May 22 – May 25, 2026
Arrive May 22nd at your preferred time to be ready for an early start on May 23rd
3 days, 4 nights; includes four nights accommodation, ground transportation, museum admissions, one group dinner, and guided visits. Airfare and additional meals not included.
1 traveler/single hotel room: $1900; double occupancy rooms at $3500
Intimate group limited to 15 guests
Please note: Refunds (minus 10% processing and administrative fees) are available until March 2. After this date, only 50% of the ticket price (minus 10% processing and administrative fees) will be refunded. No refunds available after April 6. Itinerary subject to change. Travel Insurance recommended)
Join Italian artist Chiara Ambrosio for a three-day journey—following Dante's model of heaven, hell, and purgatory—through her fatherland, where she spent much of her childhood; a mercurial, volcanic land resting at the intersections of reality, myth, and theatre.
Everywhere in Naples, life and death are inextricably bound. This trip will explore the city from the vantage point of its complex and contradictory histories, made up of both flamboyant exuberance and more intimate traits and spaces, often hidden and out of reach.
Walking across Naples and its shadow spaces, it is easy to understand how so many incredible stories—from The Odyssey to The Aeneid to My Brilliant Friend—chose this volatile land as their location. Naples occupies a distinctive psycho-geographical position, framed by natural, historical and literary thresholds: the sea, the volcano, the fiery fields and crater lake Avernus (mythical gateway to Hades), the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum (ravaged by the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD), and the entrance to the Cumaean Sibyl’s cave, to mention but a few. The city itself rises above a specular, labyrinthine "other" space, that stretches beneath a large portion of the historic centre, and that has grown to represent a physical manifestation of a complex and troubled collective unconscious.
From spiritual and geographical heights, through purgatorial middle grounds, and all the way down into subterranean, troubled spaces, we will discover what makes this city so powerful, enchanting and heartbreaking by visiting and encountering churches, royal art and natural history collections,, catacombs, ruins, specially curated performances, and visits to contemporary artists’ studios.
All of this will be accompanied by visits to some of the best local restaurants! And please wear your walking shoes… Much of this trip will consist of exploring the city as it is best seen– on foot – and there will be a day of intense walking when we visit Pompeii.
DAY 1- SATURDAY: PARADISO
We begin with a visit to the Museo Arti Sanitarie at the Antico Lazzaretto located in a 16th century hospital and monastic complex and housing historical surgical instruments and a nativity scene with diseased figurines within the breathtaking painted halls of the antique Lazzaretto, where the plague-ridden patients used to be sent to seek an impossible cure. The museum’s director Doctor Rispoli, a surgeon, alchemist and Renaissance man, will be our guide.
We continue with a visit to the Pio Monte della Misericordia to visit Caravaggio’s stunning masterpiece “Seven Acts of Mercy”, one of the most breathtaking pieces made by the troubled artist while he lived in Naples, housed within its original setting, followed by a visit to the breathtaking Santa Chiara cloister, an embodied vision of transcendence and prayer.
After lunch we’ll make a stop at La Chiesa del Gesu’ Nuovo/Cappella Moscati to experience the intersection of religion, medicine, and the miraculous, and afterwards head to visit the famed Cappella di Sansevero, an ornate burial chapel highlighting the pursuits of Raimondo di Sangro and alchemists in Naples. Inside, we will marvel at the famed Veiled Christ (1753) and the so called anatomical machines, models of the arterial and venous system built on real human skeletons.
We finish the day with a Pulcinella puppet show at Casa Guarattelle.
DAY 2- SUNDAY: PURGATORIO
We will begin the day with a visit to the purgatory par excellence, the Cimitero delle Fontanelle, that reopens this year after a 5 year closure. This is a place of worship where Neapolitans have been keeping the cult of the souls of Purgatory alive for decades, a sprawling burial site carved into the volcanic flank of the Sanita’ quarters, that houses thousands of bones and skulls, adopted and looked after by the people of the city. (Should the re-opening be delayed, we will replace this with a visit to San Pietro ad Aram, another wonderful church which houses a subterranean place of worship for the souls of Purgatory).
