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“In Torre” Experience

THE SECRETS OF MEDIEVAL PAINTING

EGG TEMPERA ON 24k GOLD LEAF

Medieval masters discovered long ago that egg yolk was the perfect binder for glossy and glazed paintings. This workshop, held in an historical palace in the heart of Florence will allow you to feel like one of Giotto’s apprentices when he first entered the great master’s “bottega” (workshop).
You will see and handle a wide selection of material used at the time: ancient and precious colors like lapis lazuli (lapis) or azurite; lacquers such as cochineal, and many other pigments. You will learn about their history and use throughout the centuries, and how Giotto used them.
You will try your hand with egg tempera by paining a “miniatura” (miniature) of Florence’s Dome on a 23,3/4k gold leaf mounted on paper which you will take home with you as a keepsake of this incredible and unique experience. The workshop lasts between 1,5/ 2 hours.

Highlights

  • Egg tempera:
    • how to make it, how to use it;
  • How Giotto painted:
    • his gilding technique
  • Ancient pigments:
    • Pigments linked to wine (white, green and black)
    • Precious pigments (lapis and azurite)
    • Pigments linked to the history of food (zaffron and kermes lacquer)

Practice

  • Mixing and making of egg tempera
  • “Cornice” (frame) tripartite layout technique
  • Drawing borders and painted backgrounds (“campiture”)
  • Varnishing
  • Mounting your own “miniatura” and take it home with you!

Cocktail Class

The Mixology Techniques in Tower is a cocktail class for those who eager to appreciate our bar, our drinks and become a barman for one day.
At the end of the experience you will consigue a diploma and our book with the recipes of the cocktail you learnt as well the instruments needed.
Price is Euro 100.00 for 2 pax for half an hour of cocktails, included, of course, one of the 3 cocktails that you will prepare, and exactly, the Aperol Spritz, the Negroni and our Signature cocktail “Sunset”, invented by our bartender Ranjula Wickrama in 2017.
If you wish to start to train at home, here goes the recipe of the Negroni, a typical Tuscan drink, supposedly invented in Florence in 1919 at Caffè Casoni. It is said that Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail. His regular Americano was suddenly transformed by adding gin rather than the normal soda water. To help differentiate between the old and new, the bartender also added an orange garnish rather than the typical lemon garnish of the Americano.

NEGRONI

Ingredients:
20ml of Gin
20ml of Sweet Vermouth
20ml of Campari
1 fresh orange peel

Preparation:

Fill a short rocks glass with ice and then layer up the three components
Stir with a straw or bar spoon
Garnish with an orange peel or add a slice of orange if you would like a more distinct citrus note