Update: May 2025

Cultural tours September & October 2025

CELEBRATING MUSIC AND PLACE Martin Randall Festivals bring together world-class musicians for a sequence of private concerts in Europe’s most glorious buildings, many of which are not normally accessible. We take care of all logistics, from flights and hotels to pre-concert talks.

HANDEL IN MALTA 21–27 November 2025

EARLY MUSIC IN YORKSHIRE 6–11 May 2026

PIANO ALONG THE RHINE 22–29 June 2026

MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE 15–22 August 2026

MUSIC ALONG THE RHINE 31 August–7 September 2026

THE J. S. BACH JOURNEY September 2026

MONTEVERDI IN VENICE 11–17 November 2026

Contact us for more information or visit martinrandall.com/festivals 2

About us Contents Leaders in the field. Martin Randall Travel is committed to providing the best planned, the best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours available. Operating in around 40 countries, our mission is to deepen your understanding and enhance your appreciation of the achievements of civilisations around the world.

First-rate speakers. Expert speakers are a key ingredient in our tours and events. They are selected not only for their knowledge, but also for their ability to communicate clearly and engagingly to a lay audience.

Original itineraries, meticulously planned.

Rooted in the knowledge of the destination and of the subject matter of the tour, the outcome of assiduous research and reconnaissance, and underpinned by many years of reflection and experience, our itineraries are second to none.

Special arrangements are a feature of our tours – for admission to places not generally open to travellers, for access outside public hours, for private concerts and extraordinary events.

Travelling in comfort. We select our hotels with great care. Not only have nearly all been inspected by members of our staff, but we have stayed in most of them. Hundreds more have been seen and rejected. We invest similar efforts in the selection of restaurants, menus and wines, aided by staff with a specialist knowledge of these areas.

Front cover: Aquileia, Basilica, early-20th-century watercolour.

Image (left): Music in Bologna ©Benjamin Ealovega.

Sacred Armenia.................................................4 Habsburg Austria ..............................................6 Bulgaria .............................................................8 Trecento Frescoes ............................................10 The Heart of Italy ............................................12 Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes ............14 Basilicata & Calabria ......................................16 Extremadura ...................................................18 Calendar: Sept & Oct 2025 availability..........20

Small groups, congenial company. Most of our tours run with between 10 and 20 participants.

Not the least attractive aspect of travelling with MRT is that you are highly likely to find yourself in congenial company, self-selected by common interests and endorsement of the company’s ethos.

Travelling solo. We welcome people travelling on their own, for whom our tours are ideal, as many of our clients testify. Half the group is usually made up of solo travellers.

Care for our clients. We aim for faultless administration from your first encounter with us to the end of the holiday, and beyond.

Personal service is a feature.

Scan our QR code to view all tour departures in Sept & Oct 2025:

Martin Randall Travel Ltd 10 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4PH Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk From North America: Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll-free) usa@martinrandall.com ATOL 3622 | ABTOT 5468 | AITO 5085

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Sacred Armenia Early Christian Monasteries & modern-day Yerevan 5–13 September 2025 (ml 774) 9 days • £4,240 Lecturer: Ian Colvin Monasteries and other sacred buildings from as early as the seventh century.

Outstanding mountainous landscape.

Time to get to know Yerevan, with its squares, cafés and street-life.

Comfortable hotels and surprisingly good food.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 11.30am from London Heathrow to Yerevan via Paris (Air France), arriving c.

1.20am the following day. Transfer to the hotel in the heart of the city. First of three nights in Yerevan.

Day 2: Yerevan. A leisurely start this morning.

The day begins with a visit to the comprehensive and fascinating State Museum of Armenian History. At the National Art Gallery see collections from Armenia, Russia and Western Europe.

Day 3: Echmiadzin, Yerevan. In the morning, visit the Matenadaran, a repository of 17,000 illuminated manuscripts. The Museum of the Armenian Genocide is all the more powerful for its simplicity. After lunch, drive to Echmiadzin, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, also a unesco world heritage site. The vast ruined cathedral at neighbouring Zvartnots tells of the extraordinary ambition of early architects.

