Overview

Located in a restored Tuscan hilltop estate 25 kilometers north of Florence, the Tuscan Classical Academy is based on long-standing traditions, ideals, and values. The Academy was founded by architectural restorer and educator Lynn Fleming Aeschliman, who started renovating the Capitignano property in the late 1960s. The Academy brings together talented and experienced architects, artists, teachers, and theorists who are devoted to the classical, medieval, and Renaissance traditions in the arts. The Academy Fellows promote the arts as essential to human flourishing and well-being as well as professional competence and growth.

The Capitignano estate has several major buildings that contain a library, studio, lecture hall, salon, living and dining accommodations, as well as a swimming pool, old tennis court, and lovely terraces. The Academy runs collaborative programs with the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, INTBAU, the Erasmus-Jefferson Summer Institute (University of Virginia), the Boston University College of Fine Arts, TASIS The American School in Switzerland (Lugano), and for the past two summers with the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (New York). Independent students are welcome to apply to attend on a credit or non-credit basis.

The aim of the summer program is to introduce art and architecture students and professionals to the rich architectural heritage of Florence and Tuscany. More than any other city, Florence was the seat of Renaissance Humanism, and the center for the flourishing of the classical arts. Throughout the quattrocento and cinquecento, Florence witnessed a revival of architecture and the building arts that decisively changed the way Europe and the West thought about the built environment and the gardens of Tuscany were renowned throughout the continent and England.

Structure

The summer program is open to those whose focus is primarily architecture and/or landscape design, and to those whose focus is fine art. The two groups do, however, share a number of lectures and exercises and all the tours are done jointly. Additionally, two shorter Professional Intensives are offered during the course of the program focusing on classical architecture and the civilized landscape.

The program is for

1. Professionals and non-professionals seeking a rich summer opportunity to draw, paint, and be inspired by the beauty of Tuscany, as well as receiving continuing-education credits, if so desired;
2. Professionals and non-professionals seeking a shorter intensive program on Renaissance gardens and the Tuscan landscape;
3. Art and architecture students seeking summer-school college credits at both the 200-level introductory and 400-level advanced courses;
4. Talented rising high-school seniors seeking college-level summer courses in painting or architecture for college credit.

General Information

3 credits, Mayernik, et al / 9:00-12:00 and 2:30-6:00 MTWTF

Admission to the Academy is by permission of the Director and on a space-available basis. Applicants are required to submit examples of their work in the form of digital images, photocopies, or photographs. Students are housed for the duration of their stay in restored villas and farm buildings on the estate of Capitignano in the Mugello valley, 45 minutes north of Florence. All courses and studio work are carried out in the restored hay loft (Fienile) and stable (Stalla) of the complex, as well as extended to different sites in Tuscany. The complete cost of the three-week Program, including housing, meals, tours, Notre Dame tuition for credit, and fees is $4,400. (Financial aid and scholarships are available for architectural students and interns. Please apply to the Director.) The shorter Professional Intensive offerings are $2,400 for the 1st and $2,000 for the 2nd, all-inclusive. Drawing and painting supplies are not included. A $500 deposit is required along with the application to hold a place. Full payment of the remaining cost is required by June 1. All payments minus a cancellation fee of $150 are refundable until this date.