Swagger or Solidity? English Grand Tourists in Venice and Rome with Sylvia Sagona

Before taking up their “rightful” role in the 17th and 18th century English government, young aristocrats underwent a rite of passage in the form of a tour of Italy. Utterly convinced of the glorious destiny of the British Empire, these Protestants were required to experience the iniquity of “popish” Rome, the decadence of Venice and the chaos of Naples and to understand the lessons taught by the fall of great empires. These high-minded ideals were no match for the lure of Italian style and sensuality. Along with fake antiquities and portraits came the syphilis which would add strains of madness to the English aristocracy for generations. "Tourism" had a dark side. 

Sylvia Sagona completed her post graduate studies of a Maitrise ès Lettres at the University of Aix en Provence where she lived and lectured at the university of Aix-Marseilles before taking up a lectureship in the Department of French and Italian studies at the University of Melbourne. She has taught in Paris on 19th century art and literature in partnership with the French Centre d' Etudes pédagogiques de Sèvres, and in Rome with the Università Roma 2 on how the Popes used the city layout for Christian propaganda.

Sylvia retired to create her own cultural travel company, Travels Through Time, and led study tours through Europe until 2023. During this time, she worked with the French-German television channel Arte and SBS to create a documentary on the invention of the department store. She has recently spent time in Rome filming a YouTube series on notorious Roman women from Vestal Virgins to Fascist spies.

Your ticket includes tea or Market Lane coffee served before the presentation, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This event is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. NOTE: Tickets for this event do not include access to our house museum, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Image: Katharine Read, British Gentlemen in Rome,  c.1750 (detail). Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.