Day 4: Amberd, Dzoraget. The ruins of Amberd Fortress, dramatically located on the southern slopes of Mount Ararat, date back to the 12th century, although it has been a stronghold since the seventh. In the afternoon, drive to Dzoraget.

First of two nights here.

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Day 5: Akhtala, Alaverdi. The 13th-century frescoes in Akhtala are strongly influenced by Byzantium. The monasteries at Haghpat and Sanahin, both unesco-listed sites, are both fine examples of Armenian sacred architecture.

Day 6: Vanadzor, Dilijan, Lake Sevan. Visit a stone-carver who continues the tradition of cutting khachkars (cross-stones), characteristic of Medieval Christian Armenian art. Drive to Lake Sevan, and the peerlessly situated Sevanavank monastery that overlooks it. First of three nights in Yerevan.

Day 7: Khor Virap, Noravank, Yerevan. Visit the Khor Virap monastery in the foothills of Mount Ararat, where St Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned. Hidden from view in a remote valley, Noravank, the masterwork of the architect and sculptor Momik, is perhaps the most beautiful of Armenia’s 13th-century monasteries.

Day 8: Geghard, Garni. Much of the monastery at Geghard is carved out of the cliffside. The Hellenic temple at Garni is the last remaining preChristian building in Armenia.

Day 9. The morning flight from Yerevan, via Paris, arrives London Heathrow at c. 4.30pm.

‘It was so good to see places off the beaten track which would have been very difficult to visit on my own. A really excellent tour.’

Image: Khor Virap Monastery, ©Masha Koko.

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Habsburg Austria Castles & churches, houses & palaces, town & country 6–13 October 2025 (ml 811) 8 days • £4,080 Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier

Schloss Artstetten was rebuilt in the 16th century and again for Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose descendants still live here. First of two nights in Dürnstein.

Outstanding range of castles, abbeys, churches, houses, palaces and excellent art collections.

Day 5: Dürnstein, Melk, Altenburg. Dürnstein is backed by a hill with a ruined castle and fronted by a monastery church at the water’s edge. Perched on an outcrop beside the Danube, the vast Benedictine Monastery at Melk is one of the greatest creations of the Baroque era. Drive through idyllic hilly scenery north of the Danube.

The Benedictine abbey at Altenburg ranks with the finest of Baroque abbeys.

Picturesque towns and villages, and beautiful scenery.

Led by an art historian who specialises in Mitteleuropa and the Habsburgs.

Itinerary Day 1: fly at c. 11.00am from London Heathrow to Munich (Luft hansa). Drive into Austria, via Kufstein. First of two nights in Innsbruck.

Day 2: Innsbruck. Surrounded by mountains, Innsbruck has a spectacular natural setting.

Schloss Ambras just outside Innsbruck is a Habsburg palace of the 16th century; surviving here is a collection of curiosities which ranks as one of the first museums in the world. An afternoon walk includes the astonishing tomb of Emperor Maximilian, the 18th-century Habsburg state apartments in the Hofburg and the Baroque cathedral.

Day 3: Salzburg. The episcopal city-state of Salzburg once played a major role in European culture and politics, and the old town centre has scarcely changed since the days of its greatness two centuries ago. The mighty cathedral, the first major Baroque building north of the Alps, and the Residenz, was the official residence of the prince-archbishops. Overnight in Linz.

Day 4: Linz, Wilhering, Artstetten. The Danube city of Linz, capital of Upper Austria, has an attractive historic centre with and several churches of architectural importance. The monastery church at Wilhering beside the Danube has the finest Rococo interior in Austria.

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Day 6: Grafenegg, Vienna. Schloss Grafenegg is a medieval country residence, augmented with one of Austria’s most flamboyant and successful essays in Gothic Revival. Vienna, the Roman frontier settlement close to the Danube, became the principal seat of the Habsburgs and therefore centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Visit the Habsburg tombs in the Capucin crypt and the National Library. First of two nights in Vienna.

