This week, Art History in Focus, presented the world’s first live virtual guided tour of the internationally renowned, 800-year old, Basilica of St Francis in Assisi as part of its Cultural Travels from Home programme.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Basilica is one of the most important places for Christian pilgrimage and houses one of Western art’s most famous series of paintings: the celebrated cycle of frescoes dedicated to the life of St Francis, traditionally attributed to Giotto.
Closed for much of the past year due to Covid-19 and currently only able to open for the local community, this event allowed online visitors to travel through the Basilica. The event was part of a programme of live virtual guided tours to museums, galleries, art studios and heritage sites in cultural cities around the world – all of which are either currently closed or severely restricted in welcoming visitors as a result of the pandemic.
The programme, entitled Cultural Travels from Home, has been pioneered by art historian Siân Walters, founder and director of UK-based tour and event company, Art History in Focus. In recent weeks, virtual visitors from around the globe have been able to join the first ever live virtual tours of the Doge’s Palace in Venice, the elegant Ca’ Rezzonico, home to the Museum of 18th-century Venice, and the Collegio del Cambio in Perugia.
Cultural Travels from Home was devised to enable audiences to enjoy cultural visits, lectures and experiences from home and, importantly, to generate income for cultural organisations and expert guides whose business has been severely affected by the pandemic
Siân, who alongside running Art History in Focus lectures internationally, says:
“Many of my colleagues are art historians and guides with whom I work when leading art tours around the world, so it has been a joy to be able to collaborate with them in this new way and give them employment at this difficult time. All of the museums we have approached have been closed to the public, and this has enabled them to raise much-needed funds at this time of crisis in the museum sector.”
“Each one of these collaborations has been a premiere. The project has been warmly received by the museum directors, so much so that many of them are now developing the idea further, either bringing their collections directly to the public through new, in-house online channels or opening up to collaborative projects with other organisations.”
Led by expert guides and art historians, each virtual tour is live and interactive. They last approximately one hour and give viewers an opportunity to ask questions. The tours are accessed using Zoom and must be pre-booked.
Upcoming Cultural Travels from Home for the Calendar:
11 March 2021 A Walking Tour of Red Square, Moscow
17 March 2021 Raphael in Umbria at the Palazzo Baldeschi
18 March 2021 Michelangelo in Milan
25 March 2021 A Walking Tour of Florence
15 April 2021 A Walking Tour of the Jewish Quarter in Budapest
16 April 2021 Virtual Florence: Treasures of Art and Architecture
22 April 2021 A Walking Tour of Lisbon
29 April 2021 A Walking Tour of Ljubljana
13 May 2021 A Musical Journey through Spain
For further information and to book tickets:
https://www.arthistoryinfocus.com/
Photo: St Francis traditionally attributed to Giotto in the Upper Basilica of St Francis in Assisi © Archivio Fotografico del Sacro Convento di San Francesco in Assisi