ITALIA NOBILISSIMA Fine Arts Walks, Italy
(Individual or limited to up to four persons per group) by Old Masters International, LLC These are not guided tours. They are professional curator walks-and-talks of one day, one weekend or one week through the most extraordinary cities of Italy in pursuit of the inner world of the masterpieces and masterminds of the most beautiful country in the world. These explorations, individual or of no more than four persons at a time, may also include private lunches and dinners with leading curators and well-known expert art historians, should one be so interested. Larger countryside and regional tours may be customed arranged.
Your host is Dr. Gabriele Reina, the former editor-in-chief of FMR [Franco Maria Ricci], Italy's legendary arts magazine, and long-time director-curator of one of the largest private collections of Old Masters art in Italy. He is a noted expert on marble, terracotta, and majolica as well as an internationally recognized authority on heraldry, in addition to being a prominent Milanese artist of over two dozen solo exhibitions in Italy and France. He is descended from an old Lombard family of military elite, art patrons and industrialists. Groups limited to up to four individuals
SCHEDULE 2026-2027: LEONARDO DA VINCI The Milan Years 1. The Leonardo da Vinci Collection in Milan 2. Medieval and Renaissance Milan 3. Villa Melzi Vaprio d'Adda 
Gabriele Reina, PhD, is the author or co-author of over a dozen books on European art history; the author of the recent English-language memoir, The British in Italy (2023), and of numerous scholarly articles on Italian literary, architectural and aesthetic themes. Fluent in five languages, he is a world-renowned authority on heraldic symbology and European dynastic history. In addition to having been the youngest-ever editor-in-chief of Italy's leading art magazine and now the director of a prominent private Old Masters collection, he is, too, an artist of international standing and uniquely solo exhibitions. Trained in the style of the Old Masters under the guidance of a leading Italian Futurist, his acclaimed works include large-scale heraldic art in oil and tempera; full-length portraiture; majolica in the classic 17th century Portuguese style, marble bas-relief sculpture, terracotta, and as well watercolor paintings and sanguine-pencil or charcoal illustration. He is descended from a very old Lombard family of the military and industrial elite.
|
Above: the splendor of medieval Milan: detail of the imposing stained-glass windows of the Duomo of Milan, the largest such windows in Europe. Photo: M. Christoff
|
Leonardo in Milano
Schedule 2026-2027
Leonardo Da VinCiAn exclusive immersion. This is an intense, thoroughgoing deep-dive at a level of scholarship and scholarly adventure designed for the Leonardo aficionado seeking expert guidance into the works, life and mystery of Leonardo da Vinci during his quarter century in Milan. We suggest that you combine this with the broader excursion of 'Medieval and Renaissance Milan' that you You may select: One day (ten hours) of select study, discussion and curated visits ---$1200 Three Days with the Codici Atlantici and the Ambrosiana--$3000 Five days La Vergine delle Rocce The Cenacolo [the Last Supper] at Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Cartone for Sant'Anna at the Ambrosiana The Highlights of the Codice Atlantico at the Ambrosiana Theories regarding The Musician, attributed to Leonardo, his only extant male portrait, at the Ambrosiana The Real Leonardo The Sforza Monument and the Colossal Cavallo The Manuscripts The Designs Leonardo as Architect in Milano Leonardo as Engineer--The Fantastic Macchine The Inheritance of Leonardo in Lombardia The Leonardeschi I. Medieval & Renaissance Milan: To understand the artistic setting in which Leonardo lived and worked during his quarter century in the court of Duke Ludovico Sforza and King Louis XII (who captured Milan) One day $1200 (ten hours) Weekend or Three Days: $3000 Five days: $5000 ~ The itineraries, to be established according to the desired time-frame will include: Three to five of Milan's greatest Old Masters Galleries, with a personal meeting and-or lunch/aperitivo with their owner-directors. Select trattoria for wonderful risotto zafferano or osso bucco, Cova for coffee, Peck for your wines-- the best of Milanese culinary specialties throughout the day. Seventeen Roman, Langobard and Medieval masterpieces within San Lorenzo Maggiore, San Eustorgio, San Ambrogio, San Simpliciano and the Duomo of Milan The "Sistine Chapel of Milan"--the frescoes of San Maurizio by Bernardino Luini The incomparable sculptures of Bambaii at the Castello Sforzesco The Byzantine Cross of the Duomo Museum The Certosa of Pavia, one hour from Milan, considered by many to be the most beautiful building in Italy The Certosa of Garegnano, about twenty minutes outside of Milan, a little-known fresco cycle masterpiece by Daniele Crespi. |
The Leonardeschi collection at the La Brera Pinacoteca The armorial collection at the Bagatti Valsecchi private museum The work considered the "Mona Lisa" [La Giaconda] of Milan at the Poldi Pezzoli private musem The Codici Leonardo at the Ambrosiana as well as three works of the Leonardeschi The exquisite 15th century Trivulziano library The Last Supper (Cenacolo) and Santa Maria delle Grazie, and a thorough explanation of that work's intricate restauration. Special "Renaissance" option: the fabulous Alfa Romeo Musem, thirty minutes outside Milan Optional Supplementary visit to the Borroemo Islands--about one hour and a half from Milan on Lago Maggiore. In the region that Ruskin called "The Eden of Italy", this trio of stunning and history-rich islands, located just off the coast of the genteel town and Orient Express-stop of Stresa, is crowned by the Palazzo Borromeo on the main island of Isola Bella. That island, featuring a huge, lush garden of roses, camelias, camphor and proud white peacocks features a magnificent collection of over 1000 late Renaissance and Baroque works, as well as a superb collection of 19th century Italian art. This trip, including transportation from Milan, the ferries, entry to the three islands and the Palazzo Borromeo, and our curatorial-historical narrative is an extra $600 per person. |
|
2. Leonardo Da VinCi
3. Villa Melzi in Valpio'Adda
The splendid villa in eastern Lombardia where Leonardo lived for two years as the guest of his student Lorenzo Melzi and where Leonardo studied engineering techniques for the re-routing of the Adda river. Still owned by the same Melzi family, the villa is also where Lorenzo Melzi compiled his Tratto della Pittura based upon the notes of his master. This is a private villa opened exclusively to guests of our excursions
The splendid villa in eastern Lombardia where Leonardo lived for two years as the guest of his student Lorenzo Melzi and where Leonardo studied engineering techniques for the re-routing of the Adda river. Still owned by the same Melzi family, the villa is also where Lorenzo Melzi compiled his Tratto della Pittura based upon the notes of his master. This is a private villa opened exclusively to guests of our excursions