Day 7: Vienna. The Hofburg, the Habsburg Palace, is an agglomeration of buildings spanning six centuries with an incomparable collection of precious regalia in the treasury and magnificent Baroque library. Visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum, one of the world’s greatest collections of paintings, before some free time for independent exploration.

Day 8: Vienna. Built around 1700 for Emperor Joseph and modified 50 years later for Maria Theresa, Schloss Schönbrunn became the summer palace of the Habsburgs until the end of their rule. One of the largest of royal residences, it contains some of the finest Rococo interiors in Europe and has extensive parkland and gardens.

Fly from Vienna (Austrian Airlines), arriving Heathrow c. 6.45pm.

Illustration: Melk Abbey, lithograph by Alois Hänisch (1866–1937).

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Bulgaria Archaeology & art from prehistoric to modern 4–13 October 2025 (ml 808) 10 days • £3,970 Lecturer: Dr Nikola Theodossiev Six unesco World Heritage sites including remarkable Thracian tombs and Boyana Church in Sofia, with its stunning 13th-century frescoes.

Beautiful and varied landscapes provide a striking backdrop to the journey.

A country still largely untouched by mass tourism but unlikely to stay that way for long.

Itinerary Day 1: Sofia. Late-morning flight (Luft hansa) from London Heathrow to Sofia, via Munich.

First of two nights in Sofia.

Day 2: Sofia. The church of St Sofia is an outstanding example of Early Christian architecture; Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built 1882–1912, follows this tradition. Remains of the Roman city (Serdica) are entwined with the subway system. The archaeological museum, housed in a former Ottoman mosque, includes an impressive collection ofThracian treasure.

Day 3: Rila monastery, Plovdiv. Drive south into the scenic Rila mountains. Built on the site of its medieval predecessor, the monastery is a spectacular example of Bulgarian National Revival architecture and a unesco world heritage site. Journey through mountains and across plains. First of three nights in Plovdiv.

Day 4: Plovdiv. Walking tour of the remains of ancient Philippopolis: the forum, stadium and theatre, with the Rhodope mountains as its dramatic backdrop. After lunch walk through the National Revival quarter, brightly painted and highly decorative. There is time to visit the archaeological museum.

Day 5: Kazanlak. In the Valley of the Thracian Kings more than a thousand tombs have been unearthed. One of the most elaborate is the Tomb of Seuthes III, fourth-century bc ruler of the Odrysian Kingdom. The Tomb of Kazanlak is a Hellenistic masterpiece. Visit the full-size replica (the tomb is not open to the public).

Day 6: Nessebar, Varna. On the Black Sea coast the ancient city of Nessebar is described by unesco as ‘an outstanding testimony of multilayered cultural and historical heritage.’

Many civilisations left their mark, from the second millennium bc to the Middle Ages.

Continue to Varna, where two nights are spent.

Day 7: Varna. Bulgaria’s third city, a major Black Sea port, was an important Roman and Byzantine staging post. See the glorious collection of gold jewellery dating to the fift h millennium bc. Visit the thermae of Odessus, a sizeable complex with a brick tower built in the middle of the second century.

Day 8: Madara, Sveshtari, Arbanasi. Carved into a 100m-high cliff, the Madara Rider dates from the eighth century. Drive to the remote village of Sveshtari where a third-century bc tomb was discovered in 1982 carved with ten female figures, the only examples of their kind. Continue to Arbanasi for the first of two nights.

Day 9: Arbanasi, Veliko Tarnovo. A walking tour of the village includes a traditional house and the Church of the Nativity. Drive a short distance to the former capital of Veliko Tarnovo and visit Tsaravets fortress. Lunch here before a guided walk through the narrow streets.

Day 10. Visit Nicopolis ad Istrum, the ruins of a Roman and Early Byzantine town. Boyana Church in Sofia has incredible 13th-century frescoes; visit the National History Museum, in the former residence of the dictator and last Communist leader, Todor Zhivkov. Fly to London Heathrow, arriving in the evening.

Illustration: Plovdiv, bridge over the Maritza, ©Antiqua Print Gallery.

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Trecento Frescoes The age and legacy of Giotto 9–16 September 2025 (ml 772) £3,510 • 8 days Speaker: Professor Donal Cooper Encompasses almost all the major surviving fresco schemes in central Italy.

