Dedham Choral Society Concert Tour of Italy July 2007

The Dedham Choral Society, directed by Mr. Jonathan Barnhart, traveled to Italy in July and spent 9 days exploring the fabulous cities of Rome, Perugia, Assisi, Florence, Montecatini Terme and Lucca.

Coliseum in Rome

In Rome, the choir visited the Coliseum, Ancient Rome, the Vatican Museums & the Sistine Chapel, as well as the Borghese Gallery. They also sang to an appreciative audience at the Waldensian Church at Piazza Cavour and had the distinguished honor of singing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

In Perugia, the choir explored the ancient hillside town and many members attended a performance by legendary Keith Jarrett at the Umbria Jazz Festival. From Perugia, they traveled to Assisi and toured the massive St. Francis Basilica, and performed a concert at Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore.

En route to their hotel in the spa town of Montecatini Terme, the choir stopped in Florence where they embarked on a city tour and saw the impressive Duomo and Baptistry. Visits to the Galleria dell’Accademia to view Michelangelo’s David and to the Uffizi Museum rounded out their time in Florence.

On their last day, a trip to the ancient walled town of Lucca culminated in a Friendship Concert with the choir Joyful Angels in Ponte al Serraglio Square in the town of Bagni di Lucca.

Duomo in Florence

Italy in January

(written by Clinton) January may not sound like the ideal travel time to go to Italy. Who wants to eat gelato in the freezing cold anyway? Well, if you like great deals, prefer not to get trampled by picture-snapping droves of tourists and don't mind wearing a jacket, Southern Italy in January IS ideal. This past January, I escorted a choir from California traveling from Florence to Rome and finally Sorrento. Florence in January is still a bustling little city, but the bustle was a bit slower, a bit more relaxed. Even with all of the post-holiday sales going on (which were ubiquitous), people seemed happier to walk at a comfortable pace with some elbow room, while in the summer time, everyone kind of has to walk with the flow of the crowd. Rome was warm and wonderful! Having been to this ancient city in the summer several times, it was a totally different place in the winter. We could actually walk around the Roman Forum and really take time to view the former market stalls and pagan temples in quiet contemplation, without competing for space with thousands of other people. Sorrento was the highlight of Italy in January. Traffic along the coast was almost non-existent, and while scooters seemed to be weaving in and out of traffic at break-neck speeds often, our driver insisted that the number of scooters and lack of survival instincts of the drivers increases 10 fold in the summer.
By the way, the weather this past January in Italy was warm, sunny and generally very spring-like. The temperature got into the 60s a couple of times! So, even though we were in Italy in the winter, we still enjoyed our gelato - and it didnt' melt as fast!