The Friends of Ravenna May Event:

Thursday 22 May 2025, 

Leonardo da Vinci – A Curious Man

An illustrated talk by Craig JL Gershater

About The Talk

In 1481 Leonardo da Vinci wrote offering his services to Ludovico Sforza the powerful ruler of Milan. He listed his expertise in designing war machines, bridges and excavating equipment, and almost as an aside in times of peace he could pass muster as a painter. This brief lecture will explore the other Leonardo, ‘the intellectual magpie’; studying anatomy, geometry, dynamics, hydraulics, geographical sciences, astronomy, optics and art theory. To Leonardo the quest for an ‘inner truth’ was his motivation and he would not have recognised the modern concepts of being exclusively an artist or scientist.

About Our Speaker

Craig has, for most of his career, worked as a senior research scientist and transnational manager in the pharmaceutical industry specialising in microbial biochemistry, biotechnology, and applied mathematics. Most recently he has worked in synthetic biology.

He holds degrees in Biochemistry, Mathematics, Microbiology and undertook PhD research into fungal enzymology

He researches and lectures on the history and philosophy of science. He has provided numerous courses to The Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge including on the Scientific Heritage of Cambridge, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci.  Craig is a qualified and prize-winning Blue Badge Tourist Guide for South East England and also guides in Chichester, Cambridge, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court and beyond.

This event will commence at 7:30pm at:

THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, COUNCIL HOUSE,

NORTH STREET, CHICHESTER.

Price: £10 members, £12 non members

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘leonardo’ in the reference area when you make your payment  If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

The Friends of Ravenna April Event:

The Violins of Antonio Stradivari

An illustrated talk by Peter Turner

Peter Turner will give us an introduction to the Amati family and to Stradivarius, followed by the stories of three of Stradivari’s violins: the Viotti, the Messiah and the Khevenhuller. 

About The Speaker

Peter is a retired Biochemical Scientist with an interest in music of all genres. He says that he ‘attempts to play the piano, but not the violin’.

Having read about Stradivarius violins and found the subject fascinating he felt that it was worth sharing his new found knowledge with the Friends of Ravenna at one of our events.

The event will take place on Thursday 10th April at 7:30pm

at

THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, COUNCIL HOUSE,

NORTH STREET, CHICHESTER.

Price: £10 members, £12 non members

 

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘violin’ in the reference area when you make your payment  If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

Friends of Ravenna June Event:

Italian Neo-Realism and World Cinema

This illustrated talk, by Mike Jennings of the cinema’s Education Team, will explore Neo-Realism’s principal features in the cinema in Italy from the 1930s Fascism and Mussolini, then through experiences of the Second World War, to victory for the Allied forces and Partisans, with extracts from films of the time.  He will include many film clips, and discuss the influences the movement has had on world cinema through to the present.

Click to open/Download a Copy of the ‘Talk Summary’

The Talk is to be followed by a showing of a Neo-Realist film, ‘Umberto D‘ (Italy 1952).

6.30pm – 8.30pm – Talk
9.00pm to 10.30pm – Umberto D film showing. Click to open/download a copy of the ‘UMBERTO D film flyer

We have teamed up with the Cinema to secure a special offer for Friends of Ravenna for the evening: *Please note that the talk and the film are also now open to the public to book, so please book early to secure your seats. To find out more and make your bookings, please follow these links:

Talk: £6.00
Film: £7.50 

To find out more and make your bookings, please follow these links:

https://chichestercinema.org/film/a-precious-moment/

https://chichestercinema.org/film/umberto-d/

 

 

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

Next Friends of Ravenna March Event:

The History of the Medici: Bankrolling the Renaissance

An illustrated talk by Douglas Skeggs exploring the turbulent history of Medici family: triumphs and tragedies, intrigues and plots in ruthless pursuit of profit.

On Thursday 20th March at 7:30pm

THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, COUNCIL HOUSE,

NORTH STREET, CHICHESTER.