Based in Padua, Florence and Assisi, with visits to San Gimignano, Pisa and Siena.

Shines a light on Giotto’s great masterpieces and those of his numerous followers, showcasing some of the most potent images in Western art.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 4.30pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Venice Marco Polo and drive (c. 1 hour) to Padua, where the first two nights are spent.

Buffalmacco’s Triumph of Death – have returned it to almost its original glory. The museum of under-drawings, the Museo delle Sinopie, is an essential destination in any fresco tour. Back in Florence, visit San Miniato al Monte to see frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi on the vault and by Spinello Aretino in the sacristy.

Day 5: San Gimignano, Florence. Morning drive to San Gimignano, the enchanting little city of towers. In the Collegiata there are Old and New Testament fresco cycles, respectively by Barna da Siena and Lippo Memmi. Memmi painted a Maestà in the town hall. Santa Croce in Florence is a vast Franciscan church and favoured burial place for leading citizens. Giotto’s great works in the Bardi and Peruzzi Chapels find echoes in the several other frescoes by other 14th-century masters.

Day 2: Padua. Among the most illustrious of Italian cities, and a leading centre of painting in the 14th century. The great fresco cycle by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel is a major landmark in the history of art. Colourful and lively works by Altichieri and Giusto de’ Menabuoi are in the vast multi-domed Basilica di S. Antonio and the Oratorio di S. Giorgio.

Day 6: Siena, Assisi. Leave Florence and drive to Siena. The Palazzo Pubblico is home to a large collection of secular frescoes, commissioned, unusually, not by the church but by the governing body of the city. The most notable cycle, The Allegory of Good and Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, adorns the walls of the Sala della Pace. Simone Martini also created two works of exquisite beauty. Continue to Assisi for the final two nights.

Day 3: Padua, Florence. Start the day with a second visit to the Arena Chapel before boarding a fast train for Florence. The abundant frescoes in the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella include those

by Filippino Lippi and Domenico Ghirlandaio.

They were financed by the most important Florentine families to ensure themselves funerary chapels. The next three nights are spent in Florence.

Day 7: Assisi. Spend most of the day at San Francesco, mother church of the Franciscan Order. Here is one of the greatest assemblages of medieval fresco painting, including the cycle of the Life of St Francis which may or may not be by Giotto. There is an upper and a lower church – much more than a crypt – and many of Giotto’s contemporaries worked here, including Cimabue, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti.

Day 4: Pisa, Florence. Pisa’s Campo Santo contains an expanse of frescoes exceeding that of the Sistine Chapel. Nearly destroyed during World War II, vast restoration efforts – concluding in 2018 with the reinstallation of

Day 8. Drive from Assisi to Rome and fly from Fiumicino Airport, arriving at London Heathrow c. 5.45pm.

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Illustration: Assisi ©Gary Walker Jones.

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The Heart of Italy Umbria’s finest art and architecture 15–22 September 2025 (ml 786) 8 days • £3,490 Lecturer: Leslie Primo Celebrating the art and architecture of Umbria, heartland of the Renaissance.

Based in Perugia, one of the largest, loveliest and artistically well-stocked of Italian hill towns.

Led by Dr Michael Douglas-Scott or Leslie Primo, both specialists in Renaissance Italy.

Orvieto, Spoleto, Assisi and significant smaller towns away from the main tourist centres.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 11.00am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino. Drive (3 hours) to Perugia (all seven nights here).

Day 2: Perugia. Capital of Umbria, one of the largest and loveliest of Italian hill towns and has both major works of art and architecture and the authentic, age-old liveliness of a prosperous market town. Morning visits include the Palazzo dei Priori and the medieval town hall housing the National Gallery of Umbria. An afternoon walk includes an Etruscan city gateway, and the richly carved façade of the Renaissance church of S. Bernardino.

Day 3: Assisi. Drive to Assisi and spend much of the morning at S. Francesco, mother church of the Franciscan Order. Here is one of the greatest assemblages of medieval fresco painting, including the controversial cycle of the Life of St Francis. In the afternoon, walk through the austere medieval streets and visit the church of Sta. Chiara and the Romanesque cathedral.

