Learn & Explore Series Episode 121
"Exploring Tuscany"
Did You Know?
Tuscany is the birthplace of the Italian language. As the heart and soul of the Renaissance, Tuscany was an incredibly important cultural center, consequently being a major influencer of the commercial and artistic development of Europe, and indeed the world. Whilst Italian clearly shares a close relationship with the Latin language, the modern Italian that is spoken throughout the country today is based upon the Toscano (Tuscan) dialect which was formed during the Renaissance period.
Did You Know?
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is not the only one. Believe it or not, there are other towers in Tuscany with a distinct lean to them, including at the church of St. Nicola and the bell tower of the church of St. Michele dei Scalzi. In fact, the word ‘Pisa’ comes from the Greek word for ‘marsh land’, and the Italian architects might have done well to consider this fact before they built the 15,000 tonne tower.
Did You Know?
Pinocchio is from Tuscany. Although most people associate Pinocchio with the 1940 Disney film, the original story was written by Carlo Collodi in 1826 who hailed from Florence. Collodi – whose real name was Carlo Lorenzini – took his nom de plume from the medieval village of that name where he spent a portion of his childhood. Collodi, located in Pescia in northern Tuscany, now bases its economy on tourism thanks to the Pinocchio Park located there. The residents of Collodi also celebrate Pinocchio’s ‘birthday’ every 25th May. There is also a project underway to bring the original Pinocchio puppet back to life using a strand of his DNA found on the fossilised body of a small cricket… oh, my nose appears to be growing!
Questions covered in the above interview:
- Let's start off with, a brief understanding of your workshops in general, how long have you been conducting photography workshops?
- What do you like most about teaching people photography?
- Now you attend/operate all your workshops right? What do you suppose separates you from other photography workshop companies?
- Before we dive into Tuscany, can you expound a little on what a typical day looks like while on one of your workshops?
- How many people will be allowed into this workshop?
- Was there any specific reason for having this workshop on these specific dates?
- Tuscany is the birthplace of the Italian language… What was the personal motivation for conducting a workshop here?
- When you’re considering new locations like Tuscany, what are the factors that you look for in such a location?
- Interesting fun fact: the leaning tower of Pisa is NOT the only leaning tower. What are some of the hot spots you plan on visiting during this workshop?
- Tuscany is home to some of the most prestigious artwork in the world, will there be an opportunity to incorporate that into your workshop?
- What thoughts do you want attendee’s to walk away with after this workshop?
- What sort of equipment, do you recommend for this workshop?
- What sort of accommodations will be provided?
- What sort of travel will be provided from location to location?
- To attend this workshop, what is the process for registering?