We continue with a visit to the Catacombe di San Gaudioso, an underground, Christian burial site with skeleton and souls in purgatory frescoes dating back to the 17th century, then stop for a complementary group lunch in the area.
We will cross into the Spaccanapoli neighborhoods to visit the Chiesa di Santa Luciella to leave a prayer to its famous skull with ears, followed by a visit to L’ospedale delle bambole/The doll hospital, where the imagination goes to get healed since the late 19th century.
We will then visit the studio of artist Fabio Paolella, one of the best nativity artisans in the city, where you will be able to purchase some of his exquisite clay sculptures and decorative objects.
In the evening we’ll embark on an open-air art-crawl through the Spanish Quarters following the trail of Cyop e Kaf’s legendary street art, and wind up at the Maradona mural, unarguably the most important secular saint in the city.
DAY 3- MONDAY: INFERNO
In the morning we will head to the archaeological sites of Pompeii, where we will take a glimpse into another time and another place, guided by archeologist Roberta Prisco.
We will return to the city in the early afternoon for a visit to the Real Museo di Mineralogia, one of the world’s most spectacular collections of minerals, volcanic rocks and gems.
and after a break we will reconvene inside a magical secret garden for an exclusive performance of Vesuvian double flutes and Tammorra, the traditional Neapolitan drum, accompanied by wine and food.
DAY 4- THE AFTERLIFE (optional)
9am- We meet in the Royal Botanical Gardens for a walk in the beautiful surroundings of this stunning garden overlooking the city, to say goodbye in style!
Chiara Ambrosio is a London-based filmmaker, visual artist, and curator. Her work with the moving image, photography, painting, sound, and printed matter to explores the ways in which we perceive, remember, articulate, and preserve personal and collective histories and senses of place, and investigates how we may construct new rituals within secular societies through art. She is a long-term collaborator of musician Amanda Palmer and has collaborated with composers, poets, and anthropologists. Her work has been presented extensively both nationally and internationally at venues such as The Whitechapel Gallery, Anthology Film Archives and La Cinematheque Francaise.
May 22 – May 25, 2026
Arrive May 22nd at your preferred time to be ready for an early start on May 23rd
3 days, 4 nights; includes four nights accommodation, ground transportation, museum admissions, one group dinner, and guided visits. Airfare and additional meals not included.
1 traveler/single hotel room: $1900; double occupancy rooms at $3500
Intimate group limited to 15 guests
Please note: Refunds (minus 10% processing and administrative fees) are available until March 2. After this date, only 50% of the ticket price (minus 10% processing and administrative fees) will be refunded. No refunds available after April 6. Itinerary subject to change. Travel Insurance recommended)
Join Italian artist Chiara Ambrosio for a three-day journey—following Dante's model of heaven, hell, and purgatory—through her fatherland, where she spent much of her childhood; a mercurial, volcanic land resting at the intersections of reality, myth, and theatre.
Everywhere in Naples, life and death are inextricably bound. This trip will explore the city from the vantage point of its complex and contradictory histories, made up of both flamboyant exuberance and more intimate traits and spaces, often hidden and out of reach.
Walking across Naples and its shadow spaces, it is easy to understand how so many incredible stories—from The Odyssey to The Aeneid to My Brilliant Friend—chose this volatile land as their location. Naples occupies a distinctive psycho-geographical position, framed by natural, historical and literary thresholds: the sea, the volcano, the fiery fields and crater lake Avernus (mythical gateway to Hades), the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum (ravaged by the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD), and the entrance to the Cumaean Sibyl’s cave, to mention but a few. The city itself rises above a specular, labyrinthine "other" space, that stretches beneath a large portion of the historic centre, and that has grown to represent a physical manifestation of a complex and troubled collective unconscious.
From spiritual and geographical heights, through purgatorial middle grounds, and all the way down into subterranean, troubled spaces, we will discover what makes this city so powerful, enchanting and heartbreaking by visiting and encountering churches, royal art and natural history collections,, catacombs, ruins, specially curated performances, and visits to contemporary artists’ studios.