Day 4: Montefalco, Foligno, Spello. Drive to Montefalco, a hilltop community with magnificent views. In the deconsecrated church 12

of S. Francesco are frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli.

Known to the Romans as Fulginium, Foligno lies on the banks of the river Topino. See the restored palace of the Trinci family, lords of Foligno, and home to extensive frescoes now known to be the work of the greatest Italian master of International Gothic, Gentile da Fabriano. Return via Spello, which has fine Roman remains.

Day 5: Todi. Visit Sta. Maria della Consolazione in Todi, a centrally planned Renaissance church influenced by Bramante’s ideas. Walk through the town, seeing the cathedral and the church of S. Fortunato, with its richly decorated central doorway and frescoes by Masolino. Return to Perugia at c. 3.00pm for some free time.

Day 6: Gubbio. Offering sensational views across Umbrian countryside, Gubbio is a beautiful and well-preserved ancient town. The Palazzo dei Consoli is an austerely magnificent medieval town hall; it houses the art gallery of the Museo Civico. Higher up, the Palazzo Ducale was built by warlord Federico da Montefeltro, one of the greatest patrons of the arts in the Early Renaissance.

Day 7: Orvieto. Spend the day in this entrancing hilltop town, with its glistening marble Gothic cathedral. Among its treasures are the low relief sculptures by Maitani and the apocalyptic Last Judgement frescoes by Signorelli (1505). Visit also the cathedral museum, richly endowed with art, sculpture and religious artefacts.

Day 8: Spoleto. A morning walk in Spoleto includes the Ponte delle Torri, a medieval aqueduct famously painted by Turner, and finishes at the cathedral square. One of the most imposing in Italy, it slopes like an auditorium towards the cathedral façade with its mosaics and rose windows; inside there are frescoes by Pinturicchio and Filippo Lippi. Continue to Rome Fiumicino airport for an late afternoon flight arriving at Heathrow c. 6.30pm.

Illustration: Assisi, etching c. 1930.

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Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes Como and Maggiore 2–8 October 2025 (ml 807) 7 days • £4,340 Lecturer: Amanda Patton

Como. This glorious site is terraced to provide sites for lawns, trees, shrubs and a chorus of statuary. The villa stands among groves of oak and pine.

Among the loveliest and most romantic spots on earth – the summer retreat of the aristocratic and intellectual since the time of Pliny.

Day 4: Renaissance villa gardens. At the Villa Cicogna Mozzoni at Bisuschio, north of Varese, the 16th-century house and garden are thoroughly intertwined; the courtyard of pools and parterres leads to a water staircase, grottoes and giochi d’acqua. Lunch is served at the villa.

The Villa della Porta Bozzolo, tucked away in a mountain valley near Lake Maggiore, is a hidden treasure of a garden, shooting straight up a dramatic hillside from the village street of Casalzuigno. The beautiful 17th-century villa is unexpectedly set to one side to increase the visual drama. First of three nights in Pallanza.

Some of the finest gardens in Europe, glorious in their design and range.

Sublime mountain scenery, the inspiration of Bellini and Stendhal.

Itinerary Day 1: Bellagio. Fly at c. 10.30am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Milan. Drive to Bellagio on Lake Como. First of three nights in Bellagio.

Day 2: Bellagio. The neoclassical Villa Melzi at Bellagio was built in 1810 for Francesco Melzi d’Eril, vice-president of Napoleon’s Italian Republic. It overlooks the lake in an undulating English landscape park, richly planted and decorated with ornamental buildings. The Villa Serbelloni, probably built on the site of one of Pliny the Younger’s two villas on Lake Como, occupies the high ground above Bellagio. The woods offer magnificent views to all parts of the lake. The medieval remnants, 16th-century villa and later terraces are the setting for planting schemes in a backdrop described by Stendhal as ‘a sublime and enchanting spectacle’.

