A joyfully obsessive interest in and knowledge of Italy turned Brian Williams into a damn good tourguide. In more than twenty years of travel (and a few years of living there) he became intimate with just about every corner of this tremendously rich and varied land; with the art and architecture of every period; with the food and wine, so important to the understanding of the culture, and so central to the sheer pleasure of the Italian experience; with the language, in which he was perfectly fluent.

Each one of Brian's tours was an unforgettable journey. Here's an idea of the fantastic adventures he created.

TAROT IN ITALY
September 9 – 17, 2000

You may have heard about the extraordinary Felliniesque house party that Brian masterminded for August 1999 in a Tuscan Castle with such tarot luminaries as Alexandra Genetti (Wheel of Change Tarot), Robert O'Neill (Tarot Symbolism), Arnell Ando (Transformational Tarot), Sarah Ovenall (Victoria Regina Tarot), and dozens of other wonderful Tarot folk. The 2000 trip was very different, but just as rich and gorgeous.

Tarot in Italy 2000 took Brian and crew to the ancient homeland of the Tarocchi in northern Italy: cosmopolitan Milan, Renaissance Bergamo, stunning hill–top Asolo, incomparable Venice. They saw astonishing monuments every day with real relevance to the Tarot, while soaking up the endless beauties and distractions of each locale. They stayed in charming small hotels while local delicacies provided fabulous meals.

Thumbnail gallery of previous highlights: Click on one of the small photos to see a larger version.

Villa Saraceno
Castle Montalto
Palio Parade in Siena

In cosmopolitan MILANO Brian's tour visited the enormous Renaissance fortress of the Castello Sforzesco, where they saw ancient cards hidden away in the museum's collections and frescoes by Leonardo da Vinci and by Bonifacio Bembo, the creator of the glorious Visconti–Sforza cards. Frescoes in private palaces and ancient churches showed the splendor and refinement in the culture that fostered the tarot. They met living Italian artists and publishers who were among the greatest and most prolific in the field. Of course they saw Milan itself, with its extraordinary Gothic cathedral, soaring Galleria, and famous La Scala opera house.

In hill–top BERGAMO they soaked up the lively Renaissance atmosphere of a perfect Renaissance town. In the fine museum of the Accademia Carrara they viewed many of the original Visconti–Sforza cards, and visited splendid examples of Tarot–related art in the rich churches of the town. To pay their respects to Trump 13, they journeyed to the mountain village of Clusone to see one of the great surviving Renaissance fresco cycles of the Triumph of Death.

In elegant ASOLO, another breathtaking hilltown, they rambled through the countryside roundabout to visit some of the most beautiful country mansions ever built, in particular those of the architect Andrea Palladio—including one, the Villa Caldogno, with frescoes of Renaissance ladies playing Tarocchi. Asolo itself is filled with memories of glamorous personages who made the small town home: a legendary Queen of Cyprus, the beloved Caterina Cornaro; the brilliant Brownings, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett; Eleanora Duse, the Sarah Bernhardt of Italy.

The tour's two final days in VENICE included intriguing visits to the Correr Museum, with its ancient playing cards; in a behind–the–scenes visit to the oldest local firm specializing in decorative paper–printing — the technique used to produce woodblock decks like the Tarot of Marseilles. But most of all they rejoiced in the most beautiful and surreal of all human creations, Venice itself. To top it all off, their stay ended with their own Venetian Masque, hosted by the extraordinary mother and daughter who own the esoteric bookstore called the Temple of Isis: flowing chalices of local Merlot, torches flickering in alleyways, spontaneous opera arias, echoing laughter.

Read Arnell Ando's essay about her experience on both the 1999 and 2000 Tarot Tours at Tarot Passages Tribute to Brian Williams.

Venture–Out Group Tours Hosted by Brian Williams
Robert Driscoll of Venture–Out took charge of first–rate arrangements for the following tours.

HILLTOWNS OF TUSCANY:
May and September each year

Every spring and fall Brian led a nine day cultural tour, with many country walks, of the dramatic Tuscan countryside. His tours stayed in elegant small hotels and charming family–owned inns in many–towered San Gimignano, proud Siena, wine–drenched Montalcino, and tiny utopian Pienza. Venture Out's tours are geared especially for lesbians and gay men, but everyone was welcome.

Take a look at Venture Out's Tuscany Tour web page. Robert continues to host these tours, with a new guide who will follow in Brian's rather impressive footsteps.

Please email Venture–Out for a detailed program description on the Hilltowns of Tuscany tour.