Arezzo tour + Art experience of how a fresco is made
The wonders of Arezzo and the art of frescoes
Artours offers you a fantastic art experience!
A guided tour of Arezzo, a city rich in history and art where time seems to have stopped where you will visit ancient churches, admire the palaces and its magnificent squares is combined, in this tour, with the extraordinary and unique experience of creating a fresco under the guidance of expert restorers of works of art in their painting restoration workshop in the historic center of the city. You will create your own fresco inspired by the paintings of Piero della Francesca and you can take it home with you as a souvenir of this magnificent and engaging experience!
A tour of Arezzo that is also a fantastic art experience!
You will be fascinated by the perfect combination of stories about the history of Arezzo, the art and the artistic techniques – with particular reference to that of frescoes – that your art historian guide will be able to give you in combination with the art experience in which you will put directly put into practice what you have learned so as not to forget it again.
This tour of Arezzo combines a visit to one of the most beautiful and least known cities in Tuscany with a fascinating journey into the realm of the oldest and most characteristic pictorial technique of Italian painting, the fresco technique.
An innovative and original tour in which the guided tour of Arezzo held by an art historian guide is combined with the experience of creating a fresco in a painting restoration laboratory in the historic centre. The tour is structured in 2 different moments: in the morning a guided tour of Arezzo with the qualified art historian-guide Susanna Buricchi to discover the ancient fresco technique in the city’s churches and in the afternoon with the fresco masters to a total of 6 hours.
A tour of Arezzo suitable for adults, teenagers and families!
It is a stimulating and interesting tour of Arezzo for everyone. For adults it is an educational journey that goes through all the phases of the fresco technique process and illustrates all the steps. For the little ones it is an original and engaging journey to learn the art of fresco.
A guided tour of Arezzo with much more!
With a population of 100,000 inhabitants, Arezzo is a city where it is pleasant to live for its slow pace, its tranquility and relaxation, coming across many pleasant aspects of the lifestyle of the Tuscan province!
Its beautiful medieval and Renaissance historic center was immortalized by Roberto Benigni in the famous film “Life is Beautiful”, winner of an Oscar in 1999.
Among the oldest cities in Tuscany, Arezzo has been inhabited since the 8th-7th century BC. by the Etruscans and then by the Romans as evidenced by the numerous finds found and preserved in the Archaeological Museum. The remains of the Roman Amphitheater of Arezzo testify to its importance in the imperial age when Caio Cilnio Maecenas, famous Minister of Culture of Augustus, was also born there, so much so that the word “maecenas” is still used in all modern languages to define a protector and financier of the arts.
Arezzo was also the birthplace of Guido Monaco or Guido d’Arezzo, an inventor in the 11th century. of musical notes, by Petrarch, by Giorgio Vasari and by Pietro Aretino. Given the wealth of works of art concentrated in its historic center, art tours and cultural tours of Arezzo allow you to discover the charm of this city still outside the mass tourist circuits.
An unusual way to discover Arezzo, Piero della Francesca and the art of Renaissance fresco painting
The guided tour of Arezzo will start from the church of San Francesco where in the Bacci chapel the cycle of frescoes by Piero della Francesca “The Legend of the True Cross” is preserved, a masterpiece of Renaissance painting. It will include the Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Piazza Grande with Vasari’s Logge and the Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici, the Cathedral with the splendid Renaissance stained glass windows by Guillaume de Marcillat and above all the fresco by Piero della Francesca
with the “Maddalena” where your guide will delve into the execution technique. Furthermore, the church of San Domenico which houses the splendid “Crucifix” by Cimabue from 1260.
Tour Details
- TYPE OF TOUR: PRIVATE FOR INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES OR SMALL GROUPS – BY RESERVATION
- AVAILABLE ON DAYS: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- DURATION: 6 hours
- PRICE: €150 per person for a minimum of 2 people for the tour
- DIFFICULTY: Easy, suitable for children aged 10 and over and for families
- MEETING POINT: Piazza San Francesco in Arezzo in front of the facade of the church of San Francesco
- NOTE: ADVANCE BOOKING REQUIRED AT LEAST 7 WORKING DAYS BEFORE THE TOUR EXPERIENCE FROM MINIMUM 2 TO MAXIMUM 8 PARTICIPANTS
What you will see on the Arezzo Tour with art experience of how to make a fresco
- The Church of San Francesco which preserves the frescoes of the Legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca (exterior)
- The Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta with the polyptych by Pietro Lorenzetti
- Piazza Grande with Vasari’s Logge and the Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici
- The Cathedral of San Donato with the Maddalena by Piero della Francesca
- Petrarch’s House (exterior)
- The Town Hall (exterior)
- The Church of San Domenico with the Crucifix by Cimabue
- The painting restoration laboratory of two master restorers
What you will do on this tour
PLAN
MORNING – AREZZO TOUR AND INTRODUCTION – SESSION 1
Meeting with the art historian guide expert in Renaissance painting for the guided tour of the medieval and Renaissance historic center of Arezzo on the theme “History of fresco painting”, followed by an introduction to fresco techniques in the history of art illustrated directly in front of the 14th and 15th century frescoes in the churches of Arezzo and in front of the “Santa Maria Maddalena” painted by Piero della Francesca in the Duomo. This will allow you to have an overview of the styles and technical process of creating a fresco.
Break for free lunch
AFTERNOON – FRESCO LESSON – SESSION 2
The 4 phases are:
- Explanation of how the mortar is made for the different layers of plaster: rinzaffo, arriccio and tonachino.
- Preparation of the pictorial support (arriccio, smaltino)
- Drawing transfer techniques (wiping and indirect engraving)
- Techniques for using powdered pigments (oxides and earths) Techniques for applying colors (glazing and juxtaposition)
- No previous experience in drawing and painting techniques is required
- You will be guided step by step by your fresco master in all phases
What’s included
2 and a half hour guided tour of Arezzo
4 hour fresco lesson
Equipment and materials for the lesson – support, pigments, brushes and other tools
Certificate of attendance
Fresco created to take home
What is not included
Transport
Lunch
Anything not explicitly listed as included