All of this will be accompanied by visits to some of the best local restaurants! And please wear your walking shoes… Much of this trip will consist of exploring the city as it is best seen– on foot – and there will be a day of intense walking when we visit Pompeii.
DAY 1- SATURDAY: PARADISO
We begin with a visit to the Museo Arti Sanitarie at the Antico Lazzaretto located in a 16th century hospital and monastic complex and housing historical surgical instruments and a nativity scene with diseased figurines within the breathtaking painted halls of the antique Lazzaretto, where the plague-ridden patients used to be sent to seek an impossible cure. The museum’s director Doctor Rispoli, a surgeon, alchemist and Renaissance man, will be our guide.
We continue with a visit to the Pio Monte della Misericordia to visit Caravaggio’s stunning masterpiece “Seven Acts of Mercy”, one of the most breathtaking pieces made by the troubled artist while he lived in Naples, housed within its original setting, followed by a visit to the breathtaking Santa Chiara cloister, an embodied vision of transcendence and prayer.
After lunch we’ll make a stop at La Chiesa del Gesu’ Nuovo/Cappella Moscati to experience the intersection of religion, medicine, and the miraculous, and afterwards head to visit the famed Cappella di Sansevero, an ornate burial chapel highlighting the pursuits of Raimondo di Sangro and alchemists in Naples. Inside, we will marvel at the famed Veiled Christ (1753) and the so called anatomical machines, models of the arterial and venous system built on real human skeletons.
We finish the day with a Pulcinella puppet show at Casa Guarattelle.
DAY 2- SUNDAY: PURGATORIO
We will begin the day with a visit to the purgatory par excellence, the Cimitero delle Fontanelle, that reopens this year after a 5 year closure. This is a place of worship where Neapolitans have been keeping the cult of the souls of Purgatory alive for decades, a sprawling burial site carved into the volcanic flank of the Sanita’ quarters, that houses thousands of bones and skulls, adopted and looked after by the people of the city. (Should the re-opening be delayed, we will replace this with a visit to San Pietro ad Aram, another wonderful church which houses a subterranean place of worship for the souls of Purgatory).
We continue with a visit to the Catacombe di San Gaudioso, an underground, Christian burial site with skeleton and souls in purgatory frescoes dating back to the 17th century, then stop for a complementary group lunch in the area.
We will cross into the Spaccanapoli neighborhoods to visit the Chiesa di Santa Luciella to leave a prayer to its famous skull with ears, followed by a visit to L’ospedale delle bambole/The doll hospital, where the imagination goes to get healed since the late 19th century.
We will then visit the studio of artist Fabio Paolella, one of the best nativity artisans in the city, where you will be able to purchase some of his exquisite clay sculptures and decorative objects.
In the evening we’ll embark on an open-air art-crawl through the Spanish Quarters following the trail of Cyop e Kaf’s legendary street art, and wind up at the Maradona mural, unarguably the most important secular saint in the city.
DAY 3- MONDAY: INFERNO
In the morning we will head to the archaeological sites of Pompeii, where we will take a glimpse into another time and another place, guided by archeologist Roberta Prisco.
We will return to the city in the early afternoon for a visit to the Real Museo di Mineralogia, one of the world’s most spectacular collections of minerals, volcanic rocks and gems.
and after a break we will reconvene inside a magical secret garden for an exclusive performance of Vesuvian double flutes and Tammorra, the traditional Neapolitan drum, accompanied by wine and food.
DAY 4- THE AFTERLIFE (optional)
9am- We meet in the Royal Botanical Gardens for a walk in the beautiful surroundings of this stunning garden overlooking the city, to say goodbye in style!
Chiara Ambrosio is a London-based filmmaker, visual artist, and curator. Her work with the moving image, photography, painting, sound, and printed matter to explores the ways in which we perceive, remember, articulate, and preserve personal and collective histories and senses of place, and investigates how we may construct new rituals within secular societies through art. She is a long-term collaborator of musician Amanda Palmer and has collaborated with composers, poets, and anthropologists. Her work has been presented extensively both nationally and internationally at venues such as The Whitechapel Gallery, Anthology Film Archives and La Cinematheque Francaise.
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