Price: £10 members, £12 non members

** Please note the closing date for purchasing tickets for this event is 17th March 2025

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘medici’ in the reference area when you make your payment  If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

Friends of Ravenna February Event

BEL CANTO AND ROMANTIC

Operatic Arias focusing on Puccini

Performed by Jon Grave with students past and present from Chichester University’s Italian Music Department

Jon Grave teaches music at Chichester University. He is a vocal tutor and has has been lecturing in Voice, Italian and Opera since 2009. He himself is an operatic tenor, pianist,  Director and Conductor and following 2 hugely successful concerts last summer in Ravenna with 6 of his graduate  students we now have the pleasure of hearing some of the pieces they performed. They will also be joined by some of his current students.

The programme will include the following pieces:

Ave Maria – Puccini
Coro a bocca chiusa (Madam Butterfly) – Puccini
Mi chiamono Mimi (La Boheme) Puccini
La Promessa – Rossini
Lallarallara – Donizetti

On Monday 24th February at 7:30pm

THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, COUNCIL HOUSE,

NORTH STREET, CHICHESTER.

Price: £10 members, £12 non members

** Please note the closing date for purchasing tickets for this event is 19th February 2025

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘music’ in the reference area when you make your payment  If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

 

Friends of Ravenna January Event:

‘The Giro d’Italia’ and Italian Cycling Culture’.

A Talk by Author Colin O’Brien

 

About Our Speaker …

Colin is a writer and translator living in the southwest of Ireland. Before succumbing to the lure of home, he spent a decade living in Italy, where his love of all things two wheels brought him up and down the peninsula, introducing him to every nook and cranny of the Bel Paese, in the way that only a bicycle can. 

 

About the Talk …

The story of the Giro d’Italia—Italy’s equivalent of the Tour de France, and its superior in the eyes of many—is as dramatic and full of extraordinary characters as the story of Italy itself. Heroism, suffering, feuds and betrayals, tradition under threat from modernity all play out against a timeless landscape. 

The event will take place Via Zoom:

on

16th January 2025 at 7:30pm.

Price: £5 members and non members.

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘cycling’ in the reference area when you make your payment  If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

** Non-Members please note, once you have made payment please email us at friends@chi-ravenna.org.uk to request the link for the meeting.

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

The Friends of Ravenna Christmas special!

‘‘Commedia dell’arte’: the magic of improvised Italian theatre.’.

*** URGENT NOTICE ***

FOR ALL FRIENDS ATTENDING OUR CHRISTMAS EVENT THIS EVENING, 17TH DECEMBER …

The venue for this evening has now changed and the event will now be taking place at Chichester Baptist Church at 124 Sherborne Road, Chichester.

CLICK HERE TO FIND THE VENUE ON GOOGLE MAPS!

This change has been made as a result of electrical problems being experienced at our usual venue, the Assembly Rooms in Chichester.

 

An illustrated talk by Bertie Pearce

About the Talk:

The Commedia dell’Arte was a humorous theatrical presentation by professional players who travelled in troupes throughout Italy from the 16th century, performing outdoors on trestles set up in market squares. Bertie Pearce will show us how these players had special skills as musicians, jugglers and acrobats which they integrated into their characters, some of which later evolved outside Italy, including Hanswurst (Germany), Pierrot (France), Petrushka (Russia) and of course the famous Mr Punch.

About Our Speaker …

Bertie is a Member of The Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star and also a Professor of Punch and Judy. After studying drama at Manchester University he went on to the Ecole Internationale du Theatre Jaques Lecoq in Paris. He has performed all over the world from The Magic Castle in Hollywood to the Kulm Hotel in St Moritz as well as on cruise ships. He has also toured extensively as a speaker sharing his passion for illusion, Victorian pastimes and Punch and Judy.

The event will take place at:

THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, COUNCIL HOUSE, NORTH STREET, CHICHESTER.

Tuesday 17th December 2024

Price: £10 members, £12 non members

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘xmas’ in the reference area when you make your payment  If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

 

Friends of Ravenna November Event:

An Illustrated talk by Sarah Quill

‘Rooms and Views: Filming in Florence with Merchant Ivory’.

