The Workshop
Florence is Your Classroom
A 5-day professional development program for teachers.
Daily pedagogy labs + site studies across Florence.
Master Renaissance Teaching, Directly from the Source
Our intensive 5-day Florence workshop is your solution. It blends expert historical & artistic insights, immersive on-site explorations and targeted pedagogical training, all empowering you to build your signature Renaissance course.
Deepen content knowledge
On-site analysis of art, architecture and Quattrocento symbolic power politics — beyond textbooks.
Strengthen pedagogy
Practical Deep Learning frameworks for place- and inquiry-based education.
Site-based learning
Revolutionary artists, arts and architecture studied on-site with structured pedagogical tasks.
Bring-home toolkit
A ready-to-implement curriculum and toolkit with example QR-code presentions and pedagogical tasks.
Beyond the tour
Turn site visits into stronger pedagogy
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Hands-on workshops to build interdisciplinary lessons directly from Florentine sites
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Master practical frameworks for analyzing art, architecture, and historical context
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Collaborate in curriculum labs and receive personalized feedback
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Practice strategies for primary sources, visual analysis, and place-based inquiry
What you take home
Go home ready: teach Renaissance Florence and return
Your deliverables
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Ready-to-implement curriculum framework
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Student-centered tools and adaptable materials
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Digital resource pack (15 example QR-code pedagogical itineraries and hi-res images)
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Certificate of completion (PD hours)
Your professional growth
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Deepened content knowledge of Renaissance Florence
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Supportive professional network
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Confidence to design and lead your own student courses
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Pre- and post-workshop webinars
The Praxis Experience
The Workshop Program:
A Three-Phase Pedagogical Journey
Our program is a comprehensive, blended-learning experience. It begins before you arrive in Florence and continues after your return, ensuring you have the framework and support to build a transformative curriculum.
Phase 1: Pre-Immersion & Community Building (Online)
Before we meet in Florence, we set the stage with a live online session. You will meet your cohort, build community, and receive a primer on the core pedagogical frameworks we will use, ensuring you arrive prepared and ready to engage.
Phase 2: The 5-Day Florence Immersion
(On-Site)
This is the intensive, hands-on core of the program, supported by a three-tiered expert team:
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Your Pedagogical Coach: Founder Antti Sirkiä, who leads all workshops and facilitates the pedagogical focus of the entire week.
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Your Logistics Manager: A dedicated, licensed Accompagnatore Turistico (professional local tour leader) who manages all logistics, timing, and group movement, ensuring a seamless, stress-free experience.
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Your Historical Experts: At key complex sites, we partner with specialized, licensed Guida Turistica (professional local art historians) who provide the deep historical data that fuels our pedagogical analysis.
Each day is structured around a central theme, blending these expert-led site analyses with formal pedagogical workshops:
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Day 1: The Proto-Renaissance & Seeds of Genius. We trace the shift from a medieval to a humanist worldview in art and architecture.
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Day 2: The Sculptural Revolution. We analyze the symbolic language of Florence's civic and political center through the sculptural revolution from Ghiberti and Donatello to Michelangelo.
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Day 3: Tracing the Painting Pioneers. We deconstruct the revolution in narrative, light, and perspective from Giotto to Masaccio.
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Day 4: Analyzing the Master Architects. We learn to read the "language" of Renaissance architecture and its humanist ideals from Brunelleschi to Michelozzo.
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Day 5: Decoding Pedagogy & Professional Synthesis. We synthesize the week's learning followed by an evening of networking and historical immersion at the historic Castello Nipozzano, hosted by the Frescobaldi family.
Phase 3: Implementation & Collaboration &CURRICULUM LAB (Online)
The journey concludes with a follow-up session months later. This is a final capstone workshop, where you will finalize your signature course curriculum and teaching toolkit with expert coach. This forum provides crucial support as you implement your new curriculum, allowing you to troubleshoot challenges and share successes with your professional peer network.
ALSO INCLUDED
Castello Nipozzano Networking Evening
An Evening of Synthesis & History:
The Frescobaldi Experience
More than a dinner — this evening marks the culmination of our pedagogical journey. Our exclusive visit to the historic Castello Nipozzano is designed to move our learning from the city to the Tuscan countryside for an unforgettable fusion of sensory experience, historical inquiry, and professional dialogue to synthesize the weeks learning and build a signiature course for every participant.
The purpose of this experience is threefold:
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Historical Immersion: Step into the 1,000-year narrative of the Frescobaldi family, patrons of Renaissance art, and explore the landscape that helped finance Florence’s cultural explosion.
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Pedagogical Synthesis: In a relaxed and reflective setting, engage in facilitated dialogue to consolidate the week’s learning and connect themes from our pedagogical itineraries.
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Professional Community: This convivial evening provides the ideal atmosphere to forge lasting connections and strengthen the international network at the heart of the Praxis experience
Logistics & Investment
Limited to 10 passionate educators per session.
Duration
6 days / 6 nights
Location
Florence, Italy
Learning venue
Hotel Cellai (4-star)
Upcoming dates
Oct 26–31, 2026 — register for updates
Duration & Pricing
- Hotel Orto de Medici package 5 days / 5 nights:
5,625 € per participant.
- Without hotel: 3825 € per participant
Location
Florence, Italy
Learning venue
Upcoming dates
Oct 19-24, 2026
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Register for updates!
What's Included in the Hotel Orto de Medici package:
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Accommodation: 5 nights of single-occupancy accommodation in a exclusive high-quality (****four star) hotel Orto de Medici in the Florence old city center.
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Meals: Daily breakfast, a welcome reception, and a dinner at a noble Tuscan wine estate.
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Program Activities: All tuition, expert-led pedagogical sessions, the praxis method QR-code presentations at chosen historical sight, entrance fees to all sites specified in the itinerary, licensed professional italian art history guide and ground transportation for scheduled group excursions.
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Materials: A comprehensive resource pack, QR-code presentations, curriculum framework, and all required course materials.
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Networking Evening: at 1000 years old Frescobaldi Castello Nipozzano with ground tours, tasting and exclusive Tuscan dinner.
What's Not Included:
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Airfare and transportation to/from Florence.
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Transportation between the airport/train station and the hotel.
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Lunches and any dinners not specified above.
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Mandatory travel and medical insurance.
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Personal expenses (e.g., souvenirs, laundry).
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All the city taxes.