Day 3: Lake Como. Villa Carlotta on the western shore of Lake Como, built as a summer residence for a Milanese aristocrat, combines dramatic terracing, parterre and grottoes with an extensive landscape park and arboretum. The house contains notable collections from the Napoleonic period. The Villa Balbianello occupies its own headland projecting into the middle of Lake 14

Day 5: The Borromean Islands. Isola Bella is one of the world’s great gardens (and correspondingly popular), a wedding cake of terraces and greenery floating improbably in Lake Maggiore. The sense of surrealism is enhanced by the symbolic statuary and the flock of white peacocks. Isola Madre is the ideal dessert to follow Isola Bella: a relaxed, informal landscape garden around a charmingly domestic villa. Visual entertainments include the marvellous plant collection, revitalized by Henry Cocker in the 1950s, the chapel garden, puppet theatre and ambulant aviary.

Day 6: Pallanza, Brissago. The Villa Taranto at Pallanza is an extravagant piece of 20thcentury kitsch created by Henry Cocker for his patron, the enigmatic Neil McEacharn. The alarmingly gauche design is superbly planted and maintained with loving zeal by the present staff.

In the afternoon cross to the Swiss part of Lake Maggiore to visit the extensive botanical gardens on the island of San Pancrazio, home to c. 1700 different plant species.

Day 7. Fly from Milan to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 3.15pm.

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Illustration: Villa d’Este,Subscribe after a watercolour Walter Tyndale c. 1910. to ourbyweekly e-newslett er at www.martinrandall.com

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Basilicata & Calabria Italy’s undiscovered South 10–18 October 2025 (ml 810) 9 days • £3,890 Lecturer: Dr Hugh Doherty An area rich in ancient Greek sites, medieval buildings and enthralling townscapes.

A chance to explore the smaller centres of southern Italy with few other tourists.

Unknown and unspoilt – sparsely populated and beautiful landscapes.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 8.00am from London Gatwick direct to Bari (British Airways). First of four nights in Matera.

Day 2: Matera. Morning walk through the picturesque streets, whose ancient dwellings are crammed into a ravine. Set-pieces include the late Romanesque church of San Giovanni Battista and the recently restored cathedral, a fine example of southern Italian Romanesque. In the afternoon, walk through the Sasso Caveoso to see a the frescoed cave churches.

Day 3: Venosa, Melfi. Drive along the valley of the Bradano to the monastery of La Santissima Trinità at Venosa, built alongside an early Christian church. Walk to the archaeological collections in the castle. Continue to Melfi, the centre of Norman power in the early phases of their conquest of southern Italy. See the Norman castle and the Romanesque cathedral.

Day 4: Matera. The discovery of the Crypt of the Original Sin a few miles south of Matera in 1963 brought to light one of the most accomplished cycles of Carolingian painting in Europe. Return to Matera to visit the archaeological museum. The afternoon is free.

Day 5: Metaponto, Santa Maria d’Anglona, Sybaris, Rossano. Metaponto was one of the most important Greek settlements on the shores of the Ionian sea. Isolated and offering breath-taking views across the valley of the river Agri, the lovely Santa Maria d’Anglona is rich in 12th-century frescoes. Picnic lunch here. South-east along the coast are the ruins of the Achaean city of Sybaris.

Overnight near Rossano.

Day 6: Rossano, Cosenza, Lamezia. Start with the beautifully sited Abbazia del Patire, founded under early Norman patronage just outside Rossano. Thence to the city itself to see tiny medieval San Marco and, in the Museo Diocesano, the celebrated codex rossanensis, a superb sixth-century manuscript made in Constantinople. Drive across the Calabrian peninsula to Cosenza – visit the cathedral – and continue to Calabria’s western seaboard near Lamezia. First of three nights near Lamezia.

Day 7: Vibo Valentia, Reggio. In Vibo Valentia, an ancient Greek city famed as a tuna fishery, visit the Baroque cathedral, 16th-century church of San Michele and the part-Norman castle on the site of the former acropolis. Then drive to Reggio to see the Riace Bronzes, over-life-size male nudes associated with Phidias and Polyclitus. Discovered off the Calabrian coast near Locri, they are among the finest Greek sculptures to survive.

