Twenty-six members of the Allegan Area Arts Council recently returned, on October 2nd, from an arts-focused trip to Italy. Local residents Joann and Bill Chaney (who owned a travel company in Indiana for decades) planned the trip for arts council members. Joann currently serves on the arts council board of directors.
The ten-day trip began in Venice and then moved on to Tuscany where the group visited the medieval towns of San Gimignano and Siena. They then traveled to Florence and ended the trip in Rome. Highlights included visiting St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, Michelangelo’s statue of David in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and the Coliseum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. The leaders added special experiences including gondola rides in Venice, a special wine-tasting in a Tuscan winery and a final dinner in Rome where everyone was serenaded by an Italian opera singer and her accordion accompanist.
Here are a few group photos.