‘Painted Love: Italian Renaissance Marriage Portraits ‘

Thursday, 13 November 2025

An illustrated talk by Lucy Whitaker

About The Talk

Between 1400 and 1600 portraiture developed dramatically throughout Europe and played an essential part in the rituals and ceremonies of the matrimonial process. Marriage alliances were forged between the rulers of powerful rival states and the nobility of Italy. As part of long-distance marriage negotiations, artists had to both portray an accurate likeness and advertise a prospective match. The institution of marriage was regarded as important for the stability of society and as sacred and Renaissance marriage portraits show this ideal state. They document the legal union of husband and wife, so intimate and personal but also public and formal,  and celebrate the merging of families, wealth, power and land and the formation of new political alliances. This talk looks at the role marriage portraits played in Italian Renaissance society at all levels. Artists had the challenge of portraying both ideal beauty and the reality of a likeness. In Italy the beauty of a woman was seen as synonymous with her inner virtue as exemplified by Baldovinetti’s Portrait of a Lady.  The question was, could they also depict that elusive component of marriage, the emotion of love felt between two people, perhaps glimpsed in the young man’s gaze of the Moroni portrait?

About Our Speaker

For twenty-three years and up until 2021 Lucy Whitaker was Senior Curator of Paintings at the Royal Collection Trust. Before that, she was the Curator of Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford and the Research Assistant at the National Gallery, London. Having specialised in Renaissance drawings at the Courtauld Institute of Art Lucy continued to research and publish on them throughout her career. For the Royal Collection Trust, Lucy helped care for the entire collection of paintings in the Royal Collection and their frames but specialised in the Italian holdings. Her publications on Italian art include the exhibition catalogue The Art of Italy Renaissance and Baroque, held in The Queen’s Gallery London and Edinburgh 2007-2008. Working on the exhibition Painted Love: Renaissance Marriage Portraits held at the Holburne Museum in 2023 was one of her most enjoyable experiences of the last few years and this talk has developed out of that work.  

The event will commence at 7:30pm at

Assembly Room, Council House, North Street, Chichester

Prices: £10 members and £12 non members

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62, account No. 73194604. Please put ‘portraits’ 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

Enjoy light refreshments and time to chat after the talk

Please book and pay by Saturday 8 November so that we have numbers for catering purposes.

View our new programme of events for 2025/26

‘Notes from a Sculptor’s studio’

Thursday, 16 October 2025

An illustrated talk by Philip Jackson 

Philip Jackson is an award winning sculptor who has created some of our most well-known and well-loved public sculptures.  The talk will explore the Italian influence in his works.  

Well-known sculptures locally include Dante Alighieri at South Pond, Midhurst and St. Richard outside Chichester Cathedral.  Also, there are many beautiful statues with distinctly Venetian influences adorning Philip’s garden in Cocking near Midhurst, set amongst trees and lakes.

About Our Speaker

Philip Jackson CVO DL MA FRBS

“If I am asked to describe what I do with my sculpture I reply that I look back at a previous age and render it in an impressionistic but contemporary manner.”

It is continuity and figurative tradition that roots Jackson as a sculptor, whether it is his gallery sculptures, many of which are inspired by Venice and the Maschera Nobile and are sought after by collectors all over the world, or his many public commissions such as the Bomber Command Memorial in London’s Green Park, or the statue of Bobby Moore that welcomes football fans to Wembley Stadium.

“Philip’s ability to achieve respect and admiration embracing two such different fields is rare and much to be admired. He has left an indelible footprint on his time.’

The Rt Hon the Lord Heseltine CH

Copies of Philip’s book ‘Philip Jackson A Life in Sculpture’, a lavishly produced, and authoritative biography of the life and work of one of Britain’s foremost figurative sculptors, will be available on sale in the evening.

The event will commence at 7:30pm at

Assembly Room, Council House, North Street, Chichester

Prices: £10 members and £12 non members

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62, account No. 73194604. Please put ‘sculpture’ 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

Enjoy light refreshments and time to chat after the talk

Please book and pay by Wednesday 11 October so that we have numbers for catering purposes.

View our new programme of events for 2025/26

 

Ten Italian Scientists – BC to Second Millennium 

Monday 22nd September 2025

An illustrated talk by Alastair Alexander 

The talk will explore the lives and principal scientific contributions of ten Italian scientists, covering more than two millennia from pre-Christian times to modern Nobel prize winners.

About Our Speaker

Alastair is a qualified chemical engineer and after graduation worked for British Oxygen before joining Engelhard Minerals and Chemical Corporation a precious metals refining and manufacturing company which took him around the world.

Subsequently, he formed a construction company with his brother and a recruitment company in the Emirates before retiring to Chichester and joining Friends of Ravenna where he has co-edited Gemelli in recent years.

 

This event will commence at 7:30pm at:

Assembly Room, Council House, North Street, Chichester

Prices: £10 members and £12 non members

 

How To Pay: We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘science’ 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

Please book and pay by Wednesday 17 September so that we have numbers for catering purposes.

See our new programme of events for 2025/26

A Friends of Ravenna Cultural Exchange Event

on Saturday June 28th

An Italian musical concert performed by international
musicians from Ravenna, Italy:

‘The Duo Elisir’.

 

About the concert

We welcome The Duo Elisir comprising flautist Matteo Salerno and guitarist Andrea Candeli. They will be performing a wonderful and exciting selection of opera, tango and film music featuring well known pieces such as Bizet’s Carmen Suite, extracts from Madama Butterfly by Puccini and Rossini’s Barber of Seville plus a film medley with music by Morricone, Nino Rota and Nicola Piovani. Some traditional and modern tango works by composers Gardel, Piazzola and Villoldo will also be included so we are promised an intriguing and unusual musical mix!

About the musicians

Matteo Salerno graduated with top marks and subsequently attended the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has won several competitions for flute and chamber music plus a scholarship aimed at the best Italian graduates and has performed all over Italy and abroad. He has made recordings for radio and television programmes, one being broadcast from the Vatican in the presence of Pope John Paul 11. He has performed with various orchestras with conductors such as Ricardo Muti and is first flute for the Ravenna City Orchestra. He has collaborated on several musical and theatre projects and is currently a flute teacher in Calabria.

Andrea Candeli has been playing since the age of 8 and is described as a musician who shows a marked stage presence with a solid technique and brilliant way of making music. He is considered by critics to be a guitarist of rare plasticity with a great ability to communicate. He teaches guitar at various institutes and like Matteo has performed extensively in Italy and abroad.

 

This event will commence at 7:30pm at:

ST GEORGES’S CHURCH, 43 CLEVELAND ROAD, CHICHESTER PO19 7AD

Price: £10 for everyone

Ticket includes light buffet with wine or soft drink after the concert

We welcome payment via BACS, to Friends of Ravenna, Barclays Bank, Sort code 20-20-62,  account No. 73194604. Please put ‘Italian Concert’ 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: Precious Moment
9.00pm to 10.30pm – Film: Umberto D. 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

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

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