Day 8: Gerace, Locri. Gerace is a stunning medieval town, overlooking the Ionian sea above Locri. Visit late medieval San Francesco and an 11th-century cathedral built using columns from ancient Locri. Afternoon by the coast at Locri, where the archaeological site preserves the Greek theatre and a major sanctuary devoted to Persephone.

Day 9: Altamura. Drive to Altamura for a short visit and lunch before heading to Bari Airport to catch a direct flight to London Gatwick, arriving c. 8.00pm (British Airways).

Illustration: Matera, ©Victor Malyushev.

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Extremadura Landscape, history and food in rural Spain 16–25 October 2025 (ml 826) 10 days • £3,620 Lecturer: Chris Moss Remote and unspoilt: one of the most consistently beautiful regions in Europe.

Monumental cities of the Conquistadors: Trujillo, Cáceres, Plasencia, packed with palaces and churches. Mérida has excellent Roman remains.

Monasteries of Guadalupe and Yuste, both in splendid isolation in the hills.

Experience rural life with visits to the Sierra de Gata and a livestock farm.

Itinerary Day 1. Fly at c. 10.00am from London Gatwick to Madrid (Air Europa). Drive to Plasencia (c.

4 hours, including a stop), arriving in time for dinner. First of two nights in Plasencia.

Day 2: Plasencia, Yuste. In Plasencia, start in the arcaded Plaza Mayor and then visit the two cathedrals, Renaissance and Gothic backing into one another. Drive into the hills to the monastery of Yuste to which the Emperor Charles V retired in 1556, building a gent’s des. res. right up against the fabric of the Gothic monastery. Get a moving insight into the last days of the man who once ruled most of Europe and Latin America.

Day 3: Sierra de Gata. A taste of village life in the Sierra de Gata, a range of rolling hills that back onto the Portuguese border, dotted with pretty, unspoilt villages. A gentle stroll (2.5 km) takes us into the village of Hoyos for lunch. Drive to Cáceres for the first of three nights.

Day 4: Cáceres. The historic town centre is enclosed within Moorish walls, a myriad of narrow streets and squares lined with Renaissance mansions. The Provincial Museum sits in the 17th-century Casa de las Veletas.

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Day 5: Arroyo de la Luz, Finca el Vaqueril, Alcántara. A drive west of Cáceres takes us deep into the dehesa, the wooded pastures where pigs roam among the holm oaks grazing on acorns. The church at Arroyo de la Luz houses an altarpiece by Morales. Visit a livestock farm including a walk through the countryside, ham tasting and lunch. At Alcántara is a breathtaking Roman bridge over the River Tagus.

Day 6: Trujillo. Drive east to Trujillo, a hilltop conquistador town (birthplace of Pizarro). The magnificent, main square is surrounded by mansions and the grand church of S. Martín.

Climb up to the Gothic church of Sta María and the castle with fine views of the surrounding countryside. First of two nights in Trujillo.

Day 7: Guadalupe. The tiny town of Guadalupe is hidden in hills. Columbus prayed here and gave its name to a Caribbean island. Morning visit to the monastery, with splendid church, Mudéjar cloister and sacristy with paintings by Zurbarán.

The museum contains exceptional vestments.

Optional short walk into the surrounding countryside or free afternoon, a chance to rest or stroll around the town.

Day 8: Mérida, Zafra. The Roman legacy of Mérida includes architecture both grand and domestic: theatre, villas, temples, fortresses.

See also Rafael Moneo’s outstanding National Museum of Roman Art. Continue south to Zafra for the first of two nights.

Day 9: Zafra, Fuente del Arco. In Zafra begin with the two adjacent squares, the Plaza Grande and the (smaller) Plaza Chica, and the Collegiate Church with an altarpiece by Zurbarán. Afternoon excursion to the remote 15th-cent. mudéjar style hermitage of Nuestra Señora del Ara, known as the ‘Sistine Chapel of Extremadura’ for its remarkable frescoes.

Day 10. Drive to Seville for some free time and a late-afternoon flight to London Gatwick (Vueling), arriving c. 7.45pm.

