Program highlights included:
• A visit to San Marco to view the Annunciation cycles there, as well as the restoration of the south wall of the San Antonio Cloister, a Friends of Florence project, followed by lunch at the Cantinetta Antinori
• A visit to the Church of Santa Croce and cloisters to view the restoration projects there.
• A lecture by William Cook, Ph.D. on the evolution of pulpit decoration in the Middle Ages and the theme of The Annunciation in Tuscan art.
• In Cortona, a visit to the Museum of the Cathedral to view Fra Angelico’s Annunciation, followed by a visit to Le Celle, a Franciscan Hermitage and lunch at the Buca di San Francesco in Arezzo.
• A visit to the Church of San Francesco in Arezzo to view the recently restored Piero della Francesca frescos The Legend of the True Cross.
• A private viewing of the Romanesque church in Gropina and its splendid pulpit.
• Visits to a selection of churches in and near Florence to follow our theme of Pulpits and Annunciations, including a visit to the small church of San Leonardo in Arcetri to view its pulpit, followed by a visit to Santà Felicità to continue the Annunciation theme of our program.
• A private visit to the Uffizi Gallery, focusing on works by the masters of the Annunciation theme.
• A visit to Pistoia to view the Cathedral and Baptistry, followed by visits to the Church of San Bartolomeo and San Francesco, including a viewing of the della Robbia decoration on the façade of the Ospedale. The return trip to Florence included a stop in Prato, to view the Cathedral and Casa Datini, home of Iris Origo’s Merchant of Prato.