About the Talk …

In 1985, the film director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and their scriptwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala adapted E.M. Forster’s 1908 novel, A Room with a View, into a successful feature film for the cinema. Set in Florence and in Surrey, this light comedy of Edwardian morals and manners explored themes that Forster was to develop in later novels. Sarah Quill worked as the stills photographer throughout the film, and will describe some of the experiences of the cast and crew in Italy and England.  Illustrated with her photographs, her talk will examine the background to the film and the lasting appeal of Forster’s novel.

About Our Speaker

Sarah Quill has worked for many years in Venice to create an extensive photographic archive of the city’s architecture, sculpture and daily life. During the 1980s she worked as the stills photographer on a number of feature films, including Wagner, Nineteen Eighty-Four, White Mischief and A Room with a View. Her book Ruskin’s Venice: The Stones Revisited (2000) was republished in a new and extended edition in 2015, followed by an Italian translation.  She is a trustee of the Venice in Peril Fund, the British committee for the preservation of Venice.

The event will take place at:

THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, COUNCIL HOUSE, NORTH STREET, CHICHESTER.

Thursday 14th November

Price: £10 members, £12 non members

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘rooms-views’ in the reference area when you make your payment  If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

 

‘Verdi in Verona’

– An illustrated talk by Canon David Nason.

THE VERONA OPERA FESTIVAL takes place each summer in the open air Roman Amphitheatre built in the 1st century AD.   It began with a performance of Verdi’s Aida on 10 August 1913, the centenary of the composer’s birth.   .  It will also cover the founding of the Festival and highlights from it over the last hundred years together with musical quotes from the most popular operas performed there.  

CANON DAVID NASON has recently retired from the role of Priest Vicar in Chichester Cathedral and that of Senior Master in the Prebendal School, posts that he held for twenty five years.   For over ten years he also worked as a ‘music host’ for Saga Holidays at the opera in Verona, lecturing to the guests and indulging in a personal passion for grand opera.

Now you can find him speaking on-board river cruises for Noble Caledonia. David still has an active ministry as chaplain to the Festival Theatre, Regional Chaplain for the Royal Force Air Cadets.   In ‘retirement’ he finds himself busier than ever taking Sunday services in churches around Chichester and fulfilling speaking engagements on opera and musical theatre.

On Thursday, 24 October, commencing  at 7:30pm

 THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, COUNCIL HOUSE, NORTH STREET, CHICHESTER.

Price: £10 members, £12 non members

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘Verdi’ in the reference area when you make your payment

 If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

See our full programme of events for 2024/25

We are delighted to have a ‘double bill’ at the first event of our new 2024/25 programe.  … details are below.

‘In the steps of Piero della Francesca – An exploration of his life and painting’.

An illustrated talk by Brenda Gay.

 

A Classicist and former University lecturer, Brenda Gay has used the opportunity of retirement to pursue her interests in Art History. She has travelled extensively in Italy, particularly in Umbria and Tuscany.

Brenda is a tour guide at Goodwood House.

In this talk Brenda will be looking at the life and work of Piero della Francesca and will focus on the paintings which remain in Tuscany, Umbria and Urbino.

 

ALSO

‘Land of the Moon’

An illustrated talk by Andrew and Julie Wyatt.

   

Julie and Andrew have owned their property in Italy for nearly 20 years. They are interested in the history, culture and natural environment which can be found in the Lunigiana valley located in the far North Western corner of Tuscany. Their house is located along the Via Francigena route which links Canterbury to Rome and also the Via del Volto Santo which links Pontremoli to Lucca.

Julie is a commercial Insurance Broker by profession whilst Andrew is a Chartered Engineer. After retiring from full time work they opened a B&B in the Yorkshire Dales which they ran successfully for 9 years. Now based at Rowland’s Castle from where they can more easily visit their four children and eight grandchildren, they are active in the U3A, the Ramblers and of course the Friends of Ravenna.

AT THE ASSEMBLY ROOM, COUNCIL HOUSE, NORTH STREET, CHICHESTER.

Price: £10 members, £12 non members

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘Piero’ in the reference area when you make your payment

 If you prefer to pay by cheque Please send  it to ‘The Treasurer’, 9 Dolphin Court, Bognor Regis. PO21 1TP

See our full programme of events for 2024/25