordinary lavishness.
The Bourbon kings left the grandest legacy. They turned Capodimonte, originally a hunting lodge, into the home of the Farnese collection, now one of Italy’s greatest art galleries. At Caserta, a few miles outside the city, they answered Versailles with a palace of superbly furnished apartments set in parkland and gardens of matching scale. Beneath it all lies the ancient city. The National Archaeological Museum holds one of the world’s greatest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities, many of them from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Art historian Dr Michael Douglas-Scott interprets each work in the place it was made for. The itinerary follows this patronage on foot through the old centre, much of which is closed to traffic, and out to the royal residences, with lunch in a private palace. Each evening the group returns to a hotel on the waterfront, looking out across the bay to Vesuvius and Capri.
Itinerary
Fly at c. 10.00am from London Heathrow to Naples.
A first walk through the teeming old city centre includes the Cappella Sansevero, a masterpiece of Baroque art and craft with multi-coloured marbles and virtuoso sculptures, and S.ta Chiara, an austere Gothic church with a delightful Rococo tile-encrusted cloister. Also among the other treasures seen are the churches of Il Gesù Nuovo and S. Domenico Maggiore.
The Castel Nuovo, also known as ‘Maschio Angioino’, is a medieval castle located on the waterfront in Piazza Municipio. It houses the Civic Museum and its Cappella Palatina contains frescoes by Giotto. Also seen are two works by Caravaggio: his Seven Acts of Mercy in the chapel for which it was commissioned and his Martyrdom of St Ursula in a bank.
Situated a few miles outside Naples, the royal palace at Caserta, begun 1751, is Italy’s most magnificent and accomplished emulation of Versailles. An awesome absolutist statement, the apartments are superbly decorated and furnished and it is set within parkland and gardens equally magnificent in scale. Lunch is at a private palace.
The morning is spent at the National Archaeological Museum, one of the world’s greatest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities. Many items come from the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum. High on a hill which provides stunning views over the city and the Bay of Naples, the monastery of S. Martino has a church of extraordinary lavishness of art and decoration and a museum of fine and decorative arts.
Drive into the hilly suburbs to visit the palace of Capodimonte, originally a giant hunting lodge. Here is located one of Italy’s greatest art galleries, with a magnificent range of art from the Middle Ages onwards.
Fly from Naples to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 1.15pm.
Expert speaker
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott mixes scholarship with accessible discourse, with reasoned opinion, and is highly sought-after as an art history lecturer. He has lectured for New York University (London campus) and Birkbeck College, University of London, specialising primarily in 16th-century Italian art and architecture. He studied at the Courtauld and Birkbeck College and lived in Rome for several years. He has written articles for Arte Veneta, Burlington Magazine and the Journal of the Warburg & Courtauld Institutes.
Practicalities
Two sharing: £3,760 or £3,490 without flights. Single occupancy: £4,450 or £4,180 without flights.
Travel by private coach; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts; 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine, water, coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Grand Hotel Santa Lucia, Naples: a 4-star hotel on the waterfront about 15 minutes on foot from Piazza Plebiscito, with spectacular views of Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri. Rooms with a sea view are available on request and for a supplement. Single rooms are doubles for sole use.
A large swathe of central Naples is inaccessible to traffic, certainly to coaches. Pavements are often uneven, some roads are steep, traffic can be unpredictable. A good level of fitness is necessary. It should not be attempted by anyone who has difficulty with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Average distance by coach per day: 26 miles.
Between 10 and 22 participants.
Before booking, please refer to the FCDO website and Travel Health Pro to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
6th - 12th September 2027
Speaker:
Dr Michael Douglas-Scott
Price:
from £3,490
(Based on two sharing)Testimonials
“Michael Douglas-Scott provided a wealth of knowledge about the works of art we saw, their patrons, the buildings in which they are housed, and, crucially for me, the historical context of their creation. I would welcome an opportunity to participate in another tour under his guidance.
”
“Michael Douglas-Scott was a fount of knowledge and his enthusiasm for the subject was infectious.
”
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