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Calendar | Sept & Oct 2025 availability September 2025

October 2025

The Age of Bede (ml 767) Imogen Corrigan Mr Turner (ml 792) Dr Jacqueline Riding Gastronomic Basque Country (ml 769) Gijs van Hensbergen 3–10 Cave Art of France (ml 768) Dr Paul Bahn 5–12 Courts of Northern Italy (ml 770) Prof. Fabrizio Nevola 5–13 Sacred Armenia (ml 774) Ian Colvin 5–15 Frank Lloyd Wright (ml 773) Tom Abbott 6–15 Classical Greece (ml 775) Dr Nigel Spivey 7–14 Art in Le Marche (ml 783) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 8–12 Castles of Wales (ml 781) Dr Marc Morris 8–14 The Imperial Riviera (ml 776) Dr Mark Thompson 9–16 Trecento Frescoes (ml 772) Donal Cooper 10–17 Emilia Romagna Unveiled (ml 777) Dr R.T. Cobianchi 12–20 Great Houses of the North (ml 779) Christopher Garibaldi 15–20 Gardens & Villas of Campagna Romana (ml 784) Amanda Patton 15–22 The Heart of Italy (ml 786) Leslie Primo 17–25 The Cathedrals of England (ml 788) Dr Hugh Doherty 17–26 Albania: Crossroads of Antiquity (ml 787) Carolyn Metkola (formally Perry) 17–26 Scottish Houses & Castles (ml 791) Alistair Learmont 17–28 Walking to Santiago (ml 778) Dr Rose Walker 18–27 Sicily: from the Greeks to the Baroque (ml 789) Dr Mark Grahame 19–26 Gastronomic Asturias & Cantabria Gijs van Hensbergen 19–29 West Coast Architecture (ml 790) Prof. Harry Charrington 21–27 Early Railways: the North (ml 793) Anthony Lambert 29– 4 Pompeii & Herculaneum (ml 801) Dr Nigel Spivey 29– 4 Friuli Venezia-Giulia (ml 805) Dr Carlo Corsato 29– 9 Essential Andalucía (ml 803) Dr Philippa Joseph

Gardens & Villas of the Italian Lakes (ml 807) Amanda Patton 2– 8 Piero della Francesca (ml 806) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 4–13 Bulgaria (ml 808) Dr Nikola Theodossiev 4–13 Sailing the Aegean (ml 818) Dr Nigel Spivey 4–13 The Ring in Berlin (ml 817) Barry Millington 6–13 Habsburg Austria (ml 811) Dr Jarl Kremeier 6–19 The Western Balkans (ml 814) Dr Mark Thompson 7–12 Bauhaus (ml 812) Tom Abbott 7–13 Modern Art on the Côte d’Azur (ml 813) Monica Bohm-Duchen 7–14 Fiesole to Lucca: Tuscany on Foot (ml 816) Dr Thomas-Leo True 10–18 Basilicata & Calabria (ml 810) Dr Hugh Doherty 13–17 Siena & San Gimignano (ml 780) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 13–17 Ravenna & Urbino (ml 815) Dr Luca Leoncini 13–18 In Churchill’s Footsteps (ml 820) Katherine Carter 13–20 The Douro (ml 823) Martin Symington 13–22 Castile & León (ml 825) Gijs van Hensbergen 16–25 Extremadura (ml 826) Chris Moss 18–24 Gastronomic Piedmont (ml 828) Cynthia Chaplin 18–26 Essential Jordan (ml 829) Prof. Graham Philip 20–27 Footpaths of Umbria (ml 831) Dr Thomas-Leo True 20– 1 Civilisations of Sicily (ml 832) Dr Zoe Opacic 23–30 Istanbul Revealed (ml 835) Jeremy Seal 24–30 Roman & Medieval Provence (ml 836) Dr Alexandra Gajewski 24– 3 Oman: Landscapes & Peoples (ml 837) Dr Peter Webb 28– 2 Palladian Villas (ml 847) Dr Michael Douglas-Scott 28– 1 Opera at Wexford (ml 838) Dr John Allison

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