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The Legacy of Spain:
Exploring Spain’s World Heritage Sites
Study Travel in Conjunction with the St. Olaf Orchestra Tour
June 1–11, 2008
| Itinerary | Register |
Faculty Leader: Gwen Barnes-Karol, professor of Spanish
Spain has a distinctive history within Western Europe. Since pre-Roman times, it has “bridged” Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, the old world and the new. Spain’s diverse cultural and natural patrimony is recognized internationally: It has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than most other countries.
We explore Spain’s unique legacy in four cities with an especially rich range of World Heritage sites — Sevilla, Granada, Elche and Valencia — while enjoying performances by the superb St. Olaf Orchestra. We attend concerts in Ubeda and Valencia and meet orchestra members during free time, meals and group activities.
A special twist to this Study Travel — meant to bring literature to life and to further our experience of Spanish culture — is an optional book club created by program leader Gwen Barnes-Karol. Gwen has chosen The Seville Communion by Antonio Pérez-Reverte and The Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving to be read prior to departure (or perhaps on the airplane?). In Spain Gwen will lead discussions of these books in their settings.
Faculty Leader
Gwen Barnes-Karol is an energetic, engaging teacher whose passion for Spain is contagious. Gwen considers Spain her second home. She taught two summer graduate courses in Spain and does all her research there. In June 2001, she led “Spain’s Two Capitals,” a Study Travel program in Madrid and Barcelona.
Program Sites/Itinerary Notes
Medieval Sevilla was a prominent city of Al-Andalus, or Muslim Spain, until it was retaken by Christian warrior kings in 1248. Its picturesque Jewish Quarter and main World Heritage sites — the Reales Alcázares, a complex of Muslim and Christian palaces and cathedral with Moorish Tower — transport us back 800 years. A visit to the Archives of the Indies, another World Heritage site, shows us the key role Sevilla played in the colonization of the Americas. As Sevilla became one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe, it was awarded a monopoly on trade with the New World.
From Sevilla we travel to Córdoba, the capital of the Muslim world in the 10th and 11th centuries. There we will tour the Great Mosque (a World Heritage Site) and the Jewish Quarter.
We continue to Ubeda for an evening concert by the St. Olaf Orchestra. The next morning, we explore central Ubeda, a city founded by the Arabs in the 9th century. It came to full flower in the 15th and 16th centuries when aristocratic families settled there and built large, elaborate houses and palaces, many of which have been preserved as part of this World Heritage Site.
Valencia, our next city, is on the Mediterranean coast. There Spain’s history is preserved in the fine ceramics, arts and crafts of Muslim tradition and in the city’s beautiful Gothic quarter dating from Valencia’s days as a major trading center. We visit the Lonja de la Seda, the late 15th-century silk exchange. A visit to the City of Arts and Sciences, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, catapults us into the 21st century. Calatrava also designed the addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum. No trip to Valencia, home of Spain’s iconic national dish, would be complete without a paella dinner on the ocean front. To cap this array of history, culture and cuisine we attend our second St. Olaf Orchestra concert.
We continue exploring the legacy of Muslim Spain in the city of Elche. There, we marvel at El Palmeral de Elche, another World Heritage site. This centuries-old palm grove with more than 200,000 trees was planted by Muslim horticulturists. The rich agricultural heritage Muslims brought to Spain gave the country some of the foods considered most “Spanish” today: dates, citrus fruits and sweets made with almonds.
We continue to Granada, the last bastion of Muslim rule and site of the Alhambra Palace and Generalife Gardens. The best known of Spain’s World Heritage sites, the Alhambra Palace is immortalized by Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra. In 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella reconquered Granada for Christian Spain. We visit their tombs in the Royal Chapel.
St. Olaf Orchestra
The 92-member St. Olaf Orchestra is one of the premier ensembles at St. Olaf College. In 1949, with no financial assistance from the college, the ensemble undertook its first tour. The group continues to tour annually. In addition to touring throughout the United States, the St. Olaf Orchestra has performed in Scandinavia and central and eastern Europe. It has appeared in some of Europe’s finest concert halls and performed with some of the world’s noted conductors and artists. The orchestra has also been featured at national, regional and state-wide conventions and on National Public Radio.
British composer-conductor Sir David Willcocks conducted the orchestra during a visit in the fall of 1991. Afterwards he wrote, “I was struck by the excellent playing of the orchestra, whose members were not only technically assured but were exceptionally musical and responsive.”
Under conductor Steve Amundson’s direction, the St. Olaf Orchestra has successfully performed demanding scores seldom attempted by amateur groups, including Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Stravinsky’s Petrouschka and Rite of Spring, Ravel’s La Valse and tone poems by Richard Strauss. The orchestra has also premiered several compositions in recent years.
Program Fee
The program fee is $4,000 per person through Feb. 1, 2008. Based on double occupancy, it includes:
- Seminars by Gwen Barnes-Karol
- Full-time guide assistance
- Two St. Olaf Orchestra concerts
- Roundtrip airfare from Minneapolis
- Accommodations
- Breakfast daily and several other group meals
- Group tours
- Admissions for group activities
- Ground transportation
- Gratuities
For single occupancy, add $625. Please contact us concerning land-only fees. Payment schedule
After Feb. 1, 2008, the program fee is $4,150 per person and could be subject to additional airfare.
Continuing Education Units
Approximately 32 hours of continuing education are available.
Register
Register online, call toll-free 866-255-6523 or fax 507-786-8232. A deposit of $350 per person guarantees your space.
